Prophecy of the First Coming Of The Lord (2)
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A Lineage
26 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; And Canaan shall be his servant.
1) From the Shemite branch of humanity
"[Jesus] ... the son of Shem, the son of Noah. Luke 3:36
36 Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech,
and in you [Abraham] all the nations of the earth shall be blessed." - Genesis 12:3
(Genesis 18:18 and 22:18)
2) Through Abraham "The record of the genealogy of of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
- Matthew 1:1
(Luke 3:34; Acts 3:25; and Galatians 3:16)
"My Covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you . ..
• - Genesis 17:21
(Genesis 17:19 and 21:12)
3) Through Abraham's son, Isaac
"[Jesus] ... the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham . . ."
- Luke 3:34
(Matthew 1:2 and Romans 9:7)
..and in you [Jacob] and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed."
- Genesis 28:14
(Genesis 27:28-29; 28:4; 35:9-12)
4) Through Isaac's son, Jacob "[Jesus] ... the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac
" _ Luke 3:34 (Matthew 1:2 and Acts 7:8)
"Judah, your brothers shall praise you ... Your father's sons shall bow down before you."
- Genesis 49:8
(Genesis 49:10 and Micah 5:2)
5) Through the tribe of Judah "[Jesus] ... the son of Judah, the son of Jacob. ." _ Luke 3:33-34
(Matthew 1:2; Hebrews 7:14; and
5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
"Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit."
- Isaiah 11:1
Prophecy
6) Through the family of Jesse New Testament Fulfillment
"Jesus] ... the son of Jesse.
- Luke 3:32
(Matthew 1:6)
"'Behold, the days are coming,' declares the Lord, 'when I shall raise up for David a righteous
Branch ..
.? _ Jeremiah 23:5
(2 Samuel 7:12-14; Psalm 89:20,
28-39; and Psalm 132:10-12)
7) Through the house of David
"Jesus] ... the son of David, the son of Jesse.
.." - Luke 3:31-32
31 Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David,
32 Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson,
(Matthew 1:6
6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;
42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Beth-lehem, where David was?
According to several prophecies in the Old Testament, the
Messiah must be a descendant of David. In the New Testament, the apostle Paul starts his letter to the church in Rome:
3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
Son of David: In the past, nobody questioned that Jesus was a descendant of David, neither historians nor the Sages. This was because the genealogical scrolls of the people of Israel were accessible in the Temple. If somebody disagreed he would have speedily pointed out the mistake by referring to those documents.
Everyone knew that Jesus was indeed a descendant of David. If Jesus was not from the Davidic line, both the priests and the Rabbis during Jesus' time, not to mention the Talmud, would have pointed this out. However, in the Talmud Jesus is referred to as somebody who was considered a descendant of David. Had they known that it was not true they would have used the opportunity to point this out. However, that never happened. Rather, in the talmud, Sanhedrin 43, page 1, it is said that Jesus was " close to the Kingdom."
The line of a King and the line of a Priest:
Indeed, according to he New Testament documents, Jesus was not only a branch from the royal line but also the priesthood. The New Testament says that Jesus was a descendant of David from both sides of his parents, both in regard to his biological mother's ancestry and of his adoptive father, Joseph. In Judaism, an adoptive father was always considered father in every respect. Based upon this, among the nations as well the notion of "apotropos" (guardianship) evolved.
The following rabbinical commentary supports this:
"On what basis do we relate Aaron's sons with Moses? Since he taught them Torah. And it is written about him as if he begot them.
And therefore it is said that on the day that the Lord spoke to Moses at Sinai: Who made the sons of Aaron be called by Moses?
The Torah that God spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai. Thus you should teach that whoever teaches his friend's son Torah the scriptures say that he has begotten him" (Midrash Aggada, Numbers 3, A).
Simply put, the commentary states that Moses was the father of Aaron's sons only because he taught them Torah. And next to that, the Jewish tradition itself states that the Messiah should not have a biological father.
In addition, to quote Professor Hananel Mak, Talmud Department University of Bar Ilan from his work on Rashi's Rabbi, Rav Moshe
HaDarshan:
The commentary is based on the combination of the human character of the Messiah who does not have a father of flesh and blood the prophecy of the suffering servant of Isaiah 53, which is the section "My servant will act wisely" and Psalm 110, that describes the relationship of God with the one sitting at his right and with Melchizedek" (Professor Hananel Mak).
Therefore, Professor Hananel Mak acknowledges that Rabbi Moshe HaDarshan, admired by Rashi, interpreted from Isaiah 53 that the Messiah would not have a biological father.
