The Full Christmas Story: Part 2

One of the appropriate lines in our worship today was “long lay the world in sin and error pining.” God wasn’t in a rush to send the Savior; everything was going to a happen exactly as He had ordained it. Israel was waiting for the Messiah, and in a much smaller way, children are waiting for Christmas, and you will be waiting for the end of this sermon.

I think I should warn you upfront that today’s message will be one of the longest messages I have ever given. I don’t say that as a reference to how many minutes the sermon will last, but as an indication of how many years we are going to cover.

Last week, we began going through what I referred to as the full Christmas story. We are marching to Bethlehem, so to speak. The story of Christmas is the story of mankind given to us by God Himself. When we understand that story—and live in light of it—God grants us true purpose and lasting joy. Apart from cooperating with God’s story, this life can only offer flashes of pleasure, but, like the book of Ecclesiastes says, they will be vanity, meaningless, pointless. God wants us to know His full story, and that is the story of the redemption of man for the glory of God.

In last week’s message, we started with creation and ended at the death of Moses. As we walked through that, I pointed out three primary themes in the story.

The first theme was the purpose, or the design, of mankind. Humans were especially created to glorify God by reflecting His authority and holiness and love as we rule over this planet and relate to one another. That’s what it means to be made in God’s image. That is the calling, or the responsibility, of mankind.

The second theme we saw was the problem, or the downfall, of mankind. Sin came into the world, and it brought the physical consequence of pain and death, along with the spiritual consequence of a nature bent away from God’s design and destined for eternal judgment. Neither individually nor corporately are we able to fulfill God’s design for our lives. We are ruined.

The final theme we mentioned was the promise, or the deliverance, of mankind. God Himself promised that one day, someone would come to undo the curse of sin and the stain on this world and on our very beings, physically and spiritually.

Don’t forget those themes. Call them whatever you want but keep them in mind as we continue the story. We have man’s purpose, problem, and promise. Or, if you prefer, his design, downfall, and deliverance. Or his responsibility, his ruin, and his redemption. Or his creation, his corruption, and his cure. Or his start, his sin, and his salvation. You can even make up your own headings, that’s fine too. Just keep in mind that mankind is waiting for a Savior to fix what Satan broke, which is everything in this world.

That Deliverer was going to come from Eve. Following the generational line, this hope for a global Savior would come from her son Seth, and eventually from his descendent Noah. Generations later, God revealed that the Savior would come from the line of Abraham, and then Isaac, and then Jacob, whose children became the nation of Israel. So, despite whatever else was going on in the world at that time, the hope of humanity is tied to the nation of Israel. And we were also told that the promised king would come from the tribe of Judah.

For Israel to be a nation showcasing the glory and power and wisdom and holiness of God, the people need to grow in number; they need a land to call their own; and they need to receive the Law of God.

Moses was the man raised up by God to free them from Egypt, to give them God’s Law, and then to lead them into their Promised Land. I’d like you to turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter 17. Deuteronomy chapter 17, verse 14. Moses has led the nation of Israel to the eastern side of the Jordan River, ready to cross into the Promised Land. Along the way, the first generation has died in the wilderness, and so Moses repeats the law he gave to their parents. Specifically, Moses mentions their future leaders.

Look at Deuteronomy, chapter 17, verse 14—When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ [15] you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. [16] Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ [17] And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.

[18] And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. [19] And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, [20] that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.

Israel was going to done wandering in the desert. They were going to become a kingdom. But the king and the people needed to make sure they didn’t fall away from the Law of God. They needed to keep coming back to His word.

Jump down with me to Deuteronomy 18, verse 15. Listen to something else Moses tells the people. Deuteronomy 18:15—The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— [16] just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ [17] And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. [18] I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. [19] And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.

God set up distinct roles to help Israel reflect His holiness and love. With the instruction they received in the desert, Israel was given a line of priests who were responsible to mediate God’s relationship with them. Once Moses is gone, the hope of Israel is that they will enter their land and also get a king who will mediate God’s rule over them as well as a prophet who will mediate God’s revelation to them. So, through the priests and the kings and the prophets of Israel, God will showcase His relationship, His rule, and His revelation to the world. If Israel can get its act together concerning its prophets, its priests, and its kings, they will fulfill their role of reflecting God’s holiness.

