The Messiah

SOON after man had become a sinner, the plan of redemption was laid. More of this plan was revealed to Adam and his family than is recorded in the Bible history of those early times. This is necessarily inferred from what is written. That Cain and Abel brought offerings to the Lord; that Abel's was accepted, while Cain's was rejected; that God "had respect to Abel and to his offering," while "to Cain and to his offering he had not respect,"—and the fact that it was "by faith" that Abel presented an acceptable sacrifice, are revelations that prove to the reflecting mind that God had revealed the plan of salvation through the blood of the Messiah, which was typified by the blood of Abel's Iamb and that he had instructed them in their duty to approach him by faith and repentance in order to pardon and acceptance. This inference is as good as positive proof, when we consider that God accepts that only, in his worship, which he has commanded.

The earliest recorded intimation of a promised Saviour, is found in the language of Jehovah to the serpent: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Gen. 3:15. Subsequent prophecies of the birth of the Messiah, and their fulfillment (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:21-25), together with certain expressions of the New Testament, such as the declarations that Christ was "made of a woman" (Gal. 4:4), and that "the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet " (Rom. 16:20), confirm the idea commonly received among Christians, that the seed of the woman referred to in the promise, is the Messiah; and that the serpent whose head was to be crushed, is "that old serpent called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world" (Rev. 12:9; 20:2), the being who, in the guise of a serpent, beguiled Eve, and led our first parents into sin.

Cain, the first-born of the woman, would naturally have enjoyed the excellency, or the privilege of the first-born, and would have been the honored progenitor of the Messiah, but that he forfeited his birthright by his wicked disobedience. Said God to him, "If thou doest well, shalt thou not have the excellency?" (Margin.) "And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." Abel gained acceptance with God, and was justly entitled to that which Cain had forfeited by his disobedience; but he was slain, and therefore it became necessary to appoint another in his place, through whom the promised seed should be given. Accordingly the third son of our first parents was named Seth, i. e., appointed, or put; "For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew." Hence the genealogical ancestors of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, are reckoned through the successive first-born sons, from Seth to Noah. Of three sons of Noah, though Japheth was the elder (Gen. 10:21), Shem was chosen, probably on account of his being the most eminent in his piety and devotion to the true God. This is inferred from the blessing pronounced upon him: "Blessed be the Lord God of Shem." From Shem to Abraham, or at least, to Torah, the father of Abraham, the first-born, in each instance, retained the honor of being the progenitors of the promised seed of the woman; and to Abraham the promise was renewed: "In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ."