Was Jesus Birth Really Planned or a Random Happening?

Christmas is coming! 
One week and it’s here. I’ve barely begun my shopping, just mailed out a few gifts yesterday, and we’re signing our Christmas cards today. I’m a little behind, but my kids are home from college and I’m happy! As I think about Christ’s birthday, I’m reminded it was not some random happening. He was planned and his arrival was an intentional act of God.

Prophecies of the Bible ~

The Old Testament portion of the Bible holds the history of mankind before Christ was born. During those years, God spoke through his prophets. They shared messages of repentance (calling people to obey the Law given through Moses). They also shared messages of restoration and prophecies about the coming Messiah. Here are a few to treasure in your heart. I've also included scripture from the New Testament (after the birth of Christ) that are a fulfillment of prophecies in the Old.

If you have an Advent calendar like mine where you fill the little boxes, you could print these and other prophecies and put them in the daily boxes for your kids.

He will be born of a virgin . . .

Old Testament Prophecy: “Therefore the Lord
himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child
and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel
(God with us).”
Isaiah 7:14

New Testament Fulfillment: “His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:18-23

A child will be born . . .

Old Testament Prophecy: “For unto us a child is born . . . he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God . . .”
Isaiah 9:6

New Testament Fulfillment: “Today in the town of

David a Saviour has been born to you; 

he is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11

He will be born in the town of Bethlehem and will be from the tribe of Judah . . .

Old Testament Prophecy: “But you,
Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small
among the clan of Judah, out of you will come
for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose
origins are from of old, from ancient times . . .”
Micah 5:2-5

New Testament Fulfillment: “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, 

Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, 

“Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?” Matthew 2:1-6

“For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah . . .” Hebrews 7:14

Kings will bring him gifts and fall down and worship him . . .

Old Testament Prophecy: “The kings of Tarshish
and of distant shores will bring tribute to him;
the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts.”
Psalm 72:10

New Testament Fulfillment: “After Jesus was born

 in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, 

Magi from the east came to Jerusalem . . . 

On coming to the house, they saw the child

 with his mother Mary, and they bowed down

 and worshipped him. They opened their treasures

 and presented him with gifts of gold

 and of incense and of myrrh. Matthew 2:1-11

He will be a descendant of Abraham . . .

Old Testament Prophecy: “I will make you (Abraham)
exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you,
and kings will come forth from you. I will establish 
My covenant between Me and you and your 
descendants after you throughout their 
generations for an everlasting covenant, 
to be God to you and to your descendants after you.” 
Genesis 17:6-7

“But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear

you a son; and you shall call his name Isaac,

and I will establish My covenant with him

for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.” Genesis 17:19

New Testament Fulfillment: “So all the generations

 from Abraham to David are fourteen generations;

 from David to the deportation to Babylon,

 fourteen generations; and from the

 deportation to Babylon to the Messiah,

 fourteen generations.” Matthew 1:17

He will be a Shepherd to his people . . .

Old Testament Prophecy: “Behold, the Lord God
will come with might, with His arm ruling for
Him . . . Like a shepherd He will tend His flock,
in His arm He will gather the lambs and
carry them in His bosom;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.”
Isaiah 40:10-11

New Testament Fulfillment: “I am the good shepherd;

 the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”

 John 10:11

God shall dwell among his people . . .

Old Testament Prophecy: “Sing for joy and be glad,
O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will
dwell in your midst,” declares the Lord.” 
Zechariah 2:10

New Testament Fulfillment: “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory,

 glory as of the only begotten from the Father,

 full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

The Messiah will come to crush Satan . . .

Old Testament Prophecy: “So the Lord God 
said to the serpent (Satan) . . . “And I will put enmity 
between you and the woman, and between
your offspring and hers; He will crush your head,
and you will strike His heel.” 
Genesis 3:14-15

New Testament Fulfillment: “Since the children

 have flesh and blood, he too shared in their

 humanity so that by his death he might

 destroy him who holds the power of death . . . 

that is, the devil.”

 Hebrews 2:14

“He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because

 the devil has been sinning from the beginning.

 The reason the Son of God appeared

 was to destroy the devil’s work.”

 1 John 3:8

Some of these prophecies are as far as 1200 years before the birth of Jesus. Things happened just as God said they would. 2000+ years after his birth, these prophecies (and others) give us tremendous confidence in the fact that scripture is the true word of God, and that God made sure those he communicated his messages to recorded them correctly. We also know we can trust him to keep his promises. He sent his son to save the world - not to condemn it - just as he said he would.

Keep Christ in your season . . .

Lisa~

Making Sense of the Kings of the Bible

Mountain View - Stealing Your Breath with Views of the Heart of God

There are parts of the Bible that have always been confusing to me. The period of the kings is one of them. Boy howdy! There are so many kings it’s hard to keep them all straight, and the stories seem to jump around haphazardly. Complicating matters is the fact that some of the kings changed their names, some had very similar names, and some had the same name! So today, I’m going to share some general information I learned in class last week that might help you make sense of this time period. Here goes . . .

