Abraham, he said, through you, all the families of the earth will be blessed.

And so we get the message right from the start of this chosen people Israel that somehow through

them blessing is going to come to all the peoples of the world.

Three generations later to one of Abraham's great-grand sons, the promise was made, it was

Judah, was his name, the son of Jacob, this promise.

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,

until he comes to whom it belongs and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

Genesis 49.

Someday, the blessing promised through Abraham is going to come to the world through a person to whom all the nations will give obedience. So there we get the promise of a ruler

through the House of Judah. A few hundred years later God sends to the people of

Israel a king named David who was born no accident

of the house of Judah and the promise made to David through the prophet Nathan was

this I will raise up your offspring after you, who will come

forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

He will build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his

kingdom forever. And so not only do we know now that a blessing is coming through the

people of Israel to all the nations,

that it comes through the House of Judah, but now we know it's going to be a king.

It's going to sit on the throne of David, his father.

And then the prophet Isaiah gets more specific. Chapter 9. For unto us a child

is born, to us a son is given, the government will be upon his shoulder and his name will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end and upon the throne of David and over his

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