December 16

December 16

Ornament with open Bible

Let’s begin with our reading for today, Isaiah 9:2-7:

2 The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.

3 You shall multiply the nation,
You shall increase their gladness;
They will be glad in Your presence
As with the gladness of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

4 For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.

5 For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult,
And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.

6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

God sent prophets to His people to point them to Himself. They told the Jews to repent, and they spoke of the Christ to come.  Isaiah was a prophet who wrote at a time when it might have seemed that all hope was lost.  The northern ten tribes of Israel had been taken captive, and now Judah was under attack.  

Through all of this, Isaiah preached that hope did not come from military might, but rather from the Lord God.  He pointed the people to a coming King, one who would rule forevermore.  

The prophets are not part of Jesus’ family tree, but through the scripture they point us to Christ’s coming, just like in this passage from Isaiah, which was written hundreds of years before the birth of Christ.  

Not only do the prophets point us to the coming of Christ, but the Bible teaches that Jesus is our prophet.  

The questions and answers we have done address this very thing.  

86. What does Christ do for his people?

He does the work of a prophet, a priest, and a king

(Hebrews 1:1-3; Acts 3:20-23; Hebrews 5:5-6;4:14; Revelation 5:5; 17:14)

87. How is Christ our Prophet?

He teaches us the will of God

(Deuteronomy 18:15, 18; John 1:18; 4:25; 14:23-24)

Christ is our Prophet because He teaches us the will of God.  We can search the scriptures to see His example and His teaching.  The more we spend time in God’s word, the more we will get to know him.  Hebrews 4:2 tells us, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

As we hang the ornament with the open bible, let’s remember to seek the Lord and His will by hiding God’s word in our hearts.