{Advent Adventure} God's Promise of a Saviour

This year in my advent bible reading plan (which I've named Advent Adventure) I am focusing partly on the Old Testament, and how Jesus’ birth was the fulfilling of many prophecies and promises God had made to His people the Jews. I am going to post up some of my daily readings to the blog, and I hope you find them helpful for you as you think about Jesus, specifically in His birth, and what it means for Christians.

Since when Satan tricked Adam and Eve and man fell, sin entered the world, but God promised his people a Saviour, which would bruise Satan's head, defeating him.

       So the Lord God said to the serpent:

“Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And you shall eat dust
All the days of your life.
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,

And you shall bruise His heel.” Genesis 3:14-15

He made a promise to a man named Abraham that one of his descendants would bless the whole world. That descendant was Jesus.

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 you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
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

God told this promise to Moses, too, as he led God's people to the land he had had promised to Abraham.

And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name Lord I was not known to them. I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the Lord.’” Exodus 6:2-8

One last promise I will mention here out of the many God made about sending His Son the earth is the one he gave to David.

“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you." 2 Samuel 7:12-15

Look out for more Advent Adventure readings coming next week!