The Birth of Christ Predicted in Numbers
Num. 24:17
This morning we are going to continue to look at some Old Testament predictions about the birth of Jesus. Last week I pointed out to you that like all good literature, the Bible has a story line. It has an overarching theme. In a single sentence, the essence of the Bible is that “man, originally in union with God, fell, and needs restoration to spend eternity with his creator.” That story line starts in Genesis, reaches its climax at the birth of Christ, and is drawn to an end in Revelation when our enemy is thrown into the lake of fire and a new heavens and a new earth is created.
Last Sunday we were in the book of Genesis where the story starts, and we saw three specific predictions concerning the birth of Jesus. We started in Gen. 3:15 where we have the fall of man. As a result, God curses the serpent but assures Adam and Eve that eventually they were going to have a descendant who would deal a fatal blow to their enemy. Then we looked at the Abrahamic covenant where God reveals the scope of the promise in that “all the nations of the earth were going to be blessed” through this deliverer. And then we finished up in chapter 49 where Jacob is passing out blessings to his 12 sons. In the blessing he gives to Judah, he makes the point that the scepter, that instrument that indicates kingly power, was never going to depart from the line of Judah. This prediction introduced us to the concept of a kingdom being associated with the Messiah, it involves authority and submission. So as we worked our way through these passages we saw God giving more and more clarity, more and more depth and understanding to what started out as a somewhat vague prophesy concerning the birth of Jesus.
Now this morning we are going to be in the book of Numbers, which is where we see the next specific prophecy concerning the birth of Christ. I find it rather curious that there are three predictions in Genesis, none in Exodus and Leviticus, and then the next one is in Numbers. Is there something we can learn from this? I believe there is, and to help us see this, let’s think for a moment about the theme of each of these first five books of the Bible.
The theme of Genesis is “beginnings.” You have the beginning of humanity, the physical world, sin, family, human authority, etc. In Exodus, you have the book of “deliverance.” Just the name itself conveys this idea. The nation of Israel is in slavery in Egypt, and God delivers them. The book of Leviticus is the book of the “law.” Think about Levites, the tribe responsible for mediating the relationship between God and the nation. In our current study of this book you have seen chapter after chapter after chapter of rules and regulations concerning how God’s people were to relate to God as well as each other as well as how they were to relate to their surrounding culture.
But what about Numbers? What do you suppose the theme of this book is? The best way to understand Numbers is to think of it as the book of “failure.” It is basically a book that records episode after episode after episode of God’s people forsaking their God and engaging in blatant and defiant acts of rebellion. Interestingly, the golden calf incident isn’t in this book, that took place in Exodus, but other than that, Numbers takes the prize for bad behavior. This is why in the book of 1 Cor., when Paul makes the point not to act as bad as the children of Israel, he rattles off five episodes of particularly egregious behavior – and every one of them comes from the book of Numbers.
Now, to my way of thinking, if I were God, by the time I got to the end of the book of Numbers, I would be having serious second thoughts about this whole covenant with Israel thing. This nation has repeatedly demonstrated by their actions that they are more intent on pursuing their own pleasures than God’s promises. Yet it is in this context of repeated human failure that God chooses to give His people the next glimpse of their eventual Messiah.
That says something to me! That tells me that the promise of Gen. 3:15 is not dependent on man’s ability to live up to God’s expectations! Aren’t you grateful for that? Or as Paul puts it in 2 Tim. 2:13, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny himself!” This is the concept behind grace, and we see it in the book of Numbers, the book of failure in the desert, when God, using the prediction of a pagan fortuneteller, lets His people know that His plan is still on track. So let’s look at this prophesy in Num. 24:16-19.
Let me take a minute and give you the context of these verses. Moses and the nation of Israel are marching through the desert on the way to the Promised Land. In chapter 21, they come to the land of the Amorites, whose king is named Sihon. They ask for permission to cross his territory and promise not to touch anything in the country. All they want to do is use the king’s highway to cross his land – they even promise not to drink water from any of the wells. Sihon responds by drawing up in military array to do battle, and the Israelites soundly defeat him.
