Christmas Song #5: The King of Peace Takes His Throne

It’s time to look at the last two verses of this year’s Christmas carol, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. So far we’ve looked at the Messiah as Emmanuel (God-with-us), Wisdom, the Rod of Jesse, Dayspring, the Key of David, and the Lord of Might. Interestingly, we’re back to Jesse again in verse 7:

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

At first glance, we might think that this is a repeat of verse 3 – the rod of Jesse. And it kind of is.

The Bible uses different related words to describe this new and unexpected growth from Jesse’s family. There’s the rod, or branch (Isaiah 11:1), and also the root (Isaiah 11:10). The idea is basically the same – that new growth, a shoot, is springing up from the family of Jesse. Even in times when it looked like all good was gone from the family of David – even in times when the kingdom appeared destroyed – there was hope for a future King. He is a “root out of dry ground” (Isaiah 53:2).

The author of this song emphasizes a mighty leader saving His people in the third verse. This time the view is expanded to Christ’s global rule.

An ensign is a flag or banner – a sign or a signal. You can imagine the flag of the King going before His army – or, instead of a flag, imagine that the King Himself is the “ensign” that the army follows.

In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

Isaiah 11:10

The pride of the rulers of the earth is silenced (Psalm 2; Psalm 46:8-10). They call on God for mercy. And, as Paul explains (quoting the verse from Isaiah), the final result is joy and praise, as the Gentile nations worship the Lord:

As it is written,
“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”
And again it is said,
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”
And again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.”
And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.”
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Romans 15:9-13

And all of this leads nicely into the final verse.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

I’ve written about the “Desire of Nations” before, because it’s in a line from Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

Come, Desire of nations, come,
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display Thy saving power,
Ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join
Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.

Basically, this is a bit of a controversy regarding Haggai 2:7. In the ESV it reads:

And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts.

Haggai 2:7

The Authorized, however, has “the desire of all nations shall come” instead of treasures of all nations. I can see both sides, and in some ways the difference is whether it should be plural or singular, since “desire” and “treasure” are practically one and the same. The other question is whether the treasures are coming specifically from the nations – as the NET Bible has.

But in the context, the result is really the same. The temple is being rebuilt in Jerusalem after the exile, and it’s not nearly as glorious as Solomon’s Temple had been. And there is no record that the glory of the Lord visibly filled this temple as it had the tabernacle and temple of Solomon.

But God promises, He will return to His temple. “I will fill this house with glory”! Later in the chapter God says,

The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.

Haggai 2:9

You can see how well the author(s) of this song knew their Scriptures! Whatever “treasure” the prophet intended to describe, the true treasure is God Himself. He is coming to His temple, and the result will be peace.

The hearts of all mankind are not bound together because of the peace, but because of the Lord. In the last few verses we have seen Christ the Ruler, Christ the Lawgiver — and so the peoples of the world seek His mercy (verse 7). Finally all is as it should be – wars cease, sin is abolished, and the True King is on His throne.

In Haggai 2, God is encouraging those who are building the temple to keep working. He reminds them of His promises to them as a new nation saved from slavery in Egypt, and promises anew that His Spirit will go with them.

As believers, we have a similar promise today. Keep up the work for the Kingdom – don’t be discouraged (1 Corinthians 15:57-58)! God is faithful, and He will complete His work in us (Philippians 1:6). We have the same promise as the Israelites – that God will dwell among us (2 Corinthians 6:16-18). And so…

Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

2 Corinthians 7:1

God is coming to His Temple. He came as a baby (Luke 2:22-32). He came as a man (John 7:37). He came in His Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). And so He continues to guide us. But we wait for the future, when all will see His glory. What better way to end this series, than with these words from Haggai? O Come, Emmanuel!

…Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.
For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.

Haggai 2:4-9