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COLLECTIONS
Commentaries,
Word Studies, Devotionals, Sermons, Illustrations
Old and New Testament. |
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INTRODUCTION:
MESSIANIC PROPHECIES |
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Some of the most
dramatic evidence that the Bible is a supernatural book and not a
collection of stories and myths, is in the realm of fulfilled Bible
prophecy. It has been estimated that there are some 2500 prophecies in
the Bible, almost 2000 of which have been fulfilled to the letter.
Although this synopsis focuses on Messianic prophecies, there are some
dramatic fulfilled non-Messianic prophecies, one example being the
Lord's prophecy in
Ezekiel 26
against the powerful city of Tyre
(Click
here)
It has been estimated that there
are
333 prophecies in the Old Testament that are fulfilled in the Messiah.
Clearly the fulfillment of all 333 in one Man would be literally
impossible based on chance alone. But what about the odds against even a
smaller number being fulfilled by chance. Click
for an illustration of the
statistical unlikelihood that even 8 of OT prophecies could have
fulfilled in Jesus merely by chance. The chart below has a sample of
some of these prophecies, arranged chronologically beginning with the
first five books, the Pentateuch, which Jesus Himself taught from in one
of His post-resurrection appearances, Luke recording that...
"beginning with Moses and with all
the prophets,
He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures."
(Luke 24:27)
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MESSIAH
(CHRIST )
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
The Messiah (Christ) is the Word
of God (Jn 1:1) and so it should come as no surprise that He is described
in every Old Testament book.
In Genesis He is the Seed of the woman (Ge 3:15).
In Exodus He is the Lamb of God for sinners slain (Ex 12:5, 6, 7, 11).
In Leviticus He is our High Priest (the whole book).
In Numbers He is the Star out of Jacob (Nu 24:17).
In Deuteronomy He is the Prophet like unto Moses (Dt 18:15).
In Joshua He is the Captain of the Lord’s armies (Josh 5:13, 14, 15).
In Judges He is the Angel of the LORD or the messenger of Jehovah
(Jdg 13:18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23).
In Ruth He is our Kinsman-Redeemer (Chapter 3).
In Samuel, Kings and Chronicles He is the King of Kings and Lord of
Lords (1Sa 8:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9).
In Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther He is the sovereign Lord over all the
kingdoms of the earth (entire books).
In Job He is our risen and returning Redeemer (Job 19:25).
In Psalms He is the Blessed Man (Psalm 1:1, 2, 3), the Son of Man (Psalm 2:2,
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12), the
Crucified One (Psalm 22), the Coming One (Psalm 24), the Reigning One
(Psalm 72).
In Proverbs He is our Wisdom (Pr 14).
In Ecclesiastes He is the forgotten Wise Man (Eccl 9:14, 15).
In Song of Solomon He is my Beloved (Song 2:16).
In Isaiah He is our suffering Substitute (Isa 53).
In Jeremiah He is the LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (Jer 23:6).
In Lamentations He is the Man of sorrows who weeps for His people
(Lam 1:12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18).
In Ezekiel He is the glory of God (Ezek 1:28).
In Daniel He is the Smiting Stone (Da 2:34) and the Companion in the
furnace of fire and the den of lions (Da 3:24, 25; 6:22).
In Hosea He is David’s Greater King (Hos 3:5).
In Joel He is the Hope of His people (Joel 3:16).
In Amos He is the Rescuer of Israel (Amos 3:12).
In Obadiah He is the Deliverer upon Mount Zion (Oba 1:17).
In Jonah He is the buried and risen Saviour (compare Mt 12:40).
In Micah He is the Everlasting God born in Bethlehem (Mic 5:2).
In Nahum He is our Stronghold in the day of wrath (Nah 1:7).
In Habakkuk He is the Anchor of our faith (Hab 2:4).
In Zephaniah He is in the midst for judgment and cleansing (Zeph 3:5,15).
In Haggai He is Lord of presence and power (Hag 1:13).
