This week wraps up the whole Old Testament with Christmas. The manual’s title comes from Isaiah 25:9: “we have waited for him, and he will save us.” From Adam and Eve to Malachi, God’s people looked forward to a Messiah, a Deliverer. They needed that hope in Egypt, in Babylon and in their own sins, and prophets kept promising that He would come “to proclaim liberty to the captives” (Isaiah 61:1) and be “wounded for our transgressions” so that “with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the long wait was over. Your class has just opened presents, so build to this: Jesus is Heavenly Father’s greatest gift (John 3:16), and we can give Him something back.
Nine- to eleven-year-olds love a prophecy with a receipt. Isaiah foretold a son called Immanuel, which Matthew explains means “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22–23). Micah named Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:4–6). Balaam saw “a Star out of Jacob” (Numbers 24:17; Matthew 2:2). Isaiah said a Branch would grow from Jesse, King David’s father, and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem because he was “of the house and lineage of David” (Isaiah 11:1; Luke 2:4). Matthew even saw Jesus in Hosea’s words about God calling His son out of Egypt, first spoken about Israel (Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:15). In the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin knew His mother’s name would be Mary (Mosiah 3:8), and Samuel the Lamanite foretold a night with no darkness and a new star (Helaman 14:2–6), which came true exactly (3 Nephi 1:15–21).
If questions come up: Jesus’s mother is Mary, and His Father is Heavenly Father, which is why the angel said He would be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). Joseph was chosen to raise and protect Him. Jesus is also Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament, so Isaiah could call a baby “The mighty God.” He is called “The everlasting Father” because He created the earth under Heavenly Father’s direction and because we become His sons and daughters through our covenants (Mosiah 5:7). He is not Heavenly Father. Keep answers short and clear.
The manual invites us to find symbols of Christ throughout the Old Testament: a star, a shepherd, a lamb, water, a rock, a branch and light. Many of them hang on Christmas trees, which makes today’s Symbol Hunt easy to take home. A detail for the drama: the shepherds came the night Jesus was born, but the wise men came later and found “the young child” in a “house” (Matthew 2:11). The scriptures never say how many wise men there were. End by helping each child choose a title of the Savior to remember all next year as they study His life in the New Testament.