BLESSED BE THE LORD GOD IMMANUEL - “GOD WITH US”
In one of those children’s sermons that often mean as much to adults as to children, the pastor asked the kids to “suppose you and your mom get separated at the grocery store; you get scared and start to panic; as you run toward the end of the aisle, about to burst out crying, you see a shadow that looks like your mom and immediately you feel relieved because the shadow gives you a sense of hope.
“Now, let me ask you a question: Which is better? The happiness of seeing your mom’s shadow, or the great joy of having your mom step around the corner in plain sight, and it really is her? That’s the way it was when Jesus came into the world . . . why we celebrate Christmas.”
Before Jesus was born, people lived in fear of being separated from God . . . of being lost; so, God the Father showed them the shadow of His Son - which gave them hope; then, when God’s timing was right, the Son of God Himself appeared – first, as the Christ Child, born of a virgin, laid in a manger in a sheep stall . . .
Thus, an angel of the Lord appeared to shepherds in a field, keeping watch over their flock by night, and proclaimed to them: “Fear not, for I bring good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”
Shadows and signs of the coming of the Messiah are found throughout the history of God’s chosen people as recorded in the Old Testament; and, in order to get the complete picture of why we celebrate Christmas, we go back seven centuries before Christ to Isaiah’s three messianic prophecies that occurred during the reign of Israel’s wicked king Ahaz who sought to delegitimize worship of the LORD God.
Isaiah’s first messianic prophecy foreshadowed the virgin birth as a sign of the divinity of the Son to be born plus the name He was to be called to signify His sovereignty as well as His humanity – Isaiah 7:10-14 . . .
The context for this prophecy is instructive for our day inasmuch as there are those who would have us shut our mouths about the one and only LORD God (Ahaz not only shut the gates of the temple, he melted the temple’s gold and silver vessels for personal profit, he set up altars on his roof to worship the sun, moon and stars. Paganist!).
Isaiah informed Ahaz about the LORD’s displeasure with his blasphemous attitude, warned him about his contemptible acts . . . forming a military pact with Judah’s enemies . . . gave him a chance to redeem himself by trusting the LORD.
As is the case with anyone who wants nothing to do with trusting the LORD – since doing so would elevate such a Higher Being to a position above their own – Ahaz deviously dismissed the prophet’s offer of a “sign” by piously appearing to be humble (nothing more than a ploy to avoid the risk of being proved wrong with regard to his contention that Israel’s God was no greater than other gods.)
Somewhat irritated, Isaiah seems to wonder out loud if this guy really knew what he was getting himself into --- as if to say, “Hey, man, it’s one thing to try my patience, BUT to try the LORD my God’s patience is quite a stupid strategy on your part. You really don’t know Who you’re dealing with, do you?”
Having made his point about Ahaz’s “pushing the envelope” by refusing the LORD’s offer to ask for a sign to assure the king of victory if only he would trust in the LORD God, the LORD via Isaiah used the opportunity to turn a negative into a positive by announcing the sign of all signs.
The sign? “A virgin shall conceive!” Her son will be called “Immanuel”! Meaning? “God with us!” The message and mission of “God with us”? Isaiah 9:6-7 . . .
Emerging from the darkness in which the world found itself (finds itself) there would come (has come) the light of Hope. Every generation stands in need of Hope! With the light of every new day, the LORD God reassures us of His presence. Thank you, Lord, for the light of this day! Thank you Lord for your presence! God with us!
Our awareness of God’s Presence takes the “weight of the (our) world” off our shoulders, as a new day brings news of so much of this and that going on here and there while in this place we call home we find that none of us is exempt from our own problems. Yet, we keep on keeping on, trusting in the LORD!
Forgive us, Lord, when we forget your promise never to leave us or forsake us. When the going gets tough, and we find ourselves needing advice for dealing with a hectic life, how reassuring it is to know that a wonderful counselor is right here with us - to guide us, comfort us, strengthen us, be with us through it all.
What a mighty God is He who worked miracles, Himself being raised from the dead! His resurrection is proof of His power to overcome evil with good, to set us free from our enemies - the greatest of which is death. The devil doesn’t stand a chance with Almighty God on our side!
God our Father, our Savior, our Lord not only came to save us and be with us, but also to take us Home – an everlasting experience that began the moment of our rebirth. To be born again is to become a child of God in the Family of God!
As children of God belonging to the Family of God in the Kingdom of God, the peace of God is ours because the Prince of Peace is the Head of that Kingdom in which justice will prevail. Therefore, fret not over evildoers we can do nothing about. The judgment of God awaits them. BUT, for those who trust in the LORD, things will only get better!
The LORD God promised that a descendant of the earthly king David would one day judge with righteousness – Isaiah 11:1-5 . . .
Have folks forgotten the old Biblical adage? “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” (Proverbs 14:34)
Well might we recall as a wake-up call the plight of God’s chosen nation reduced to a “stump”. Yet, God’s love disallowed the total destruction of the roots of His people. The smoldering ashes of a nation bent on destroying itself from within will not prevent our Lord’s intent to restore the remnant who repent.
Out of the ruins there would sprout a shoot, stem, a Branch (capital B)! The genealogy need not be traced back any further than Jesse the father of King David whose descendant Joseph would become the legal father of the Son to be born to the young maiden to whom he was engaged to be married – the Virgin Mary – all in accordance with God’s Plan for the establishment of the Rule of Righteousness.
So mode it be! Christ shall reign with righteousness and faithfulness! Because:
The Spirit of God shall be upon Him - imparting Divine wisdom plus Divine discernment for rendering Divine judgment (equitable judgment based on the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth) – His purpose being to correct falsehoods . . . right wrongs . . . defeat defiance . . . restore righteousness.
In this year of our Lord 2018, may our Christmas Holidays include those usual festivities that make for joyous celebrations, wishing everyone Merry Christmas as we greet one another, while keeping uppermost in our minds the real reason for the Season.
Q: Why not celebrate Christmas this year from Isaiah’s perspective?
If your day seems dark and dreary, if your night seems ever so long, think positive . . . “Immanuel” . . . “God with us”! With God on your side, how can you lose?
If you hear falsehoods that need to be corrected . . . see wrongs that need to be righted . . . witness violence and defiance that need to be defeated . . . learn of abuse of any kind – say, “God’s Son of Righteousness is promised” . . . “He shall reign” . . . “He shall establish His rule of righteousness . . . of His kingdom there shall be no end” . . . pray, “Thy kingdom come”! Amen.
