O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

My favorite part of the holiday season is, without a doubt, the music. When I hear the carols, to me, the holiday season has begun. 

My next favorite thing about the holiday season? 

The lights. I love soft, warm, cozy lights. White lights are my favorite. A couple weeks ago, I purchased a few strings of white lights on white wire to drape across some windows - one in my sewing room and two in my bedroom. I'm amazed what a simple string of white lights can do! They are so cozy and inviting. Because of that, I plan to leave my white lights up all winter long. Candles give the same effect. They bring light and warmth in the darkness. To me, lights and candles are an enjoyable winter thing, not just a holiday thing. 

Admittedly, I also enjoy the treats and gifts of the holiday season. This year, I enjoyed giving gifts to those in my family. Giving gifts brings me just as much joy as receiving gifts. I don't have a lot of money, but for a cheap price, I was able to make something special and practical for each of my six siblings - rice pillows to heat in the microwave. (there are so many uses for them!) I made my parents each one last year, and they loved them. 

I know many Christians who do not celebrate Christmas at all, and I can understand why. Sadly, there are some pagan things mixed in with Christmas. I don't want anything to do with those things either. But I do enjoy the opportunity to remember the birth of our Messiah, a glorious event that is recorded in the pages of Scripture. The birth of Christ was announced by the angels of heaven - a thought that struck me anew as my Dad read the story from the Bible earlier today. 

The carols of Christmas, specifically, the ones that give honor and glory to God for sending us His Son, also remind me of God's wondrous gift. The birth of God's Son is indeed part of that wondrous "old, old story". The story never gets old. 

The carols never get old to me either, and to me, they are the best part of the holiday season. Even as I type this, Christmas carols are playing in our home. In many ways, carols are just beautiful hymns about the birth of Christ, many of them proclaiming the glorious reason of Christ's birth.  

A carol that I love says it this way:

"Flocks were sleeping, shepherds keeping, 

Vigil till the morning new. 
Saw the glory, heard the story,
Tidings of the gospel true.
Thus rejoicing, free from sorrow,
Praises voicing, greet the morrow:
Christ the babe was born for you;
Christ the babe was born for you."

(From the carol - "Infant Holy, Infant Lowly")

Christ was born for me. Christ was born for you. 

Such a powerful thought! 

My favorite is "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel". I know this carol is a favorite with many. Its gorgeous melody (being in a minor key) makes it a delight for me to play on the harp, even when it is not Christmas. There are many carols that sound particularly beautiful on the harp! I enjoyed playing a few carols on my small harp at a nursing home earlier this month, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" being one of them.

I remember loving this carol, even as a 12 year old girl learning to play the piano. I was always happy when this carol was sung in church or while caroling with friends. 

I also love the words to this carol, a hymn that dates as far back as possibly the 12th century! This old hymn was translated into English years later. There are many verses to this carol. The verses shared below are some I am most familiar with.  

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appears.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o'er the grave.

O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer, 
Our spirits by thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.

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.

Refrain: 

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

This carol seems to be, in essence, a plea for God to come and be with His people. 

Emmanuel means: God with us

I love the refrain which says:

"Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel." 

Israel is a reference to God's people.

Over the years, I've often wondered. Why does the refrain say: 

"Shall come to thee..." 

Why doesn't it say: 

"Has come to Thee..." 

That would make more sense. Christ has come, has He not? Indeed, one of the verses references His advent, His first coming as a baby. 

Recently, as I looked into the history of this beloved carol, I was surprised and shocked to realize that this carol is not only about Christ's first coming. It is also about His second coming! Wow!  

It no wonder why the author wrote the refrain that way. We are indeed waiting, yearning, longing for Emmanuel to come be with us once again. 

The last verse I shared above makes this clear: 

 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.

Discovering this has made my most beloved Christmas carol even more special to me. It's okay to cry, to yearn for Christ to come back. We can rejoice though because, just as the refrain to the old carol says, "Emmanuel shall come to thee."

 

The fulfillment of Messiah’s first coming is, in many ways, a guarantee of His second coming. He will come again to literally dwell with His people when He sets up His Kingdom here on earth. 

Earlier this month, I came down with some virus that included a severe headache along with fatigue and other achiness. I found myself in bed one Friday evening, not only feeling very sick, but also, very depressed. This virus affected me, not only physically, but also, mentally and emotionally. 

I lit a candle on my dresser, and as I laid back down, I noticed the appearance of a heart shape on a wall in my room. It was clearly coming from the glow of my candle, and likely, reflecting off the lamp on my dresser in some way. It was something I don't ever remember seeing before. For me, in that moment, it was a visual reminder of God's love and God's presence, even in my sickness and sadness. 

I had to take a picture of the "heart shadow"
that appeared in a corner of my room. 

In the Old Testament, God's people looked forward to the Messiah coming which He did when He was born of a virgin. Now, God's people look back and remember that He came. And we eagerly await His second coming!

In our every day lives though, during the wait, during the sorrow, during the sadness, during all the hard things we deal with on a day to day basis, God still comes to us, sometimes in very personal ways. 

He comes to remind us that He is still Emmanuel - God with us.

More Thoughts on the Life of Joseph

Last year, I wrote several posts about the life of Joseph, my favorite Bible character. I hadn't planned on sharing anymore about him, but lately, I've been thinking about Joseph again. 

Every week, I enjoy reading the weekly Torah portion over the weekend. The first five books of the Bible - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy - are referred to as the Torah in Hebrew. Those books of the Bible were recorded by Moses. The Torah portions are divided into certain chapters each week in order from Genesis through Deuteronomy, enabling someone to read through the first five books of the Bible in a yearly reading cycle. Along with reading certain chapters each week, Jewish people also read a portion of Scripture from one of the books of the prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Zechariah, etc. 

