God’s Word records from the early chapters in Genesis the amazing love that God has for His people. He set up the earth so that mankind could inhabit it and so that mankind could have a loving relationship with Him. After the fall of man, when man lost his spiritual connection with God, the Author of life moved quickly and declared that He would send a redeemer to save mankind. By gaining a greater understanding of God’s promised redeemer, we can grow in our love and appreciation for what Jesus Christ accomplished for us.
Genesis 3:15:
And I [God] will put enmity [a condition of separation and hostility] between thee [the serpent, the Devil] and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it [the promised seed of the woman] shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
This verse shows the central theme of God’s Word from Genesis to Revelation—the promised seed who was to be the man, Jesus Christ. Many prophecies are recorded in God’s Word about who the coming Messiah, the promised seed, would be. Let’s look at a few of them.
One aspect of the Messiah is that he would be a prophet.
Deuteronomy 18:15,18:
The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me [Moses]; unto him ye shall hearken.
I [the Lord] will raise them [the children of Israel] up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee [Moses], and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
Jesus Christ was a mighty man. He was strong and bold like Moses. He spoke for God without hesitating. He always did the Father’s will (John 8:29).
In addition to being a prophet, he was to be a priest.
Psalms 110:4:
The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
This also was a prophecy referring to Jesus Christ. Hebrews 5:6 declares the fulfillment of this prophecy when it says, “Thou [Christ] art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”
God’s Word also shows that the Messiah was to be a king.
Genesis 49:10:
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
The phrase “until Shiloh come” refers to the coming of our promised seed. He would become the final ruler of Israel and would be of the tribe of Judah.
There are many indicators throughout the Old Testament that pointed to who God’s man of the ages would be. Jesus Christ was so many things: the promised seed who would crush the head of the adversary, a prophet, a priest, and a king. Let’s look at how we can respond to so great a love.
I John 3:16:
Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he [Jesus Christ] laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
I John 4:10,11:
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
Jesus Christ our promised seed is the fulcrum of all history. Thousands of years before his birth, he was prophesied of. Without the coming of a redeemer, all of us would have been left dead in trespasses and sins, having no hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:1,12). Throughout the Old Testament, believing men and women looked forward to the first coming of Jesus Christ. Now that this is an accomplished reality, we perceive the love of God and can live in service to others as we love one another with the same love that’s been given to us because of our promised seed!
Click Here to view on The Way International’s SlideShare page