God’s Particular Promise
The guide of Matthew gives us with one of the vital acquainted accounts within the Bible of the delivery and infancy of Jesus:
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea within the days of Herod the king, behold, clever males from the east got here to Jerusalem, saying, “The place is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we noticed his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all of the chief clergymen and scribes of the individuals, he inquired of them the place the Christ was to be born. They advised him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it’s written by the prophet:
‘And also you, O Bethlehem, within the land of Judah,
are on no account least among the many rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my individuals Israel.’” (Matt. 2:1–6)
Within the On a regular basis Gospel devotional, Paul David Tripp leads readers by way of the whole Bible in a 12 months, serving to you join the reworking energy of Scripture to your on a regular basis life.
Don’t let the familiarity of this account trigger you to hurry over its hope-giving glory. When Herod went to Previous Testomony students to inquire the place the promised Messiah was to be born, they’d no drawback answering. They instantly quoted Micah 5:2. Now, pause and take into consideration this for a second. It’s not simply that the Messiah’s delivery was promised in a normal, nonspecific method. The promise of God, made by way of the prophet Micah many generations earlier than, was particular—right down to the precise city through which he could be born. The King of kings wouldn’t have a regal delivery in a royal palace in Jerusalem, with an adoring courtroom at his cradle. No, the hope of the world could be born within the city of Bethlehem to a mom and father who had been removed from the royalty of that day.
Each element of Jesus’s delivery was a part of God’s plan earlier than the foundations of the earth had been set in place. So the guarantees and prophecies of his delivery had been detailed and particular. God is just not like a fortune teller, delivering a secure, generic prediction. No, these guarantees had been made by the Lord of heaven and earth, who guidelines all the pieces, all over the place, all the time. You see, the guarantees of God are solely nearly as good because the extent of his sovereignty, as a result of he can assure the supply of his guarantees solely in conditions over which he has rule. As a result of he guidelines all the pieces, all over the place, all the time, nonetheless, his guarantees are particular and rock-solid.
The specificity of God’s promise about the place the Messiah could be born is an image of how infinitely assured God is in his personal capacity to do no matter he has mentioned he’ll do, wherever he mentioned he’ll do it, and every time he is aware of the time is correct. You’ll be able to financial institution on and construct your life upon the guarantees of God. He has the ability, willingness, and authority to do all the pieces he has promised to do. It’s so good to know in the present day you could completely belief that he’ll do what he has mentioned he’ll do.
This text is tailored from Everyday Gospel: A Daily Devotional Connecting Scripture to All of Life by Paul David Tripp.
