My purpose today, on this final Sunday before Christmas, is to simply present and marvel over a number of prophecies from the Old Testament that point to Christ. Before doing this, however, I thought it would be good just to talk a little about interpreting Scripture – in particular, about interpreting prophetic Scripture.
One thing I have thought about is the issue of word ambiguity. In all languages, including English, words often have multiple meanings, and sometimes even the immediate context is not enough to isolate the intended meaning. For example, if somebody says, “Have you seen John? He’s blue,” this might mean that John is sad, or it might mean that John stayed out in the cold too long, or it might mean that John almost drowned, or it might even mean that John is a great fan of Duke basketball.
Sometimes people are intentionally ambiguous about words. This is the basis of most puns. It is funny, or at least attention getting, when one does this. Reading through the Bible, it quickly becomes clear that God loves to do this. The Bible is filled with words that have double meanings, words that sound like other words, and so on. Just one of countless examples:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood/overcome it. – John 1:1-5
The Greek word for understood/overcome is katalambano. The word can mean to understand, or comprehend, and it can also mean to overcome, or seize. So which is it? I believe that the author, John, inspired and led by the Holy Spirit, chose this word deliberately because both meanings are equally true. As we read the gospels, we see that multiple times the Jewish leaders tried to seize Jesus, and even in the end, they tried to overcome Him with death by crucifixion, yet they were not able to seize or overcome Him. He escaped their attempts to seize Him until the proper time, and even at the proper time, death could not hold Him. Jesus rose from the grave, and so even with death they were completely unable to overcome Him.
But equally valid is the interpretation of understanding. Throughout His ministry on earth, people simply didn’t understand what Jesus was saying to them. We have seen this again and again in Luke’s gospel, which we finished just last week, but it is even more clearly brought out in the gospel of John. In the gospels we also see that Jesus Himself would be deliberately ambiguous so as to provoke questions and thought about what He was teaching. For example:
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again/born from above." "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. – John 3:1-5
So which is it? Does the Greek word anothen mean again or from above? Nicodemus only grasped the “again” meaning, and even that one meaning left him completely puzzled. But Jesus in His answer makes it clear that both meanings were meant. When a person turns to Christ for salvation, he is born again, and he is born from above, of the Spirit.
Now God is not only the ultimate author of the Bible; He is also the author of history, and we can see in history that God has done the same kind of word play.
For example, at Jesus’ crucifixion there was a sign placed above Him saying, “This is the King of the Jews.” Now talk about multiple meanings! On one level, Pilate had this sign made kind of as a “dig” to the Jews, because he didn’t really want to have Jesus crucified, and he had offered to release Him, but the Jews demanded that Jesus be crucified. To make the Jews happy, the sign should have said something like “This is a man who claims to be King of the Jews,” but Pilate thought he had made a good joke. But the reality of course was that this really was the King of the Jews – not only that, but the King of kings and Lord of lords.
And then as I turn to think about prophecy about Christ, I am struck by the event recorded in Luke 23, where the two disciples, dejected after Jesus’ death, are on the road to Emmaus, talking about everything that has happened, and Jesus Himself came up and walked and talked with them, although, Scripture says, they were prevented from recognizing who He was. After the two disciples sadly tell Jesus what has happened, we have the following:
He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself. – Luke 23:13-27
Why did the disciples not “get” it? It is because the Old Testament prophecies about Christ are much like what I have been talking about – plays on words – double meanings – double contexts. This stuff is hidden – not completely hidden, but hidden just enough so that those who approach the Bible without humility, without the heart of a seeker, see nothing, whereas those who humbly seek find what they are looking for.
With all that being said, here are a few of my favorite passages from the Old Testament that point to the life and work of Christ. One is right after the fall of Adam and Eve, where God says the following to the serpent:
So the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring/seed and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel." – Gen. 3:14-15
The offspring or seed here is singular – it is referring to a single person. This person will be struck on “the heel” by the seed of the serpent; whereas the person will crush the head of the serpent. Generally speaking, a head crushing is much more serious than heel striking. This is a prophecy about Jesus – Jesus did die, but He did not stay dead – His “injury” was not permanent. But Satan’s days are numbered, and his final end will be eternal.
