The Birth of Jesus and the Curse

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen 

It may be a surprise to learn that that extremely famous Christmas hymn "Joy to the Word" was not written by Isaac Watts to be about Christmas. He wrote it about the return of Christ. Like many other hymn writers, it was based on Scripture. In this case, the 98th Psalm. So many things work together when singing this song at Christmas.

Credit: Pixabay / Ria Sopala

Indeed, there is a great deal of strong theology in many hymns, especially those about Christmas. (I think that's one reason that cults like the Jehovah's Witnesses isolate their people; you won't have them coming along to your Christmas Eve service. After all, they may hear, "Hail the incarnate Deity!" and similar lyrics.) Dr. James R. White pointed out that "We Three Kings" is also deep, despite the erroneous traditions that we do not know how many "kings" there were, only that there were three gifts.

A line in the song "When He Comes Back" by DeGarmo and Key is, "Remember that kid from the manger scene? When he comes back, he's gonna reign as King!" Well, we celebrate his birth, which was necessary for his crucifixion for our sins and redemption. "Joy to the World" has,

No more let sins and sorrows grow
nor thorns infest the ground:
he comes to make his blessings flow
far as the curse is found.

This verse brings us back to the fall of man in Eden. Genesis 3:17-29 refers to thorns as part of the curse. Let me remind you that our Savior wore a crown of thorns. The Creator, God the Son (John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:16) humbled himself and died for us, but is glorified now and will return (Philippians 2:5-11). When we celebrate his birth, we can remember the fall of man, the crucifixion and bodily resurrection of Jesus, and the fact that he has promised to come back for us.

What I'm going to do now is link to The Briefing by Dr. Mohler that inspired this article. (He's done that several times, hasn't he?) In the first part, he discusses the tragedy involving the aberrant teachings of Bethel Church. (For those who want to dig deeper on this, there are four audio sessions on the Cultish podcast, look for the discussions with Elijah Stevens. Dr. White also discusses this on The Dividing Line.) The next part from Dr. Mohler is what applies to our discussion here. I hope you'll check it out and get his insights. To listen, download, or read the transcript of the third segment, click on "Friday, December 20, 2019".

I want to wish you and yours a blessed Christmas!

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