With all that background out of the way, let’s continue following the story of Israel waiting for the hope of the Savior. The history of Israel can be divided into 4 stages, and that’s how I’ll structure our time today. The first phase is “No King.” The next phase is “1 King.” The phase after that is “2 Kings.” And the final phase is “Foreign Kings.” Zero Kings, One King, Two Kings, and Foreign Kings. That’s Israel’s history in a nutshell.

Let’s start with No King, and underneath this heading let’s fill in some name. This phase begins with the leadership of Moses; he is Israel’s first leader, but he was not a king. After Moses dies, we get Joshua; he’s the second leaders, and he leads the nation into Canaan where they begin conquering and dividing up the land among the tribes.

Go with me to Judges chapter 2. This tells us what happens after Joshua dies. Under Joshua’s leadership, Israel flourished. Look at Judges chapter 2, verse 7. Judges 2:7 says—And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel.

In other words, Israel was headed in a good direction. They had Moses, then they had Joshua, then they had the elders who knew Joshua. But then things take a bad turn. Skip over to verse 10.

Judges 2:10—And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. [11] And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. [12] And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger.

After the leadership of Joshua and his elders, we come to the time of the judges, which is a horrible time for the nation. Through all this, God is faithful to preserve them, but over and over, they face the consequences of their sin as they are enslaved by their enemies. The time of the judges lasts about 350 years. I’m not going to name all the judges, but the primary takeaway of that season comes to us in the closing verse of the book. Go with me to Judges chapter 21. There is a phrase there used four times in the book.

Judges 21:25 says—In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

It was chaos. It was wickedness. The downfall of man is evident. What Israel needs is a king.

Jump over with me to 1 Samuel chapter 2, verse 10. First Samuel 2:10. During the time of the judges, God raises up a final judge who is also a prophet, and his name is Samuel. Samuel’s mother is a woman named Hannah, and the birth of her son was a special gift from God.

Hannah, like every other faithful Israelite, was waiting for the fulfilment of God’s promise. And the blessing pointed her to the coming blessing of another son—a king who will bring victory and restoration. Look at what Hannah says in 1 Samuel 2:10—The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.

This is what Israel was waiting for—a powerful king to restore the nation and the entire world. In that culture, kings, like priests, were anointed. And so, sometimes, rather than say they wanted a king, the people could say they wanted “An Anointed One.” The Hebrew term for that is Messiah. Israel is waiting for its Messiah, it’

Well, Hannah’s son is not a king, but he does play an important role; he anoints the first king of Israel.

This brings us to the next phase of Israel’s history where the nation is united under one king. So, we go from No King to One King. There’s a problem, however. The king is not the man God chose; it’s the man the people chose for themselves because he was tall and handsome. He looked good going into battle. This is a man named Saul. He was the first official king of Israel.

Saul, as it turns out, is not the promised King. He and his family are rejected by God, but after 40 years under Saul, God brings a new king to power named David. The first king is Saul, the second king is David.

David was a faithful king, and more significantly, he was from the city of Bethlehem, from the tribe of Judah. That was the tribe from which God said the promised King would come. So, we need to slow down here because David’s kingdom is significant in the history of Israel and of the world.

David solidified Israel as a nation. Under his rule, the roaming Tabernacle of the wilderness was placed in a permanent location in Jerusalem. It was a sign of God’s presence and blessing. And as David makes plans to beautify the Temple, God makes plans to solidify David’s reign.

Go with me to 2 Samuel chapter 7, verse 9. Because of David’s faithfulness and humble obedience, God makes David a promise. Listen carefully.

Second Samuel 7:9—And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. [10] And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, [11] from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house [e.g., a dynasty].

[12] When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. [13] He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.  14] I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. [In the day of his iniquity], I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, [15] but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. [16] And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.

