By Sharon Loomis

Genesis 22:8 “Abraham answered, ‘God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ …” (NIV) (2166-1991 BC)

Genesis 49:10 “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between His feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nation shall be his.” (NIV) (1859 BC)

Galatians 4:4 “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.” (NLT)

In Genesis we read the story of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac at God’s direction. I struggled for years to come to terms with the heart-wrenching story. How could a good God ask this of a parent? We know that God provided a substitute… a ram caught in a thicket… to take Isaac’s place. Jehoveh-Jireh, the God who provides, placed the ram there, specifically foreshadowing the Lamb of God, Jesus, who would die on a cross as a substitute for our sins. The entire story is in Genesis 22:1-19.

Later in Genesis (49:10), around 1859 BC, the dying Jacob bestowed blessings on his sons who became the twelve tribes of Israel. He prophetically declared that “One” would come from the tribe of Judah who would rightly rule the nations.

Galatians 4:4 tells us that when the time had come to completion, God sent His Son, born of a woman (Jesus, the sacrifice for our atonement) and subject to the law (coming from the tribe of Judah).

Thousands of years passed from the fall of man until Jesus came to earth as a baby… yet through those many years God gave us words and ways to recognize the time of His coming and the hope it brings for us. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, let us truly celebrate the depth of love His birth embodies.

Food For Thought

Human timing is far different than God’s timing. The human concept of love is limited, God’s love cannot be fathomed. In the fullness of time, believers will know the fullness of love.