O Come, O Come Immanuel

“This is what the Lord, the King of Israel and its Redeemer,  the Lord of Armies, says: I am the first and I am the last. There is no God but me… Remember these things, Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you, you are my servant; Israel, you will never be forgotten by me. I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud,  and your sins like a mist. Return to me,  for I have redeemed you. Rejoice, heavens, for the Lord has acted; shout, depths of the earth. Break out into singing, mountains, forest, and every tree in it. For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and glorifies himself through Israel.” (Isaiah‬ ‭44‬:‭6‬, ‭21‬-‭23‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

O come, O come, Immanuel,

and ransom captive Israel

that mourns in lonely exile here

until the Son of God appear.

Refrain:

Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel

shall come to you, O Israel.

This is one of my absolute favorite Christmas carols. In fact, I’m singing it in my mind even as I write these words. Initially, you might read the title I’ve ascribed to this study and then read the focal passage and wonder why I even chose that title and the song lyrics. I hope not, but it is possible for you to read the words of Isaiah and completely miss what God did that night in a lowly stable in Bethlehem. In fact, most of the world and much of Israel missed it. They knew the promises of God, they anticipated the fulfillment of those promises and then most of them completely overlooked or misunderstood what God did that incredible, auspicious night.

As we’ve studied Isaiah, we have been repeatedly confronted with the promise of God’s redemption for Israel (and those who are a part of Israel through faith like Abraham) and we encounter it again, in this passage. But first, God reiterates just who is making the promise and why it must be fulfilled. He identifies Himself with His personal name – YHWH, which is always translated as “the LORD”. Then He clarifies, the King of Israel and its Redeemer. He also emphasizes His sovereignty and might as “the LORD of Armies” or the LORD of Hosts, as it is often translated in other versions. 

So, the one who is King of Israel and its Redeemer is the very One who has revealed Himself to them in a personal way through Moses and the Exodus. Not some general, generic, local deity but the very God who is the creator of all things and all peoples. Again, He clarifies this point by stating emphatically: “I am the first and I am the last. There is no God but me.” The God who made these promises of redemption to Israel is not just any god, He’s the only God who can actually keep His promises. He can fulfill them. 

But He’s more than that, He’s the God who fulfills the promises to His creation by filling it full of Himself. He is the first, and He is the last and by implication, everything in between is reliant upon Him for its purpose and existence. He’s not one of many gods through whom we can find purpose and a reason for existence, He’s the ONLY way we can find those things – “there’s no God but ME!” That statement of exclusivity strikes at the very heart of our modern culture and its ethos of religious tolerance. Religious tolerance, in our culture, doesn’t simply mean that other religious beliefs are tolerated and, therefore, permitted to coexist alongside our beliefs, but that they are considered to be equal in truth and relevancy to our Christian beliefs.

But that statement doesn’t just strike at the heart of religious belief and tolerance, it strikes at the very root of human existence, its pursuit of knowledge and understanding and the truth that governs civil coexistence. To say you believe in any or all gods is to say you don’t really believe in any of them. Jesus said it this way: “No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭24‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Now the One, True and singularly exclusive God of all creation illustrates the absurdity of trusting in anyone or anything else besides Him. We’ve looked at these arguments before, but the primary point is that any idol or false god is simply unable to do what our God does. An ironworker shapes metal with his own hands into the image he imagines in his own mind, but his arm becomes tired and he gets hungry even as he does so. His idol is incapable of renewing his strength, but our God renews our strength, He makes us soar like an eagle, enables us to run and not grow weary, to walk and not faint. 

In a similar way, a woodworker takes a piece of cedar, cypress or oak and measures, outlines, and then shapes and fashions it in “a human form, like a beautiful person to dwell in a temple.” He uses part of the wood to build a fire, cook his meal, warm himself and then he takes the rest and makes it into an idol. He then bows before it and prays, “Save me, for you are my god.” He doesn’t even realize that he “burned half of it in the fire, baked bread on its coals, roasted meat over it and ate.”