Another one of my favorite passages is also in Genesis, in Chapter 22. Verse one begins:
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." – Gen. 22:1-2
Abraham as you know obeyed, taking servants and wood and Isaac to the location God led him to. At the location, Abraham left the servants behind and took Isaac with the needed supplies.
As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together. – Gen. 22:6b-8
Here is an instance of double meaning. I don’t know what Abraham was thinking when he said God would provide the lamb. Perhaps he said this with eyes of faith, knowing that God would not let him do this, but I think it was more likely that he was simply hiding the horrible truth of the situation from Isaac. Abraham had received an incredible promise from God that he would have countless descendents, and yet Isaac was his only son, so perhaps Abraham did see with eyes of faith that God would have to do something, perhaps raise his son from the dead. But apart from what Abraham was thinking, can you even begin to imagine what Abraham was feeling? “How can I allow my only son, whom I love more than anything, to die?” “How can I be the one to kill him?” “How?”
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided." – Gen. 22:9-14
God would indeed provide a lamb – there is double meaning here – not only did He provide a ram for the immediate situation, but infinitely more importantly He would provide His own Son as a sacrifice for all sin. Abraham’s anguish was a shadow of things to come between God the Father and Christ the only Son. Abraham was blessed with an opportunity to share a taste of the suffering of God the Father, just as how the New Testament tells us that it is a blessing to take up our cross and follow Christ, a blessing to be persecuted and to have a taste of, to have a kind of fellowship through, the sufferings of Christ. We look at the birth of Christ with joy, and rightly so, but for God the Father, I am 100% certain that He looked ahead to what would come about 30 years later.
Abraham, inspired by God, called the place “The Lord Will Provide.” Why not “The Lord Provided?” Why all the future tense? Again, it is because it is prophecy. And remember the place: Mount Moriah.
Now not only is Christ a sacrifice; He is a gift! God has given the very thing most precious to Him to us. And yet He knew that we would not appreciate the gift. He knew that we would even abuse and do our utmost to destroy the gift! And yet, because of His unfathomable love for us, He still chose to give that gift.
Hopefully this thought gives new depth to the passage from which I get today’s title. From Isaiah 9:6, to us a Son is given. He is given completely, unreservedly, to us … monsters! It is hard to fathom.
I love the entire passage that surrounds this phrase; let’s take a look at it.
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future He will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan- The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before You as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. – Isaiah 9:1-3
The context, as in much of Isaiah, is God’s declaration of punishment for the unrepentant Jews. This punishment will include the overtaking of their lands by foreign powers such as Assyria, destroying and pillaging as they go. Yet, in the future, something wonderful will come from Galilee. It is Jesus, of course. And many of the words in this passage can be understood at multiple levels. For example, the “light” – what is it? At one level it seems to be hope, hope of life, and an end to the days of distress and gloom. But at another level, Jesus says that He is the Light of the world.
For as in the day of Midian's defeat, You have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. – Isaiah 9:4-5
On one level, the yoke that is shattered is the bondage of their oppressors, but at another level, it is so much more – it is breaking the bondage of sin, the bondage that we all have to Satan, for by sinning, we cut ourselves off from God and leave ourselves in his power. Jesus has shattered this yoke, this bondage to sin. And the day is coming when we will no longer fight Satan, or fight our own flesh, or fight the world – they day will come when we will no longer fight any of these things. Jesus will put an end to all oppression, even the oppression we inflict on ourselves. He will make us whole. He will make us into creatures that no longer have any desire to sin!
For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. – Isaiah 9:6-7a
Here the messianic meaning of this passage seems to break out and overwhelm all other possible meanings. No other son could be called Mighty God, or Everlasting Father. No one else could have an eternal reign of peace. Jesus is the only one who can fulfill the promises given to David of an eternal kingdom.