With the destruction of the second temple the genealogical scrolls were also destroyed. Therefore, in our days, there is no way to know someone's exact ancestry. This is a lethal blow to the current rabbinical tradition because it is no longer possible to know for sure if someone is from the line of David since the time of the temple destruction some 2,000 years ago.
"DURING THE 2000 YEARS OF EXILE
ALL THE JEWISH LINEAGES WERE MIXED."
The Jewish people's lineage has become intermingled over the centuries, both on a national and international level. That explains the appearance of Jews with dark skin, Jews with blond hair, Middle Eastern Jews that look like other people groups from North Africa, Jews with blue eyes and European skin color, and so On.
This is because during the 2000 years of exile all the Jewish lineages were mixed. But today, centuries after the destruction of the temple and all the genealogical scrolls, the Rabbis keep trying to restart the discussion by claiming that Jesus is not from David's line. See an example from Rabbi Michael Skobac who makes the following claim:
"It turns out that Yeshu(a)'s ancestry on Joseph's side associated to King David, goes through a King with the name Jehoiachin. The problem is that in Jeremiah chapter 22 this king is being cursed by God. 'Thus says the Lord: Write this man down as childless, a man who shall not succeed in his days, for none of his offspring shall succeed in sitting on the throne of David and ruling again in Tudah.' From this passage in Jeremiah we understand that every descendant of Jehoiachin is disqualified from being the Messiah and therefore Yeshu(a) is disqualified" (Rabbi Michael Skobac).
And indeed, the Rabbi is right. King Coniah, known also as Jehoiachin, was cursed. But what the Rabbi forgot to mention, or might not know himself, is that in the book Haggai, chapter 2, verse 23, Zerubbabel, Jehoiachin's grandson, reigns over the tribe of Judah. And at the end of the chapter God tells him: ". I will? make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you..." (Haggai 2:23
23 In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, Will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord, And will make thee as a signet: For I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts.
This means that although God cursed Jehoiachin, God later reversed the curse and his descendent, Zerubbabel, reigned once again over Judah. Another source agrees: Rabbi David Ben Yosef Kimhi's commentary on Jehoiachin. He too states that God forgave and withdrew the curse from Jehoiachin's lineage.
Another objection comes from Rabbi Daniel Asor. "We find that Yeshu(a)'s genealogy written in the gospels of the New Testament are mixed up. Matthew says that Yeshu(a)'s grandfather was Jakob. However, in Luke's book it says that Eli was his grandfather". Rabbi Asor claims that both Matthew and Luke present Yeshu(a)'s genealogy in their gospels and that these genealogies contradict each other, since they mention totally different names.
That's right! The genealogies in Matthew and Luke are different from each other and do indeed contain different names. Matthew presents the genealogy of Jesus father, while Luke, presents the genealogy of Jesus' mother... two different genealogies and not one.
JESUS WAS INDEED FROM THE LINE OF DAVID.
Today, we don't have the genealogical scrolls, therefore it is impossible to prove the lineage of any contenders claiming to be the Messiah since the time of the second temple. In Jesus' case, however, the scrolls were still available to be inquired of, and even the writings of his adversaries prove that he fulfilled the criteria.
He was indeed from the line of David. He is the all in all, the Son of Joseph, the Son of David, the Son of God.
A Birth and Child
"The scepter shall not depart from Judah ..
• until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
99
- Genesis 49:10
(Note: The timing of the Lord's birth could also be calculated from Daniel 9:24-26. That passage says the Messiah will come on the scene 483 years after the issuance of a decree to rebuild Jerusalem.)
"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel." - Micah 5:2
(Note: The term "Ephrathah" refers to the area south of Jerusalem, in order to differentiate this Bethlehem from the one located at that time in the north, in the Galilee area.)
1) Timing of the birth
New Testament Fulfillment
Approximately 7 A.D. the Romans abolished the power of the Sanhedrin Council in Judah to pronounce the death penalty - thus the scepter (power) passed from Judah. Jesus had been born in 4 B.C., during the reign of Herod so Shiloh (the Messiah) had come shortly before the scepter departed - just as prophesied
2) Place of the birth
1 Now when Jesus was born in Beth-lehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: And the government shall be upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
(Luke 2:1-7
42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Beth-lehem, where David was?
3) Born in the flesh
Genesis 3:15 (KJV 1900)
15 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.
Jeremiah 31:22 (KJV 1900)
22 How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? For the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.
4) A star will signal the birth
Numbers 24:17
17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: There shall come a Star out of Jacob, And a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, And shall smite the corners of Moab, And destroy all the children of Sheth.
Matthew 2:2 (KJV 1900)
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
5) Supernatural Birth - Born of a virgin
Luke 1:34–35 (KJV 1900)
34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
The New Testament declares that, according to the Old
Testament prophecy, Jesus was born in a supernatural manner - his mother was a virgin.