Catch Isaiah’s closing words about these idols and their worshipers, “‘Should I make something detestable with the rest of it? Should I bow down to a block of wood?’ He feeds on ashes. His deceived mind has led him astray, and he cannot rescue himself, or say, ‘Isn’t there a lie in my right hand?’” The word translated as “detestable” in these verses is a word that means the tree and its wood has been used in a way is was never designed or intended to be used by God, its creator. What man has done with it is detestable or an abomination to its intended purpose. Hold onto that thought, we’ll come back to it in a bit.

Now, to the heart of this passage…

God calls for His people to remember that they are His servant; He says, “I formed you, you are my servant; Israel, you will never be forgotten by me.” His people were living in the midst of a culture plagued by idolatry and which was seducing them into believing that the LORD had forgotten about them. Everywhere they turned, the gods of Babylon beckoned to them, seduced them into idolatry and complacency. In fact, the word Babylon means “gate of the gods”. Even the stones they walked on were inscribed with “to the honor of Marduk”. This is the epitome of an idolatrous culture and God’s people are stuck in the middle of it. It’s no wonder they’re struggling.

But God not only remembers His people, He also has redeemed them. He has swept away their sins and He calls upon them to return to Him. Revival is a term that is not used much today. We tend to associate that term with the idea of a “week long meeting” in which we invite an evangelist to come and preach. But it is used here (return to me) with the idea of Israel returning to their source of life. That’s really the root meaning of the word, to be revived, restored or brought back to life. God knows they’ve lost sight of who they are, whose they are, what He has done for them and what He is offering them: redemption and life.

But how has God done this? That’s why I chose the song and title, “O Come, O Come Immanuel”. That’s what we celebrate at Christmas, the incarnation – Immanuel, God With or Among Us. But that’s not just something we celebrate at Christmas. The fact that God has come to us and lives among us is something we ought to celebrate, must celebrate each and every day! Listen to Isaiah’s words: “Rejoice, heavens, for the Lord has acted; shout, depths of the earth. Break out into singing, mountains, forest, and every tree in it. For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and glorifies himself through Israel.” (Isaiah‬ ‭44‬:‭23‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

I mentioned above how the use of the iron and wood to form an idol was detestable, an abomination. It is against the very nature of the iron ore, the wood or any other created substance to be used in such a way, to be formed into an idol for worship. Why? Because all of creation was made for one purpose, to rejoice, shout, sing and dance in worship before God because God has redeemed His people!

The idol worshiper calls out for the god he has fashioned to “save me, for you are my god.” But it cannot save him, it was created by the man, fashioned from his imagination and it cannot save him. But the God who created man, who fashioned man from the dust of the ground and breathed into him the very breath of life – THAT God, and that God ALONE can save man. And He has: “Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”(Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

We live in circumstances or conditions in which we’re tempted to think that God has forgotten about us, too. We live in the midst of an idolatrous culture which beckons and attempts to seduce us into abandoning our God, the One and Only God who calls us to embrace exclusive truth, trust and worship because He alone is God and He alone is worthy of our worship and trust. 

We have forgotten who we are, who we belong to and what He has done for us. He has come to redeem us and partake in the REVIVAL of life He offers to us. The gods of this world, those we’ve fashioned with our hands or imagined in our minds, are incapable of saving us. The only ONE who can is the ONE who came, who gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sin, and who now offers us the opportunity to share in the eternal life He alone possesses.

One last thought for you to consider. The closing verse of our focal passage calls for the heavens to rejoice, for the depths of the earth to shout, and for the mountains, forest, and every tree in it to break out into singing praise to the LORD. Why? Because He has redeemed Jacob, that sinful scoundrel, and has chosen to bring glory to Himself through Israel, His people of faith – the church. If the heavens are to rejoice, if the depths of the earth are to shout, if the mountains, forest and every tree in them are to break out into singing God’s praise, then you had better clear your throat and put on your dancing shoes.

Man has always used these things, the heavens, the depths of the earth, the mountains, the forests and the trees in ways that they were never intended to be used. Their purpose, and our purpose, is to be instruments of God’s praise and to bring glory to Him in everything. Everything we do, everything we say, everything we think and dream, our entire existence is intended to bring Him glory and praise.

Don’t just sit there, DO SOMETHING that will glorify and cause others to praise God!

Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel

shall come to you, O Israel.