Christ's First Coming: The Seed of Jacob

The Promised Seed given to Adam, Abraham, and Isaac was not fully realised, but the Lord still continued to reveal progressively who would be the real Seed. In the time of Isaac, the Lord gave His word to his descendants that Jacob was chosen through whom the Messiah would come.

How was the promised Seed seen in the line of Jacob? The answer is found in Num. 24:17. In this passage, a prophecy came out from the lips of a heathen prophet, Balaam. Balak the king of Moab attempted to hire Balaam to curse the chosen nation of God, Israel. So Balaam was persuaded to prophesy curses on Israel but “he was kept from doing so and instead, prophesied blessing upon them as recorded in 23:7-10; 23:18-24; 24:3-9, 15-19; 20-24.” However, though it was from the lips of the heathen, it is marvellous to note that the Messiah is denoted here as from the seed of Jacob. This is indeed the progressive revelation of God to make clear what He has said in Gen. 3:15.

In the climactic prophecy of Num. 24:17, Balaam saw the greatness of the nation of Israel “there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel.” What do the Star and Sceptre signify here? Keil said, “The sceptre, which was introduced, as a symbol of dominion even in Jacob’s blessing (Gen. Xlix. 10), is employed here as the figurative representation and symbol of the future ruler in Israel.” In other words, the content of this oracle of God is that Balaam saw a man who would come sometime in the future from the tribe of Israel (Jacob) as a king who would triumph. The Star and the Sceptre were the symbols of His reign.

In addition, the greatness of “a Star and a Sceptre” indicates that the coming King will be the future Deliverer for Israel. He will bring victory upon the nation of Israel over the enemies of His people. The biblical record shows that there had never been found in the history of the nation of Israel such a King. Thus this is the prophecy that has not been fulfilled yet but one day it will come to pass. The “Star” and “Sceptre” speak of the promise of a king like David who will bring victory over the enemies of Israel. As Reich rightly observed, "There is a remarkable combination of the earthly and the heavenly natures of the Coming One in Balaam’s vision. He saw in Him One who would be both Star and Sceptre. Our Lord clearly refers to this prophecy when He says of Himself: “I am the root and offspring of David, and the bright and Morning Star” (Rev 22:16). The language used by Balaam was that concerning earthly things, but the intention was to show the heavenly and spiritual nature of the Kingdom of God administered by the Divine-Human Christ."

Thus, Num 24:17 speaks unmistakably of the coming of the Messiah. The Messiah is the Star out of Jacob and a Sceptre that shall rise out of Israel. The writer of the gospel of Matthew understood it clearly when he wrote the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ, he listed Jacob as belonging to the Messianic line (Matt. 1:2). In other words, the Messiah would come from the Seed of Jacob.

Christ's First Coming: The Seed of Isaac

Twenty-four years had passed when the Lord gave a promise to Abraham to be a great nation. Nevertheless the Lord never forgot His promise. He reiterated the same promise to Abraham with the clearer details in Gen. 17:19. He reaffirmed that the promise given to him was not only for him alone but also for the descendants of his seeds.

We need to understand that when the Lord gave the first promise to Abraham, He did not inform Abraham that the seed would come from Sarah. This is important because, during the gap of twenty-four years, somehow Sarah his wife was impatient to wait upon the Lord. As a result she asked Abraham to take Hagar her maiden in order to bear a child for Sarah. But, Gen. 17:19 gives us the clear plan of God that what Sarah did was not according to what God desired. The promised seed that would come from the line of Abraham was not through Hagar but Sarah, his legitimate wife.

The birth of Isaac was indeed the fulfilment of the promise of God to Abraham. From now onwards, the promise of God would shine brighter on Abraham because what the Lord promised would continue through the descendants of his son, Isaac. Isaac was the chosen son through whom all the nations would be blessed. Davis aptly said, “The recipient of His covenant blessings, God said unequivocally, would be a son name Isaac born to Sarah (v. 19).” The Lord did not make a new covenant with his descendants but it was a continuity of what the Lord had made with Abraham because God’s covenant was the everlasting covenant. Thus, the covenant of God with Abraham involves Isaac the son of Sarah. As Salihamer remarks, "Isaac was not to be one of the anonymous “offsprings” who was to receive the benefits of the covenant. He is here brought to the level of a participant in the original covenant: “I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him” (v. 9b). Thus the identification of the covenant “offspring” of Abraham is made more specific. The descendants of Abraham who are heirs of the covenant are those through Sarah, that is, the “offspring” of Isaac."

The fact is that God said to Abraham, “I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him” (v. 19). There was no doubt that this was the anticipation of reiteration of the covenant made by God with Isaac in Gen. 26:3-5.