Through Abraham, God chose the Hebrew people to be his treasured possession. The Hebrews had his favor, and he had a plan for them. (See Abraham 12:2-3; Genesis 13:14-17; Genesis 15:18-21; Genesis 17:1-8, 19-21; Genesis 22:15-18)

God established the Hebrew people as a nation through Jacob when his 12 sons became the leaders of 12 tribes. Through Jacob’s son, Joseph, God moved his people to Egypt to preserve their lives during a famine. (See Genesis 45:17-19) The Hebrew people flourished in Egypt and their population increased. Pharaoh became nervous about their numbers and feared they might rise up and overtake his kingdom. His solution was to force them into slavery. Through Moses and Joshua, God led his people out of slavery in Egypt and into the land he had promised them in Canaan. (See the books of Exodus and Joshua)

“But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, from Egypt, to be a people for His own possession . . .” Deuteronomy 4:20

God wanted his chosen people to be different than people of the surrounding nations so he attempted to set them apart by establishing rules and laws for the way they were to live.  (See the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy) God made it clear that obedience would bring his blessing, while disobedience would bring consequences.

“Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Exodus 19:5-6

While other nations had earthly kings, the Hebrews were fortunate to have God as their king.

“For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the Lord our God whenever we call on Him?” Deuteronomy 4:6

As their King, God was present and actively engaged in their lives. He protected them, fought for them, guided them, and provided for them. Astonishingly, the Hebrew people rejected God as their king and told him they wanted a man to be their king instead. Why? They wanted to be like all the other nations. This had to pierce God’s heart. As difficult as it must have been, he gave them what they wanted with a warning about how this earthly king would rule. (1 Samuel 8:6-9)

The first king to the Hebrews was Saul. The people admired his good looks, and overlooked his character deficiencies and absence of devotion to God. The 12 tribes united under his leadership and became known as the Israelite nation. After Saul’s death, David became king. David had a whole heart for God. After David, Solomon (David’s son) assumed the kingship.  These kings each ruled for 40 years. After Solomon’s death, the nation divided into two kingdoms with one in the north (Israel) and one in the south (Judah).

Israel was led by king Jeroboam. Its capital was Samaria. The southern kingdom was led by Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. Jerusalem was its capital. King Jeroboam and king Rehoboam were both evil kings.

The northern kingdom of Israel had a total of 19 kings before its demise. None of them were good. The southern kingdom of Judah had 20 kings. Only eight were good. The divided kingdom lasted for 400 years.

Through the years, both of these kingdoms “did evil in God’s eyes”. Their actions were causing grievous damage to themselves and to those around them. Because God loved them dearly, he sent prophets to warn them to change their ways and turn their hearts back to him. He warned them there would be repercussions if they didn’t. But they didn’t listen.

In 722 BC, a foreign nation named Assyria conquered Israel in the north and dispersed most of that kingdom’s inhabitants to foreign lands. Years later, Babylon conquered Assyria. In 605, 597, and 586 BC, Babylon conquered the southern kingdom of Judah in three stages. Jerusalem was destroyed. The residents of Judah were sent into exile in Babylon for 70 years. The divided kingdom was no more.

The Kings of the United Kingdom

Saul (1051)

David (1011)

Solomon (971)

Kingdom splits (931)

The Evil Kings of the Northern Kingdom

Jeroboam (931-910)

Nadab (910-909)

Baasha (909-886)

Elah (886-885)

Zimri (885)

Omri (885-874)

Ahab (874-853)

Ahaziah (853-852)

Joram/Jehoram (852-841)

Jehu (841-814)

Jehoahaz (814-798)

Joash (798-782)

Jeroboam II (793-753)

Zechariah (753-752)

Shallum (752)

Menahem (752-742)

Pekahiah (742-740) Overlapping reign with Pekah. Assassinated by Pekah.

Pekah (752-732)

Hoshea (732-722)

Fall of Israel to Assyria: 722 BC

The Kings of the Southern Kingdom

Rehoboam (931-913)

Abijam (aka Abijah) (913-911)

*Asa (911-870) Coregency with Jehoshaphat.

*Jehoshaphat (873-848)

Jehoram ((848-841)

Ahaziah (841)

Athaliah (841-835)

*Joash (835-796)

*Amaziah (796-767)

*Uzziah (790-739)

*Jotham (750-735)

Ahaz (732-715)

*Hezekiah (715-686)

Manasseh (697-642)

Amon (642-640)

*Josiah (640-609)

Jehoahaz (609)

Jehoiakim (born as Eliakim) (609-598) 1^st Babylonian invasion

Jehoiachin (598-597) 2^nd Babylonian invasion

Zedekiah (597-586) 3^rd Babylonian invasion – final conquest of Judah

Fall of Judah to Babylon: 586

*Denotes good kings

After 70 years in exile, God prepared the way for the Israelites to return to Jerusalem. Although they lived under the oppression of Persia, then Greece, then Rome, God was constantly at work preparing their hearts for the arrival of the King of all kings – Jesus Christ.

The world entices us with many things, but there is no substitute for God and what he offers. God yearns for our whole-hearted devotion. Even when we are fickle and unfaithful to him, he is always rock-solid in his faithfulness to us. He is faithful to judge wickedness and sin, yet he is also faithful to envelop us in his mercy and forgiveness when we turn back to him (Exodus 34:6-7).

Regardless of the unfaithfulness of his chosen people during the period of the kings, God was still in control. He knew with certainty the things he intended to accomplish. He responded, interacted, and patiently accommodated his actions to the free will and choices of his people in order to bring about his desired end. He is the same today. No matter how far the people of this world wander from him, God is still in control working to bring about his desired end – the return of Jesus Christ, our Lord and King, at the culmination of human history. When it seems like the world is completely out of control, I am so thankful for this truth.

The period of the kings gives me confidence in the character of God . . .

Lisa~