Another passage that is dear to me is II Samuel 7. David has finally defeated his enemies all around him, and he tells the prophet Nathan that it doesn’t seem right that he, David, should live in a fine house of cedar, when God’s Spirit rests in a simple tent. God tells Nathan to relay the following message:
The Lord declares to you that the Lord Himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish His kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever. I will be His father, and He will be My Son. – II Samuel 7:11b-14a
This prophecy has multiple meanings. In one sense it is talking about Solomon, who did in fact build the Temple, the physical house for the Spirit of God. But it’s not exactly that – did Solomon’s kingdom last forever? No. Did the house Solomon built last forever? No. Once again, this wondrous prophecy looks even more forward, to Jesus. Before I get into that, look at this:
Then Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. – II Chron. 3:1a
Did you catch the location? Mount Moriah! And it was here in Jerusalem that God did provide a sacrifice – the Lord Jesus. And it was here also that God finally provided an eternal house for His name. It wasn’t the first Temple of Solomon, or the rebuilt temple. The rebuilt temple was destroyed in 70 AD. What did Jesus say?
Then the Jews demanded of Him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" But the temple He had spoken of was His body. After He was raised from the dead, His disciples recalled what He had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. – John 2:18-22
Once again, the double meaning, out of Jesus’ own mouth. And combined with II Samuel 7, we see even more meaning. When God said that His Son would establish a house for His name, not only did Jesus build the house; He was the house! And yet, in even more meaning, we have this:
Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? – I Cor. 3:16
So on yet another level, we are God’s house, and Jesus is building this house out of us. And not just us individually, but us together:
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. – Eph. 2:19-21
So this Son of God, foretold throughout Scripture through hints and double meanings and wordplays and plain prophecy – this is the very Child born in a manger, born not just to teach, or to heal, or to perform miracles, or even just to die, but He was born to establish an everlasting kingdom, to redeem His people, to build at last His temple. And to think that even I could be a small stone built on Him!
Why do I share all this? Do I have a practical application? I guess it depends on what you mean by “practical.” My desire is that you would, this Christmas season, simply find time to read some of these prophecies and foreshadows of Christ and simply wonder, to marvel. Isn’t that what it says about Mary, the mother of Jesus?
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. – Luke 2:19
These things are treasure! Greater treasure than all the gold in the world! Find time to marvel! Be awestruck. Ask God to open your eyes, the Holy Spirit to illuminate His Word. It is all too wonderful for words because He is too wonderful for words.
One thing I have thought about is the issue of word ambiguity. In all languages, including English, words often have multiple meanings, and sometimes even the immediate context is not enough to isolate the intended meaning. For example, if somebody says, “Have you seen John? He’s blue,” this might mean that John is sad, or it might mean that John stayed out in the cold too long, or it might mean that John almost drowned, or it might even mean that John is a great fan of Duke basketball.
Sometimes people are intentionally ambiguous about words. This is the basis of most puns. It is funny, or at least attention getting, when one does this. Reading through the Bible, it quickly becomes clear that God loves to do this. The Bible is filled with words that have double meanings, words that sound like other words, and so on. Just one of countless examples:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood/overcome it. – John 1:1-5
The Greek word for understood/overcome is katalambano. The word can mean to understand, or comprehend, and it can also mean to overcome, or seize. So which is it? I believe that the author, John, inspired and led by the Holy Spirit, chose this word deliberately because both meanings are equally true. As we read the gospels, we see that multiple times the Jewish leaders tried to seize Jesus, and even in the end, they tried to overcome Him with death by crucifixion, yet they were not able to seize or overcome Him. He escaped their attempts to seize Him until the proper time, and even at the proper time, death could not hold Him. Jesus rose from the grave, and so even with death they were completely unable to overcome Him.
But equally valid is the interpretation of understanding. Throughout His ministry on earth, people simply didn’t understand what Jesus was saying to them. We have seen this again and again in Luke’s gospel, which we finished just last week, but it is even more clearly brought out in the gospel of John. In the gospels we also see that Jesus Himself would be deliberately ambiguous so as to provoke questions and thought about what He was teaching. For example:
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again/born from above." "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. – John 3:1-5
So which is it? Does the Greek word anothen mean again or from above? Nicodemus only grasped the “again” meaning, and even that one meaning left him completely puzzled. But Jesus in His answer makes it clear that both meanings were meant. When a person turns to Christ for salvation, he is born again, and he is born from above, of the Spirit.
