One of my mum’s favourite carols was the lesser known “Child in the manger”. It’s set to the same tune as “Morning has broken”.
Child in the manger, infant of Mary,
outcast and stranger, Lord of all!
Child who inherits all our transgressions,
all our demerits on him fall.
Once the most holy child of salvation
gentle and lowly lived below:
now as our glorious mighty Redeemer,
see him victorious over each foe.
Prophets foretold him, infant of wonder;
angels behold him on his throne:
worthy our Saviour of all their praises;
happy for ever are his own.
Mary MacDonald (1789-1872),
translated L MacBean (1853-1931)
The carol movingly describes how the one who was Lord of all creation, come sto be Mary’s son, the infant of Mary. It draws the comparison between his status as Lord, glorious, mighty, worthy of praise and as an outcast and stranger, who comes, gently and lowly. All of this happens because he is the one who comes to take our place and bear our punishment so that “all our demerits on him fall.”
The last verse reminds us that the Old Testament prophets had spoken about Christ’s coming. We tend to think in terms of people like Isaiah and Micah. However, all Scripture pints to Christ so that those prophecies start right at the beginning of Scripture (noting that if Moses was the author of Genesis then he was chief among the prophets).
In Genesis 3, amid the gloom of guilt and the darkness of death’s penalty, God says to the Serpent:
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring[a] and hers;
he will crush[b] your head and you will strike his heel.”
These words are a wonderful promise of hope in the midst of despair. From the woman will come one who will crush the wannabe rival to God and enemy of His people. Jesus is the serpent crusher, the offspring of Eve.
Faithroots 