Four Reasons Christmas Almost Didn't Happen
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Four Reasons Christmas Almost Didn’t Happen!
Four Reasons Christmas Almost Didn’t Happen!
The story of Christmas didn’t begin when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary. It began in the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve sinned, God pronounced a curse upon the serpent who was according to the book of Revelation is Satan. He said,
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
If this was all we knew, it would be hard to figure out who this person would be. Over the course of time God revealed a detail here and there to enable us to understand He was talking about Jesus. That’s why the story of Christmas really started in Genesis 3.
At that time, it isn’t likely that Satan understood God’s plan any better than Eve, but He did understand that one of Eve’s offspring, meaning a human, would bring about his destruction. So, he set out to thwart God’s plan. If he had succeeded there would have been no Christmas.
1. The threat by the sons of God Genesis 6
1. The threat by the sons of God Genesis 6
We read about Satan’s first threat to Christmas in Genesis 6.
1 When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. 5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”
This passage is difficult to understand because of the reference to the “sons of God.” Are they spirit beings or humans? The modern enlightened world view doesn’t believe in God, the supernatural, in angels or spirit beings. Consequently, some suggest the “sons of God” to refer to men. The problem with that view is that the Old Testament consistently uses the term “sons of God” to refer to angels. If they are angels, then the problem is how did angels take on human form and impregnate women? We aren’t told because that isn’t the point of the story. This story describes an attempt by fallen angels to corrupt humanity. It may be that if they continued, they would have destroyed the human race and prevented the offspring of the woman from being born. This happened because Satan believed God when God said the seed of the woman would crush his head.
Yet God is in control. We God’s response to this beginning in verse eight.
8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
God chose Noah to keep His plan going. God intervened in the history of humanity with the flood and the result was that he started over with this godly man, his wife, their three sons and their wives.
After the flood humanity continued to grow and God’s plan continued. Then we meet a new character in the Christmas story, Abraham. He’s introduced in Genesis 12.
1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
God made some amazing promises to Abraham, in particular the last one, “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” All peoples are everyone from the past, present and future. No mere person could fulfill this. It could only be Eve’s promised offspring. The blessing would be the destruction of the enemy Satan, but it wouldn’t be limited to that. It would also be the blessing of salvation available to everyone.
Now we know the seed of the woman won’t be any person in the world, he will be a descendant of Abraham. Satan understood this, too, and focused his attempts to prevent God’s plan from happening by trying to destroy the Jews, Abraham’s children.
God reveals some additional information about His plan through Abraham’s grandson, Jacob. Jacob moved his family moved to Egypt to survive a famine. In Genesis 49 we read,
1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
Jacob pronounced blessings and gave predictions about his sons and their descendants. One prediction was this,
“The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come, and the obedience of the nations shall be his.” Genesis 49:10
A scepter is a staff used by rulers and is a symbol of their sovereignty. When Jacob said, “the scepter will not depart from Judah,” he was prophesying that one of Judah’s descendants would be a king. This prophecy adds two more details to the Christmas story. First, the one whom God promised would descend from Judah, and second he would be a king.
2. The threat by Pharaoh Exodus 1:8-21
2. The threat by Pharaoh Exodus 1:8-21
Jacob’s descendants, the Jews, lived in Egypt for the next 400 years. They were shepherds and lived isolated in Goshen because the Egyptians looked down on shepherds. This enabled the Jews to maintain their own distinct family heritage. God blessed them as he promised Abraham and they grew to over a million people.
8 Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. 9 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.” 11 So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13 and worked them ruthlessly. 14 They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly. 15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.”
There didn’t appear to be any reason for Pharaoh to feel threatened by the Jews. They did nothing provoke his fear. His motivation likely was satanically inspired.
If Pharaoh succeeded in killing all the boys, it would have been the end of the Jews and God’s promise to Abraham couldn’t happen. One would have expected that Pharaoh, arguably the most powerful man in the earth, could have wiped out the Israelites. But he didn’t.
17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?” 19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.” 20 So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
God used faithful women to prevent Pharaoh from destroying the Israelites. God’s plan continued.
We learn a new detail about the Messiah a few hundred years later. The second king of Israel was David, called a man “after God’s own heart.” David wasn’t perfect but was wholeheartedly devoted to God. God told him this,
11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. “ ‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you:
16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’ ”
David’s kingdom would endure forever. This promise was like the one God made to Abraham. But it wasn’t humanly possible that David, or any of his earthly descendants, all of whom died, could have a throne that endured forever. These words are about the Messiah. The offspring of the woman, promised to Eve, then to Abraham and after him to Judah, would be from the royal line of David.
Solomon followed David as king. Then Rehoboam followed Solomon. This continued for several generations until something else happened to threaten God’s plan.
3. The threat by Queen Athaliah 2 Chronicles 22:10–12.
3. The threat by Queen Athaliah 2 Chronicles 22:10–12.
King Jehoram, one of David’s descendants, married Athaliah, the daughter of the wicked King Ahab. Their son Ahaziah followed Jehoram as king then died in a battle. Then Athaliah shocked everyone.
10 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family of the house of Judah.
She tried to eliminate any descendent of David who had a right to be king.
11 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes who were about to be murdered and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Because Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada, was Ahaziah’s sister, she hid the child from Athaliah so she could not kill him. 12 He remained hidden with them at the temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.
Queen Athaliah’s grandson, Joash, was a descendent of David. God spared Joash and God’s plan continued.
From that time on the kingdom of Judah got progressively worse and turned away from God. He judged them by allowing the Babylonians to conquer them and take them into exile.
Later, the Babylonians were conquered by the Persians. God’s plan, the story of Christmas, faced one more threat when they lived under Persia rule and is described in the book of Esther.
4. The threat by Haman in Persia (Esther 3:1-6).
4. The threat by Haman in Persia (Esther 3:1-6).
King Xerxes of Persia deposed his queen, because she was disrespectful to him. After a long search the king chose Esther to be his new queen. Esther was a Jew, but she kept this fact hidden at the advice of her uncle Mordechai. It would become a key part of the story.
After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. 2 All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.
1 After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. 2 All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor. 3 Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?” 4 Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew. 5 When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. 6 Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.
Why wasn’t Haman satisfied with just killing Mordecai? We see Satan’s fingerprints all over this. If Haman had his wish, he would have all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, killed, not only in Persia but throughout the whole kingdom. There would be no descendent of Abraham to fulfill God’s plan. But it didn’t happen as Haman planned. In the end, King Xerxes hung Haman from gallows constructed to hang Mordecai and King Xerxes allowed the Jews to destroy their enemies.
One might wonder if we could ascribe all these events to Satan. The Scriptures do not tell us that Satan did them. However, they were all consistent with Satan’s desire to thwart the plan of God.
Conclusion
The Christmas story started when God told Satan one of Eve’s descendants would crush him. But the Christmas story isn’t just about destroying the enemy. It is about why God created us in the first place. We were created in His image to know Him, enjoy Him and for Him to enjoy us. He loves us. Satan was a murderer from the beginning and tried to prevent us from living life as God intended. God’s plan is to restore us to live with Him as He always intended. The most important aspect of the Christmas story is God’s plan to restore us to Himself.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
Have you believed that? If not, you can right now. In your heart turn to God and thank him for sending Jesus, not just to be born, but also to die on the cross to pay for our sins, so that we might live life to the full.