Jesus - Horn of Salvation

Jesus Our Horn of Salvation

Zacharias prophesied of Christ when his son John the Baptist was born.

"And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation [mighty Savior] for us in the house [the royal line] of his servant David;" - Luke 1:67-69 

A horn (H7161), of an ox, a goat, or a ram, is a metaphor of strength and power. The first mention of the Hebrew word for horn is Genesis 22:13. When Abraham was being tested, he prophesied: “God will provide Himself a lamb…”

"And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son." - Genesis 22:13 

The horn from a ram, (a shofar), is used as a call to repentance and a reminder of the love of God for His people. It is a reminder of the ram that replaced Isaac on the altar as a sacrifice. A ram is a male sheep.

The Hebrew word for “ram’s horn,” “yovel” (H2986), is also the word for “jubile.” 

"And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession [all properties return to original owners], and ye shall return every man unto his family [all slaves are freed]." - Leviticus 25:10 

Jesus is God our Savior, the horn of salvation. The ram that took Isaac’s place as a sacrifice is a metaphor for Jesus. Jesus (the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world that hung on a tree) took our place as a sacrifice, just as the ram (a male sheep caught on a tree) took Isaac’s place as a sacrifice. Jesus is our Jubilee. We were slaves to sin and death but Jesus sets us free. (Hebrews 2:14-15, Acts 20:28).

We claim the freedom Jesus purchased for us when we turn our back on sin by repentance, we are baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission [forgiveness] of our sins, and we are filled with the power of Jesus to overcome sin and death when we receive the gift of His Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38-39).