“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” — Genesis 3:15 (NIV84
This Advent devotional series is on Old Testament prophecies. It is amazing to consider that the Jesus we love and worship was promised from the very beginning. Over thousands of years of writings and several different authors, God predicted and promised Jesus to us. He did not want there to be any confusion about who He was when He came. Only by divine intervention could one person fulfill all the Messianic prophecies in Scripture. I hope the awe we feel on Christmas morning is deepened because we have a closer relationship with the heart of God who promised a Savior to us, and a deeper understanding of who Jesus is brought on by meditating on His Messianic prophecies over this Advent season.
Here in Genesis is where the promises began. People had fallen into sin. Adam and Eve were hiding from God and were living in a very different world from just moments before. The love and peace that ruled their hearts and minds had been replaced with selfishness and fear. God came to the garden to condemn Satan and to save His creation. He didn’t come to destroy Adam and Eve but to promise them that their brokenness would be healed by a redeemer He himself would send. God promised that the One to come would crush the Devil’s head.
Because of their sin, Adam and Eve experienced death and separation from God. The Messiah would come to destroy death and to reunite humanity with its Creator. Adam and Eve had no clue how that would happen. They just believed it would. Thousands of years and many more Messianic prophecies would reveal how God would work this salvation. We stand on the fulfilled side of these prophecies knowing that Jesus died on the cross and rose again so that we might have victory over death, a renewed relationship with God, and the promise of eternal life. But today, let’s appreciate a God of love and promise, and the countless believers who trusted in what God was going to do, even when they weren’t sure exactly what it was.
Peace!
Pastor Tom
www.firmlyrooted.org
