Topical Bible: Children: Male: Birth of, Announced to the Father by a Messenger

◄ Children: Male: Birth of, Announced to the Father by a Messenger ►

Jump to: Torrey's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

In the biblical narrative, the announcement of the birth of a male child to the father by a divine messenger is a significant event that underscores the providence and sovereignty of God in the unfolding of His divine plan. Such announcements are rare and carry profound theological implications, often heralding the birth of individuals who play pivotal roles in the history of salvation.

1. Isaac

The birth of Isaac is one of the earliest instances where a divine messenger announces the birth of a male child. In Genesis 18, the Lord appears to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre. Three men, understood to be divine messengers, visit Abraham and Sarah. One of the messengers announces, "I will surely return to you at this time next year, and your wife Sarah will have a son" (Genesis 18:10). This announcement is significant as it reaffirms God's covenant with Abraham, promising him descendants as numerous as the stars.

2. Samson

The birth of Samson is another example where a divine messenger announces the birth of a male child. In Judges 13, the Angel of the Lord appears to Manoah's wife, who is barren, and tells her she will conceive and bear a son. The messenger instructs her on how to raise the child, who is to be a Nazirite dedicated to God from the womb. Manoah, seeking confirmation, prays for the messenger to return. The Angel of the Lord appears again, and Manoah receives the message: "Your wife will bear a son, and you are to name him Samson" (Judges 13:24). Samson's birth is pivotal as he is destined to begin the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines.

3. John the Baptist

In the New Testament, the birth of John the Baptist is announced to his father, Zechariah, by the angel Gabriel. In Luke 1, while Zechariah is serving as a priest in the temple, Gabriel appears to him and says, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John" (Luke 1:13). This announcement is crucial as John the Baptist is the forerunner of Jesus Christ, preparing the way for the Lord.

4. Jesus Christ

The announcement of the birth of Jesus Christ, while primarily delivered to Mary, also involves a divine message to Joseph, His earthly father. In Matthew 1, an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:20-21). This announcement is the culmination of God's redemptive plan, with Jesus being the promised Messiah.

These divine announcements highlight the special role these male children play in God's plan, each contributing uniquely to the unfolding account of redemption. The involvement of divine messengers underscores the importance of these births and the divine orchestration behind them.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Jeremiah 20:15
Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born to you; making him very glad.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Joy Born at Bethlehem
... unbending in sacred familiarity before his own beloved children. ... and reasons for
ecstasy in his birth among men ... in the law of the Lord, every male that openeth ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 17 1871/joy born at bethlehem.htm

Covenanting Enforced by the Grant of Covenant Signs and Seals.
... deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth ... His children, a holy priesthood,
are from him as a ... When the birth of his forerunner John suggested that He ...
/.../cunningham/the ordinance of covenanting/chapter xi covenanting enforced by.htm

The Reaction against Egypt
... him in embryo, and had trained him from his birth to worship ... some court intrigue,
or he may have had no male heir to ... figures there among the children of Seti I ...
/.../chapter iithe reaction against egypt.htm

The Immaculate Conception
... making a whole ancestral tree of little male and female ... body five days earlier than
with other children, and that ... At the moment of Mary's birth I saw falling ...
/.../emmerich/the life of the blessed virgin mary/ii the immaculate conception.htm

Treatise on Christ and Antichrist.
... beginning, nor does He reject the male on account ... as though they were his own children,
and promising ... being with child, cries, travailing in birth, and pained ...
/.../treatise on christ and antichrist.htm

The Memphite Empire
... Whenever the cries of these sentinels announced the approach ... the spouse about to
give birth to royal ... his wife, and immediately three male children were brought ...
/.../chapter iithe memphite empire.htm

Appendix xii. The Baptism of Proselytes
... three who came to announce to Abraham the birth of Isaac ... in order both to deliver
the Three Children and to ... were the offspring of Eve and of male spirits, and ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/appendix xii the baptism of.htm

Letter cviii. To Eustochium.
... complied with her husband's longing to have male offspring ... in which the travailing
virgin gave birth to the ... substance and when his house and children have been ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter cviii to eustochium.htm

From the Close of the General Conference of 1836 to the ...
... his death he visited the land of his birth, married him ... two academies within its
bounds, one for male, and the ... into the glorious liberty of the children of God ...
/.../chapter 14 from the close.htm

The Iranian Conquest
... in an Iranian was to have many children: the King ... According to this legend Astyages
had no male heirs, and the ... soon as its mother should give it birth; but the ...
/.../chapter ithe iranian conquest.htm