In Zechariah He is the smitten Shepherd (Zech 13:7).
In Malachi He is the Sun of Righteousness (Mal 4:2).
Related Resource: Offsite
Click
here for Hebrew Names of Messiah |
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MESSIANIC
PROPHECIES
FULFILLED IN JESUS CHRIST |
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SPECIFIC
PREDICTION |
OLD TESTAMENT
PROPHECY |
NEW TESTAMENT
FULFILLMENT |
COMMENTS |
MESSIAH WOULD
BE BORN OF A WOMAN
circa 4000 B.C |
"Beginning with Moses..."
Genesis 3:15
:And I will put enmity
between you and the
woman,
and between your seed and her Seed. He (note her seed called "He") shall bruise you on the head and
you shall bruise Him on the heel. (See
Spurgeon's sermon - Genesis 3:15 Christ the Conqueror of Satan)
(See comments on
Genesis 3:15) |
Galatians 4:4
But when the fulness of
time came God sent forth His Son,
born of a woman,
born under the Law. (Note)
(See
Spurgeon's sermon - Gal 4:3-6 The Great Birthday and Our Coming of Age)
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Most conservative writers
agree this is the Prot-evangelium ("First Gospel"), which
1) Prophesies hostility between "your seed" (Satan & unbelievers,
cf Jn 8:44) and her Seed (Christ & all "in Christ" by faith)
2) Promises the good news that the woman’s seed (Christ) would
crush the Devil’s head, a mortal wound spelling utter defeat on the Cross
where Jesus forever triumphed over Sin, Satan & Death. Satan bruising of
Messiah’s heel pictures His suffering. Note God's mercy to promise
the Messiah before pronouncing sentence! The rest of the Old Testament
proceeds to point ahead to the Seed, the Messiah.
W H Griffith Thomas writes that Genesis 3...
“is
the call of Divine justice, which cannot overlook sin. It is the call of
Divine sorrow, which grieves over the sinner. It is the call of Divine
love, which offers redemption for sin.” (Genesis, A Devotional Commentary) |
MESSIAH WOULD BE THE
SEED OF ABRAHAM &
THE BEARER OF THE GOSPEL
circa
2000 B.C |
Genesis 22:18
"And in your
seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have
obeyed My voice." ."
Genesis 12:3 And I will bless
those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you
all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
("the gospel" - compare Gal 3:8 in next column)
(See Spurgeon -
Abraham's Double Blessing) |
Matthew 1:1
"The book of the
genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the
son of Abraham."
Galatians 3:16 "Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his
seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but
rather to one, "And to your
seed," that is, Christ."
Galatians 3:8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God
would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to
Abraham, saying, "ALL THE NATIONS SHALL BE BLESSED IN YOU.
(Genesis 12:3b)" |
Morris notes that
"In his theological argument concerning the
Abrahamic covenant, Paul almost unconsciously makes an exceedingly strong
affirmation of the verbal inspiration of the Old Testament Scriptures,
basing his argument not just on one word, but one letter,
"seed" instead of "seeds." Thus the promised "Seed" was not the
nation Israel, but the one Person Who alone could fulfill the great
promises made to Abraham, namely, Christ. (Defender's Study Bible)
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MESSIAH WOULD BE BORN IN
BETHLEHEM
circa 700 B.C |
Micah 5:2
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 (Note)
(See Spurgeon's sermon -
The Incarnation and Birth of Christ)
(See comments on
Micah 5:2) |
Matthew 2:1-6
Now after Jesus was
born in Bethlehem
of
Judea
in the days of
Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in
Jerusalem, saying, 2 Where is He Who has been born King of the Jews? For
we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him. 3 And when
Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4
And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he
began to inquire of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 And they said
to him 'In Bethlehem of
Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet,
6 And you, Bethlehem, land of
Judah, are by no means least
among the leaders of Judah;
for out of you shall come forth a Ruler,
Who will shepherd My people Israel.'
