Day 8: Isaiah 9:6-7
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end.
Isaiah lived more than 700 years before Jesus, yet pointed to him and gave him specific names. We can anticipate many things in life: gifts, good food, time with friends and family, vacations. These bring happiness to life and anticipation is part of that joy and experience. Isaiah anticipated a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. For 700 years people anticipated what we now enjoy.
John 14:26 promises us the Holy Spirit, who is the helper (counselor) who teaches us all things and reminds us of what Jesus says. The Wonderful Counselor reminds us of the words of the Mighty God and Everlasting Father. In John 14:27 Jesus gives us His peace: the Prince of Peace gives you peace. When peace is contingent on circumstance, worry and anxiety result. When peace is contingent on Christ we know peace, no matter the circumstance. Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace… Jesus Christ. Where are you looking for peace?
Day 7: Jeremiah 31:15
Thus says the Lord: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.
This prophecy concerns the slaughter of boys in Bethlehem by King Herod which occurred shortly after Jesus’ birth there and is quoted in Matthew 2:18. Rachel was the second wife of Jacob (Israel) and was buried in Bethlehem. Ramah is a village north of Jerusalem, while Bethlehem is south. In the immediate time of Jeremiah’s prophecy, Ramah was a staging point for deportation and much weeping was heard there. The emphasis on Rachel points toward a future weeping, realized in Bethlehem shortly after the birth of Jesus.
Jesus was hated at birth, in ministry, and at his death. To this day 1 in 7 Christians worldwide are persecuted “as a result of one’s identification with Christ” according to Open Doors International. Yet, because of Christ, we endure persecution with joy and hope in a future, eternal home. The anticipation of a coming savior is now our anticipation of a coming king. We celebrate the birth of the savior at Christmas. We live and work in anticipation of a coming king, knowing “there is a reward for your work” (Jeremiah 31:16).
Day 6: 2 Samuel 7:12-13
When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
These words were spoken by God through the prophet Nathan to King David. From David would come a king who would build a house for the Lord and whose throne and kingdom will be forever. David began life as a shepherd in Bethlehem, insignificant even in his own family. He rose to fame. Yet a greater one who will build a house for the name of the Lord is promised.
David never built a temple to God; his son Solomon did, yet that temple was destroyed. When Jesus (descendant of David) lived, a temple completed by Herod was the seat of worship. Jesus spoke in the temple after cleansing it of ungodly practices. He was asked for a sign of his authority to cleanse the temple. Jesus responded, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” He built a home for the people of God to be with God through his death and resurrection. Being resurrected and alive, his kingdom is forever. The Christmas baby in the manger is an eternally reigning king. Does He reign over you and your life, today?
Day 5: Micah 5:2
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
A boy named David grew up in Bethlehem, became the first king of Israel from the tribe of Judah, and was a great king. Scripture tells us he was a man after God’s own heart. He wrote many of the Psalms in the Bible, being wise, musical, and lyrical. Other kings aspired to be as great as him. The verse above was spoken by the prophet Micah well past David’s life. As great as David was, a greater would come.
He would be ruler in Israel (the people of God). He would be from “ancient days”; he would be from eternity. He would be born in insignificant Bethlehem. This passage was so well known to be prophetic of a coming powerful king that 700 years later, the king of the area (Herod) killed all the boys under 2 years old in Bethlehem (Mt. 2) when he learned that a king was born. The new born king, born to a virgin, was from ancient days and survived as his family fled to Egypt. God kept his word, even to a new family facing significant stress; giving hope to all people everywhere. The coming King will rule.
Day 4: Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Prophecies often carry immediate and future implications. In the immediate context of Isaiah 7:14, the nation of Judah was threatened by Israel and Syria (due to civil war, Israel is now two kingdoms: Israel and Judah). God would deliver Judah before a young baby would grow up and know right from wrong (Isaiah 7:15). However, the message is larger because a greater deliverance is needed. In this prophetic word, we see that a virgin will give birth to a son who will be called Immanuel, which means “God with us.”
The impossible will happen: a virgin giving birth and God bridging the gulf created by sin in Genesis 3, such that God will be with us. Certainly, this will be a sign from the Lord.
Jesus was born to a virgin (Luke 1:26-38) and is God who lived among us (see Matthew 1:23). This is not commonplace, though we may have heard it so often we lose the marvel of this reality. Even now, the person of the Holy Spirit is present in all believers. God is with us.
Day 3: Genesis 49:10
The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
Judah was the fourth born son of Jacob (Jacob was the grandson of Abraham). Jacob was renamed Israel and had 12 sons. At his death, Israel blessed his children and the verse above is part of his blessing to Judah. A ruler is coming from Judah that would receive tribute and obedience. For a nomadic family, this promise offered great hope. Hundreds of years in the future, the scepter rising out of Israel would again be spoken of with hope (Numbers 24:17). The tribes of Israel would serve Judah, and peoples of the earth would bring him tribute. Anticipating such a day gave hope for everyday life to the faithful. Their struggle, their work, their worship all had meaning and purpose because of the hope of a coming ruler — a Lord — who would reign. This ruler would come from Judah’s lineage.
The ultimate coming king is Jesus Christ. Revelation 5:5 calls Jesus “the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.” He conquered death and sin and is given authority to judge the earth. Christmas celebrates the earthly birth of the Lion of the tribe of Judah. While we anticipate the Lion’s final return, we too live with hope and purpose.
Day 2: Genesis 12:2-3
I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
God called Abram, later renamed Abraham meaning “father of a multitude.” Through Abraham all the families of the earth shall be blessed, & a distinction is made between those who God blesses and curses. This is a continuation of the hope that was first presented in Genesis 3:15. Instead of living under a curse of sin, blessing will come. And, the blessing will come to people throughout the earth (all the families of the earth shall be blessed). Far beyond a strict ancestral lineage of blessing, God is promising a blessing for all people everywhere who believe. In a world that can be heavy and trying, we have hope because God promises this blessing and we can live with hope and joy.
God “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” The anticipated blessing is realized in Jesus Christ, who is a physical descendant of Abraham (Matthew 1:1). We who believe are blessed eternally in heaven with every spiritual blessing.
Day 1: Genesis 3:15
The Lord God said to the serpent… “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Genesis 3 describes sin entering the world. Adam and Eve rebelled against God; and all of us not only inherit their sin nature, but also actively rebel against God. The result? Separation. Even the most intimate relationships experience distance. Spiritual and physical death entered the world, impacting everything. The living are now the living dead, fellowship with God is severed, and a physical life consists of work and toil with a few moments of happiness, all ending in death. In pronouncing the curse of sin on His creation, God also gives a glimmer of hope. The serpent (Satan) will ultimately be defeated through the offspring of a woman. The curse of sin will be removed and the wrath of God will be satisfied. Satan will be defeated through the promise of a son, “he shall bruise your head.” “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, [Christ] himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil” (Heb. 2:14). Jesus Christ is the Son who defeats death and devil. His birth we eagerly anticipate during Advent.