Before eggnog and Ebenezer Scrooge, before carols and candlelight services, there they stood, ashamed and afraid, the first transgressors reeling from the first transgression. They had enjoyed creation as it was intended, a peaceful and perfect world. But everything changed so quickly.
God’s plan would continue to unfold through promise. He revealed that a great nation would descend from Abraham. From one, a multitude. But there was an even greater promise in this covenant: the promise that through this nation, every family on earth would be blessed.
In the midst of giving laws pertaining to Israel’s leaders, God reveals that he will raise up another leader, a prophet who will be like Moses. This must have been encouraging to God’s people.
Moses was the leader Israel never expected, but David was the king for which they begged. He was a man of courage, faith, and compassion, a fearless leader who sought to honor the Lord above all else. David loved the Lord, and Israel loved David.
And so the Israelites waited. They waited for the promise to be fulfilled. For the prophet like Moses. For the king whose reign would be unending. They waited through failure and strife.
Shadows of glory, whispers of grace. Isaiah offered Israel glimpses of the coming Messiah, continuing the tapestry that began with a single thread in Genesis. The very nature of his coming would be inherently miraculous and specifically identifiable.
Peace: a term foreign to the Israelites. They lived in a world thrown into constant turmoil because of sin. Peace was the dream, the ideal that Adam had experienced in the garden before his sin brought with it ruin.