Next, Israel comes to the land of Bashan, ruled by a king named Og. Israel doesn’t even have an opportunity to negotiate with him, Og meets them with his warriors and is ready to do battle. They go to war, and Israel defeats Og and the armies of Bashan. In chapter 22, Israel comes to the land of Moab, and Balak, the king of Moab, is scared to death. He knew what had happened to Sihon and Og, so he hires a prophet by the name of Balaam to curse the nation of Israel. You’ve probably heard of Balaam, because there is a story about him and his donkey! But in Num. 22:6 we read, “Now, therefore, please come, curse this people for me since they are too mighty for me; perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse you is cursed.” So even though Balaam wasn’t a true follower of the God of Israel, he did have prophetic abilities and could curse and bless people.
At this point, God himself appears to Balaam and explicitly forbids him to curse the nation of Israel. And so at four different times, Balaam blesses Israel, which sends king Balak over the edge. As we read in 24:10, “Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing theme these three times! Flee to your place now.”
So this brings us up to verse 16 where we see Balaam’s fourth and final vision, and he says, “The oracle of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered. 17 "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; a star shall come forth from Jacob, and a scepter shall rise from Israel, and shall crush through the forehead of Moab, and tear down all the sons of Sheth.” 18 "And Edom shall be a possession, Seir, its enemies, also shall be a possession, while Israel performs valiantly. 19 "One from Jacob shall have dominion, And shall destroy the remnant from the city."
Verse 17 is the one I want us to focus on, because Balaam, under the direct influence of the God of Israel, has a vision and sees a Person with a capital “P”. And even though Balaam has no clue about the significance of what he is saying, God is using this pagan prophet to flesh out His people’s understanding of their Messiah. Balaam makes six points about the Messiah, three of them had been previously revealed, but three are new.
The three familiar aspects of the Messiah are seen in the phrase, he “shall come forth from Jacob, and a scepter shall rise from Israel, and shall crush through the forehead of Moab, and tear down all the sons of Sheth.” This tells us that the deliverer of Gen. 3:15 will come from the family of Jacob, he will rule as a king, and he will be victorious over his enemies. Each of these dimensions was revealed to us in Genesis.
But note the three new elements. They are seen in the phrase, "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; a star shall come forth from Jacob.” What does this tell us about the Messiah?
1. First of all, He is still to come – “I see him, but not now.” In other words, the prophecy is still on track. The promise of Gen. 3:15 has not been rescinded, and even though there is all of the events in Exodus and all the events in Leviticus without a specific mention of this Messiah, a deliverer is coming, but He is not currently on the scene.
2. Secondly, He is from a different country – “I behold him, but not near.” This is similar to the previous point, but has the additional dimension that the deliverer will come from a different land. This is significant because there was a good chance that the people of Israel were looking at Moses or some other national leader as their deliverer. After all, Moses was a military man, he was a successful strategist, he had delivered them from slavery. And if they were looking to Moses, this prophecy of Balaam squelches the idea because their deliverer was not in the vicinity.
3. And finally, He will have a universal rule – “a star shall come forth from Jacob.” The significance of this point is that it is broadening the scope of the Messiah’s rule. Gen. 49 has already introduced us to the concept that the Messiah was going to function as a king, but kings have a limited realm, right? As Dr. Seuss tells us in the story of Yertle the Turtle, the king turtle was king over what? “All he could see.” That is why he kept building his throne higher and higher. That is the problem of kings, their realm is limited.
But now, we see that Messiah is a star that is coming forth from Jacob. The idea of an earthly, terrestrial kingdom is being supplanted now by a cosmic scenario. Whereas the earthly king had dominion over all people, and nations, and tribes and tongues to the extent that every person was going to bow and declare Him to be the Lord, now we see that the celestial beings as well are going to be under Messiah’s rule. This is why Paul says in Phil. 2:9-10, “Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth.” A star will come forth from Jacob.
So as we think about the significance of this prediction of the birth of Jesus that took place 1,400 years before Jesus was born, there are several things to focus on.
1. First of all, this is a tremendous testament to the supernatural nature of your Bible. Predictive prophecy argues strongly for divine authorship. If you are into statistics, the startling statistic is that there were over 300 prophecies concerning the birth of Jesus that were fulfilled when Jesus was born.
