Christmas Song #5: It Began With A Single Word
War, disease, poverty, hatred, tyranny. With just a quick look at the world today, we see that we live in a desperate and decaying era. Oh, that it would come to an end.
Over 2000 years ago, the power of sin was broken, in time, when the Messiah finally came to earth. God the Son took on human flesh, suffered, and died, bringing us forgiveness and redemption.
And someday, Satan’s borrowed tyrannical rule will end. And finally, even the presence of sin in this world will be a thing of the past. Because the Messiah is coming back.
As Christians, we long for that day, as believers in Old Testament times longed for His first coming. And you may notice that I naturally began expressing that longing with a single word – you might say a single sound – Oh!
I borrowed the title of this post from my Dad, who would describe this carol as the song which began as a single word – and that word was “O”. The tradition began – well, we’re not sure when, but it was in place by the 8th century. The tradition was to express the longing for the coming of Christ by singing a drawn-out “O”. Today, that practice has continued in some liturgical traditions, as “the Great O of Advent”, or the O Antiphons ( a song or chant sung in a liturgy) of Advent. A long “O” was sung before and after the reading of Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55).
Over time, words were added – we’ll talk more about that another week. But finally, a whole song evolved. Originally appearing in English as “Draw Nigh, Draw Nigh, Emmanuel”, it is now better known as O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.
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.
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
You can see immediately that the song is talking about Jesus’ first coming, and yet it has for us a double meaning as we await His return.
“Emmanuel” (or Immanuel) means “God with us”. (Or, more literally, “With us God” – you might recognize the Hebrew word for God at the end – “El”.) The most familiar verse, quoted in Matthew 1:23, is in Isaiah:
Therefore the LORD himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14
For more on this fascinating prophecy, you might want to read Promises of a Messiah: Isaiah 7,9 and 11 (part 1), and Promises of a Messiah: Isaiah 7,9 and 11 (part 2).
Matthew places this prophecy at the beginning of his book, ending with confirmation of its fulfillment:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20 (emphasis mine)
Jesus was quite literally God with us – God among humankind. And He remains with His people.
But after the prophecy itself in Isaiah, things progressed to judgement. The exile of Israel from the land. And a return that, although wonderful, left many longing for the glory days of the past (Ezra 3:12). Oh for the time when God Himself would appear in His temple, and lead His people (Exodus 40:34-38; 2 Chronicles 7:1-3)! Emmanuel!
(Incidentally, the different spellings are the same word – one comes from the Hebrew (Immanuel), the other from the Greek. Which is, itself, a translation of the Hebrew!)
God’s presence, God’s guidance. It is the answer to Moses’ prayers in Exodus 33 – “Show me your glory” and “Show me your ways”. Powerful prayers.
The second verse develops the idea of guidance, calling Jesus the Wisdom from on high. We long for wisdom – a term that includes intelligence and ability to act. Wisdom is an attribute of God, shown to us in His amazing creative work:
The LORD possessed me [Wisdom] at the beginning of his work,
From Proverbs 8:22-31
the first of his acts of old.
…
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
then I was beside him, like a master workman,
and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing before him always…
Jesus Himself is called Wisdom in the New Testament:
And because of [God] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 1:30-31
This idea is repeated again in Colossians, after Paul says that all things were created by means of God’s beloved Son:
…in [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Colossians 2:3
All three of these passages speak of the pursuit of wisdom by human beings. A pursuit of that wisdom that created the world itself. Proverbs 8 exclaims, “whoever finds me finds life and obtains favour from the LORD!” (Proverbs 8:35). 1 Corinthians encourages us to boast in what we have received in Christ – wisdom, among other things. And Colossians echoes Proverbs by praying:
… that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him…
Colossians 1:9-10
Wisdom in Christ, like Christ Himself, is something that we have – and yet something that we pursue, long for, and wait for.
Although Jesus fulfills His promise to be with us always, through His Spirit, we long for His physical presence on earth, visible to all. For “every eye will see him” (Revelation 1:7).
So in this song, we will spend the next four weeks giving thanks for the riches of the Messiah, but also longing for the complete fulfillment of our salvation. Glory, Guidance, and Wisdom – O, how we long for Him!