The Christmas season is a perfect time to do a walk-through of the Old Testament’s record of how God systematically revealed, step by step, the specifics of the Savior’s birth. Are you up for doing that Bible study? If so, the walk-through goes as follows.

1. The revelation began when God said to Satan (who was possessing Eden’s serpent at the time), “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed…” (Genesis 3:15). That strange term “her Seed” shows that the Savior would be born to a woman, specifically to a virgin. So, the Savior would not be an angel, or animal, or any other type of creature. He would be born a human being into the human race.

2. The revelation progressed further when God went on to say to Satan concerning the Seed of the woman, “…He shall bruise your head. And you shall bruise His heel.” So, the Savior would be born to a virgin and be born a male.

3. The revelation progressed further when Noah said to his son, Shem, “Blessed be the Lord God of Shem…” (Genesis 9:26). Even though it is questionable as to whether or not either Noah or Shem understood the full implication of Noah pronouncing this blessing upon Shem, God surely understood it. So, the Savior would be born to a virgin, be born a male, and come from the line of Shem, as opposed to either of the lines from Noah’s other two sons (Ham and Japheth).

4. The revelation progressed further when God promised Abram (Abraham), one of Shem’s descendants, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3; Galatians 3:16). So, the Savior would be born to a virgin, be born a male, come from the line of Shem, and come from the line of Abraham. And since Abraham was the father of the Jewish race, God’s promise to Abraham meant that the Savior would be a Jew.

5. The revelation progressed further when the prophet Balaam prophesied, “…A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel…” (Numbers 24:17). So, the Savior would be born to a virgin, be born a male, come from the line of Shem, come from the line of Abraham, and come from the line of Abraham’s grandson, Jacob. Furthermore, since Jacob was the son of Abraham’s son, Isaac, this prophecy meant that the Savior would come from the line of Isaac, as opposed to Him coming from the line of Abraham’s other son, Ishmael.

6. The revelation progressed further when the elderly Jacob (Isaac’s son, Abraham’s grandson) prophesied that the Messiah would come through the line of his son, Judah, as opposed to any of the lines of Jacob’s other eleven sons. Jacob said, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; And to Him (Shiloh) shall be the obedience of the people” (Genesis 49:10; Hebrews 7:14; Revelation 5:5). The term “Shiloh” means “peace-giver” or “the One who brings peace” and is a reference to the Savior. So, the Savior would be born to a virgin, be born a male, come from the line of Shem, come from the line of Abraham, come from the line of Isaac, come from the line of Jacob, and come from the line of Judah. And since Judah’s line would become Israel’s tribe of Judah, the Savior would come from the tribe of Judah.

7. The revelation progressed further when the prophet Isaiah prophesied, “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots” (Isaiah 11:1). Jesse was a descendant of Judah and a member of the tribe of Judah. So, the Savior would be born to a virgin, be born a male, come from the line of Shem, come from the line of Abraham, come from the line of Isaac, come from the line of Jacob, come from the line of Judah, and come from the line of Jesse.

8. The revelation progressed further when God promised Jesse’s son, King David, that He would establish the throne of his son’s kingdom forever (2 Samuel 7:8-13; Matthew 1:1; Luke 1:26-27; Romans 1:3). Even though David’s son, Solomon, would ascend to the throne of Israel after David’s death, the ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy would be found in the Savior. So, the Savior would be born to a virgin, born a male, come from the line of Shem, come from the line of Abraham, come from the line of Isaac, come from the line of Jacob, come from the line of Judah, come from the line of Jesse, and come from the line of David.

9. The revelation progressed further when the prophet Micah prophesied that the Savior would be born in the small town of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1-6), which not coincidently was the birthplace of King David. So, the Savior would be born to a virgin, born a male, come from the line of Shem, come from the line of Abraham, come from the line of Isaac, come from the line of Jacob, come from the line of Judah, come from the line of Jesse, come from the line of David, and be born in the Judean town of Bethlehem.

10. The Old Testament’s revelation of Christ’s birth finally concluded when the prophet Daniel prophesied that the Savior would be put to death (“cut off”) 483 years – the years being described as “weeks” of years (“sevens” of years) – after the Persian ruler, Artaxerxes, would issue a decree allowing the Jews to leave their exile in Babylon and return to Jerusalem to begin rebuilding their decimated city. Even though Daniel’s prophecy didn’t name the actual year of the Savior’s birth, it did provide the approximate timeline for it. So, the Savior would be born to a virgin, born a male, come from the line of Shem, come from the line of Abraham, come from the line of Isaac, come from the line of Jacob, come from the line of Judah, come from the line of Jesse, come from the line of David, be born in Bethlehem, and be born some 400 years or so after Artaxerxes issued that decree.

You see, down through the eons of human history, God kept getting more and more specific regarding the details of the birth of the Savior of the human race. A plan was always in place, and God was always working His plan. And that plan culminated on that night so long ago in the birth of that little baby whose first crib was a manger.