Names of Jesus Advent: Horn of Salvation (December 3)
This advent blog series will help draw you closer to the Person of Jesus, the lover of your soul.
December 3: Horn of Salvation
“Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
‘Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David’”
Luke 1:67-69
This prophecy about the Lord Jesus is particularly fascinating to me. The phrase ‘horn of salvation’ has gripped my heart for quite some time.
Immediately, the imagery of strength and victory comes to mind. But what if there is more? What if there is an invitation to know Jesus as the Horn of Salvation unlike ever before?
First, let’s look at this interesting detail of where the Lord met Zacharias to tell him of John’s conception.
Luke 1:11 reads, “Then an angel of the Lord appeared to [Zacharias], standing on the right side of the altar of incense.”
The altar of incense was placed before the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies - where God’s radiant, weighty, manifest presence was. The altar of incense was a place of prayer and worship. Every morning and night the priest would offer burning incense to the Lord as a prophetic symbol of our prayers to God.
Revelation 5:8 shows us that in the Throne Room of Heaven, “the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”
We also see that when Zacharias approached this altar “all the assembled worshipers were praying outside” Luke 1:10 (NIV).
This sacred place was meant to cause hearts to stir unto prayer and worship as they beheld the Lord.
The angel of the Lord waited through all of Zacharias’ priestly duties only to appear at the particular moment he stood before this altar. Here the angel told Zacharias about his wife’s conception of their son, John - the one who would ”make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17).
When Zacharias witnessed the birth of his son, he blessed the Lord and declared that He ”has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David.”
Perhaps he was thinking of that angelic encounter where he was told that his son would be a forerunner for the Lord. The Savior was coming. Freedom was at hand. And it all was revealed to him before the horns of the altar.
Zacharias was well aware of how for sin offerings, “the priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of meeting” (Leviticus 4:6).
He saw that the answer to the generational prayers of deliverance would come through the blood of the Savior.
One was coming who would willingly put His all-sufficient blood on the horns of the altar.
The power of sin forever broken by His sacrifice.
His blood would be the perfect intercession unto salvation.
He would be the one to rip the veil and give us free access to the presence of God.
He is the Horn of Salvation.
He is Jesus.
If you would like to display a 30-day Advent wall calendar in your home, check this out!
Keep Jesus as the center of Christmas with these easy-to-read, simple printable cards that look beautiful. You can display them on your wall, string them across the mantle, or use them as unique tree ornaments.
Enjoy the printable cards and a devotional pdf for this Advent season!