(See
Spurgeon's sermon - Mt 2:1-4 Far-Off, Near) |
Even if Jesus could have
fulfilled some of the other prophecies by choosing to do so, He could
hardly have fulfilled His place of birth in an obscure village distinct
from the other village by the same first name (Bethlehem)!
Jesus sternly warned every skeptic of every age that
"unless
you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins."
(John
8:25)
Notice that in this verse
"He" has been added by the translators, so what Jesus really said was that
He was "I Am", the equivalent of
Jehovah
("I Am") in the Old Testament.
In contrast to the argument by many skeptics that Jesus never declared He
was God, this verse is one of many clear refutations. His hearers,
although unbelieving, nevertheless knew exactly what He was saying and
after He again declared "I Am"...
"they picked up stones to
throw at Him..." (John
8:59)
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MESSIAH WOULD
BE BORN
TO A VIRGIN
circa 700 B.C |
Isaiah 7:14 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
(God with us). (Note)
(See
Spurgeon's sermon - Isaiah 7:14 The Birth of Christ)
(See comments on
Isaiah 7:10-14) |
Matthew 1:18-23
Now the birth of Jesus
Christ was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph,
before they came together
she was found to be with
child
by the Holy
Spirit. 19 And Joseph her
husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired
to put her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an
angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of
David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife;
for that which has been conceived in
her is of the Holy Spirit.
21 And she will bear a Son and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He
Who will save His people from their sins." 22 Now all this took place
that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled,
saying, 23 "Behold, the
virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His
name Immanuel," which translated means, "God with us." |
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MESSIAH WOULD BE
PRECEDED BY A
FORERUNNER
circa 700 B.C |
Isaiah 40:3
A
voice is calling: Clear the
way for the LORD in the wilderness, make smooth in the desert a highway
for our God. (Note) |
Matthew 3:1-3
Now in those days John
the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea saying, 2 "Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 3 For this is the one referred to
by Isaiah the prophet, saying, "The
voice
of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord, make His
paths straight.!"
(See
Spurgeon's sermon - Mt 1:23 God With Us) |
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MESSIAH WOULD
MINISTER IN NAPHTALI
AND GALILEE
circa 700 B.C |
Isaiah 9:1-2
But there will be
no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the
land of
Zebulun
and the land of
Naphtali
with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the
sea, on the other side of Jordan,
Galilee
of the Gentiles.
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. (Note)
(See
Spurgeon's sermon - Immanuel The Light of Life) |
Matthew 4:13-16
Leaving Nazareth, He
came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of
Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through
Isaiah the prophet, saying, 15 The land of
Zebulun
and the land of Naphtali,
by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee
of the gentiles
16 The people who were setting in
darkness
saw a great light;
and to those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, upon them a
light dawned (See
Spurgeon's sermon - Mt 4:15, 16 Light for those Who Sit in Darkness) |
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FIRST ADVENT:
MESSIAH WOULD
ENTER INTO JERUSALEM ON A DONKEY
circa 500 B.C
SECOND ADVENT:
MESSIAH'S
circa 500 B.C |
Zechariah 9:9
"Behold
your King
is coming to you,
He is just and endowed with salvation,
humble and mounted on a donkey even on
a colt the foal of
a
donkey." (See
Spurgeon's sermon - The Lowly King)
Zechariah 9:10 And I will cut
off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the bow of
war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; and His
dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the
earth. (Note)
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FIRST ADVENT
Matthew 21:5
Say to the daughter of
Zion, 'Behold your King is
coming to you, gentle, and mounted on a donkey,
even
on a colt, the foal of a
beast of burden. 6 And the disciples went and did just as Jesus had
directed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the clot, and laid n them
their garments, on which He sat. 8 And most of the multitude spread their
garments in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees, and
spreading them in the road. 9 And the multitudes going before Him and
those who followed after were crying out, saying, "Hosanna ("Save us we
pray") to the Son of David; blessed is He who comes in the name of the
Lord; Hosanna in the highest!" 10 And when He had entered Jerusalem, all
the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?" 11 And the multitudes were
saying, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee."
