O Come O Come Emmanuel

Happy Advent Season! Let the Christmas music ring! Of course I’ve been listening to Christmas music since early November, but now the Christmas season and spirit really begins to feel more…real. Thanksgiving is over, and we can focus all of our attention on Christmas! Hallelujah! In case you can’t tell I am a Christmas fanatic. Not necessarily the Santa Claus end of it (though we do enjoy that aspect of the season too), but more the celebration of God breaking into the world and starting something new and amazing. The Christmas Carol, O Come O come Emmanuel, captures this wonderfully. The tone and rhythm of the song is very, um, serious, but the message is so uplifting and speaks of God’s great love for His people.

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 song starts out will the exile in mind. When the people of Israel and Judah had sinned so greatly and so completely turned their backs on God, they were ousted from the Promised Land. The people lived in the land as part of the Mosaic Covenant. In Exodus 3:7-8 God tells Moses that he has heard the cry of the Israelites in Egypt and is going to rescue them and take them to a land flowing with milk and honey, the Promised Land. But in Deuteronomy 28 we find that if they are not faithful to the covenant, that is, to keep God first in their hearts and minds, then they will be cursed, invaded, and finally, exiled. But this song isn’t just about the physical exile, it’s about the spiritual exile that still plagued the Jews even after they were allowed to go back to the Promised Land. The people of God were still held captive by sin, until the Son of God appears.

O Come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free

Thine own from Satan’s tyranny

From depths of Hell They people save

And give them victory o’er the grave

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel

The Rod of Jesse, that is the descendant of Jesse, King David’s father, is Jesus Christ. He is the one that sets us free from sin through his death and resurrection. Isaiah 25:7-8 says, “On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears form all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.” This shroud and sheet that Isaiah speaks of is sin. Sin separates us from God, it keeps us covered and unable to fully know and love Him. Satan’s tyranny is that the wages of sin are death, and everyone is sinful! We are owned by the devil unless death is overturned and sin is dealt with.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer

Our spirits by Thine advent here

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night

And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel

God is light, in Him is no darkness. God became human and dwelt among us. His light came and dwelt among us. Therefore the gloom and shadows, could not stand against the light. A new day is dawning, the sunrise is coming, and the shadows and gloom have to flee.

O Come, Thou Key of David, come,

And open wide our heavenly home;

Make safe the way that leads on high,

And close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel

Jesus lived a perfect life, was righteous and blameless, and was killed for it. He died an innocent death and paid the price for all of us not-so-innocent believers. Christ holds the keys to heaven, and he has opened up the gates so that we may be welcomed there. Clothed in his righteousness, we can stand before our God and King and be called a friend. None of this could have happened if Jesus hadn’t been born, hadn’t been a helpless infant once. He took on flesh for our sakes. That is why Christmas is such a powerful time, because it is the new beginning we were promised.

O Come, O come, Thou Lord of might,

Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height,

In ancient times did’st give the Law,

In could, and majesty, and awe.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel

This last verse probably seems a bit odd. This whole song is about Jesus, the mediator of the New Covenant, who forgives our sins. What does Sinai and the Law have to do with the wonderful message of the gospel? God is the same God of the Old Testament. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God of Moses, David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. He is God. He doesn’t change. He is ever loving, ever gracious, and ever faithful to His promises and His people, even when we are not. This Lord of might, once descended onto earth, He let His presence settle on Sinai where he gave the Law to Moses. The mountain was burned, the earth was shaken, and the people stood in fearful and awesome wonder at the presence of their God. (Exodus 19:16-19) Jesus is all about salvation, love, grace, and faith. But Jesus is also God, and our God is a mighty God. This is why we can trust Him to save us, because He is mighty, and powerful. He is not a feeble and weak old man with a long beard, He is a warrior who defends what is His. This last verse calls us to remember that our God is powerful and awesome, and we are His. This is why He is able to defeat death and put an end to Satan’s tyranny, because He is strong, and because He loves us.

This is the season when we remember our mighty and wonderful God, who despite his power and strength, came down to earth to save us from death and sin, and bring us back from exile. He paid the price and we now have access to Him through the Holy Spirit that indwells us. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel has come to us, and given us new life and hope. Amen.