Getting to Know Your Bible, Pt. 7
| By Sean Cavender |
In our final study of getting to know the Bible, it is fundamentally important that we perceive the Bible from its beginning to end. The Bible is revealing the message of redemption through Jesus Christ a little at a time. If we can understand this then we can appreciate the Bible in a new way that we’ve ignored before.
After Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden, God cursed Satan, prophesying of his ultimate demise and destruction (Genesis 3:15). This would be accomplished through the seed of the woman—a child that would be born. A few chapters later in the book of Genesis we are introduced to a man named Abraham. God promised that from Abraham He would make a great nation and that through Abraham’s seed all nations of the earth might be blessed (Genesis 12:2; 15:4). Abraham would have a descendants that would eventually multiply, creating a great nation, and from that nation the Messiah would come forth.
Abraham and his wife Sarah had a son named Isaac. Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau. Jacob was the chosen one and he had 12 sons. From these 12 sons come the nation of Israel and their 12 tribes. The Israelites were eventually enslaved in Egypt, but God sent Moses as a deliverer, prophet, and lawgiver. Moses spoke of a prophet who would come and be greater than he (Deuteronomy 18:15). This foreshadows the coming Christ who we must listen to.
Later in Israel’s history, God raised up a king after his own heart—David. God made a promise to David that He would establish his throne and his kingdom forever by giving him a son who would reign eternally (2 Samuel 7:16). The prophets spoke of this covenant God made with David as something that would be fulfilled through a virgin giving birth to Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14) and the Messiah being born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).
All of these promises were fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. He was born in Bethlehem. He is Immanuel—God being made flesh. He was of the lineage of David and a son of Abraham (Matthew 1:1). He came to defeat Satan and crush him (Matthew 12:29; 1 John 3:8). He is the Christ, the Son of God, who we must hear and obey (Matthew 16:16; 17:5). He fulfilled the prophecy of Moses (Acts 3:22).
Being a descendant of David, Jesus is the rightful king. God has fulfilled His promises, all of them, even concerning the kingdom. He has appointed Jesus to sit on the throne of David (Acts 2:30, 33). Jesus is reigning as king in heaven over the eternal kingdom (Colossians 3:1). You may become a part of His kingdom when you trust and obey Christ (Acts 2:38) and are translated into the kingdom of Christ, the church (Colossians 1:13).