Ever since sin entered our world—which is pretty close to the beginning of the whole Bible—God had promised his people a deliverer. We meet him first as the Snake Crusher. Then the child of Abraham. Then the goat taken outside the camp. Then the tabernacle of God’s presence. Then the wisdom from on high. Then the shiny one in the fiery furnace.

We meet him later as a prophet like Moses, a priest to take away our sins, and a king like David.

He’s the Messiah, the anointed one. He’s the tabernacle of God come to dwell in our midst. He’s our scapegoat and the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He’s our living Redeemer, the one who will lay a hand on both God and man.

All throughout the first half of the Biggest Story we see hints of his coming and predictions of his arrival.

He will be born of a virgin, born in Bethlehem, born in a time of trouble. He will be a conquering king and a suffering servant. Stricken, smitten, and afflicted. Cursed for our transgressions and pierced for our iniquities.

God’s people didn’t know exactly what to look for, but if they were paying attention to the prophets, they knew that their deliverer would be a ruler, a teacher, and a covenant keeper. He would be a branch from Jesse’s tree and a rock of offense. He would be the stone that the builders reject.

The one they were waiting for was a wonderful counselor and a prince of peace, a light to the Gentiles, and the Lord our righteousness. He would be Son of God and Son of Man, sent from the Father and empowered by the Spirit.
A cursed one who brings blessing, and a forsaken one who brings forgiveness. The desire of the nations and the destroyer of the devil.

They kept looking for him, watching and waiting, hoping to see what the Scriptures had promised. The proclaimer of good news and Israel’s good shepherd. A Savior sent for us, and Immanuel God with us.

But before the Snake Crusher would come, God promised a messenger to prepare the way. This is what Malachi tells us in the last chapters of the last book of the first half of the Biggest Story. “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when all the proud people will be cast down and all the humble people lifted up. It’s going to be a dreadful day for the top dogs but a beautiful day for the poor in spirit.”

Malachi said it would be a great and awesome day. And it was, when the deliverer came. And it will be, when he comes back. “If you stand in awe of me,” the Lord says, “the sun of righteousness will warm your face, and you’ll go running through the land like a little cow who just learned what to do with its legs.”

That was their hope for the Snake Crusher then and our hope today. Don’t stop watching. The one we’ve been waiting for is right around the corner.