The Promise

From the very beginning God promised us that He would be the source of our redemption. After the “fall of man” in Genesis 3:15, God speaking directly to Satan says, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall crush your head and you will bruise His heel.” In this text, God was hinting at the virgin birth of the Messiah that would come from the woman’s seed. This fact is further revealed in a prophecy 1500 years before the birth of Christ by the prophet Isaiah, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel” Isaiah 7:14. “Immanuel” means “God with us”. 

Finally, this great truth of how God would be born into His own creation was recorded in the gospel of Luke “Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’ And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; also, that Holy One who is born will be called the Son of God.’” Luke 1:34, 35.

The bible’s genealogy is very specific and documents one family’s line from Adam to Jesus Christ. Over and over again God promises, through all these recorded prophecies, the greatest gift the world would ever be given was His Son.  Even when Ham (Canaan’s father) sins against his father Noah, God uses this heinous ordeal to bless Shem and Japheth “Blessed be the Lord, The God of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem;” Genesis 9:26, 27. This early prophecy is especially interesting as we see the Messiah ultimately emerge from Shem’s descendants. Japheth’s descendants (European gentiles) would one day be grafted into the kingdom of God under the covering (tent) of Israel’s relationship to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

God hints again at the future gift of salvation as He promises to Abraham that in him all the families of the earth shall be blessed. “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:2, 3. Truly all the families of the earth were blessed as God’s Son was born in a manger in Bethlehem. 

The Bible is filled with prophecies about the Messiah. In the last book of the Old Testament the prophet Malachi says “But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings;” Malachi 4:2. After four hundred years of inter-testament silence, Zacharias breaks his own muteness as he proclaims “Through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:78-80. Zacharias’ choice of the Greek word for “Dayspring” literally means “dawn”. So the coming of Jesus was like a sun rise. The night was now over as the world was exposed to a Great Light!

So as we decorate our houses and Christmas trees with bright light, let us remember the Great Light that dawned in Bethlehem. A morning that made its mark in history forever as God Himself came into the creation that He made; the day that Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary. 

Moreover, may our homes be filled with Christmas carols and joyful voices singing praises to God.  “Now in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men.’” Luke 2:8-14.