Now God is not only the ultimate author of the Bible; He is also the author of history, and we can see in history that God has done the same kind of word play.
For example, at Jesus’ crucifixion there was a sign placed above Him saying, “This is the King of the Jews.” Now talk about multiple meanings! On one level, Pilate had this sign made kind of as a “dig” to the Jews, because he didn’t really want to have Jesus crucified, and he had offered to release Him, but the Jews demanded that Jesus be crucified. To make the Jews happy, the sign should have said something like “This is a man who claims to be King of the Jews,” but Pilate thought he had made a good joke. But the reality of course was that this really was the King of the Jews – not only that, but the King of kings and Lord of lords.
And then as I turn to think about prophecy about Christ, I am struck by the event recorded in Luke 23, where the two disciples, dejected after Jesus’ death, are on the road to Emmaus, talking about everything that has happened, and Jesus Himself came up and walked and talked with them, although, Scripture says, they were prevented from recognizing who He was. After the two disciples sadly tell Jesus what has happened, we have the following:
He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself. – Luke 23:13-27
Why did the disciples not “get” it? It is because the Old Testament prophecies about Christ are much like what I have been talking about – plays on words – double meanings – double contexts. This stuff is hidden – not completely hidden, but hidden just enough so that those who approach the Bible without humility, without the heart of a seeker, see nothing, whereas those who humbly seek find what they are looking for.
With all that being said, here are a few of my favorite passages from the Old Testament that point to the life and work of Christ. One is right after the fall of Adam and Eve, where God says the following to the serpent:
So the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring/seed and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel." – Gen. 3:14-15
The offspring or seed here is singular – it is referring to a single person. This person will be struck on “the heel” by the seed of the serpent; whereas the person will crush the head of the serpent. Generally speaking, a head crushing is much more serious than heel striking. This is a prophecy about Jesus – Jesus did die, but He did not stay dead – His “injury” was not permanent. But Satan’s days are numbered, and his final end will be eternal.
Another one of my favorite passages is also in Genesis, in Chapter 22. Verse one begins:
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." – Gen. 22:1-2
Abraham as you know obeyed, taking servants and wood and Isaac to the location God led him to. At the location, Abraham left the servants behind and took Isaac with the needed supplies.
As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together. – Gen. 22:6b-8
Here is an instance of double meaning. I don’t know what Abraham was thinking when he said God would provide the lamb. Perhaps he said this with eyes of faith, knowing that God would not let him do this, but I think it was more likely that he was simply hiding the horrible truth of the situation from Isaac. Abraham had received an incredible promise from God that he would have countless descendents, and yet Isaac was his only son, so perhaps Abraham did see with eyes of faith that God would have to do something, perhaps raise his son from the dead. But apart from what Abraham was thinking, can you even begin to imagine what Abraham was feeling? “How can I allow my only son, whom I love more than anything, to die?” “How can I be the one to kill him?” “How?”
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided." – Gen. 22:9-14
God would indeed provide a lamb – there is double meaning here – not only did He provide a ram for the immediate situation, but infinitely more importantly He would provide His own Son as a sacrifice for all sin. Abraham’s anguish was a shadow of things to come between God the Father and Christ the only Son. Abraham was blessed with an opportunity to share a taste of the suffering of God the Father, just as how the New Testament tells us that it is a blessing to take up our cross and follow Christ, a blessing to be persecuted and to have a taste of, to have a kind of fellowship through, the sufferings of Christ. We look at the birth of Christ with joy, and rightly so, but for God the Father, I am 100% certain that He looked ahead to what would come about 30 years later.
Abraham, inspired by God, called the place “The Lord Will Provide.” Why not “The Lord Provided?” Why all the future tense? Again, it is because it is prophecy. And remember the place: Mount Moriah.
Now not only is Christ a sacrifice; He is a gift! God has given the very thing most precious to Him to us. And yet He knew that we would not appreciate the gift. He knew that we would even abuse and do our utmost to destroy the gift! And yet, because of His unfathomable love for us, He still chose to give that gift.
