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Prophecies Concerning the Birth of Christ

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There are a number of prophecies and allusions to Christ the Messiah throughout the Old Testament.

Think about that. God, in His infinitely glorious wisdom, had wonderfully planned the salvation of all peoples through the person and work of Jesus Christ–the only Son of God, God in the flesh. From the days of Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, to the prophets – God’s grand metanarrative of salvation was being written. Here are a few of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the birth of Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 7:13-17

[13] And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? [14] Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. [15] He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. [16] For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. [17] The LORD will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah–the king of Assyria.”

Isaiah 9:6

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Micah 5:2-4

[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. [3] Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. [4] And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.

Comments

  1. As great as Isaiah’s prophecies are, the one from Micah seems even more delicious to me. I noticed mostly the exact location of the Savior’s birth, Bethlehem. For an impoverished run down little village like Bethlehem most exquisite comfort as comfortable as a cramped horse stable can b was found there. The scene it serves as a backdrop for is clear indicator of Our Lord;s humility. Another equally delightful aspect is the bit about dwelling securely.

  2. A few of these prophecies make a great enclosure for our Christmas cards! I certainly didn’t know this information before I came to Christ and started studying Scripture, and I’m just as sure that many on my card list don’t know it either. I still remember the awe that I felt when I first heard these verses! This is a perfect season to share them.

  3. Thank you so much for this blog post! I happened on here looking for a spanish translation of a bible verse (irrelevant to my response) and I also happen to have been praying about HOW to word or list the biblical prophesies concerning the birth of Christ on our Christmas cards this year…and here it is!! Thank you for getting straight to the point of the matter, you made it easy for me, and definitely an answer to prayer, thank you Lord!

  4. I have a list of 100 prophesies (from Rose Publishing) related to our Lord’s birth, life and ministry, Death and Resurrection. For you statisticians out there… what are the chances that one, perhaps two or three of these would come true? But they did and they had to come true literally because if they didn’t we wouldn’t recognize them as being fulfilled. The penalty for false prophesy was death…. I was reminded recently that the “zeal” of the Lord of Hosts will perform it. God’s honour depends on them being fulfilled and it is the Lord, himself, who performs it. As Isaiah 46 states, He is the only god who writes history in advance. Isa 46:10 Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.