Welcome and thank you for taking a bible break to test your knowledge of God's word.
This week's question:

One might think of the Israelites sitting around their campfire contemplating the scriptures and who He might be, the prophesied One who was coming, for they had read, "'Behold, the days are coming,' declares the Lord, 'When I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as King and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name be which He will be called, 'The Lord is our righteousness.'" (Jeremiah 23:5-6) And they waited, "And it will be said in that day, 'Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.'" (Isaiah 25:9). The Son of Man would come as Daniel spoke, "I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed." (Daniel 7: 13-14)

His seed would come through Abraham (Genesis 12:3) and David (Isaiah 9:7) who would be born in Bethlehem "But for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, form you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity." (Micah 5:2). He would be proceeded by a forerunner, "'Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,' says the Lord of hosts." (Malachi 3:1). He is declared the Son of God, "But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain. I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, 'Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee." (Psalms 2:6-7)

Even His time is declared, that they might know, "So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress" (Daniel 9:25), and fulfilled in Luke 2:1-2. And He would be born of a virgin and called Immanuel, meaning, God is with us, "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14)

That brings us to our question, "Who told Mary of her coming birth of the Savior?". Two elderly people named Zacharias and his wife. Elizabeth, who was barren and well past child bearing years, were blessed when Zacharias was told by an angel that they would soon have a son, "And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous; so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." (Luke 1:17) Now, during that same period of time, a relative of Elizabeth's named Mary was betrothed to Joseph and she also has a visitor as Zacharias had!

So then, for the answer to our question we turn and read, "Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to s city in Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, 'Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.' But she was greatly troubled at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be. And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end.' And Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I am a virgin?' And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the Holy Offspring shall be called the Son of God.'" (Luke 1:26-35)

So there we have the answer to our question, as the one who told Mary of her pending birth was none other that the angel, Gabriel! By the way, he also was the one who told Zacharias that Elizabeth would be giving birth of the forerunner to Christ, John the Baptist (Luke 1:411-19)!

It wasn't long before a census was to be taken and they traveled to the hometown of Joseph at Bethlehem where she gave birth (Luke 2:1). Soon they were visited by wise men called magi who told of following a star in search of the King, which troubled not only king Herod, but all Jerusalem. When they found Him, they gave gifts and worshipped Him (Matthew 2:1-11). Then there were shepherds who saw a multitude of angels and were told they would find the newborn Christ lying in a manger. So they made haste to Bethlehem and found Him just as the angel had said. They told Joseph and Mary, "And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about the Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart." (Luke 2:17-19) 

May we too not only recognize these miraculous events, but also treasure the true word of God for life eternal!