Hopefully this thought gives new depth to the passage from which I get today’s title. From Isaiah 9:6, to us a Son is given. He is given completely, unreservedly, to us … monsters! It is hard to fathom.
I love the entire passage that surrounds this phrase; let’s take a look at it.
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future He will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan- The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before You as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. – Isaiah 9:1-3
The context, as in much of Isaiah, is God’s declaration of punishment for the unrepentant Jews. This punishment will include the overtaking of their lands by foreign powers such as Assyria, destroying and pillaging as they go. Yet, in the future, something wonderful will come from Galilee. It is Jesus, of course. And many of the words in this passage can be understood at multiple levels. For example, the “light” – what is it? At one level it seems to be hope, hope of life, and an end to the days of distress and gloom. But at another level, Jesus says that He is the Light of the world.
For as in the day of Midian's defeat, You have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. – Isaiah 9:4-5
On one level, the yoke that is shattered is the bondage of their oppressors, but at another level, it is so much more – it is breaking the bondage of sin, the bondage that we all have to Satan, for by sinning, we cut ourselves off from God and leave ourselves in his power. Jesus has shattered this yoke, this bondage to sin. And the day is coming when we will no longer fight Satan, or fight our own flesh, or fight the world – they day will come when we will no longer fight any of these things. Jesus will put an end to all oppression, even the oppression we inflict on ourselves. He will make us whole. He will make us into creatures that no longer have any desire to sin!
For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. – Isaiah 9:6-7a
Here the messianic meaning of this passage seems to break out and overwhelm all other possible meanings. No other son could be called Mighty God, or Everlasting Father. No one else could have an eternal reign of peace. Jesus is the only one who can fulfill the promises given to David of an eternal kingdom.
Another passage that is dear to me is II Samuel 7. David has finally defeated his enemies all around him, and he tells the prophet Nathan that it doesn’t seem right that he, David, should live in a fine house of cedar, when God’s Spirit rests in a simple tent. God tells Nathan to relay the following message:
The Lord declares to you that the Lord Himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish His kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever. I will be His father, and He will be My Son. – II Samuel 7:11b-14a
This prophecy has multiple meanings. In one sense it is talking about Solomon, who did in fact build the Temple, the physical house for the Spirit of God. But it’s not exactly that – did Solomon’s kingdom last forever? No. Did the house Solomon built last forever? No. Once again, this wondrous prophecy looks even more forward, to Jesus. Before I get into that, look at this:
Then Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. – II Chron. 3:1a
Did you catch the location? Mount Moriah! And it was here in Jerusalem that God did provide a sacrifice – the Lord Jesus. And it was here also that God finally provided an eternal house for His name. It wasn’t the first Temple of Solomon, or the rebuilt temple. The rebuilt temple was destroyed in 70 AD. What did Jesus say?
Then the Jews demanded of Him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" But the temple He had spoken of was His body. After He was raised from the dead, His disciples recalled what He had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. – John 2:18-22
Once again, the double meaning, out of Jesus’ own mouth. And combined with II Samuel 7, we see even more meaning. When God said that His Son would establish a house for His name, not only did Jesus build the house; He was the house! And yet, in even more meaning, we have this:
Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? – I Cor. 3:16
So on yet another level, we are God’s house, and Jesus is building this house out of us. And not just us individually, but us together:
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. – Eph. 2:19-21
So this Son of God, foretold throughout Scripture through hints and double meanings and wordplays and plain prophecy – this is the very Child born in a manger, born not just to teach, or to heal, or to perform miracles, or even just to die, but He was born to establish an everlasting kingdom, to redeem His people, to build at last His temple. And to think that even I could be a small stone built on Him!
Why do I share all this? Do I have a practical application? I guess it depends on what you mean by “practical.” My desire is that you would, this Christmas season, simply find time to read some of these prophecies and foreshadows of Christ and simply wonder, to marvel. Isn’t that what it says about Mary, the mother of Jesus?
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. – Luke 2:19
These things are treasure! Greater treasure than all the gold in the world! Find time to marvel! Be awestruck. Ask God to open your eyes, the Holy Spirit to illuminate His Word. It is all too wonderful for words because He is too wonderful for words.
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