Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Fifth Christmas Day
Jeremiah 23:7-8 "Therefore, behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord, "when they shall no longer say, 'As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,' but 'As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.' Then they shall dwell in their own land."
GOD MOVES, AND PEOPLE ARE SET FREE
God used more than prophecies to reveal the Messiah to the world. Amazingly, God also wove images of the great "Messianic Rescue" right into the events of history.
We learn in the Bible how God rescued the Israelite people from Egyptian slavery. We learn about how God repeatedly rescued them from their own faithlessness in the period of the judges. But before the great Messiah was finally born, there was one more major historical event that foreshadowed the great "Messianic Rescue" of sinners.
As the years ticked down to the birth of God's Son, the nation of Israel continued to push God away by worshiping false gods. Eventually, one nation descended on Israel and totally decimated them. Babylon conquered Jerusalem in the year 586 BC. The people who weren't killed were uprooted from their home and carried east to exile. This period in Jewish history is commonly called the Babylonian Captivity.
But again, God reached into the events of history. He moved the heart of Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, to release the Jews. Once again, through a single individual the people were set free.
Our God isn't a distant God who merely watches the events of history unfold. He is actively moving behind the scenes. Moving kings, moving people, placing pieces and directing parliaments -- all in connection with His great plan of salvation.
God moved Caesar Augustus to call the census which made Bethlehem Jesus' birthplace (thus fulfilling the 700 year old prophesy found in Micah 5:2). What has God moved in your life in order to contact you? What is He moving this week?