Thus, Gen. 17:19 was the key verse of the continuity of the covenant grace to the descendent of Abraham. This verse provides the very significant distinction to the rest of the descendants of Abraham. It is clearly stated that Isaac was the promised son to Abraham, and the covenant given by God to Abraham would continue to Isaac. In this regard, it gives the clear division that Ishmael and his descendants, and the descendants of Abraham from the sons of Keturah (25:20) will not be partakers in this covenant grace but Isaac and his descendants alone. Isaac would be the chosen line in which the Messiah would come. Henceforth the Lord would reveal it progressively through the particular tribe of Isaac’s descendants through whom the Messiah would come and be known. Luke 3:34 declares that Isaac was truly the line in which God used to fulfil His plan of salvation to save sinners from their sins.

Christ's First Coming: The Seed of Abraham

As a result of the disobedience of our first parents, there is a separation of man from God. This separation can be seen not only as a spiritual separation but also a separation in which God did not speak to mankind for a period of time after the fall. During this period the descendants of Adam had done terrible sins before the Lord. The Bible said that there was only one man who was just and perfect in that generation namely Noah (Gen. 6:9). The sins of those people were so great in the eyes of the Lord. For this reason, the Lord had to show His wrath to this world through the universal flood (Gen. 7-8). All things in this world died except Noah and his family and the things which were in the Ark. Nevertheless, from the time of Adam to Noah, hundreds of years had passed, God did not give further description of the promise of the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15).

However the Bible tells us that after the flood the descendants of Noah began to repopulate the world. From the three sons of Noah, Shem was the one whom God chose from which the line of the coming Messiah would come (Gen. 9:26). It can be clearly seen the genealogy of Abraham in Gen. 11:10-30, that Abraham was from the line of Shem. Henceforth, Abraham was the main character whom God had chosen that through his descendants, the Messiah would come. The clear affirmation of this truth is seen in Gen. 12:1-3 in the time God called Abraham. This is the reaffirmation of the promise of the first coming of Jesus Christ. Thus, it is right to say that it is an enlargement of the protoevangelion of Gen. 3:15. Reich rightly opines that this verse is “The prophecy concerning of the Seed of woman, becomes the promise of the Seed of Abraham.” Kligerman furthermore said, "This is more then the promise of ‘The Hope of a Prosperous.’ It is a promise of the coming of a ‘Personal Messiah,’ and it distinctly refers to Christ, if we take the word of such men as Paul and Peter, and this we gladly do, because these men, like the Old Testament prophets, were inspired by God and therefore are true prophets of the true God (see Acts 3:25,26; Gal. 3:8,9,14,16,19)."

When God gave this great promise to Abraham to be a great nation (Gen. 12:3), he did not have any child. The fact was, that the Lord would give him a child and through him, his descendants would grow and become a great nation. One may ask, who is the seed of Abraham mentioned in Gen. 13:1-3? The natural understanding of this passage is that the seed of Abraham is interpreted into three divisions namely the national seed of Abraham, the spiritual seed of Abraham and the Messianic Seed of Abraham. Nevertheless the question still remains, which one of these three as the primary meaning of the seed of Abraham? Kligerman gave the right answer when he said, “The primary meaning of this passage unquestionably is that of an individual, “The Seed” of Abraham, who shall bring this universal blessing to a world under the curse of sin.” Parks continues to say, "The seed of Abraham through which God promised to bless all the nation is his Messianic Seed, not his national or spiritual seeds. This point is stressed by Paul the apostle in Galatians 3:16: “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. [God] does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ.” God therefore, in Genesis 12:3 (also 22:18; 26:4; 18:18), promised to bless the nations through Christ."

But this is not to deny that the nation of Israel has been a blessing to many nations. In fact the nation of Israel will be the main attention of this world especially during the seven years Great Tribulation.

Looking at the fulfilment of this promise, Matt. 1:1 clearly tells us that Jesus Christ is the son of Abraham. When Matthew wrote this gospel, he understood what he was writing because his writing was intended for the Jewish people. Clearly this verse denotes that the promise seed given by the Lord to Abraham referring to the Messiah which Matthew directly declares that He is the Christ. In fact Jesus Christ said to a group of teachers of the Law, that Abraham rejoiced to see His day (John 8:56). As Pounds said, “Abraham was overjoyed to see the fullness of time when the Messiah would indeed be a spiritual blessing.” This spiritual blessing comes to everyone who believes in the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross.

Christ's First Coming: The Seed of a woman

When God created Adam and Eve, the relationship of God with man was perfect. God placed the man in the most wonderful and beautiful garden. Adam and Eve were placed in that garden to live and preserve it (Gen. 2:15). Man had enjoyed communion with God. Nevertheless it was in this same garden, the Lord had given a test to mankind in order to affirm their permanent holiness. What was the test? The Test is found in Gen. 2:16-17, “the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” God gave them the freewill, the freedom to obey or reject God’s will. In other words, before the fall of man, man could obtain salvation through his obedience to the commandments of the Lord. This is commonly called the covenant of works. Man must work in order to obtain salvation. Thus it was with this purpose God gave this test.

