Snapshots of the Son

Old Testament Clues to the Messiah's Identity by Sandy Feit (Excerpt from InTouch Magazine December 2011 issue of the same title) 

God was aware the Jewish nation would need to know when to expect His Son and how to recognize Him. And so He created detailed "pictures" of the Anointed One - hundreds of prophetic verses describing who, when , and where - and sprinkled them throughout the Old Testament.

By studying God's "snapshots", His people could live in hopeful expectation until the Messiah arrived. Two who did were Simeon and Anna; they knew whom to look for, and their unrelenting pursuit was richly rewarded - 

^'And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, that they might do concerning him after the custom of the law, then he received him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, 'Now lettest thou thy servant depart, Lord, According to thy word, in peace; For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples; A light for revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of thy people Israel.' And his father and his mother were marveling at the things which were spoken concerning him; and Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel; and for a sign which is spoken against; yea and a sword shall pierce through thine own soul; that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed. And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity, and she had been a widow even unto fourscore and four years), who departed not from the temple, worshipping with fastings and supplications night and day. And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks unto God, and spake of him to all them that were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. " (Luke 2: 28-35) 

In this most appropriate season of Advent - a time of anticipation centered around the infant King -let's look at the six of the many biblical 'snapshots' God included to acquaint us with His Son.  Old Testament (or the Torah of the Jews) reveals that the Messiah was to be...

Fully Divine, Fully Human and Born of A Virgin 

Judah's King Ahaz was shaken by the news that Syria and Israel had formed an alliance to depose him. Their scheme was a threat not just to the king personally but to the entire royal Davidic line. Trusting his own strategy instead of the Lord's, Ahaz planned to join forces with Assyria against the conspiring nations. But God sent Isaiah with a warning against the tactic, plus a sign explaining why there was no need for fear: The reassurance was that the kingly line would not be cut off: despite any military threat, the Messiah - characterized as Immanuel, or " God is with us" - would still come through Ahaz's lineage in the appointed way, place and time.

'Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name 'Immanuel'. (Isaiah 7:14)

First, of the three possible Hebrew words Isaiah could have chosen, 'almah' is the only one used exclusively to denote "virgin" in Scripture.

Second, Isaiah said this would be a 'sign'. Meaning, something unusual would confirm the message. A young woman giving birth is hardly remarkable enough to warrant such a description. Along the same lines, the New International Version accurately translates ha alma as the virgin, referring back to a specific virginal woman, in this case the mother of the God - Man mentioned earlier. Isaiah reinforces this idea in 9:6-7 - the child who is born nd the son who is given are one and the same, and He's described in terms applicable only to deity.

'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. 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.' (Isaiah 9: 6-7)

Born in Bethlehem Around The First Century

'But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity. Therefore He will give them up until the time when she is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren will return to the sons of Israel' (Micah 5: 2-3)

Jewish - and a King 

'The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet. Until Shiloh comes and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. (Genesis 49:10)

In addition to identifying the Anointed One as a king, this verse offers a clue about timing. The nation's genealogical records were kept in the temple, so for the Messiah's tribal affiliation to be ascertained, He would have had to be on the scene before 70 A.D., when the Romans destroyed that structure. 

Prophet, Priest and Son of God

According to Deuteronomy 18:18, the coming Messiah would be a prophet like Moses. 

'I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put M words in his mouth and he shall speak to them all that I command him. (Deutoronomy 18:18)

Other passages add to the growing picture. though the Messianic Person would be 'ordinary looking, He would be ' a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek' and God's own Son. 

'I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.'  (Psalm 2:7)

(A Psalm of David) The Lord says to my Lord... (*? who is this Lord?) You are going to be a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110: 4) 

'... He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. (Isaiah 53:2)

The Substitutionary Sacrifice for Our Sin  

Isaiah 53 describes a 'Suffering Servant'. While some modern interpretations insist that the servant is the nation of Israel, grammar doesn't leave room fur such a reading - by saying, 'He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgressions of my people, to whom the stroke was due.' Isaiah clearly distinguished between the Person who was killed and the people for whom He died. 

⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

 ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

 ⁷ He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.

 ⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who among them considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due?

 ⁹ And they made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. (Isaiah 53: 5-9)

 

This chapter describes the servant as one who underwent a trial and execution for sins not His own; in fact, His death removed dour iniquity and brought justification, healing our relationship with God. Let this and other glimpses be reminders that though we can't behold Him right now, our Savior really does exist, and He'll be back. Best of all, everyone who trusts in Jesus not only belongs to Him but will one day be with Him. Get the picture?

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Excerpt from InTouch Magazine December 2011 issue

*For only in Jesus, God gave us hope of redemption from the bondage of sin. He became our bridge to the Father for our longstanding rebellion. Generations upon generations of disobedience and yet, God, though suffering from the hard heartedness of his children never gave up on us. That despite our wickedness, God loved us so much that He was willing to send His own Son to be slaughtered for the Truth that He spoke - That He is the only way to the Father. And that with His (Jesus') birth not only are the Jews (- the chosen people of God being sons of Abraham), but also sons of Pagans (Gentiles, or any other race not Jew in origin) who accepts Him as Lord and Savior, are welcome at His Father's house. 

Being the 'Gentile' race of today, we are now 'adopted' children of God once we believe in His Son. (*Admin's own reflections).