On the day that the Lord Jesus stood up to read from the scroll of Isaiah in His home synagogue in Nazareth, He read from Isaiah 61. When He did that, He did not randomly pick some portion of Scripture to read. He read from a section of the prophets that would have been part of the Torah portion that week. I enjoy reading the weekly Torah portions, and it's special to know the Lord Jesus did the same. 

For the past two weeks, the Torah portions have been about Joseph which has made me think more about him. Often, I like to make a hot cup of tea to sip on while I read. Before reading, I like to pray: 

"Father, open my eyes to behold wondrous things from Your Word."  

The Lord answers my prayer as I read very familiar Bible stories, marveling at things I never quite thought of or saw before. God's Word is like that. After reading, I love to go for a walk in our neighborhood, weather permitting, and meditate and pray about the chapters I just read.  

A few weeks ago, I read the Torah portion about Jacob leaving his parents, Isaac and Rebekah, to flee from his brother Esau. On his way to Haran to stay with his mother's relatives, he had a dream of a ladder reaching to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it. Jacob also met with God there and anointed the stone he slept on as a pillow, declaring some very special things about that place. 

Jacob, Joseph's father, meeting with God in the place
where he slept with a stone as his pillow. 

Most Christians know the rest of the story very well. Jacob met his Uncle Laban in Haran, and Laban's daughters, Leah and Rachel, later became his wives. (Leah and Rachel would’ve been Jacob's cousins - something I didn’t realize before) 

Jacob's home life was a mess because he had two wives who were sisters. Rachel was Jacob's choice, but because of his uncle’s deception, he ended up with Leah first. Later, Jacob married Rachel. 

Although they were not perfect, Jacob's grandparents (Abraham and Sarah) and Jacob’s parents (Isaac and Rebekah) did not have the dysfunctional home that Jacob had. 

As I read through the story of Jacob's family and the birth of all his many sons, there is something that strikes me as being extremely profound: 

Despite all of the huge problems in Jacob's home, God chose the family of Jacob (renamed Israel) to represent Him to all the nations of the world. I found that tremendously encouraging. 

As I read the story of Jacob’s family, I smiled when I read about Joseph being born, especially after Rachel waited so long to have a son. 

Genesis 30:22-24 says: 

"And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. 

And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: 

And she called his name Joseph..." 

Sadly, Joseph's mom, Rachel, died giving birth to his younger brother, Benjamin. As I read the story recently, I literally cried while reading parts of it. The story is so gripping. 

Last weekend, I read about Joseph and his brothers, and all that Joseph went through because of his brothers jealousy and hatred of him. I read the familiar parts about Joseph's coat of many colors, about him being sold into Egypt, and about him being put into prison after being falsely accused. This story is real. This story really happened. Joseph was a real person. 

This weekend I will read the next Torah portion, the part where Joseph is taken out of prison to stand before Pharaoh to interpret his dreams, and all that follows.  

As I shared before on this blog, there are several things that stand out to me in Joseph's life as being very inspiring and significant. 

Joseph's trials did not make him a Godly man. Rather, Joseph's trials revealed the Godly man already he was. 

Trials reveal who someone really is. 

Joseph had no Bible to read and no Godly fellowship. All Joseph had in Egypt was God. Joseph was completely faithful to God, even all alone. 

I know some people who believe that, if you are all alone in your walk with God, you do not stand a chance in being faithful in your walk with God. Joseph's life shows otherwise. Though difficult, Joseph was where God wanted him in Egypt.   

Joseph loved and forgave those who did him wrong, namely, his brothers. Joseph focused on God's purpose, even amidst all his pain and suffering. 

Because of his walk with God, Joseph saw God's purpose in all the pain and suffering he went through. Joseph inspires me.  

Beyond the things I already shared, there is something else that greatly inspires me about Joseph's life.

Joseph came from a “less than ideal” home. A book I have about the history of the family of Israel describes Jacob's family as likely being the most dysfunctional family in the entire Bible through which God worked His will. 

Joseph came from that extremely dysfunctional home. Joseph’s home was an absolute mess! 

If Joseph lived in our day, I’m sure there would be Godly fathers and mothers telling their daughters to be careful about considering Joseph as a husband due to the home that he came from.

And yet, Joseph became the incredibly Godly man that we read about in Scripture today. God honored Joseph tremendously. Joseph is among those we read about in Hebrews chapter 11, also known as the faith chapter. 

Undeniably, the home that someone comes from has a tremendous impact on them. That is why God instructs parents to teach their children the Word of the Lord. Godly parents are to be encouraged and praised for doing that. 

However, the home someone comes from does not ultimately determine who they become. Personal choices do. We see this so clearly in Joseph's life. 

As shared in another post several months ago about running the race (Hebrew 12), I know many people who've decided to no longer follow God's Word in areas of their life. Others I know have completely walked away from God. It breaks my heart. I know it breaks God's heart even more.   

There is no such thing as a “perfect home”, but there are good, Godly homes, the type that Christians should desire and aspire to have. I know many people who came from good, Godly, Christian homes, and later, they made a personal choice to walk away from God's Word. 

I also know some people who, like Joseph, came from a “less than ideal” home, and today, they have a strong walk with God. They made a personal choice to walk with God and follow His Word despite things against them.

Like Joseph, a person’s home and family do not ultimately determine who they become. Personal choices do.    

Once again, Joseph inspires me tremendously, reminding me that he is, truly, my favorite Bible character. I'm certain that, for as long as I am here on earth, Joseph's life will continue to inspire me in my walk with God.