The condition of man as being a perfect man did not last long. Shortly after he was put into the garden, Satan tempted Eve to disobey the commandment of the Lord. The subtlety of the serpent used by Satan to tempt our first parents had caused to doubt on the Word and promise of God. God forbade them to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge good and evil. Adam and Eve must have understood that, as Shaw said, "Their abstaining from the tree of knowledge was the criterion, by which their fidelity was to be tried, and their eating of the fruit of that tree was a violation of the whole law; for it was rebellion against the Lawgiver, and a renunciation of his authority."

This implied that when God gave the test to our first parents, it required the absolute obedience to Him. Adam and Eve must have clearly understood the consequences of disobedience to the Lord. Nevertheless, when Satan cast doubt on the Word of God given to Adam and Eve, Eve took the first action to respond the serpent (Gen. 3:1-3).

As a result of this confrontation, Eve was seduced by the subtlety of the serpent. When Eve “saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Gen. 3:6). The freedom God gave to man was abused. They did not have the perfect rectitude anymore. The promise of Satan was fulfilled. Their eyes had opened to know good and evil (Gen. 3:5) from their own wicked perspective. Thus the moment they had eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge good and evil they realised their wickedness and fear entered their hearts (Gen. 3:8).

When Adam fell into sin, the whole human race fell at the same time because Adam was the representative of all men (Rom. 5:12). As a result of Adam’s disobedience “the serpent was cursed, the earth was cursed, and man likewise came under the curse.” The relationship of man with God was not as in the Garden of Eden. Nevertheless it was during the annunciation of the curse to the serpent, God gave the promise of the coming Messiah (Gen. 3:15). As Hengstenberg rightly remarked, "The promise of the Messiah, given immediately after the fall, as it is the first, so is it also the most indefinite. Opposed to the fearful threatening stands the consoling promise, that the reign of sin and its consequent evils should not last forever; that posterity of the woman should one day gain the victory over their dreaded conqueror."

Gen. 3:15 says, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” This verse is commonly called “Protevangelium.” Bible-believing scholars agree to this statement because God had given the promise to our first parents the coming Saviour who would save the sinners from their sins (cf. Rom. 5:19). Although God condemned mankind for that terrible sin they had done, the Lord still showed His mercy. As Kligerman said, “In the darkest hour of human history, God’s promise of ultimate victory brought comfort and cheer. This, then, the first Messianic promise, the promise of the utter destruction of the serpent who is responsible for the ruination of mankind.”

At this juncture, it is necessary to ask this question, how is it that Gen. 3:15 becomes the first gospel preached by God? Looking at Gen. 3:15 closely, it is clear that this verse is part of the pronouncing of the curse given to the serpent. The Lord said to the serpent “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed” (Gen. 3:15a). The serpent was the representative of Satan. Thus when God cursed the serpent before Adam and Eve, God actually was cursing Satan. Clowney said, “The serpent was judged…. Though Eve had made herself the friend of Satan and the enemy of God, God would reverse the situation. He would put the enmity not between God and man but between man and Satan.”

It is important to understand that the context of this verse tells us that the enmity is not between the seed of Satan and the seed of the man, but between the seed of Satan and the seed of the woman. In the Scripture, the word “seed” is used to describe the offspring of posterity. In the case of Gen. 3:15, the phrase “her seed” denotes her posterity, including the Messiah, the greatest of all her descendants. He is the Seed (Gal. 3:19), who came with the purpose to destroy totally the works of the Devil (Heb. 2:14). According to Kligerman, the coming of the greatest Seed of the woman involves, “(1) restore to man the Creator’s moral image, (2) restore communion and fellowship with God, (3) remove the curse from man’s heritage, (4) conquer death in behalf of all mankind.”

We notice that the word ‘seed’ in Gen. 3:15 is in the singular form. This implies that the seed of Satan is referring to Satan himself and the seed of the woman is referring to the coming Messiah, the Saviour of the world. Nevertheless there is no doubt, in the light of the New Testament Scriptures that the seed can be understood in the spiritual sense. The seed of Satan consists of unbelievers and the seed of the woman refers to the spiritual seeds namely those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. But the context of this verse demands only one meaning, that the seed of the woman that the Lord had promise, only refers to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

