The Seed of the Woman Arrives

Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ which is the fulfillment of the prophecy given in Genesis 3:15 that a descendant of Eve would one day destroy the serpent, i.e. the devil.

The almighty sovereign God had/has an immutable plan from the beginning and an exact time table to implement that plan.

“…But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman…” Galatians 4:4

The humanity of Jesus Christ is irrefutable as is His deity. It is equally impossible to separate His two personages.

Old Testament prophecies had revealed that He would be born in Bethlehem of Judea, and so it was.

“And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered…Joseph also went... into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the …lineage of David…” Luke 2:1-4

The Old Testament further revealed that He would be born of a virgin, i.e. He would be the Seed of the woman, but not of a man, and so it was.

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:18

“Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’ And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you… that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.’” Luke 1:34-35

Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah and King told of Jesus being a descendant of King David and that someday He would rule over David’s kingdom which would never end and so it will be.

“…the angel said to her… ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever…’” Luke 1:28-33

The visit of the wise men also has Old Testament roots.

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.’” Matthew 2:1-2

‘Wise men’ are translated from magi who were astrologers and ‘East’ in the present context means Persia, or present day Iran. Its origin is found in Genesis.

“And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living he sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to the country of the east.” Genesis 25:5-6

To illustrate His humanity, Jesus frequently referred to Himself as ‘the Son of Man’. This title is found more than 80 times in the New Testament and also has Old Testament roots. The prophet Daniel had a dream about the Son of Man.

“‘I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! ...Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.’” Daniel 7:13-14

While being born of a woman definitely confirms Jesus’ humanity, even more so does His death.

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death… that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.” Hebrews 2:9

Jesus, the Son of Man and the Son of God was born to die.

Bethlehem was but a point on the unending time span as was the cross and the grave. The story continues and continues….

David's Righteous Branch

Recall Ruth and Boaz of Bethlehem had a son named Obed and Obed had a son named Jesse. The story continues when Jesse was visited by Samuel the prophet. These events happened about half way between Abraham and the birth of Christ.

“Now the LORD said to Samuel…I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.” 1 Samuel 16:1

Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel. Samuel’s response:

“‘The LORD has not chosen these…Are all the young men here?’ Then he (Jesse) said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.’” 1 Samuel 16:10-11

“…And the LORD said, ‘Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!’ …and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward…” 1 Samuel 16:12-13

David was in fact anointed as the King of Israel and served as king for forty years beginning in 1010 BC. During his tenure as king God made a wonderful promise to David through the prophet Nathan.

“‘When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you…and I will establish his kingdom…and your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before (me). Your throne shall be established forever.’” 2 Samuel 7:12-16

Writers of the Psalms would later confirm the covenant that God made with David.

“The LORD has sworn in truth to David…‘I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body…Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore.’” Psalm 132:11-12

“‘I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David: Your seed I will establish forever…My covenant I will not break…Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David: His seed shall endure forever…’” Psalm 89:3-4, 34-36

Several centuries later the prophets reminded the Jews of the promise God made to King David concerning his Offspring as well as His ancestry.

“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might…” Isaiah 11:1

The birth and even the birthplace of the future King was announced prior to the event.

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder…Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.” Isaiah 9:6-7

“But you, Bethlehem…though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel…” Micah 5:2

The coming King was closely associated with governing the future nation of Israel.

“Thus says the Lord GOD; ‘Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land…David My servant (David’s descendant) shall be king over them…Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant…and My servant David shall be their prince forever.’” Ezekiel 37:21-25

Then during the life of Christ, the Jews were contending over the person and origin of Jesus. They remembered the Old Testament prophecies.

“Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?” John 7:42

Thus far the scriptures quoted relate primarily to governance both of Israel and all nations. But note the following statement made by ‘David’s Righteous Branch’ to the churches.

“‘I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David…’” Revelation 22:16

It appears that the concept of separation of church and state will be replaced with a single Head over both.

Just for interests’ sake, try counting the number of times the word ‘forever’ is found in this column.

The Lion of the Tribe of Judah

Abraham begot Isaac and Isaac begot Jacob whose name was changed to ‘Israel’ meaning Prince of God. Jacob had twelve sons which became the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. Jacob’s son Judah by Leah was appointed by God to be in the lineage of the Messiah. Knowing this, Satan did his best to destroy this royal blood line.

The choice of Judah to be a direct ancestor of Christ was announced in the book of Genesis when Jacob, just prior to his death, revealed to his sons “what shall befall you in the last days…”

“Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise…Judah is a lion’s whelp…The scepter shall not depart from Judah…until Shiloh comes…and to Him shall be the obedience of the people.” Genesis 49:8-10

Judah, who was referred to as a young lion, would be a direct ancestor of the Messiah and King.

