⁶ 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.
⁷ Of the greatness 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.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.
(Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV, emphasis mine)

Isaiah’s prophecy of Messiah pointed both backward and forward in time.

As Isaiah reflected on God’s covenant, he remembered God’s promise all the way back to Adam and Eve and the fall of humanity:

[God speaking to the serpent]
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 NIV, emphasis mine)

Messiah – God with us.

In the flesh, not just in spirit.

Inconceivable, but the greatest of all hopes, spanning generations and millennia until God’s promise was realized in the person of Christ.

Isaiah captured God’s words and the reminder of His promise but went to his grave without seeing it fulfilled.

Luke reminds us of God’s fulfillment of this promised Messiah who came as a child:

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
(Luke 2:11 NIV)

And whom did God reveal Himself to first?

Not to the mighty, but to the meek – not to Herod, but to herdsmen.

A promise kept, and yet to come.

May your heart and soul be filled and overflowing with thanksgiving for God’s promise kept through Messiah, none other than Jesus of Nazareth.

May your worship be sweet today as you reflect on the Christ of Christ-mas.

Blessings,
~kevin