There are so many stories in the Bible about the subject of waiting. I could have written many more blog posts about this subject, but I won’t. I will write just two more blog posts about the subject of waiting, ā-ara: Waiting for the promise of the Messiah and waiting for the promise of the return of the Messiah (which is still to come). The most important promise of God to man was the promise of the coming of the Messiah: Ihu Karaiti.
God’s first promise of the Messiah
I will put enmity between thee and the woman, i waenganui i ou uri me tona uri; ka tatara tou upoko, ka maru ano koe ki tona rekereke (Genesis 3:15)
I muri i te hara o te tangata, by disobeying God, man became separated from God, God had already a new plan to redeem man from evil, and reunite them back to Him. Because all He wanted, was to have a relationship with man.
God had already created a plan, to take the authority from the devil and give it back to man. The devil had taken it wrongfully, but God would take it back in a legal manner.
The first time that God spoke about the promise of the Messiah is in Genesis 3. He spoke about the One, that would deliver the people out of satan’s hand and bring them back to God.
Te Kotahi, Who would take the keys of authority Mai i te rewera, and would reign together with man. Te Karaiti, of Whom God spoke, was Jesus.
After God told the serpent (te rewera) kia kaha te uri o te wahine ki tona mahunga, the serpent tried everything he could, to prevent this from happening. He tried to destroy the seed of the woman (I will write about this in the near future), but he did not succeed.
Te taenga mai o te Karaiti
Did the Messiah come right away? Kāore, it took more than 2000 years before the promise of God; the coming of the Messiah came to pass. But despite the fact, that it took more than 2000 tau, God kept His promise.
At the perfect time, the Messiah came. All the prophecies regarding the birth, ora, mate, and resurrection of the Messiah, have ALL come to pass.
Na te mea pono, that all the prophecies came to pass, and are still coming to pass regarding the end of times and the return of the Messiah, tohu, Ko te Word of God is reliable, and is the Truth.
The birth of Jesus Christ
I roto i a Ihaia 7:14 we read the prophecy about the birth of Christ: Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Nana, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
The life of Jesus
Many prophets wrote about the life of Jesus, i.e. the prophet Isaiah:
Nana, Ka haere mai te Ariki, te Atua, me te kaha kaha, and his arm shall rule for him: nana, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, ka arahi i te hunga e hoatahi ana (Ihaia 40:10-11).
(I would like to encourage you to study Ezekiel chapter 34 a 37 as well)
But ofcourse, there are many more scriptures about Jesus Christ, te Mesia. The whole Word testifies about Jesus, te Tama a te Atua.
The death of Jesus
In the Book Isaiah, we read about His death:
He pono kua waha o tatou mamae e ia, me te kawe i o tatou pouri: heoi i mea matou kua patua ia, patua e te Atua, me te whakawhiua. Engari i werohia ia mo o tatou he, I kurua ia mo o tatou kino: i runga i a ia te whiunga o to tatou rongo; kei ona karawarawa hoki he rongoa mo tatou. Ko tatou katoa ano he hipi kua kotiti ke; kua tahuri tatou ki tona ara, ki tona ara; a kua tau iho e Ihowa ki runga ki a ia te kino o tatou katoa. I tukinotia ia, a ka whakawhiua ia, heoi kihai i kuihi tona mangai: Ano he reme i arahina ia kia patua, me te hipi hoki i te aroaro o ona kaikutikuti e wahangu ana, so He openeth not His mouth.
He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? For He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of My people was He stricken. And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; no te mea kahore ana mahi tutu, kahore ano hoki he hianga i tona mangai. Heoi i pai hoki a Ihowa kia kurua ia; kua whakapouritia ia e ia: ina meinga e koe tona wairua hei whakahere hara, Ka kite ia i tana uri, He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Ka kite ia i ta tona wairua i uaua ai, a ka makona: ma te mohio ki a ia ka whakatikaia ai te tini e taku pononga tika; no te mea ka waha e ia o ratou kino.
Mo reira ka hoatu e ahau he wahi mona i roto i te hunga nui, a ka tuwhaina e ia nga taonga me te hunga kaha; because He hath poured out his soul unto death: a i taua ngatahitia me te hunga poka ke; a he tokomaha i waha e ia nga hara, i wawao hoki mo te hunga poka ke (Ihaia 53:4-12)
I roto i nga Waiata 22, we read about the crucifixion of Jesus, and what He endured during the crucifixion.
Jesus confirmed, what the prophets wrote about the Messiah and said:
Ko ahau te hepara pai: the good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep (Hone 10:11).
The resurrection of Jesus
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption (Himene 16:10)
Not only in Psalm 16:10, we read about His resurrection, Jesus also confirmed His resurrection to the people, i roto i a Matiu 12:40:
E toru hoki nga ra o Hona, e toru nga po i roto i te kopu o te tohora; ka pera ano te Tama a te tangata kia toru nga ra, e toru nga po ki te ngakau o te whenua.
There are many more Scriptures about the birth, ora, death and resurrection of Jesus (mo 44 Scriptures), but I won’t overload you with all 44 Scriptures. You can look them up and study them for yourself.
We can read about the promise of the Messiah and the fulfilment, throughout the Bible. God never forgot His promise, even though it lasted more than 2000 tau.
God repeated His promise many times. He spoke through the mouth of His servants, ki te iwi, to remind them of the promise. God didn’t lie, He spoke the truth.
The promises of God will come to pass
E hiahia ana ahau ki te whakatenatena i a koe, that when God gives you a promise, He will make sure that it will come to pass. But sometimes it may take a while. It will happen at His time, and not your time.
All you have to do, is to trust Him completely, ka tatari. Stay in His Word, and get to know Him better. The more you will know Him, ka nui ake to whakawhirinaki ki a ia, and the stronger your faith will become. Don’t do anything stupid, don’t take matters into your own hand, Engari tatari….
'Kia tote mo te whenua’