.. and she will call His name
Immanuel." [Meaning "God is with us."] -
14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, And shall call his name Immanuel.
Rabbi Josef Mizrachi tried to challenge the New Testament's claim, saying: "Never in history did anyone interpret the word "alma' as virgin." The truth is that many Jewish scholars, including Rashi, interpreted the word alma as virgin several times, as will be explained. But the Rabbis say that the concept of the "Virgin Birth" is pure paganism.
Do they believe that God is powerless to cause a virgin woman to conceive a child by means other than intercourse?
The word often translated as 'virgin' (betulah) in the Bible can actually refer to a married woman as well as to an unmarried woman but the word 'alma' refers to a young and specifically unmarried woman. According to the culture and to God's commandments during biblical times, a young girl who never married would be presumed to be chaste. Therefore, the use of the word alma rather than betulah in this verse and prophecy regarding the birth of the Messiah, actually confirms the fact that the Messiah was supposed to arrive through a miraculous birth.
An essential doctrine such as the virgin birth cannot be grounded in a single verse, so it's important to understand what is happening in the context of this important chapter.
The context of the prophecy:
Isaiah 7 begins with a description of King Ahaz, son of Jotham son of Uzziah, king of Judah. Unlike his father, Ahaz didn't walk by faith in the ways of the LORD, but was a wicked ruler and idol worshiper. He worshiped Baal and even offered his own sons as a sacrifice to his gods. His neighbors were no better than him... In Aram, King Ratzin reigned and in Samaria, Pekah son of Remaliah was the king of Israel. These two kings wanted to join with Ahaz and his Kingdom of Judah to form a defense treaty against the king of Assyria, who at that time, had begun a campaign of conquest. But Ahaz refused to join them, so in response, the king of Aram and the king of Israel threatened to gO to war against Judah. Their intention was to pull down Ahaz and put a "puppet" king in his place. Since Ahaz didn't trust in God, he knew that he had no chance of winning on his own and turned to the king of Assyria, Tiglath-Pileser Ill, to beg for help.
Along with the request, he also sent money and gold. Ahaz, a king from the house of David, was supposed to ask for help from the God of his fathers but as in so many other cases like his, this story shows us that whoever puts his trust in people instead of God is destined for disappointment. The armies of Aram and Israel came up against Judah and besieged Jerusalem, but conquering the city was a challenge due to the fortifications which were built there back in the days of Uziyahu, Ahaz's grandfather. Because Ahaz failed to consult God, God sent the prophet Isaiah (along with his son Shear-Jashub) to Ahaz, to bring him words of encouragement.
The purpose of the prophecy was to remind Ahaz and his people that the lives of all people are in God's hands and that everyone should believe and trust in Him. Isaiah came to Ahaz while he was observing the besieging enemies, and said: "These two smoldering stumps of firebrands." The prophet describes Ratzin, king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, as powerless. In God's eyes, they are no more than a burning end of a tail, letting off smoke. Isaiah prophesies in verses 7-9 that the plan of the two kings where they plan to kill Ahaz and set up a "puppet" king in his place would fail. Ahaz, king of Judah, is seeing right in front of him the armies of Aram and Israel who are planning to destroy him. Yet in the face of all this, the prophet Isaiah promises Ahaz that they will fall. The prophecy was fulfilled 65 years later.
The king must have thought: "How will this help me 65 years from now? I need a solution now!" In verses 10-11 God knew the king's thoughts, and made a proposal in order to encourage him:
"Ask a sign of the LORD your God" (Isaiah 7:10). In verse 12, King Ahaz, who did not esteem God but worshiped idols, answered God sarcastically: "Ahaz said, 'I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test'"
12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.
God was willing to give king Ahaz a sign in order to inspire him to instill faith in him, but the insincere and hypocritical response of Ahaz proved the depth of his wickedness and contempt for God He knew very well that if he asked for a sign that would come to pass, he would need to repent and change his ways.
He wanted to keep the power and control in his hands. This response angered God. Now, the prophet Isaiah turns from Ahaz to the people, to the entire house of David and says to them: "Therefore the Lord himself will give YOU (you all - pl.] a sign." (Isaiah 7:14 [emphasis mine]) Ahaz refused to ask for a sign so God by his own initiative, will give the people a sign.
WHEN WOULD IT HAPPEN?