The role of Judah has been confirmed in the final book of the Bible. The setting is in heaven and the reclamation of the earth from Satan is about to take place.

“So I (John) wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll…But one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah…has prevailed to open the scroll…’” Revelation 5:4-5

Judah’s son Perez who continued the royal lineage had a very non conventional beginning. Perez was one of twins born to Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law through a deceitful, incestuous relationship between Judah and Tamar. The actual birth of Perez was equally interesting.

“Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb. And so it was, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand; and the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand saying, ‘This one came out first.’ Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly… Therefore his name was called Perez. Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand…” Genesis 38:27-30

Nothing can thwart God’s plan that was drafted before the foundation of the world. Consider another attempt by Satan to prevent the coming Messiah, the Seed of the woman. Satan’s plan was to destroy the royal line of Judah.

During the period 841 – 835 BC, after the death of king Ahaziah, his mother Athaliah reigned in his stead in Judah.

“Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs of the house of Judah. But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered, and put him (Joash) and his nurse in a bedroom…so that she (Athaliah) did not kill him…and he was hidden…in the house of God for six years...” 2 Chronicles 22:10-12

Joash then became king of Judah at the age of seven years and reigned for forty years in Jerusalem and “did what was right in the sight of the LORD…”

Approximately 300 years prior to those events a young Moabite widow named Ruth journeyed to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law Naomi after a great famine. The Biblical account tells of the marriage of Ruth and Boaz of Bethlehem. The people of the village were very excited about this relationship.

“And all the people…said… ‘The LORD make the woman (Ruth) who is coming to your (Boaz) house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel…May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the LORD will give you from this young woman.’” Ruth 4:11-12

And sure enough, “The LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son.”
And they called his name Obed.

“Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon; Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.” Ruth 4:18-22 and Matthew 1:3b-6

"Behold the Man!"

The title is taken from the gospel of John and was spoken by Pilate when he returned Jesus to the Jews after interrogating Him and finding no fault in Him.

The deity of Jesus has been solidly affirmed in recent columns. Now Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus, is quickly approaching. The humanity of Christ is as significant as His deity and is addressed numerous times in the Bible.

“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus…” 1 Timothy 2:5

The humanity of Jesus is first seen in the third chapter of Genesis when God proclaimed that the ‘Seed of the woman’ would be at enmity with Satan and would ultimately destroy him.

Inasmuch as Jesus was a man, it stands to reason that His human ancestry can be traced. The lineage of Jesus is a significant aspect of understanding the Bible. Jesus’ ancestry can be linked to the covenant God made with Abraham.

“Now the LORD had said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation…I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’” Genesis 12:1-3

Interestingly Abraham was told to leave his home country of Ur which later became the center of the Babylonian kingdom and is presently the nation of Iraq.

The above covenant with Abraham is significant because it is the announcement of not only the beginning of the nation of Israel, but also the church, i.e. the sons of Abraham through faith.

“Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.” Galatians 3:7

Recall Abraham had two sons, one the product of Abraham and Sarah’s lack of faith named Ishmael and then Isaac the son of promise. The lineage of Jesus through Isaac is so significant that it is mentioned multiple times in the Bible.

“But God said to Abraham… ‘For in Isaac your seed shall be called.’” Genesis 21:12

“…nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called.’” Romans 9:7

Consider the latter words of the covenant God made with Abraham i.e.

“I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you…”
Genesis 12:3

Ishmael was 13 years old when Isaac was born. When Isaac was weaned Abraham made a great feast to honor the occasion. Ishmael was present also.

“So the child (Isaac) grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son (Ishmael) of Hagar (Sarah’s Egyptian maid)…scoffing.” Genesis 21:8-9

The Hebrew word for ‘scoffing’ has several synonyms including mocking, ridiculing, and cursing.

The enmity between Ishmael and Isaac was noted two millennia later in Paul’s writings.

“Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what does the Scripture say...the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” Galatians 4:28-30

The enmity between the brothers will continue until the end of the age, therefore, it is very important to fully understand that Jesus is of the lineage of Isaac.

The New Testament book of Hebrews likewise notes that the covenant with Abraham would be perpetuated through Isaac and Jacob.

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise…dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him…” Hebrews 11:8-9

The human lineage of Jesus is reaffirmed in the opening chapter of Matthew.

“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ…the Son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah…and Judah begot Perez…” Matthew 1:1-2