Christmas for me is always a time of reflecting on God's unfailing promises. The Bible is full of many promises from God, and the first recorded promise doesn't really look like one at first glance: "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel" (Genesis 3:15).

This statement was directed to Satan as a curse, but it was also a promise to mankind that a Saviour would be born who would deal a fatal blow to him. It is instructive that two body parts are mentioned in this verse as the point of impact in the attack and counter-attack between the serpent and the seed of the woman. The serpent bruising the heel of the woman's offspring—representing Christ, indicates Satan being given permission to inflict pain and suffering upon the man-Christ, as well as upon the body of Christ.

The good news, however, is that the response to Satan's attack would be that the offspring of the woman would crush the serpent's head. While injury to the heel of a person isn't fatal in most cases, injury to the head almost always is. Moreover, the serpent stores its venom in its head, which means that once its head is crushed, it loses its ability to cause harm. This first gospel promise, whispered in the garden of Eden, set in motion a divine plan that would unfold over millennia.

From that moment in Genesis, God continued to weave a tapestry of promises throughout Scripture, each one pointing towards the coming Messiah. Through the prophet Isaiah, God declared: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). This remarkable promise specified not only the miraculous nature of the birth but also the very character of the child—"God with us."

Isaiah continued to reveal more details of this promised one: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). These aren't merely poetic titles; they are declarations of divine attributes wrapped in human flesh, a promise that God himself would dwell amongst his people.

The prophet Micah pinpointed the exact location: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times" (Micah 5:2). Even the humble birthplace was ordained centuries before Mary and Joseph made their way to register for the census.

Perhaps the most vivid portrait of the promised Saviour comes from Isaiah 53, where the suffering servant is described in startling detail: "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5). 
Here we see the serpent's strike at the heel, the suffering and crucifixion but also the purpose behind it: our healing and redemption.

This wasn't simply a promise of a rescuer, but a promise of restoration. Through Jeremiah, God proclaimed: "The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel... I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people" (Jeremiah 31:31-33). Christmas represents the inauguration of this new covenant, sealed not with the blood of animals, but with the blood of God's own Son.

It was approximately 4,000 years from that first promise in Eden until Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Four millennia of waiting, of prophets declaring, of faithful believers clinging to the hope that God would keep his word. And he did. Every promise, every prophecy, every divine declaration found its "yes" in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Although Christmas has been heavily commercialised and many seem to have lost sight of what it truly means, that promise fulfilled is what we celebrate at Christmas. When the angel appeared to the shepherds declaring, "Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord" (Luke 2:11), it was the culmination of centuries of divine promises kept.

As we celebrate Christmas this year, let us remember that it is fundamentally about God's faithfulness to his promises. From the garden of Eden to the stable in Bethlehem, God proved that his word is trustworthy. The baby in the manger is the serpent-crusher promised so long ago, the Immanuel who brings God's presence amongst us, and the suffering servant who bore our sins.

But the story doesn't end at Christmas. The promises continue. Jesus himself promised, "I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me" (John 14:2-3). 

Just as God fulfilled his promise to send a Saviour, we can trust that Christ will return as promised. This Christmas, as we reflect on God's unfailing promises, let us worship the promise-keeping God who loved us enough to send his Son, and let us live in the hope of promises yet to be fulfilled.