The second part of Gen. 3:15 says, “it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel.” Who shall bruise the head of Satan? Can the descendants of Adam crush the head of Satan? Definitely not, only Christ can. Though this prophecy was given to our first parents thousands of years before Christ came to this world, the Lord had already shown His mercy toward mankind. He knew that after the fall, no one could please God with his own merit, but merely by the merit of the Lord Jesus Christ through His death on the cross. However, the Scriptures recorded that in the process of crushing the head of Satan, Satan himself was permitted to crush the heel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This refers to the death of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, Christ would crush the head of Satan through His resurrection from death. Satan was “destroyed and ruined at last by the great Redeemer, signified by the bruising of his head; his subtle politics shall be all baffled, his usurped power entirely crushed.” Furthermore, Clarke said, "… and this alone, is what is implied in the promise of the seed of the woman bruising the head of the serpent. Jesus Christ died to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, and to destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. Thus he bruises his head destroys his power and lordship over mankind, turning them from the power of Satan unto God (Acts 26:18). And Satan bruises his heel God so ordered it, that the salvation of man could only be brought about by the death of Christ; and even the spiritual seed of our blessed Lord have the heel often bruised, as they suffer persecution, temptation etc., which may be all that is intended by this part of the prophecy."

Adam understood clearly the meaning of this prophecy. He knew that through the seed of Eve, He would come to bruise the head of Satan. For this reason, Adam honoured Eve by calling her the mother of all living, because through her seed the Saviour would come to save sinners (Gen. 3:20). Thus, Gen. 3:15 is absolutely a prophecy of the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to this world. Paul understood that the fulfilment of this prophecy was according to the appointed time given by the Lord. As he said in Gal. 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the Law, To redeem them that were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Satan was crushed at Calvary and defeated when Christ rose again from the dead. In Rev. 20:1-5 is recorded that when Christ returns, Satan will be in submission to Him.

Introduction to the Life of Chrsit from the Old Testament

The birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem is most prominent. Many people think it as the beginning of the story of Christ. Actually, the story of Jesus did not begin in the manger of a Bethlehem stable. The story began far earlier. In fact it began shortly after the fall of Adam and Eve. God Himself had declared to our first parents the coming Saviour whom was called in the New Testament, the Lord Jesus Christ. This was the beginning of all stories concerning Jesus the Saviour.

Although the Bible consists of two testaments, the Lord does not provide two redemptive plans for salvation. The Lord has given only one Saviour to the world, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus the two testaments of the Bible have only one theme, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Saviour of the world both in the Old and the New Testament.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the only Saviour that God has sent to save sinners. Apart from Him, nobody can be saved. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” Furthermore Luke also recorded in Acts 4:12, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.”

Based on these two verses, it is clear that in both the Old and the New Testament Christ is the only way to enter the kingdom of God. Although He had not come in the flesh in the Old Testament time, God the Father had appointed Him as the only Saviour of the world. The redemptive plan of God for His people is the same even till today. God did not provide one way of salvation in the Old Testament and another in the New Testament. God has only one plan from the Old Testament till today. Salvation can be found only in Jesus Christ.

Thus, Jesus Christ did not become the Saviour of the world after He was born in Bethlehem. He is the Saviour both in Old and New Testament. However, it is reasonable to admit that the knowledge concerning the Lord Jesus Christ in the Old Testament has not been known fully by those believers as those who believe in the New Testament. But this does not mean that the Old Testament believers did not know anything about the Saviour. Jesus again gave the most wonderful statement concerning one of the believers in the Old Testament when He said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56).

Problem

If we say that Jesus Christ is the Saviour both in the Old and the New Testament, one may ask how was Jesus Christ become the Saviour in the Old Testament time? Did those believers really know Jesus Christ? If Jesus Christ could be known in the Old Testament as the Saviour of the world, why did not the Jews believe in Him? These are some of the questions that can be anticipated in this study.

Thus, in order to answer these questions, let us see the comparison of believers both in the Old and the New Testament. Those who believe in Jesus Christ after His ascension are right to say that they never saw the Lord Jesus Christ personally. But, through the scriptures, they believe and look back through the account of life, ministry, crucifixion, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ. In the same way, the believers in the Old Testament, they did not see what would happen during the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, but they believed and looked forward to the promised Coming Saviour of the world. If the people in this generation can be saved through the record of scriptures, why was it impossible for those who lived in the Old Testament time, who looked forward for the coming of the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ?

Purpose

It is the writer’s intention in this thesis to present the life of the Lord Jesus Christ from the Old Testament perspective. Through this presentation, one might be convinced that the life, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ could be seen in the Old Testament Scriptures.

The writer would cover all the scriptural promises concerning the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Old Testament, from the book of Genesis to Malachi. The outline of this thesis would follow the order and sequence of the life of Jesus Christ as seen in the New Testament Scriptures.

Presupposition

The writer believes that the 39 books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New Testament are the only books inspired by God which are “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim 3:16-17). In addition, the writer believes that God provides the same redemptive plan for salvation both in the Old and New Testament namely through the Lord Jesus Christ.