This is Part 6 covering the Scriptural background for the lyrics of the song “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”. You can read the earlier posts at these links:
Although that’s all the verses I wanted to cover, each verse ends with the same phrase that I wanted to point out (specifically the day after Christmas):
“Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel, Shall come to thee, O Israel”
Emmanuel Shall Come
There is an incredible amount of prophecy surrounding how God was to come into our world as our Redeemer.
And in that prophecy, there’s a clear understanding that He will come through and for Israel, but that His work would then benefit and be for all people of all nations.
As the angel described:
“Good news of great joy that will be for all people.”
Luke 2:10-12
This repeated phrase reminds us to hold onto this hope throughout the song.
Rejoice! For Emmanuel will come.
Rejoice! For Thou Lord of Might will come.
Rejoice! For Thou Rod of Jesse will come.
Rejoice! For Thou Key of David will come.
Rejoice! For Thou Dayspring will come.
And He comes for the whole world.
Every nation,
Every tribe,
Every tongue,
Every person.
Waiting On God
The prophecies of the coming Messiah were written long before Jesus came, and so the original hearers and readers had to be patient and wait expectantly.
We, similarly, have to wait on God as well.
Jesus has come,
Jesus has paid the price for our sins,
Jesus has given us His Spirit,
But our lives are still imperfect,
Much of world around us is still broken and without Him.
We are in the “already” and “not yet”.
We are in the in-between of being fully justified, yet not in heaven with Jesus just yet.
And so we have to remind ourselves of the hope we have in Him.
So, as we are now in the day after Christmas, I encourage you to consider the waiting that led up to Christmas and the waiting we now have as Christians.
Jesus has come,
But He is still redeeming this world.
And as we wait, we too can hope in Him,
And continue to say, as they did waiting for His first arrival:
“Come quickly, Lord Jesus, come.”
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Romans 8:18–25
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?
But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.