7:19
Too often we think of forgiveness as letting us “get away” with our sins, or as a mere overlooking of sin. In reality it is something much stronger than that. Here it says He will have compassion on us and will “subdue our iniquities” (NKJV) or “tread our iniquities underfoot” (ESV). He will cast our sins into the depths of the sea. This is a complete defeat of sin and sinfulness within us. In the New Testament this is presented as our being justified by Christ’s sacrifice and our being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Sin in us is utterly defeated.
7:20
All this is part of the fulfilment of the promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (though Isaac is not mentioned in this verse). God’s covenant with His people are important, and all His workings need to be understood in the light of the covenant. In Hag 2:5 God talks in terms of acting in accord with the covenant He made when He took them out of Egypt. In the New Testament Paul explains the gospel in terms of God fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant.
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