Mic. 5:2 – But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
All of us have experienced broken promises in our lives. Promises of friendship that ended in betrayal, promises of faithfulness that ended in heartbreak, and promises of gifts, jobs, or better days that only awakened our hopes to end up crashing to the ground. What is the bottom line of a promise? Good intentions are never enough. Fulfilled promises come by the integrity of the promiser and his ability to fulfill the promise. At the end of the day there is only One that can always come through and He is the very promise of Christmas.
Christmas is a celebration of the promise of God. Notice I said promise and not promises. All of God’s promises flow out of His great promise. What promise is that? He promised to send a messiah, His only Son to be the Savior of the world. The birth of Christ, the fulfillment of the promise of God, is our guarantee that all of the promises in the book are sure. His promises are always fulfilled. Here are some thoughts from John Piper on God’s promise seen in Micah’s prophesy.
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“Micah’s point was this: the coming of Christ was the confirmation of the promises of God. Here’s the way Paul put it in Romans 15:8: “Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs.” Or as he said in 2 Corinthians 1:20, “All the promises of God find their Yes in him.” If you are “in him” by faith, you will inherit all the promises of God. Micah’s prediction came true in Jesus. And thus all the promises were confirmed. God has told the truth. Christmas is God’s great confirmation of all his promises. If Christ has come, God is true. And if God is true, all the promises will come true for all who trust him. Receive this unspeakable gift.”
Let’s celebrate this Christmas, celebrate the coming of our Savior and His promise of life with Him forever. Looking at God’s track record I would have to say all of the other promises God has given to you are certain.