(See
Spurgeon's sermon - Mt 21:5 Another Royal Procession)
(Mt
21:5 Triumphal Entry)
SECOND ADVENT:
(Not directly quoted so fulfillment is seen in several passages)
Revelation 11:15
(note)
And the seventh
angel sounded; and there arose loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom
of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He
will reign forever and ever."
Revelation 19:16
(note) And on
His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD
OF LORDS." |
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MESSIAH WOULD BE REJECTED BY
HIS OWN PEOPLE |
Psalms 69:8
I have become estranged
from my brothers
and an alien to my mother's sons. (See
Spurgeon's
Note)
Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was
despised, and we did not esteem Him. (See
Spurgeon's sermon - Isaiah 53:3 Man of Sorrows) |
John 1:11
He came to His own, and those
who were His own did not receive Him.
(See
Spurgeon's sermon - John 1:11 Ingratitude of Man)
John 7:5
For not even His
brothers
were believing in Him.
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MESSIAH'S BETRAYAL FOR 30 PIECES OF
SILVER FORETOLD
(THE PRICE OF A GORED SLAVE!)
circa 500 B.C |
Zechariah 11:12 (Zechariah carried
out the drama - see previous verses - by symbolically picturing Messiah
asking those He came to shepherd what they felt He was worth to them) And
I said to them, "If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if
not, never mind!" So they
weighed out
thirty shekels of silver
as my wages (In a mocking response, the
leaders offered 30 silver pieces which was the amount of compensation paid
for a slave gored by an ox - see Ex 21:32 below). 13 Then the LORD said to
me, "Throw it to the potter,
that magnificent price at which I
(THE MESSIAH)
was valued by them." So I
took the
thirty shekels of silver
and
threw them to the potter in the
house of the LORD. (Note)
Exodus 21:32
"If the ox gores a male
or female slave, the owner shall give his or her master
thirty shekels of silver,
and the ox shall be stoned. |
Matthew 26:14
Then one of the
twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests,15 and said, "What
are you willing to give me to deliver Him up to you?" And they
weighed out
to him
thirty pieces of silver.
16 And from then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Him.
Matthew 27:3
Then when Judas,
who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and
returned
the thirty pieces of silver
to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, "I have sinned by betraying
innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See to that
yourself!" 5 And
he threw the pieces of silver into
the sanctuary and departed;
and he went away and hanged himself. 6 And the chief priests took the
pieces of silver and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the temple
treasury, since it is the price of blood." 7 And they counseled together
and with the money bought the
Potter's Field
as a burial place for strangers.
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MESSIAH'S CRUCIFIXION FORETOLD
LOTS WOULD BE CAST FOR
MESSIAH'S GARMENT |
Psalms 22:14
I am poured out like
water, and all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it is
melted within me. 17 I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at
Me; 18 They divide my
garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
(Spurgeon's
Note) |
John 19:24
They said therefore
to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose
it shall be"; that the Scripture might be fulfilled, "THEY
DIVIDED MY OUTER GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS."
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MESSIAH WOULD CRY
OUT FROM THE CROSS |
Psalms 22:1
My God, my God, why hast
Thou forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.
(See
Spurgeon's Sermon Ps 22:1 - Cries from the Cross)
(Spurgeon's
Note) |
Matthew 27:46
And about the ninth
hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "ELI, ELI, LAMA
SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY
GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?"
(See
Spurgeon's Sermon Mt 27:46 Lama Sabachthani)
(Mt
27:46 Our Lord's Solemn Enquiry)
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MESSIAH'S LEGS WOULD NOT BE BROKEN |
Psalms 34:20
(Note)
He keeps all His bones;
not
one of them is broken. (cf. to
Ps 22:17)
(Spurgeon's
Note) |
John 19:33
But coming to Jesus,
when they saw that He was already dead,
they did not break His legs.
