>>> Redemption

19.
While justly angry[1]
God did not turn his back
on a world bent on destruction;
he turned his face to it in love.[2]
With patience and tender care he set out[3]
on the long road of redemption
to reclaim the lost as his people[4]
and the world as his kingdom.

[1 Gen. 3:9-15]
[2 John 3:16]
[3 Luke 1:68-75; 3:23-37]
[4 Rev. 11:15]

20.
Although Adam and Eve were expelled from the
garden[1]
and their work was burdened by sin's effects,
God held on to them in love.
He promised to crush
the evil forces they unleashed.

[1 Gen. 3:15-19]

21.
When evil filled the earth,[1]
God judged it with a flood,
but rescued Noah and his family[2]
and animals of all kinds.
He covenanted with every creature
that seasons would continue
and that such destruction would not come again
until the final day.

[1 Gen. 6-9]
[2 1 Pet. 3:18-22]

22.
The Creator pledged to be God[1]
to Abraham and his children,
blessing all nations through them
as they lived obediently before him.
He chose Israel as his special people[2]
to show the glory of his name,[3]
the power of his love,[4]
and the wisdom of his ways.
He gave them his laws through Moses,[5]
he led them by rulers and teachers,
so that they would be a people
whose God was king.

[1 Gen. 12:1-3]
[2 Deut. 7]
[3 Rom. 9]
[4 Mic. 6:8]
[5 Ps. 103:7]

23.
When Israel spurned God's love[1]
by lusting after other gods,
by trusting in power and wealth,
and by hurting the weak,
God scattered his people among the nations.
Yet he kept a faithful few[2]
and promised them the Messiah:
a prophet to speak the clear word,
a king to crush the serpent's head,
a priestly servant willing to be broken for sinners.[3]
And he promised the gift of the Spirit[4]
to bend stubborn wills to new obedience.

[1 2 Chron. 36]
[2 Isa. 10]
[3 Isa. 53]
[4 Jer. 11; 31]