Awaiting the Manger: 7 Days of Discovering Jesus in the Old TestamentSample

Introduction: Immanuel, “God with Us”

In Isaiah 7:14, God tells us that the Messiah will be called Immanuel.

Immanuel means “God with us,” and it is the name of God that whispers each of our personal stories. We are separated from God, sinful, damaged, unable to enter his holy presence, but because of a love greater than we can grasp, the walls barring us from him collapsed. A Savior, gentle in a manger, glorious in his brokenness, with blood-stained brow, ripped hands and feet, climbed through the rubble to rescue us.

It’s a story woven over millennia in true tales etched by prophets and poets on stone and papyrus, and then preserved for us in what we call the Old Testament. Here we find the shining face of the baby in the hay. In those old stories he was there, as present with us as he has always been and will always remain.

This study plan pauses to peek at the hints of Jesus’s coming from Heaven to Earth that are whispered throughout the ancient pages of Scripture.

Each day will feature a Scripture story, retold to “put flesh on the bones.” At times, to receive a fresh perspective, you’ll experience the story through one of the character's points of view. Other times credible historical details are used to paint the scene. And in a few spots, you’ll read an imagined scenario that could have happened. Weaving through the stories, only plausible details are added, based in research of the biblical text, the time period, and the language, but these parts are not the Word of God!

That’s why, at the beginning of each day, you will be encouraged to read the Scripture passages to hear what God is saying for yourself!