God's Eternal Plan - Lesson 5

By Stafford North

The Prophets

Background for the Teacher

Objectives:

  1. The student can list and explain at least six prophecies from the Old Testament which predict the coming Messiah.
  2. The student can explain Isaiah 53:3_9 which tells how the coming Messiah shall be treated.
  3. The student can repeat the memory verse of Isaiah 53:7.

Preparation:

  1. Have ready the Written Review and the Worksheets.
  2. Have a board on which to write the location of the prophecies as you move through the lesson.
  3. Have cards with scriptures for the passages listed under Nos. 9 and 10 so class members can read the passage and tell what it predicts about the comingMessiah. Move through these rather quickly. If you have room on the board,write the passage and, in a word or two, tell what was prophesied. 

Theme:

During the time of "the nation," God gave a message to prophets to foretell of the coming of the Messiah.

Lesson Plan for Teaching the Lesson

Introduction: (10 minutes)

  1. Welcome the visitors.
  2. Review memory verses.
  3. Give the answers to the Written Review over Lesson 4.
  4. Hand-out the Worksheets for Lesson 5
  5. Review the titles of the previous lessons and indicate that almost all the prophecies we shall study today come from "the nation" period.

Learning Experiences: (30 minutes)

  1. Another use of "the nation" period was for God to have time to use prophets to make predictions about the coming Messiah. He needed to spread the time out long enough that it would be evident that the prophecies were made well before their fulfillment. These prophecies paint a picture of the life of "the coming one"and later we shall see their fulfillment in the life of Christ.
  2. Q: What did Genesis 3:15 prophesy about the future? A: That one from the seed of woman would have his heel bruised by Satan but that he would bruise the head of the serpent. Q: What does this suggest about who will be the stronger? A: The one who shall bruise the head of the serpent.
  3. Q: What did God's promise to Abraham say about his offspring? A: That through Abraham's descendants will all the earth be blessed (Genesis 12:3). So someone from the family of Abraham will bless all the earth.
  4. Q: What did Moses say about someone who was coming? A: God said He would bring up a prophet like Moses and the people should listen to him(Deuteronomy 18:15).
  5. Read Jeremiah 31:31_34. Q: What does this passage say about a new covenant that is coming? A: A new covenant is coming that will supersede the first covenant given through Moses and, thus, there will be a new lawgiver.
  6. Read 2 Samuel 7:11_16. Q: What prediction does this passage make about the future? A: God will establish a line of kings through David and from this line shall come a king who shall reign over God's people forever.
  7. Read Isaiah 7:14. Q: About when did Isaiah speak these words and what do they say about the situation then? A: King Ahaz is told that before a woman who had no children could bear a child who would grow into a young man, the nation would be destroyed. Now, read Matthew 2:22_23. Q: To what does Matthew say this prophecy applies? A: To the coming of Jesus who shall be born of a woman who has not had relations with a man. Q: Can a prophecy havea double fulfillment? A: Yes in a few cases, but we should only consider a prophecy to have a double fulfillment when the Bible says it does. This time, the prophecy does speak both of something in the days of Ahaz and that the comingMessiah will be born of a woman who has not had relations with a man.
  8. What have we learned so far from prophecy about the one who is coming? A: He shall bruise the serpent's head, he will be a blessing to everyone, he will setup a new covenant, he will be from the line of David, and he will be born of a virgin.
  9. I have given cards to several to ask them to be ready to read a scripture making a prediction and to tell what that prediction is.
    1. Micah 5:2___born in Bethlehem
    2. Isaiah 9:6_7-David's throne, establish justice and righteousness
    3. Isaiah 53:4-will heal people
    4. Isaiah 6:9_10-will teach in parables
    5. Isaiah 53:3-his people will reject him
    6. Psalm 49:19-a disciple shall betray him
    7. Isaiah 53:13-numbered with the transgressors
    8. Isaiah 53:4_7-shall suffer in silence
    9. Isaiah 53:9-suffer mocking and scourging
    10. Psalm 22:16-hands and feet shall be pierced
    11. Isaiah53:9-with the wicked and the rich in his death
  10. These prophecies have painted a very specific picture of what will happen to theMessiah when he comes. Let's look at a few that tell a little more.
    1. Isaiah 53:5-pierced for our transgressions, by his wounds we are healed
    2. Psalm 16:10-raised from the dead
    3. Isaiah 53:10-raised from the dead
  11. In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar has a dream about an image and a stone that destroys it. The head is of gold, the chest and arms of silver, the belly and thighs are brass, and the legs are of iron. Q: What kingdoms do these represent? A: Babylonian, Medes and Persians, Greeks, and Romans. Q: What does the stone represent? A: The kingdom of God. Q: When will it come? A: In the Roman time because if it came before then and destroyed the image, the image would not have been complete. Q: If God is to establish His kingdom then, what would be implied from that? A: That He would bring a king at that time to be the ruler.
  12. So we have a picture of what the coming Messiah will be like, all given hundreds of years before He would come. God is using "the nation time" to give prophecies that tell what the Messiah will be like. This allows those who live later to see the prophecies and, thus, to know that God not only can predict the future but that the coming one will be identified with the mystery God is unfolding.

Application:

  1. Assuming for the moment that someone comes to meet the description in prophecies, what does this tell you about God? What does this say to us about our lives?
  2. Work on learning the memory verse: "By his wounds we are healed."

Assignment and Evaluation:

  1. Study the worksheet to prepare for the Written Review. You will be asked to list at least six of the prophecies about the Messiah who is coming.
  2. You will also be asked about the meaning of prophecies from Isaiah 53 about the purpose for which the Messiah was coming and about his resurrection.

 

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