(See
Spurgeon's Sermon John 19:31-37 On the Cross After Death)
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THE TIME OF MESSIAH'S CRUCIFIXION
ACCURATELY FORETOLD
circa 530BC |
Daniel 9:24 (notes)
"Seventy weeks have
been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the
transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to
bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to
anoint the most holy place.
25 "So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to
restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven
weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat,
even in times of distress.
26 "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have
nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city
and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end
there will be war; desolations are determined.
27 "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in
the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering;
and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even
until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the
one who makes desolate." |
See this time period charted out and
the incredible fulfillment...
Daniel's Seventieth Week
(click)
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Related Resources
Daniel 9:24-27:
See commentary on
Daniel 9:24
Daniel 9:25
Daniel 9:26
Daniel 9:27
Intro Comments
Brief "Prophecy Primer"
why interpret Daniel 9:24-27 and other prophecy literally?
Why Daniel 9:24-27 Is One of Most
Significant Passages in Scripture
Daniel Commentaries grouped by
interpretative approach to Daniel 9:24-27
Anecdotal Stories & Da 9:24-27
Evidence Supporting Unit of Time in
Daniel 9:24-27 as Years
Daniel Commentaries
from a literal, usually futuristic perspective
Da 9:24-27:Notes on Da 9:24-25
Da 9:24-27: Pt 2: Notes on Da 9:26-27
Daniel's Seventieth Week Charted in
parallel with Daniel's other prophecies
Lectures by K Arthur on Da 9:24-27:
Lec14,
Lec15,
Lec16
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PROBABILITY OF THE OLD
TESTAMENT
PROPHECIES BEING FULFILLED IN ONE MAN:
Yes, one could possibly find one or two
prophecies fulfilled in other men, but not all 61 major prophecies! In
fact the chance of one man fulfilling even eight prophecies is 1 in 10 to
the 17th power (1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000) This has been illustrated by
imagining placing 100,000,000,000,000,000 silver dollars on the State of
Texas which would result in two feet "sea" of silver wherever you tread!
Now it where the odds get interesting. Mark one of the silver dollars
distinctively and throw it into the state. Stir it all up and blindfold a
man who has one pick to select the marked coin. That's the odds against
anyone fulfilling only 8 prophecies, much less what most authorities feel
is something like 330 plus Old Testament prophecies in some way fulfilled
in the Messiah. To phrase it another way, these incredible odds just
illustrated are the same chance that the OT prophets would have had of
writing eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man
providing they wrote them in their own wisdom. One can conclude that the
fulfillment of even just eight prophecies proves that God inspired the
writing of these prophecies to a definiteness which lacks only one chance
in 10 to the 17th power! The odds against all 330 plus OT prophecies being
fulfilled in one man cannot even be reasonably illustrated, as they are so
high!
Another objection to
the Messianic Prophecies pointing to Jesus is that Jesus deliberately
attempted to fulfill the Jewish prophecies. This objection seems plausible
until we realize that many of the details of the Messiah's coming were
totally beyond human control.
Note also that some of the
prophecies concerning the Messiah are of such a nature that only God could fulfill them, such as
Christ's virgin birth, His sinless and holy character, His resurrection,
and His ascension. Only God could cause Jesus to be born of a virgin and
to be raised from the dead. |
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MESSIAH'S
FORERUNNER
The idea of "prepare" means to
“clear away the obstacles”. The geographical feature of "wilderness"
symbolized the arid lifelessness of the unconverted soul. Mountains and
hills represent the proud and arrogant among men, valleys the people
of low degree. All unevenness and roughness of character must be made
smooth. All four Gospel writers quote this verse as applying to John the
Baptist (Matt. 3:1-4; Mark 1:1-4; Luke 1:76-78; John 1:23) In the NT John
the Baptist declared that repentance was necessary to prepare the way for
Christ. Highway in Isaiah (and in the Gospels) figuratively
referred to the hearts of people who must be spiritually prepared by
repentance for God’s glory to be revealed.