2. Secondly, as the Sovereign of this universe, God can use any instrument He wants to for His purposes, even a pagan fortuneteller. God did this with several pagan kings, most notably Cyrus and Artaxerxes, and here he is using Balaam. The lesson for us is not to despair in the face of our pagan surroundings. We would prefer to see godly people in positions of leadership and influence, but God is not limited to accomplishing His will only through godly instruments.
3. And finally, the fulfillment of God’s promises may be a long time in coming, but they are inexorable. They are certain. “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near.” Followers of Christ have been saying for 2,000 years now, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” What are we to do in the face of what we perceive to be the reluctance of our Lord to return and take us away to be with Him forever? We affirm with the Apostle Peter that 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, 15 and regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation.
Our Messiah was born 2000 years ago in Bethlehem, just like the Bible predicted. And based on that fulfillment we can look forward with certainty to His second coming.
Prayer: Father, thank you for the certainty we can face life with. Thank you for the stability you bring us in the midst of turmoil and upheaval. In the very same way you accomplished everything you promised at your birth, we believe that you will accomplish everything you promised about your coming again to take us to be with you for all eternity. So as we think about Christmas, help us to see beyond the birth of Jesus and appreciate the scope and magnitude of fulfilled prophecy.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
The Birth of Christ Predicted in Genesis
The Birth of Christ Predicted in Genesis
Gen. 3:1-15
One of the things that sets the Bible apart from all the other works of literature ever produced is its unity. The “unity” of the Bible is the term we use to describe the single theme that starts in Genesis and ends in Revelation. If you were to summarize the message of the Bible, what would you say? In other words, if you had the ability to boil it all down, even distill it, what would you come up with?
When I think about this theme, what I come up with is this. “Man, originally united with God, fell, and needs restoration to spend eternity with his creator.” That is about as simple as it gets. Every chapter of the Bible, every book in the Bible, relates directly to this theme. And my point is that this singleness of theme sets the Bible apart from all the other works of literature that man has produced.
Now, you may be thinking to yourself that this idea of a single theme really is no big deal, that there are lots of books that have been written that have the scope of the Bible and contain as much information as the Bible, yet they all have a single theme as well (cf. any book written by James Michner). But what sets the Bible apart from all these other works of literature is three things.
1) The number of human authors – over 40!
2) The diversity of background of these human authors – from the highly trained, highly intellectual (Moses, Paul, Luke) to the modestly educated, blue collar laborers (Peter); from royalty (David, Solomon) to obscure (Obadiah); and from clergy (Samuel and prophets) to laity (Amos). A great variety of men from different walks of life.
3) The time span involved in writing – roughly 1,600 years.
So the question is, “What is the probability that you can get 40 different guys, from all different walks of life, writing over the course of 1,600 years – and have every one of them contribute independently to the single theme that man, originally united with God, fell, and needs restoration to spend eternity with his creator?
It’s statistically impossible! For this to happen, there would have to be an external, overarching, supernatural influence guiding the whole process, which we know is what happened as the Holy Spirit filled the various men and enabled them to write the exact message God wanted to convey to His people. Or as Peter puts it in 2 Pt. 1:21 – “No prophecy (Scriptural writing) was ever made by an act of human will, [rather] men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
Now, as we think about the story line of the Bible, like most literature, it has a climax, or a high point. The narrative that starts in Genesis waxes and wanes, it swells and diminishes, it has its exciting parts as well as its dry parts. There are protagonists and antagonists and a variety of settings and points of view, but it is working towards a pinnacle. And for the Bible, that pinnacle is the birth of Jesus as recorded in Matthew and Luke (Mark and John don’t address the birth). The birth of Jesus is the pinnacle because it is Jesus who brings about man’s restoration. After that point, the story continues and finds its ultimate resolution in the book of Revelation with the judgment of Satan who is cast into the lake of fire, and the re-creation of the heavens and the earth.
This morning I want to show you the earliest stages of the development of this storyline (man, originally united with God, fell, and needs restoration to spend eternity with his creator), and we find three distinct prophecies about the birth of Jesus in the book of Genesis.
