Advent Readings - Week 1

 Advent Readings Week 1: Old Testament Prophecies

Readings - Genesis 3:14-15, Isaiah 7:14, Is. 9:6-7, Isaiah 11:1-10

Why read these verses this week? 

Many people feel tempted to skip over the Old Testament prophecies (literally, hundreds of them) of Jesus’ birth. But people do so at great peril. God did not include the first 39 books of the Bible for no reason. Throughout the Old Testament, we see the story of a people needing redemption and a Saviour. As Israel found themselves falling prey to foreign nation after nation, they realized that not only did they need a physical Saviour, but a spiritual one as well.

Throughout the Old Testament, in the Psalms, Isaiah, and even in Genesis, we see the Bible foretelling a Saviour who would defeat the greatest enemy of all: sin. Jesus’ birth was not only a miracle in the sense of the virgin birth but also a miracle in terms of prophecies fulfilled centuries later.

It may seem odd to have an Advent reading that comes from the Old Testament, but we also have to keep in mind the Early Church, before they had the canon of the New Testament finished in 70 AD, preached and taught the Old Testament. All of Scripture is God-breathed, after all.

A Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we see your evident faithfulness in the entire story of the Bible. Your story of redemption doesn’t start in the Book of Matthew, but rather, we have even seen the first prophecies in Genesis 3. You always intended to save humanity, and you did so at such a great cost. May we remember your promises this Advent season. In Jesus’ name, Amen.