Constable writes
It was customary to
construct processional avenues for approaching dignitaries and for idols
carried in parade. The wilderness and desert represent the barren waste
where God’s people dwelt, complete with obstacles and impediments to
overcome, and through which He would come to them with refreshment, as He
did formerly at Mount Sinai. The idea is that He was certainly coming and
His people should prepare for His appearing. (Tom Constable's Expository
Notes on the Bible)
Freeman notes
that...
It’s been the custom
for centuries for Eastern monarchs who are traveling through their domain
to send men before them to prepare their way by removing stones (see
Isaiah 62:10), leveling rough places, filling up hollows, cleaning up
trash and litter, and generally making the road pleasant and easy for the
distinguished travelers and their guests. One of the stories told about
the semilegendary Queen Sammu-ramat (Semiramis of Greek legend, and mother
of king Adad-nirari III, who reigned from 810 to 783), is that on one of
her journeys she came to a rough, mountainous, region, and ordered the
hills leveled and the hollows filled, which was done at enormous cost. Her
object was not only to shorten her way, but to leave to posterity a
lasting monument to herself. Since her time there have been other
instances of similar character, but none involving so much labor and
expense. (Freeman, J. M., & Chadwick, H. J. Manners & Customs of the
Bible)
In a devotional from
Our Daily Bread on Isaiah 40:3 we read...
Many years ago Robert Louis Stevenson
was stricken with a fatal illness. Seeking quiet and rest in a favorable
climate, he chose a faraway island in the Pacific Ocean. He soon found
conditions to be less than ideal, however, for the native chiefs were
constantly at war with one another. Quarrels and disputes kept breaking
out among them, but gradually Stevenson was able to solve these conflicts.
By every kind act in his power he won their friendship, and soon he got
them to settle their differences, teaching them how to be happy and at
peace. These people had never had such a friend before. The great novelist
became their hero, and they longed to show him their gratitude. They had
no money to buy gifts, but one of the natives said, "We can make him a
wide, smooth pathway straight through the heart of the jungle that shall
lead to his land, for he has longed to have others come and visit him."
All agreed to start immediately on its construction. Today this
inscription appears over the entrance of that highway: "The Road of the
Loving Heart," and just below it a plaque telling that it was built to
please Stevenson because he had brought them joy and peace.
There is One greater than Stevenson who has also shown us His love, and
through His sacrifice has brought eternal peace to our troubled hearts. In
gratitude to Him, let us labor to prepare "the way of the Lord" for
others, that through our consecrated lives and our words of testimony they
may find easy access to our divine Friend. If we show them His grace, many
will want to walk "The Road of the Loving Heart." (Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved)
With the zeal of John the Baptist
Let us still "prepare the way"
For the weary feet of sinners
Who would seek the Lord today.— I. H.
When God's work comes to a standstill,
you can be sure the obstacles in the way can be removed by human hands!
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MESSIAH IN THE LAND OF
NAPHTALI
The northern territory of Israel,
called the land of Naphtali, which had been brought into contempt by the
invaders, will be made glorious. (Galilee of the Gentiles was the Savior’s
boyhood home and the scene of part of His public ministry.) Christ’s First
Advent brought light to Galilee. His Second Coming will bring joy to the
nation and put an end to slavery and war. The coming of the Messiah is
synonymous with the coming of light to remove the darkness of captivity.
Constable writes
that in Isaiah's time...
In contrast to
the gloom of the false counselors, the residents of Galilee in Israel, who
would experience the Lord’s chastening, would enjoy glory. God would bring
light when His people had lost all hope. Galilee was the first region in
Israel to feel the lash of the Assyrian invaders. It was a melting pot and
home to many Gentiles as well as Jews because the international highway
between Mesopotamia and Egypt passed through it. Glory came to this region
later when Jesus lived and ministered there (cf. Matt. 4:13–16). But it
will enjoy even greater glory during Messiah’s earthly reign, as will all
of the Promised Land. (Tom Constable's Expository Notes) |
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