1. The Stage is Set – Gen. 3:1-15
8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 And he said, "I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." 11 And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" 12 And the man said, "The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate." 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." 14 And the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly shall you go, And dust shall you eat All the days of your life;15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel."
So here in the third chapter of the Bible we have the stage being set for a drama that will be played out for many years to come. Let me quickly draw your attention to the first three elements of the story.
a. Note first of all the human vs. non-human dimension of this conflict. In verse 15 we see God say that there was going to be “enmity between you [the serpent] and the woman.” Does that mean that for the rest of time that women are going to be afraid of snakes? No. This really isn’t about snakes. The Genesis account doesn’t tell us explicitly that Satan was filling the serpent, but we can conclude from the content of the conversation, and it is confirmed in later scriptures, that it was none other than Satan, a non-human created being who was opposed to God and God’s plans that was going after Eve. This idea is fleshed out by Paul in Eph. 6:12 when he says, “Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the . . . spiritual [non-human, non-physical] forces of wickedness in heavenly places.”
b. Note secondly that there is an indeterminate timeframe. Verse 15 says that the enmity between these two factions was going to last longer than one generation, it was going to be carried on by the seed of the woman (a reference to all the generations that would follow her) and the seed of the serpent (a reference to all those other non-human created beings that rebelled against God and were cast out of heaven). But the text doesn’t tell us when this enmity will cease – there is an indeterminate time frame.
c. And note finally that humanity is the ultimate victor. We see this in the phrase in verse 15, “He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." In other words, one of Eve’s male descendents (“he”) was going to inflict fatal damage to Satan. That is the significance of a head wound. But in doing so, Eve’s male descendent was going to suffer as well. But a wounded foot isn’t fatal like a wounded head is.
So to sum up this first point of the stage being set, here we see that even though Satan scored a huge victory right out of the gate, and that even though the conflict seems unfair in that it pits man against powerful spiritual beings, a time was coming some day in the future when Satan would receive a death blow from “the Man, Jesus Christ.” Rom. 5:15.
Now I’d like you to turn to Gen. 12:1-3 and let’s look at the second mention, and I’m calling this “the scope is revealed.” Once the stage is set and we know who the major players are and have a general idea of the time frame, God shows us how big this plan is and how one can get on board in the Abrahamic Covenant.
2. The Scope is Revealed – Gen. 12:1-3, 22:15-18
Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." So Abraham went forth as the Lord had spoken to him.”
15 Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16 and said, "By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 "And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."
Very quickly, note some new dimensions of the story. First of all, a human family is identified. In 12:3, God makes a powerful promise in that “all the families of the earth will be blessed in you.” The “in you” is a reference to Abraham. The significance of this point is that from the time of Adam and Eve to the time of Abraham, humanity has really expanded. Now, instead of there being a single family (Adam and Eve), there are hundreds if not thousands of families. And so God narrows the field to the family of Abraham and promises him that the scope of this covenant is huge – it will affect all the families of the earth. So the human family is identified, but a global family will be blessed.
Secondly, we see the concept of faith is introduced. We see it in 12:1 where God simply tells Abraham to pack his bags and start travelling. God doesn’t reveal the destination to Abraham, He simply says, “get going.” In chapter 22, Abraham responds in faith to another command of God, this one much more significant than the first one as he is commanded to sacrifice his son, his only son. Again, Abraham responds in faith to the command of God, and the Apostle James tells us in James 2:21-23 “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," and he was called the friend of God.”
So in this second passage of Genesis that points us toward Christmas, we see the scope of the story. The final addition the book of Genesis gives us is found in Gen. 49:8-10. As you follow the genealogies of Genesis, after Abraham is chosen, he has two sons – Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac is chosen of God to carry on the covenant, and he has twins – Jacob and Esau. God chooses Jacob, the younger of the twins, to carry on the covenant, and Jacob ends up with 12 sons. At the end of Jacob’s life, he calls his sons in to bless them, and in chapter 49 we have those blessings. The blessing Jacob gives to Judah is found in verses 8 – 10, and the new element being added to the story is that sovereignty is revealed.