Israel is waiting for a prophet, a priest, and a king. And now, through God’s promise to David, they know that the King will be a son of David. Like I said last week, the promise to man is being specified—From Eve to Seth to Noah to Abraham to Isaac to Jacob to Judah, and now to David. This King, this Son of David, will rule forever brining peace to the land.

What this promise means is that the glory of David’s rule is going to serve as a picture of the glory of the eternal rule of one of his sons. The flip side to that is that the challenges and the pains of David will also serve as a picture of the pain that the future king will endure. David is the prototype of a Ruler to come.

We don’t have time to view this for ourselves, but many of David’s psalms speak of righteousness and glory and of pain which point to the coming King.

The end of David’s rule was troubled. David sinned against God in a major way. He committed adultery and then murder. And part of God’s judgment on him was that his family would face severe strife. David faced rejection and pain, and somehow, the coming Son of David would face the same.

After 40 years under King David, the kingdom passes to David’s son Solomon. He is the third and final king under this section we’re calling “One King.” We had Saul, then David, and now Solomon.

Solomon was, in fact, David’s son, but is he the promised Son of David who will rule in eternal glory and righteousness? This is what the people of Israel want to know. When will the awaited King arrive?

Solomon marks himself out as a righteous and wise king. And because of that God blesses him with riches. He even uses his riches to cover the Temple in Jerusalem with gold as a beautiful monument of God’s glory and presence among His people. Solomon started out great.

But, as many of you know, the latter half of his reign didn’t go so well. In fact, you may have thought about Solomon when we read those verses from Deuteronomy. God said, “Don’t get too many riches and don’t accumulate wives.” But that is exactly what Solomon did, and his wives turned him away from God.

This brings us to our next phase in Israel’s history. They go from No King to One King to Two Kings. The twelve tribes of Israel are split into two kingdoms. The leadership in the north is a free-for-all, but in the southern kingdom, the line of David continues. For the most part, however, both kingdoms are falling away from God.

During this time, God sends prophets proclaiming two messages. Number 1, they proclaim that judgment will come if the nation refuses to repent. Number 2, they proclaim that God has not forgotten His promise. The nation will be restored one day. That’s the message of the prophets—judgment is coming but so is restoration.

The reminder of God’s promise doesn’t just go back to David. It goes all the way back to Abraham and to Adam and Eve. A King will come to rule in perfect righteousness, and He will bring a blessing to the entire earth.

About 200 years after Israel is divided, a prophet rises up in the south whose name is Isaiah. In contrast to the wicked kings of his time whose kingdoms were marked by violence, Isaiah speaks of a coming King who will be righteous and bring peace and stability both to Israel and to the world.

One of the more significant prophecies comes in chapter 7. Let’s look at that one. Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14. Isaiah is speaking to the wicked king Ahaz promising to bring a restoration. Here’s what he says—Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

There is an immediate significance to what Isaiah says. God is going to bring a temporary restoration soon, but that is a picture of a future restoration from the glorious King. This King will have as his title “Immanuel,” which means “God is with us.”

Jump over to Isaiah chapter 9, and we find more titles that help explain the king and increase Israel’s hope. It’s a dark time, but Light is coming. Isaiah 9:6—For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. [7] Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

This is the hope that Isaiah keeps pointing people to. Isaiah 11 says that the Messiah will have the Spirit of the Lord upon Him. He will be wise and mighty, righteous and powerful. He will be the Son of David. Chapter 25, verse 8 says he will swallow up death. Chapter 42 says God’s chosen servant will bring justice to the nations. Chapter 49 says he will make Israel as a light to the nations, bringing salvation to the ends of the earth. Chapter 61 speaks of bringing liberty to the captives. What an amazing hope!

But while speaking of a conquering Champion, Isaiah also speaks of a Suffering Servant who will be humiliated and rejected. And for Israel, this is not something the people can easily understand. Are there going to be two Messiahs? How can He come to bring eternal victory and global peace, but face rejection and shame? How does that work? They don’t have all the answers, but they keep waiting. When is the Messiah coming?

