Advent begins today. I love the countdown to Christmas. I love trying to imagine the anticipation that must have filled Israel's heart as they waited.
And waited.
And longed, dreamed, hoped...
And waited.
Till finally, He came. The Messiah - the King who had been promised. He came! Not a minute too soon or too late on the Kingdom Calendar, but what a long time that must have felt like!
When our babies get a little bit older, we're going to do a Jesus tree, but this year I think I'm going to do a little personal advent. I'm going to look for prophesies and foreshadowings of Jesus in the Old Testament and meditate on them until Christmas.
...Starting in Genesis, of course.
The first mention of a Savior is at the first moment of our need in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve sinned, and as God is explaining the curses, He tells the serpent that He will enmity between his seed and the woman's seed. He (Jesus) will bruise the serpent on the head (a fatal blow!) and the serpent will bruise Jesus on the heel (temporary pain - and crucifixion is the only death that involves a bruised heel!). Then at the end of the chapter, Adam names his wife "Eve" - mother of all the living. Why in the world would he give her such a hopeful name when they had just been given a death sentence?
I believe that through the first blood sacrifice that God performed on their behalf (He skinned an animal to cover their nakedness), they learned that one day another sacrifice would be made - a perfect one - who would give eternal life to all who would believe.
And so the story begins!
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