The Miraculous Groundwork for the Birth of Jesus

The conception and birth of Jesus is a miraculous gift in itself, but did you realize how many chess pieces God put in place in order for this blessed event to occur?

First, let us look at the miracle of the Israelites. Their existence begins with God's promise to Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in heaven as we read in Genesis 22:17. The seed of that promise was planted with the miraculous pregnancy of Sarah who was late in her years.

After the birth of Isaac, then his son Jacob, the 12 Tribes of Israel came to be and that brings us to the miraculous life of Joseph. God brought him into a position of leadership to save his family from a famine. That family of 70 people flourished in Egypt and multiplied into the millions even while in slavery...which was actually a blessing because it prevented the Israelites from being assimilated into the pagan cultures in the surrounding nations. Thus, they remained a tight knit, faithful community.

The miraculous existence of the Israelites continue with the life of Moses who was saved as an infant from sure death and, as an adult, followed God's lead to bring the Israelites out of slavery towards the Promised Land.

After the Tribes of Israel settled in the Promised Land, we see the next set of miracles as the genealogy of Jesus develops.

God allowed a famine to occur in Bethlehem in Judah. This led Naomi, her husband and 2 sons, all who were Israelites, to go live in Moab where her sons married Moabite, Gentile women. Upon losing her husband and 2 sons, Naomi returns to Bethlehem after the famine ended. This leads us to her daughter-in-law Ruth who remains at her side and later marries Boaz, a relative of Naomi. As a result of this union of Boaz, an Israelite, and Ruth, a Gentile, they give birth to Obed, the father of Jesse, who then is the father of the future King David. And from David's lineage, comes our Savior, Jesus as we read in ‭Isaiah‬ ‭9:6‭-‬7‬,

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this."

The zeal of the Lord Almighty did, indeed, accomplish this. The miracles I shared today are only a few of the many which lead to the miraculous birth of Jesus. In addition, Ruth was only 1 of the 4 Gentile women who are in the genealogy of Jesus.

The miracle of Jesus's genealogy is a wonderful gift to all mankind. Why is this such a grand miracle? Because through his mixed genealogy, Jesus is not only a Savior to one specific people. He is the Savior for all people, Jews and Gentiles, as is evident from his lineage. As a result, we are spiritually grafted together as we read fully in Romans 11 which ends in the perfect praise to our Father who has perfectly planned everything, even before creation.

‭Romans‬ ‭11:33‬,
"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen."

So when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, let us remember all of the miracles which our Heavenly Father set up which brought about the miraculous little baby in the manger, a gift for ALL mankind. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John‬ ‭3:16‬)

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