I was just thinking about how many sermons, how many devotionals and how many articles I have written over the years about the birth of Jesus. Indeed, this issue of the Baptist Trumpet will likely have several articles on that wonderful subject. Most of us are familiar with the passage from Isaiah 9:6 where the promised Messiah would be called the “Prince of Peace.” I want to share with you about the subject of peace in this, my last column before the Christmas holidays.
The Emphasis from the Prophet Micah
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace…” (Micah 5:2-5 NIV1984).
Note that it doesn’t say that He will give them peace, but that He will be their peace. However, Christ also bringspeace to every human who believes in Him as Savior and the coming King. Here are some thoughts to ponder.
•The multiple promises about Christ and peace — One thing I have taught for decades is that there is continuity in God’s Word. He did not leave us with only one comment about the coming Christ and never mention it again. No. In fact, when it comes to Christ and peace, there are many promises that are connected to other prophecies. For instance, in the passage from Micah 5:3 that Israel would be “abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth.” That prophecy certainly came true! I am not referring only to the birth of the Messiah, but to that abandonment. For Israel, that happened.
God promised that a time would come when He would no longer visit or speak to Israel. That caused a time when there was no peace for the nation — 400 years of unrest and wandering. “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Sovereign Lord, ‘when I will send a famine through the land — not famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it’” (Amos 8:11-12). From the time of Malachi’s writing to the beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist, God chose not to speak to His chosen people. That was a period of some 400 years.
• The Prince of Peace provided His peace, Himself — At the birth of Jesus the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace tomen on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14). The ministry of Christ followed the introduction from John the Baptist. For three years, the Lord, the Word of God, spoke to God’s people. When He died, His followers thought all was lost; they had no peace. But the Lord knew their need and ours as well.
Before He was crucified, Jesus told His disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). Knowing Jesus gives peace to troubled hearts! May His peace rule and reign in our hearts!