3. The Sovereign is Revealed– Gen. 49:8-10
8 "Judah, your brothers shall praise you; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's sons shall bow down to you. 9 "Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him up? 10 "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
The three things we see here are that first of all, another human family is identified. The covenant is going to be passed from Jacob to Judah. To use the wording of Gen. 3, the “seed” of the woman is now contained in Judah’s lineage. The second thing we see is the element of dominion being introduced. It is implied in verse 8 where his brothers are praising him and bowing down to him, but it is explicit in verse 10 where reference is made to a kingly instrument – the scepter. The scepter was the jeweled staff a king carried as a sign of his authority. This is why 640 years after this blessing, a young man from the tribe of Judah by the name of David became the King of Israel.
The significance of this point is that now our story takes on a new dimension of kingdom rule. This isn’t simply a one-on-one battle between the seed of man and the seed of the serpent, this isn’t simply a man blessing all the nations of the earth. This story line involves kingdoms, and dominion, and sovereignty, and obeisance. This dimension is referred to repeatedly in the gospels as Jesus emphasizes the importance of the kingdom of God. He tells Nicodemus that “unless a man is born again he won’t even see the kingdom of God.” Paul tells us that a day is coming when “every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
So the blessing that Jacob confers on Judah introduces us to the idea of sovereignty, but there is a phrase there we don’t want to overlook because it shows us the terminus of the promise. Note the little phrase, “until Shiloh comes.” “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes.” The word “Shiloh” means, “the one who brings peace.”
The point here is that the earthly rule of the tribe of Judah was going to come to an end when? When “the one who brings peace” comes. Who do you suppose that is? Right. It is Jesus. This is what Paul has in mind in Eph. 2:14 when he says – “He himself is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall.”
Isn’t it amazing to realize that 1,500 years before it actually happened, the birth of Jesus was predicted? In three different places here in the book of Genesis we see direct information alerting us to the possibility of man being restored to his place of union with his Creator. It was somewhat vague and shadowy in Gen. 3:15, but it took on more shape in Gen. 12 and 49. And what we are going to see next week is that as we get to the book of Numbers, and eventually into Isaiah, the predictions become more and more crystallized.
But what does all this mean for us today?
First of all, I want you to appreciate the unique nature of your Bible, and in particular, its unity.
Secondly, I want to appreciate your place in history. We are incredibly privileged to have a completed Bible, full revelation, and insight based on 2,000 years of biblical scholarship.
Thirdly, I want you to appreciate that we can go to the end of the story and see how it all turns out. God has not left us in the dark wondering how it will all end. We don’t live lives of suspense hoping that we are on the right side in this battle between the seed of Eve and the seed of the serpent.
And finally, I want you to really appreciate the significance of the birth of Jesus. What a tremendous event it was as God miraculously brought about the culmination of 1,500 years of prophesy.
Gen. 3:1-15
One of the things that sets the Bible apart from all the other works of literature ever produced is its unity. The “unity” of the Bible is the term we use to describe the single theme that starts in Genesis and ends in Revelation. If you were to summarize the message of the Bible, what would you say? In other words, if you had the ability to boil it all down, even distill it, what would you come up with?
When I think about this theme, what I come up with is this. “Man, originally united with God, fell, and needs restoration to spend eternity with his creator.” That is about as simple as it gets. Every chapter of the Bible, every book in the Bible, relates directly to this theme. And my point is that this singleness of theme sets the Bible apart from all the other works of literature that man has produced.
Now, you may be thinking to yourself that this idea of a single theme really is no big deal, that there are lots of books that have been written that have the scope of the Bible and contain as much information as the Bible, yet they all have a single theme as well (cf. any book written by James Michner). But what sets the Bible apart from all these other works of literature is three things.
1) The number of human authors – over 40!
2) The diversity of background of these human authors – from the highly trained, highly intellectual (Moses, Paul, Luke) to the modestly educated, blue collar laborers (Peter); from royalty (David, Solomon) to obscure (Obadiah); and from clergy (Samuel and prophets) to laity (Amos). A great variety of men from different walks of life.
3) The time span involved in writing – roughly 1,600 years.
