Messianic Prophecies of the Old Testament Part Two

By Rev. David Lee Brown

In this article, we will experience the Messianic Prophecies of the Old Testament Part Two as a continuation of last week's article. While this series is not an exhaustive dissertation of the prophecies, it does provide a sampling of the prophecies and their fulfillment in the New Testament. The Old Testament prophecy distribution demonstrates that the narrative about Jesus encompasses the entirety of scripture. It's that crimson thread or ribbon that weaves its way through the entire Bible. But you must read the Bible in its entirety to see it for yourself. Seeing some of them may spark some of you into reading and studying the whole Bible, which is my goal – to encourage everyone to at least read the entire Bible for themselves. So, let's look at a few more of these Messianic prophecies.

The Messianic Prophecy in Numbers 24

Numbers 24:17-19 "I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city."

King Balak of Moab commanded the pagan prophet Balaam to speak a curse on the nation of Israel. Balaam attempted to curse Israel three times, yet the word of the LORD came to him, and he blessed Israel on three different occasions. This defiance obviously angered King Balak, and Balaam responded to the king, "I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the Lord saith, that will I speak." While in a trance each time, Balaam had to say what God gave him to say.

This message included the messianic prophecy of the Star out of Jacob, who will defeat both Moab and Edom, among others. This prophecy is often attributed to King David, who defeated all these enemies and more to establish his kingdom.

But another Star out of Jacob arose as the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The Magi followed the star to Bethlehem to find the newborn king. Jesus will, starting in the Millennial Reign of Christ, have dominion over the entire earth. "And shall destroy him that remaineth of the city" refers to Edom specifically, the other cities mentioned, and finally, the whole world. In the final Judgement of God, the Great White Throne judgment, all those who rejected Christ will be cast into the Lake of Fire that burns eternally as an eternal punishment. This punishment is of their own choosing because they had the opportunity to accept Christ but rejected Him. The Lion of Judah, the Star out of Jacob, will reign forever as prophesied.

Fulfillment of the Messianic Prophecy in Numbers 24

Matthew 2:2 addresses the Star out of Jacob by "Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." This prophecy addresses Jesus as King of the Jews. Luke 1:32-33 shares, "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." So, Luke describes Jesus as the Son of the Highest and the king of the throne of David forever. Then, he states that His kingdom will have no end, meaning He will always reign and His kingdom will be without boundaries.

The Messianic lineage in Ruth 4:17

Boaz married Ruth, and she bore him a son called Obed and Obed's grandmother was Naomi. Ruth 4:17 shares, "And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David."

This passage demonstrates the lineage of Jesus from Boaz to Obed, who begat Jesse, the father of David. Then Matthew provides a lineage of Jesus in Mathew 1:6-16. You can also find a comprehensive version of this lineage of Jesus in Luke 3:21-38.

Fulfillment of the Prophecy from Ruth 4:17

These lineages are predictive, showing God's promise of the Messiah coming from the lineage of King David. Jesus fulfilled this prophecy and is sitting at the right hand of God today, alive and well, and will one day rule the entire earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The Messianic Prophecy in Psalm 2

This psalm is the first Messianic psalm and shares the conception of Christ. Psalm 2:7 says, "I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee." Begot implies conception because a son is a son from conception, not from birth, and that is further illustrated by John leaping within his mother's womb when Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, Luke 1:41.

Psalm 2 ends with, "Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him." Those who serve the Son must have reverence for Jesus and "rejoice with trembling" or display joyfulness tempered with worshipful awe. We should kiss or show love toward the Son to show Him the proper respect. Then, we also need to trust in Him—only those people who, by grace through faith in Christ alone for their salvation, will see heaven.

Fulfillment of the Prophecy in Psalm 2

Acts 13:33 quotes Psalm 2:17 to show that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of Psalm 2. "God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee." This quote is from a sermon the apostle Paul was sharing in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch. He preached this and other quotes from the Psalms to demonstrate that God had kept his promises to the people of Israel.

The Messianic Prophecy in Psalm 22

This Psalm has more than one prophecy and starts with, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?" We hear the pleas of the psalmist saying My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? He feels God is no longer providing protection, comfort, and strength. He feels like God is far away even though he is pleading for God's intervention. People often feel this way. They think God has abandoned them and isn't heard no matter what they pray or ask from God. But it's usually us who are far away from God: we have unrepented sin in our lives or abandon God until we have an immediate need for Him and then expect Him to act on our behalf instantly.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. We must always remain in a state of prayer and worship, and even then, God answers our prayers in His time and reflects His will. We must learn patience.

In the 16-19th verse of Psalm 22, we read, "For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. But be not thou far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me."

The dogs refer to those who are beating and crucifying Him. They have encircled Him, pierced His hands and feet, crucifying Jesus. He looks down and is so emaciated that he sees all His bones protruding. Then they cast lots (gamble) for His clothing. At this point, the prophetic Christ on the cross pleads for God to come to Him for strength and help. Help arrives through His temporary death. Sometimes, death is a welcomed thing. If you are saved by God's grace, God will often heal you and relieve your suffering by calling you home to heaven.

Fulfillment of the Prophecy in Psalm 22

Jesus continued to be lucid enough after being savagely beaten and crucified to notice the guards gambling for His clothing in Matthew 27:35. He witnessed their disrespect and disregard while demonstrating to everyone that He would no longer need His garments because He would be dead soon. I call that despicable and disgusting. They should have waited until He passed away. But the prophecy had to be fulfilled. A thousand years had passed, yet God ensured the prophecy was fulfilled.

In Matthew 27:46, we read, "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" This question is a direct quote rendered in both Aramaic and Greek in the original manuscript and is a fulfillment of the prophecy in Psalm, by direct quote, about one thousand years after Psalm 22 was written. I think that's genuinely astonishing because the Psalm not only had to be preserved by the Jews for over one thousand years, but Jesus had to have memorized it and had the wherewithal to quote it from the cross – truly astonishing! Mark 15:34 also documents the amazing fulfillment of this prophecy. This incident is also shared in John 19:24, where John adds, "that the scripture might be fulfilled."