O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Israel was once a great nation with mighty kings like David and Solomon. David was a great warrior who secured peace for Israel. And his heir to the throne was Solomon, a man of great wisdom who secured prosperity for the nation. These were the golden days of Israel when they were a powerful, prosperous, and independent nation. The Jews lived in the land that God had promised them -- a land flowing with milk and honey. But this time of prosperity would not last.
Eventually, sin and immorality would become rampant in the land. From the king to the commoner, Israel would turn its back on God. After the death of Solomon (roughly 931 BC), Israel fell into a civil war that split the nation in two. Increasingly the land would become polluted with idolatry, violence, gross sexual immorality, and even child sacrifice. An unrepentant Israel was being judged by God, and things would go from bad to worse.
Having become two nations, Israel and Judah, they would continue to rebel against God until they were finally destroyed by the surrounding nations. Those who survived the devastating wars were sent into exile, and the once glorious kingdom of Israel was no more. Judged by God, the Jews became a displaced people without a homeland. Even the temple, where God once manifested His presence to Israel in a special way, was burned to the grown. It was all very reminiscent of Adam and Eve’s exile and banishment from the Garden of Eden.
Eventually, by the providential hand of God, the Jews would return to Judah and rebuild the temple, but they would remain a diminished nation. They were just a shadow of what they once were, and they often suffered under the oppression of more powerful nations.
Against this backdrop of devastation, there was a hope. The Jewish Scriptures foretold about a future King who would one day come to save and restore His people. He would succeed where Adam failed. He would be mightier than David and wiser than Solomon. Moreover, this promised Messiah would be the perfect Prophet, Priest, and King. He would be unlike anything the world had ever known. He would be Emmanuel, God with us!
But there was a problem, Israel did not truly understand their deepest need, nor did they understand their greatest problem. This is still true today, not just for Israel, but for all of mankind. We live east of Eden and mankind lives in exile from the Garden of God. We have been banished from His presence and the way is closed and guarded by an angel who wields a flaming sword (Genesis 3:24). Because of sin, mankind was evicted from the Garden, from the presence of God, from true rest and from our true home. It has been said that this collective memory of exile is stamped on every human soul.
Because of this, even if we are fortunate enough to have a place to call home, we do not always feel completely at ease, nor do we feel completely at rest. In fact, home can be a place of turmoil and unrest. At best, there is always something that needs to be done, something out of place, or something in disrepair. Things are never ideal. At worst, home can be place of stress and strife between family members. It can be a place where we stare up at the ceiling during the night as we eat the bread of anxious turmoil. Life is always disjointed in some way. Whatever home we have, it is just the best we can do. It is our imperfect refuge from a troubled world. But even the best home this world has to offer will not save us from sin and a troubled heart. Where do we find rest when the trouble is in our own soul?
One night, more than 900 years after the death of Solomon, a star suddenly appeared in the sky over Bethlehem, and those who were watching and praying knew that the promised King had finally come. This promised Messiah would lead us out of exile and bridge a way of peace between God and man. In Christ, we find rest for our souls and we find our true home. Paradise lost becomes Paradise found. The angel puts away his flaming sword, and the veil in the temple is torn in two. What we lost in the first Adam is abundantly restored in Christ, the last Adam.
Eventually, sin and immorality would become rampant in the land. From the king to the commoner, Israel would turn its back on God. After the death of Solomon (roughly 931 BC), Israel fell into a civil war that split the nation in two. Increasingly the land would become polluted with idolatry, violence, gross sexual immorality, and even child sacrifice. An unrepentant Israel was being judged by God, and things would go from bad to worse.
Having become two nations, Israel and Judah, they would continue to rebel against God until they were finally destroyed by the surrounding nations. Those who survived the devastating wars were sent into exile, and the once glorious kingdom of Israel was no more. Judged by God, the Jews became a displaced people without a homeland. Even the temple, where God once manifested His presence to Israel in a special way, was burned to the grown. It was all very reminiscent of Adam and Eve’s exile and banishment from the Garden of Eden.
Eventually, by the providential hand of God, the Jews would return to Judah and rebuild the temple, but they would remain a diminished nation. They were just a shadow of what they once were, and they often suffered under the oppression of more powerful nations.
Against this backdrop of devastation, there was a hope. The Jewish Scriptures foretold about a future King who would one day come to save and restore His people. He would succeed where Adam failed. He would be mightier than David and wiser than Solomon. Moreover, this promised Messiah would be the perfect Prophet, Priest, and King. He would be unlike anything the world had ever known. He would be Emmanuel, God with us!
But there was a problem, Israel did not truly understand their deepest need, nor did they understand their greatest problem. This is still true today, not just for Israel, but for all of mankind. We live east of Eden and mankind lives in exile from the Garden of God. We have been banished from His presence and the way is closed and guarded by an angel who wields a flaming sword (Genesis 3:24). Because of sin, mankind was evicted from the Garden, from the presence of God, from true rest and from our true home. It has been said that this collective memory of exile is stamped on every human soul.
Because of this, even if we are fortunate enough to have a place to call home, we do not always feel completely at ease, nor do we feel completely at rest. In fact, home can be a place of turmoil and unrest. At best, there is always something that needs to be done, something out of place, or something in disrepair. Things are never ideal. At worst, home can be place of stress and strife between family members. It can be a place where we stare up at the ceiling during the night as we eat the bread of anxious turmoil. Life is always disjointed in some way. Whatever home we have, it is just the best we can do. It is our imperfect refuge from a troubled world. But even the best home this world has to offer will not save us from sin and a troubled heart. Where do we find rest when the trouble is in our own soul?
One night, more than 900 years after the death of Solomon, a star suddenly appeared in the sky over Bethlehem, and those who were watching and praying knew that the promised King had finally come. This promised Messiah would lead us out of exile and bridge a way of peace between God and man. In Christ, we find rest for our souls and we find our true home. Paradise lost becomes Paradise found. The angel puts away his flaming sword, and the veil in the temple is torn in two. What we lost in the first Adam is abundantly restored in Christ, the last Adam.
Comments
Post a Comment