So the question is, “What is the probability that you can get 40 different guys, from all different walks of life, writing over the course of 1,600 years – and have every one of them contribute independently to the single theme that man, originally united with God, fell, and needs restoration to spend eternity with his creator?
It’s statistically impossible! For this to happen, there would have to be an external, overarching, supernatural influence guiding the whole process, which we know is what happened as the Holy Spirit filled the various men and enabled them to write the exact message God wanted to convey to His people. Or as Peter puts it in 2 Pt. 1:21 – “No prophecy (Scriptural writing) was ever made by an act of human will, [rather] men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
Now, as we think about the story line of the Bible, like most literature, it has a climax, or a high point. The narrative that starts in Genesis waxes and wanes, it swells and diminishes, it has its exciting parts as well as its dry parts. There are protagonists and antagonists and a variety of settings and points of view, but it is working towards a pinnacle. And for the Bible, that pinnacle is the birth of Jesus as recorded in Matthew and Luke (Mark and John don’t address the birth). The birth of Jesus is the pinnacle because it is Jesus who brings about man’s restoration. After that point, the story continues and finds its ultimate resolution in the book of Revelation with the judgment of Satan who is cast into the lake of fire, and the re-creation of the heavens and the earth.
This morning I want to show you the earliest stages of the development of this storyline (man, originally united with God, fell, and needs restoration to spend eternity with his creator), and we find three distinct prophecies about the birth of Jesus in the book of Genesis.
1. The Stage is Set – Gen. 3:1-15
8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 And he said, "I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." 11 And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" 12 And the man said, "The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate." 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." 14 And the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly shall you go, And dust shall you eat All the days of your life;15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel."
So here in the third chapter of the Bible we have the stage being set for a drama that will be played out for many years to come. Let me quickly draw your attention to the first three elements of the story.
a. Note first of all the human vs. non-human dimension of this conflict. In verse 15 we see God say that there was going to be “enmity between you [the serpent] and the woman.” Does that mean that for the rest of time that women are going to be afraid of snakes? No. This really isn’t about snakes. The Genesis account doesn’t tell us explicitly that Satan was filling the serpent, but we can conclude from the content of the conversation, and it is confirmed in later scriptures, that it was none other than Satan, a non-human created being who was opposed to God and God’s plans that was going after Eve. This idea is fleshed out by Paul in Eph. 6:12 when he says, “Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the . . . spiritual [non-human, non-physical] forces of wickedness in heavenly places.”
b. Note secondly that there is an indeterminate timeframe. Verse 15 says that the enmity between these two factions was going to last longer than one generation, it was going to be carried on by the seed of the woman (a reference to all the generations that would follow her) and the seed of the serpent (a reference to all those other non-human created beings that rebelled against God and were cast out of heaven). But the text doesn’t tell us when this enmity will cease – there is an indeterminate time frame.
c. And note finally that humanity is the ultimate victor. We see this in the phrase in verse 15, “He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." In other words, one of Eve’s male descendents (“he”) was going to inflict fatal damage to Satan. That is the significance of a head wound. But in doing so, Eve’s male descendent was going to suffer as well. But a wounded foot isn’t fatal like a wounded head is.
So to sum up this first point of the stage being set, here we see that even though Satan scored a huge victory right out of the gate, and that even though the conflict seems unfair in that it pits man against powerful spiritual beings, a time was coming some day in the future when Satan would receive a death blow from “the Man, Jesus Christ.” Rom. 5:15.
Now I’d like you to turn to Gen. 12:1-3 and let’s look at the second mention, and I’m calling this “the scope is revealed.” Once the stage is set and we know who the major players are and have a general idea of the time frame, God shows us how big this plan is and how one can get on board in the Abrahamic Covenant.
2. The Scope is Revealed – Gen. 12:1-3, 22:15-18
Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." So Abraham went forth as the Lord had spoken to him.”
15 Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16 and said, "By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 "And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."
Very quickly, note some new dimensions of the story. First of all, a human family is identified. In 12:3, God makes a powerful promise in that “all the families of the earth will be blessed in you.” The “in you” is a reference to Abraham. The significance of this point is that from the time of Adam and Eve to the time of Abraham, humanity has really expanded. Now, instead of there being a single family (Adam and Eve), there are hundreds if not thousands of families. And so God narrows the field to the family of Abraham and promises him that the scope of this covenant is huge – it will affect all the families of the earth. So the human family is identified, but a global family will be blessed.
