The Incarnation

Last year I began what I hope will be an annual ritual for myself. So I’ve done it twice now in anticipation of this time of year. What’s the tradition? I read a short, little book written around the year 318 AD. About 1,700 years ago. The author became the Bishop of Alexandria and held that office for about 45 years. His name was Athanasius. And the book is called, “On the Incarnation”.

I read this book each Christmas-time because what we celebrate at Christmas is exactly what this book is about. The incarnation of God. What does that word mean? You can see within the word some hints. We know the word carnivore or carnage, especially if you’re a comic book fan. Perhaps you know the word reincarnation from the religious beliefs of those outside Christianity or pop culture. Reincarnation meaning a rebirth into a new body.

Incarnation then, the idea of putting into the flesh, or becoming “in the flesh”.

In Christianity, we use this word to describe the birth of Jesus Christ, and if you want to get more technical, His conception by the Holy Spirit in the virgin womb of Mary.

But we like birthdays so that’s when we celebrate.

It’s the moment in history when God put on human flesh, took on our human nature in tandem with His own godly nature and identified with us in every way possible.

John tries to capture this remarkable idea in the opening verses of His gospel.

John 1:14–18 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

I ‘ve begun to read this short, little book for a reason. It points me back to Scripture and reminds me of two things. What God has done. And why God has done it. What tends to happen at Christmas time for the world, including us, is that we get busy and distracted by all the movement. There’s excitement in the air, we plan our off time, we look for gifts, we look to receive gifts, we look to use and indulge in those gifts.

And inside the Church, even for the good intentioned who focus on the story of Jesus, we tend to focus on the details of the Christmas story. Reminding ourselves who the involved characters are, how many wise men were on the scene, when they even came… etc. Good things, important things regarding the story. There is significance in the story. Jesus was born into the most humble of circumstances. A manger. Parents that were not financially established in any way. Simple and lowly Shepherds being the only ones to greet him that night, seemingly. Not the circumstances you’d expect God to be born into.

But. I don’t want you guys to go one more Christmas without truly considering what it means that God arrived into our mess as a human baby boy. Why this actually matters. Why it needed to happen. How it affects today for me. Why this can fill my heart with joy in this moment.

To set up our time, I want to plug our way through an OT story rather quickly, and then spend some time afterward making some connections with it. So please turn to 1 Samuel 27.

Let’s pray.

1 Samuel and 2 Samuel tell us the story of David’s life. It begins with Samuel’s life, transitions to Saul’s which then sets us up to learn about David. Samuel anointed David to be the king of Israel after Saul had sinned. God was going to tear the kingdom away from Saul and set up another, a king after His heart, not the heart of the people. So from chapter 16 on, God begins raising David to power, but from chapter 18 on, Saul begins trying to kill David to prevent him from becoming king. After living on the run, in chapter 27, David leaves the land of Israel and seeks refuge with his #1 enemy, the Philistines. And this is what he says in preparation, 1 Samuel 27:1 “Then David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.””

So we first have to note, that God is nowhere to be found in this decision. And it may seem like I’m being overly critical here. But the reason I point this out, is that when we see have a returning to the Lord moment later on, the author points out the fact that David prayed about some big decisions before they were made. He did not here.

And look how it’s phrased, “He said in his heart”. He’s just talking to himself. It seems that he thinks God’s hand in protecting him is either withdrawn or not enough to keep him alive. The threat is too great. He sees only one option, run to the enemy for safety.

Now he’s done this before and it didn’t work out. 1 Sam. 21:10-15. David pretended to be a crazy man so that they would let him go.

So he’s desperate enough to go back, but this time, look… with the 600 men with him and all their wives and kids. He’s making this decision for their families as well.

And he asks the king of Gath to let these families live in a city named Ziklag, an Israelite city of refuge. It seems things are working out well.

If you look at chapter 29, you’ll notice that there is a battle brewing between the Philistines and Israelites. And where does David and his men find themselves, with the Philistines. They’re gearing up to fight their brothers.

What is going on… David has put them in a bad spot.

The Philistines are the ones who see the craziness of this and actually send David away, so they don’t turn on them. And so David leads his men marching back home to Ziklag. And so we find ourselves here in 1 Samuel 30.

Let’s read 1 Samuel 30:1–6 “Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way. And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”

So they get back to Ziklag and they find it destroyed. The Amalekites had raided it while they were gone and there was no one left. All the women and children were taken.

And the men wept. They wept until their eyes couldn’t produce any more tears, until they had no more strength to yell and wail and scream. In their minds, their families were gone and they were nearly powerless to get them back and they had nowhere else to go. Out of options.

And then things turn.

“But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God”

I’ll paraphrase the next bit. David calls the high priest over, and they essentially pray to God asking for direction. Shall we pursue? Are we going to catch them?

The Lord sends him. Go.

So they set out and eventually catch up with them.

1 Samuel 30:16–20 “And when he had taken him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled. David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives. Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. David brought back all. David also captured all the flocks and herds, and the people drove the livestock before him, and said, “This is David’s spoil.””

A dark end, but God was faithful. Everything that was lost was restored. Justice was served and all the enemies were no more.

This story reminds me of Christmas. You might say, how on earth does this story remind you of Christmas?

As with many OT stories and imagery, they point forward to a greater fulfillment. A fulfillment to be met in the person of Jesus Christ.

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https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/blog-entries/why-spurgeon-loved-the-incarnation/

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/on-incarnation/