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The War Cry | CHRISTMAS 2013
When I hear my favorite Christmas verse, "Thanks be to God for His
indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15), I think of the surprise and joy of
those who first received it.
This verse was written by a brilliant Jewish rabbi, Saul of Tarsus, better
known as the Apostle Paul. A very educated man, he was a master of both
the Hebrew and Greek languages. And when he thought of the advent of
Christ, he couldn't find one word to do it justice. He was at a complete loss to
express himself, so he simply called it indescribable!
This gift was too awesome for words!
Dr. Luke gives his doctor's report: "It came about that while they were
there, the days were completed for [Mary] to give birth. And she gave birth
to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in cloths. She laid Him in a
feeding trough... " (Luke 2:6-7).
Even though you might wrap some gifts carefully, you can't hide them.
Ever tried to wrap a grandfather clock? Or a cat?
How do you wrap an indescribable gift,
one that would change the very
course of the destiny of the universe?
This gift in the person of Jesus came wrapped in prophecy.
Jesus didn't suddenly drop out of the sky. God prepared man for His
coming hundreds of years ahead of time.
Around the seventh century BC a great Hebrew prophet named Isaiah
wrote, "Therefore Jehovah Himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin will
be with child and bear a Son, and she will call His name Immanuel, God
with us" (Isaiah 7:14).
Then he writes again in Isaiah 9:6, "A child will be born to us. Israel
listen. Zion be ready. Heaven will give us a Son. What will be His name?
Well, the government will rest on His shoulders. His name will be called
`Wonder of a Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Shalom Prince.'"
God further prepared the hearts of the people for an indescribable gift by
wrapping Him in the prophecy found in Micah 5:2: "As for you, Bethlehem,
too little to be among the clans of Judah. From you, your little streets, one
G
W
hen our son Mark was about four years old,
he was helping his grandmother unwrap her
Christmas gift. As she picked the gift up,
tested its weight and shook it, she said to
Mark, "I wonder what it is?"
Mark, overwhelmed by excitement and his grandmother's
interest, proclaimed, "Think pocketbook, grandma, think
pocketbook."
will go forth for Me to be ruler
in Israel."
This indescribable gift is also
wrapped in history. He is sover-
eign over time. With this gift God
weaved history together so it dove-
tails and completes prophecy.
Galatians 4:4 says, "When the
fullness of the time came, God sent
forth His Son, born of a woman, born
under the Law, that He might buy
back those who were under the law."
Right on schedule, when all of the
things fit perfectly together, a virgin
became pregnant. The baby formed
in her womb would transform
everything, including us, to whom
"the wondrous gift is given."
To share this gift, to get the
message out, people would need a
common language. Not since the
Tower of Babel, when God used
languages to separate people to keep
them from jeopardizing His plans,
did one language prevail. Prior to
Jesus' birth, the world was filled
with languages. Then Alexander the
Great conquered civilizations and
made Greek the common lan-
guage--one all could understand.
You would need roads so people
could carry the message as they
traveled from place to place. And
history tells us that Rome built such
roads throughout its vast empire
and made the world a fairly safe
place for travel.
How would this gift first come
to the little town of Bethlehem, as
foretold by prophets of old? Out of
the blue, the politics of that day
called for a census to be taken.
God's Indescribable
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9/11/13 3:13 PM