About 15 years after Isaiah’s ministry began, another prophet rose up called Micah, and this is a prophecy he makes concerning the coming Messiah. This is from Micah 5:2—But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.

From the same city that David was from, an eternal King will come to fulfill God’s plan. This is God’s promise and the hope of the people.

Well, now it’s time for us to come to the final phase of Israel’s history. They go from No Kings to One King to Two Kings, and finally to Foreign Kings.

Israel repeatedly rejects the message of the prophets, and God gives them over to be captured by foreign nations. The people are no longer free. In fact, they don’t even live in their land because the foreign nations move them out. The northern kingdom is destroyed by the Assyrians, and about 150 years later, the southern kingdom is destroyed and taken captive by the Babylonians. During this time of being ruled by foreign kings, God is still sending prophets.

One of the prophets who came after the destruction of the northern kingdom was named Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 23:5, the prophet speaks of a Branch coming from the tree of David. He will reign forever in wisdom and justice.

During this time, we also get the prophet Ezekiel who speaks of God planting a tender twig on a glorious mountain. Something is going to start small, but be glorious, and the whole world will see it.

There is also a prophet named Daniel who was taken as a prisoner into Babylon. In chapter 2, Daniel prophesies that empires would rise and fall in this world, but one day an eternal kingdom will come to destroy every other kingdom and rule forever. Daniel 7 says God will appoint a Son of Man who will have dominion forever. Daniel 7:14 says this—And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

Israel is going to face trouble for some time, but it won’t last forever. One day, a new King will come to restore Israel and restore the world in glory.

About seventy years after Babylon conquers Israel, Persia rises to power. And one Persian king named Cyrus allows the Israelites to return to rebuild their nation. It took Israel about 140 years to rebuild the Temple and the walls of the city. And during that time, God sends prophets with the same message as before: Don’t ignore God’s law. God will be faithful to His promises. You are ruined, but redemption will come.

One of those prophets is Haggai who prophecies that the treasures of the nations will come to Jerusalem. God’s house will be made glorious again.

Then we get another prophet named Zechariah. Like Ezekiel before him, he talks about a coming Branch. He talks about a new temple. He talks about nations being conquered by Israel’s King and peace coming to the Land. And again, this will all come through the line of David.

The final prophet in Israel is the last book of the Old Testament. His name was Malachi. So, turn with me to Malachi chapter 3. Despite all that’s happened in Israel’s history, they are once again turning away from God. But God remains faithful to His promise. Look at Malachi 3:1.

Malachi 3:1—Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.

Someone will come first as a messenger, and then someone will come as a perfect representative of the Lord. He will usher in a new covenant. For some that will be a time of joy. For others, the coming Messiah will be a horror. Just keep reading in verse 2.

But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. [3] He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. [4] Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

In other words, this King is going to clean house. You either get with His program, or you face severe consequences. Once this King is done, Israel and Jerusalem will be restored, and along with them, the rest of the world.

Jump down to chapter 4, verse 1. It’s the same message but in different words. I’ll read the whole chapter. Malachi 4:1—For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. [2] But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. [3] And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.

[4] “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. [5] “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. [6] And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

In other words: Don’t ignore my laws. Don’t forget my Promise.

What happened after Malachi’s prophecies? After Malachi, there was no prophet in Israel for over 400 years. So, the people kept waiting. The Persians were conquered by the Greeks and the Greeks by the Romans. So while the Jews were in the Land promised to them, they did not have the freedom they hoped for.

So, the cry of their heart was the song that we sing, “O come, O come, Emanuel, and ransom captive Israel that mourns in lowly exile here until the Son of God appear.”

What was Israel hoping for. They wanted to go back to One King, but it can’t just be any king; it needs to be true King, the promised King—the Son of Man, the Son of David. Only He can fulfill God’s promise.

And just like Israel waited for the King to come, we are still waiting today because He will come again. He came to provide salvation from sin—to gather citizens into His kingdom. And He will come again to fulfill every other promise which the Father has made. He is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel and the Hope of the nations. Trust in him.