In the next verses we learn that this will be a difficult period for the people of Israel. The prophet indicates that "he will eat curds and honey." Sounds good? Not in biblical times - curd is a byproduct of milk and as for honey in those days, people needed to go into the woods on a difficult search for beehives. This means that it would be during a time of hardship and deprivation. And indeed, Jesus was born in a time when the people of Israel were sighing under the Roman occupation. "He knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good" Isaiah continues to describe the promised son from the alma as Immanuel: He will be good and perfect, he will refuse evil and will choose only what is good. Now it is revealed why God asked Isaiah to bring his young son, Shear-jashub, with him. At this point, the prophet Isaiah turns back to king Ahaz, points to Shear-jashub, and says: "For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted." That means that before Isaiah's son knew how to discern between good and evil, the two kings who were so feared by Ahaz and the people of Judah, would be removed from the earth. Sure enough, within two years, those two kings met their death. To understand Hebrew prophecy is to understand that it contains patterns and parallels that can repeat throughout history in partial fulfillments until all the signs are in place for the ultimate fulfillment. The example of Isaiah's son was a partial fulfillment that pointed ahead to the ultimate fulfillment in Jesus.
THE MEANING OF THE WORD 'ALMA.
Now that more understanding has been unlocked on what is happening in chapter 7, let's go back to the meaning of the word
'alma' in the Old Testament. In order to make a decision about the meaning of any word, it's necessary to examine the context in which it appears, as demonstrated above, and then compare it to all the other places where it appears.
The word 'alma' appears in the Old Testament seven times, and the meaning is always a young, unmarried girl. In Genesis 24, Abraham's servant, Eliezer, comes to Nahor and prays that God will help him find the right wife for Isaac. There Rebekah is described: "a young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden (alma) whom no man had known." Later, Eliezer refers to her as "the alma". In Exodus 2, we are told that Pharaoh's daughter pulled Moses out of the water. Moses' sister, Miriam, stood at a distance and watched the event. Then, she ran to Pharaoh's daughter and offered to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for her: "And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Go." So the girl (alma) went and called the child's mother." Miriam's description in verse 4 testifies that she was a young girl, unmarried, as she sill lived with her parents.
In Psalm 68:25, "virgins (alma pl.) playing tambourines" are single women, who took part in the procession accompanying the king to the holy place.
Proverbs 30:19-20 "the way of a man with a virgin (alma). This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, 'I have done no wrong. '" The author says that a man who intentionally leads the way with a virgin in sexual relations is like an adulteress who intentionally leads men astray but doesn't admit
her sin.
In Song of Songs 1, Solomon's bride praises him while she says that young women (alma pl.) who are looking for a husband, are attracted to him as a man who is about to marry her.
In Song of Songs 6, three categories are mentioned of women who lived in the king's palace: Queens, concubines and young women (alma pl.) The young women (alma pl.) were there to serve the queens and were kept under purity laws, which lasted an entire year. They had to be virgins, and to marry eventually. Therefore, the Old Testament always uses 'alma' for an unmarried woman, who is also a virgin.
Another question that must be considered is how the word 'alma' was understood in ancient Judaism. The Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Old Testament made by 70 Jewish scholars long before the time of Jesus, and they translated the word alma' in Isaiah 7:14 to mean 'virgin'. The Pshitta, a Syriac translation from Hebrew undertaken in the 2nd century CE, also translated 'alma' as "virgin' as did the Vulgate translation into Latin.
The Jewish biblical scholar Dr. Fruchtenbaum writes that the rabbis quote Rashi as someone who interprets the word 'alma' as a 'Young woman,' and concedes that so does Rashi consider the word in Isaiah 7:14 to refer to a young woman rather than a virgin.
However, Fruchtenbaum points out that it's easy to understand why Rashi would take a different position in this particular case: he was involved in polemical debates against Christians, and therefore he took an opposite position to the one which had been accepted up until his time in order to try and disprove Jesus' messiahship. In fact, he took a different position to the one that he himself held in a different case - Rashi didn't always interpret the word 'alma' as a 'young woman'. This word also appears in the Song of Songs and in these verses he interpreted 'alma' as a 'virgin. Moreover, Rashi himself indicated that other Jewish scholars producing Biblical commentary in his time also interpreted the word 'alma' in Isaiah 7:14 as a 'virgin'
And it is important to note that the ancient Jewish Sages also held the belief that the Messiah wouldn't have a biological father. Here is what they taught -
"The redeemer whom I shall raise up from among you, will have no father!
6) Divine name
"Let the kings of Tarshish and of 7) Presented with the islands bring presents; the
gifts at birth kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts. And let all kings bow down before Him.
- Psalm 72:10-11
10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: All nations shall serve him.
8) Infants massacred
15 Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children Refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.
- Matthew 2:16
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Beth-lehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.
New Testament Fulfillment
.. for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."
- - Luke 2:11
(Matthew 1:18; Galatians 4:4; and
Revelation 12:5)
... you shall call His name Jesus [God's Salvation], for He will save His people from their sins."
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Matthew 2:1, 11