O Come, O Come, Emmanuel is my absolute favorite Christmas hymn. My earliest memory of the song was listening to it on cassette as my mother drove us to my Nanny's house to spend Christmas one year. I couldn't wait for her to rewind it so I could hear it again! The melody and the lyrics haunted me. I was young then, so I wasn't fully capable of understanding their meaning fully. When I listen to it today, my heart rejoices with each verse. As I've grown closer to Jesus over the years, I've become enlightened to its meaning and the promises that have been and will be fulfilled.
Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.Isaiah 7:14
Emmanuel (sometimes Immanuel) is the name given to Jesus Christ. It means "God with us." And how perfectly fitting, since God sent His Son to earth to be with us in the flesh on that first Christmas. And what a beautiful reminder, that God has been and always will be with us. Since the very first scriptures were breathed from His mouth, He has been with us. He walked with Adam and Eve in the garden. He guided His people out of Egypt by cloud and fire. He dwelled among them in the temple. He sent Jesus to dwell with us on earth. And after Jesus shed His own blood to pay our debt, the Holy Spirit dwells inside of us. God with us. And He promises to return again, so that we can be with Him for eternity. God with us forever!
God has always desired to be with His people. However, the consequences of sin back in the garden of Eden meant we could no longer be physically with Him. And yet, He never withdrew Himself from us. From the creation of the world, until the second coming of the Lord, God continues to walk and talk with His children. He has never withdrawn the opportunity to be in His presence.
From the beginning of time, everything was leading us to Christ, who would dwell with us on earth. His Words became flesh, another beautiful example of how God does not want to be separated from His image bearers. And finally, when God sent the Holy Spirit who dwells inside of us today, He ensured that we would never be alone and without Him, as the Holy Spirit reminds us of His Truth and our need for our Savior. One day, we will live with God for eternity. We will be able to look upon His glorious face forever and ever.
While we await Jesus' final redemption, when every wrong will be right, every tear will be dried up, sickness, sin, and death will be no more, let us rejoice that Emmanuel was sent to us, and shall come to us soon!God was with His people in the garden. God was with His people in the clouds. God was with His people in the tabernacle and temple. God is with His people in the Son through the Holy Spirit. And while we walk by the Spirit, we await the coming day when we will be with God in our heavenly home for all eternity.Karen Jones
O come, o come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
The following scriptures show us how God has been with us all along. Read them for further study this week!
Genesis 3:1-7, Exodus 13:17-22, Exodus 14:10-11, Exodus 29:42-46, Exodus 40:34-38, Hebrews 4:14-16, Hebrews 10:19-23, Luke 1:26-56, Matthew 1:18-25, John 1:1, John 14:12-17, John 16:7-11, Romans 8:12-23, Revelation 21:3
Next week, we will look at one of Christ's other names—Dayspring! Merry Blogmas, Reader!
