Christian Reflection and Prayer

(Day 15 of Advent)


Read Deuteronomy 18:15-19. 
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet
like me from among you, from your brothers-it is to
Him you shall listen (Deuteronomy 18:15).

The most famous of Jacob's 12 sons isn't Judah,
the ancestor of the tribe from which Jesus came, it
is his 11th son and his favorite: Joseph. Out of
jealousy Judah and his other brothers sold him into
slavery. He was then taken to Egypt and eventually
raised to the position of prime minister when God
gave him the interpretation of a dream of Pharaoh,
king of Egypt.

When the severe famine predicted in that dream
broke out, Jacob and his family went to Egypt to get
food. There Joseph revealed himself and brought
them to the land of Egypt to live while the famine
persisted. There the Israelites grew in numbers
until the Egyptians feared and enslaved them.

Four hundred years later God raised up an Israelite
from the tribe of Levi named Moses to free Israel
from slavery. Though Moses conveyed God's
command "Let My people go!" Pharaoh hardened
his heart and refused to listen. So God worked 10
powerful plagues through Moses that compelled the
Egyptians to let the Israelites go.

Moses was unique among all the leaders of Israel.
While God spoke to other prophets through dreams
and visions, He spoke to Moses face to face. Before
his death Moses spoke about the Child of Christmas,
promising that God would raise another unique
Prophet like himself. This great Prophet-the Son of
God-will be an Israelite, living among His fellow
Israelites. No wonder we go to such efforts each
Christmas to celebrate His birth among us.

THE PRAYER:
Holy Father, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus
to be our great Prophet. Give us faith to hear and obey
Him always. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

(Day 14 of Advent)

Scripture:

Read Genesis 49:1-2, 8-12. The scepter shall not
depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between
his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall
be the obedience of the peoples (Genesis 49:10).

As time went by, God revealed more of His plan to
send His Son into the world. He promised Abraham
the Savior would come out of the great nation of his
descendants. Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac
was the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father
of 12 sons. These 12 became the ancestors of the
12 tribes that made up the nation of Israel.

But God still had to choose one of those tribes from
which His Son would be born. He rejected Jacob's first
three sons and chose the fourth, Judah, to be the ruler
of the nation, the ancestor of the tribe from which His
Son would come.

In the time before Jesus' birth that first Christmas morn,
great rulers arose from the tribe of Judah, especially
King David. He successfully led the armies of Israel
against all the enemies that threatened it-winning peace
for his people.

His descendant Jesus Christ also came as ruler to
defend us from all our enemies. He did this, however,
not by raising an army to fight behind Him. Jesus went
to battle all alone, His hands and feet nailed to the cross.
But by His suffering and death He routed all our enemies.
He crushed Satan's head, destroyed death, and rescued
us from hell. Raised on the third day, He sits enthroned
at God's right hand in glory.

This is the Savior whose birth we are preparing to
celebrate in 11 more days.

THE PRAYER:

Gracious Father, thank You for revealing Your undeserved
promise to send Your Son throughout the pages of the Old
Testament. Fill us with peace and joy this Christmas
season as we again celebrate His birth, life, death and
resurrection for us. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

(Day 13 of Advent)

Scripture:

Read Genesis 28:10-17. I will not leave you until I have
done what I have promised you (see Genesis 28:15).

Abraham's son Isaac grew up and married a woman
named Rebekah. In time she became pregnant with twin
sons-one of whom would continue the line that would
lead to the Christmas Child. God told her, "Two nations
are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall
be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the
older shall serve the younger" (see Genesis 25:23). The
younger twin Jacob was that child of promise, whose
descendants would form a great nation.

Jacob was an unlikely person to be a blessing to the
world. His name means "he cheats." This he proved
twice by cheating his older twin Esau-first by buying
Esau's birthright for a bowl of stew, then tricking his
blind father to receive the blessing Isaac intended to
give Esau. While fleeing from Esau's murderous rage,
Jacob dreamed of a ladder stretching from earth to
heaven with God standing at the top. The Lord repeated
the promise He had previously given Abraham and Isaac:
"in you and in your offspring shall all the families of the
earth be blessed" (see Genesis 12:3). The next 20 years
saw many ups and downs in Jacob's life, but God kept
His promise and never left him.

Each Christmas we remember how God fulfilled His
promise to bless all the families of the earth through
Jacob's offspring, Jesus Christ, the Baby of Bethlehem.
Like Jacob we don't deserve the blessings Jesus earned
for us. But God offers them to us out of His pure grace:
the gifts of forgiveness, peace and eternal life with Him
in paradise.

THE PRAYER:

Almighty God, You faithfully keep every promise You
make, and remain with us until all Your promises are
fulfilled. Keep us in this faith in Jesus Christ our Lord,
that we may receive the gift of eternal life You promised
when He returns. We pray this in Jesus' Name. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)