The Christmas Chronicles, Day 9
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If you are just discovering the Christmas Chronicles today, you can go to the beginning by clicking here.
[Personal Note: Originally, when I started this series, I merely planned a personal study of passages related to Jesus and his first advent. However, as I researched the verses I was astonished by the volume and specificity of the prophecies of Jesus’ birth and life. Their purpose was to describe who he was and what he would do while he was here, and why he was born.
So, the question that formed in my mind was, “Since Jesus claimed that he came down from heaven, taking on human flesh, what was his purpose? And,” (my own curiosity) “how is it that a massive part of the world still recognizes the significance of Christmas Day 2,000+ years later?”
So far, we have shared some of the earliest announcements of God’s promise to send a deliverer. Now, after David, for the next 600 years the prophets and seers would describe what the Promised One would look like. Over 300 times they would describe to us what he would do, where he would be born, where he would live, his miracles, his teaching and the result of his coming. So that when he arrived, we would have an unmistakable description of him—who he is and what he came to accomplish.
The announcements of the coming Promised One glittered like gold nuggets in the scrolls of the Prophets. So, in the coming days we will go after this treasure. And my goal is to stay out of the way and just point out the gold. —Bill]
After David passed, his son Solomon came to rule in his place. Under his leadership, the country reached dizzying new heights. The country was larger and richer than it had been before—or since.
The Ever-living One confirmed his covenant with Beloved to the king’s son, Solomon. God’s favor would be on him, his family, and David’s line—as long as Solomon honored God.
But as time passed, Solomon refused to honor God’s word and disobeyed him, to the degree that the many wives he amassed to himself led him away from worshiping God altogether.
Even great wisdom cannot protect a person against doubt and disobedience. As a result, the country imploded after his death, splitting into two separate nations: Judea in the south and Israel in the north.
And from that time on, they never recovered. Constant cycles of revival and rebellion. They turned to God, then the next generation abandoned him—but always, the trajectory was down.
This history is a master’s class on the devastatingly destructive power of sin—each new generation imagining that they are immune to what the previous generation succumbed to—again, demonstrating the blinding nature of pride. This bent towards our own destruction hounds us even today.
But through it all, God’s Promise continued to burn.
200 years after Solomon passed, dark days had returned to the land of Israel. The Assyrians had invaded and took the northern kingdom captive.
But the prophet Isaiah spoke of the Promised One of God who would restore what was lost.
What is Isaiah saying here?
1 Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—
yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.
2 And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 He will delight in obeying the Lord.
He will not judge by appearance
nor make a decision based on hearsay.
4 He will give justice to the poor
and make fair decisions for the exploited.
The earth will shake at the force of his word,
and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.
5 He will wear righteousness like a belt
and truth like an undergarment.
6 In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;
the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.
The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,
and a little child will lead them all.
7 The cow will graze near the bear.
The cub and the calf will lie down together.
The lion will eat hay like a cow.
8 The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra.
Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.
9 Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,
for as the waters fill the sea,
so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord.
10 In that day the heir to David’s throne
will be a banner of salvation to all the world.
The nations will rally to him,
and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.
11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time
to bring back the remnant of his people. —Isaiah 11:1–11
The Christmas Chronicles is a 31-day series, written by Bill Herried.
Bill Herried is lead pastor at CenterPoint Christian Fellowship in Tacoma, Washington. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in Seattle, and Master of Divinity from Corban University in Salem, Oregon. He is married to the most extraordinary woman on the planet. Together they have 3 adult children and 4 grandchildren, and he loves a good biryani. Bill invites you to learn more on Your Daily Encouragement
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