Secondly, we see the concept of faith is introduced. We see it in 12:1 where God simply tells Abraham to pack his bags and start travelling. God doesn’t reveal the destination to Abraham, He simply says, “get going.” In chapter 22, Abraham responds in faith to another command of God, this one much more significant than the first one as he is commanded to sacrifice his son, his only son. Again, Abraham responds in faith to the command of God, and the Apostle James tells us in James 2:21-23 “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," and he was called the friend of God.”
So in this second passage of Genesis that points us toward Christmas, we see the scope of the story. The final addition the book of Genesis gives us is found in Gen. 49:8-10. As you follow the genealogies of Genesis, after Abraham is chosen, he has two sons – Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac is chosen of God to carry on the covenant, and he has twins – Jacob and Esau. God chooses Jacob, the younger of the twins, to carry on the covenant, and Jacob ends up with 12 sons. At the end of Jacob’s life, he calls his sons in to bless them, and in chapter 49 we have those blessings. The blessing Jacob gives to Judah is found in verses 8 – 10, and the new element being added to the story is that sovereignty is revealed.
3. The Sovereign is Revealed– Gen. 49:8-10
8 "Judah, your brothers shall praise you; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's sons shall bow down to you. 9 "Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him up? 10 "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
The three things we see here are that first of all, another human family is identified. The covenant is going to be passed from Jacob to Judah. To use the wording of Gen. 3, the “seed” of the woman is now contained in Judah’s lineage. The second thing we see is the element of dominion being introduced. It is implied in verse 8 where his brothers are praising him and bowing down to him, but it is explicit in verse 10 where reference is made to a kingly instrument – the scepter. The scepter was the jeweled staff a king carried as a sign of his authority. This is why 640 years after this blessing, a young man from the tribe of Judah by the name of David became the King of Israel.
The significance of this point is that now our story takes on a new dimension of kingdom rule. This isn’t simply a one-on-one battle between the seed of man and the seed of the serpent, this isn’t simply a man blessing all the nations of the earth. This story line involves kingdoms, and dominion, and sovereignty, and obeisance. This dimension is referred to repeatedly in the gospels as Jesus emphasizes the importance of the kingdom of God. He tells Nicodemus that “unless a man is born again he won’t even see the kingdom of God.” Paul tells us that a day is coming when “every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
So the blessing that Jacob confers on Judah introduces us to the idea of sovereignty, but there is a phrase there we don’t want to overlook because it shows us the terminus of the promise. Note the little phrase, “until Shiloh comes.” “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes.” The word “Shiloh” means, “the one who brings peace.”
The point here is that the earthly rule of the tribe of Judah was going to come to an end when? When “the one who brings peace” comes. Who do you suppose that is? Right. It is Jesus. This is what Paul has in mind in Eph. 2:14 when he says – “He himself is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall.”
Isn’t it amazing to realize that 1,500 years before it actually happened, the birth of Jesus was predicted? In three different places here in the book of Genesis we see direct information alerting us to the possibility of man being restored to his place of union with his Creator. It was somewhat vague and shadowy in Gen. 3:15, but it took on more shape in Gen. 12 and 49. And what we are going to see next week is that as we get to the book of Numbers, and eventually into Isaiah, the predictions become more and more crystallized.
But what does all this mean for us today?
First of all, I want you to appreciate the unique nature of your Bible, and in particular, its unity.
Secondly, I want to appreciate your place in history. We are incredibly privileged to have a completed Bible, full revelation, and insight based on 2,000 years of biblical scholarship.
Thirdly, I want you to appreciate that we can go to the end of the story and see how it all turns out. God has not left us in the dark wondering how it will all end. We don’t live lives of suspense hoping that we are on the right side in this battle between the seed of Eve and the seed of the serpent.
And finally, I want you to really appreciate the significance of the birth of Jesus. What a tremendous event it was as God miraculously brought about the culmination of 1,500 years of prophesy.
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