Advent Day 13 Genesis 3:14-15

“After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: 'Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”  And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

In Genesis 15, God makes a promise to Abram that he would have a son and that Abram’s offspring would be like the stars. God reassures Abram of His promise. Abram's belief in God, a belief so strong that it is credited to Him as righteousness, is a testament to the power of faith.

Abram, like us, could not be righteous on his own. God called Him Abraham. If you have read about Abraham, you know he was far from virtuous. In Genesis 16, Abraham listened to his wife Sarai, who told Abraham to sexually take her Egyptian servant know her so that Hagar would get pregnant. Sarai may have children by her, a surrogate. Both Sarai and Abraham doubted God.

Yet God, in his forbearance, overlooked the sins of Abraham, just as later, God would overlook the sins of David, not that God would sweep them away, but that another would pay for them. The other was foretold or foreshadowed in every book of the Bible. Starting with Genesis 3:14-15.

In yesterday's devotional, we saw the fall of mankind to sin and that God had a plan. In Genesis 3:14, God told us that plan, and that plan was about Christ. God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring^[e] and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” This offspring is Christ, the culmination of God’s plan of redemption that existed before creation.

The Christ child is the offspring who came into the world from heaven. The Son of God who would crush the head of Satan, completing His victory over sin and death. This is why we celebrate Advent. We celebrate the birth of Christ, the embodiment of hope and salvation. This is the true reason for Christmas, a season of joy and significance.

It is Christ who changes hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. It is His righteousness imputed to sinners that makes them righteous before God. It is through scripture alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, that we are saved all for the glory of God alone. Soli Deo Gloria!

Grace and Peace!

If you do not know Christ as your Savior, seek Him this Advent. There is no time greater than now to devote yourself to God.

Advent Prayer 13

Father God,

This season of Advent, I pray for the gift of hope.

No matter what trials your children face, let them always look forward to the birth of Christ with fascination and expectation.

May this hope sustain your children through every hardship.

Fill me with your children with the peace that only You can provide.

Let us remember and find hope in the assurances we have through Christ Jesus.

Let your children find hope in Christ and be a light to those around them, a light of the gospel and Christ from which others may be led to You.

In Christ's precious name, we pray, Amen.