“I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:17-18 ESV)
Although the Christmas story is full of incredible promises that God makes to so many, those promises concerning God’s Messiah didn’t begin in 1st century Israel. According to people who calculate these kinds of things, there are over 300+ prophetic promises, types, and shadows concerning the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Throughout our time in this Advent devotion, we will explore some of those promises.
Yesterday, we looked at God’s promise to Adam and Eve after the fall of mankind of a future deliverer who would come from the woman’s seed (Genesis 3:15). As we fast forward in the God’s incredible plan for the redemption of mankind, we meet the father of the faith, Abraham. In the incredible account of Abraham’s life, we find one of the most incredible promises of God’s universal intent to bless all the nations of the earth through the offspring of this man who trusted in God.
As Paul points out in Galatians 3:16, God’s promise to Abraham was not to more than one, but through the One. We are reminded that in Christ, God fulfilled His promises to Eve, to Abraham, and to King David which we will explore later in our devotional. I hope you see the point clearly: God is a promise keeping God. Because of God’s divine attributes, this like His omniscience (God is all knowing), His omnipotence (God is all powerful), and His omnipresence (He is present everywhere), we see that He makes and keeps incredible, breathtaking promises.
The season of Advent (Latin for “arrival” or “coming”), is a time for us to reflect on the incredible plan of God and His power to make it all come to pass. Though Abraham would never personally get to see how God would keep His promise, we get the privilege of being on the other side of the incarnation! What a joy it is to know that before God ever spoke the universe into existence that He already had a perfect, beautiful plan in motion to ensure that you and I would never have to be separated from His incredible love.
As you spend time reflecting today, if you are like me maybe you didn’t grow up in church. Maybe the Christmas story is new to you and there are words that are hard to grasp and understand. If that is you, I pray you’ll take a few moments and check out some of the resources below. When you begin to grasp the true beauty of the Biblical Christmas story, your heart will be filled with awe, thanksgiving, and wonder at the incredible God we serve.
Heavenly Father, thank You for being a promise keeping God. Lord I confess that You are eternal, I am finite. You are all powerful, all knowing, and present in ways my heart cannot begin to imagine. Please help me this Christmas season to read, understand, believe, and respond to your promises in faith. Thank You for the blessings You promised to Abraham that I now experience through Your precious Son Jesus Christ. Thank You for the incredible, true story of Christmas. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
Resources:
