Why We Believe

Genesis 12:1-3; 22:16-18

As God did with Shem, God blesses Abram/Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 and singles him out as the one through whom the Messiah comes. As a descendent of Shem this continues the winnowing process of finding the Anointed One who would save the world. He is not named yet but will come from Abraham. The promise to Abraham will result from his obedience in leaving the land of his fathers and going to Canaan land. From the promise we learn that God will make a great people through him and that from the promises all nations will be blessed. Later we learn that this blessing will ultimately come through Jesus.

In Genesis 22:16-18, after Abraham obeys God in taking his son for sacrifice on Mount Moriah, God reiterates the earlier blessing of his descendants becoming a great people, but further expands the blessing by telling him that his descendants will displace their enemies (Canaanites—remember the curse of Ham in Genesis 9). God also tells him once again that his obedience results in a blessing to all the nations on the earth. This will be fulfilled in Jesus (Romans 1:5; Galatians 3:8), In fact, when God refers to Isaac as Abraham’s only son (Genesis 22:16) he is referencing Isaac as the one through whom the Messiah would come. For in truth, Abraham had another son, Ishmael, but Isaac was the chosen son in God’s eyes. The writer of Hebrews (11:17, 18) refers to Isaac as Abraham’s “only begotten” monogenēs. This term is also applied in the special relationship of God the Father was his Only Begotten Son, Jesus of Nazareth (John 3:16; 1 John 4:9)!

Genesis 49:8-12

This discourse is part of a larger one in which Jacob has gathered his sons together to prophesy over them concerning the future of their descendants. So, at first glance this pericope about Judah, when taken in its immediate context, may not seem messianic. However, when compared with other scriptures in the Prophets and with the extra-biblical literature among the Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, and 4 Ezra, this passage is understood as being definitely messianic giving insight into Jesus of Nazareth thousands of years later. First, the phrase “lion of Judah” is introduced here.⁴ In Revelation 5:5 we have a proclamation “See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed” a clear reference back to Genesis 49:9 and the “branch” prophesies of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zechariah (Isaiah 4:2, 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5, 33:15; Zechariah 3:8, 6:12). In verse 10, a messianic figure as a descendent of Judah (and we have learned from other associated passages, narrowed down to the family of Jesse) is introduced. His Scepter⁵ or ruler’s staff⁶ will not depart. In other words, the royal line of David will continue until Messiah comes. He will rule over the nations. This is fulfilled in Jesus at His second coming (Revelations 20:4-7).

Hannah’s Prayer and the Prophesy of the Man of God

1 Samuel 2 (2 Samuel 7)

When it came time for Hannah to fulfill her vow to the Lord concerning her son Samuel and take him for dedication before the Lord at the Tabernacle, she prayed a remarkable prayer of vindication over her enemies and a prophesy about the future Messiah. “Those who oppose the LORD will be broken. The Most High will thunder from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed" (1 Samuel 2:10 NIV). She said that the LORD (YHWH) will exalt “the horn (instrument to draw attention) of his anointed.” The second part of the dual beat of the Hebrew poetry duplicates the first using different words. God will strengthen the king or lift up for all to see God’s Messiah (mĕshiaḥ “Anointed One”). At this time in Israel’s history there was no king in Israel but later, when we come to 2 Samuel 7/I Chronicles 17, Nathan prophesies over David that God will build his house by establishing his Kingdom forever. Following the initial promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 and 15:1-6, the messianic line will go through Judah to Jesse and then to David, from whom will come the Christ, Jesus of Nazareth! This prophesy of Jesus predicts first, that there will be a king in Israel (David) and second, that this king’s descendent (mĕshiaḥ) will judge the entire earth. This takes place when Jesus returns to reign following the battle of Armageddon (Revelation 19).

The prayer of Hannah as prophesy is confirmed later in 1 Samuel 2 when a man of God (unidentified) visits Eli and pronounces judgement on him and his family. He finishes with this: “And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever.” (1Sa 2:35 ESV). Here again in this chapter the Messiah (mĕshiaḥ) is mentioned with a priest whose house will be built up. The Hebrew is unclear. The priest will go before the Messiah forever or he will be the face of the Messiah. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, it was thought there would be two Messiahs: a kingly Messiah and a priestly Messiah. However, as we will discuss in reference to Zechariah 6:9-15, Jesus will be the king in the line of David and a priest after the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 7). Instead of a kingly Messiah who will reign forever and a Priest as a second Messiah, Jesus holds both titles forever.