oppression, longing, & deliverance

 

And he burned the house of the Lord and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem.

2 Kings 25:9-10

With the trauma of the fall of Jerusalem the punishment of the Babylonian exile set in for the Jews in Judah. All the residents of Jerusalem that survived the siege were led away to Babylon, all weeping with the painful memories of dead loved ones, burned homes, a destroyed and ransacked temple, and broken down city walls. It was a painful time with little hope.

But we look back on the biblical account and realize that God cared for His people by the Exile. He kept them safe, and as the book of Daniel recounts, many Jews thrived in the captivity. In Babylon (and later Persia) they would rise to positions of prominence. Among them were Daniel, Ezra, Esther, and Nehemiah. They would obey God and by kept until he was ready to return them to their land again. They would serve as priests, prophets, queens, and court officials. And the Jews would emerge from their captivity with a stronger commitment to God and His Law and with a real, new hope.

They'd come back with Messianic hope. Once back in their land, the Jews would create thriving cities again, but would stay politically weak, eventually to be dominated by Alexander the Great, and then by Rome. But even these events could not diminish the hope of a Messiah to come Who would lead them back to the glory of David's reign.

It was to this culture that God sent His Son. Jesus was born to a people under oppression. He was born to a nation aware that they were not truly free. And He would show them the first freedom and the best deliverance was from sin's tyranny. The oppressed and the oppressors would turn against Him, but only to ultimately fulfill God's plan. Jesus would deliver us by His death and resurrection, and God would use oppression and longing to bring about deliverance.

from Bethlehem

 

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

Luke 2:4-5

From Bethlehem came forth

The Ancient of Days

newborn child

cradled in manger hay

Messiah mild

in that little town

of Bethlehem

In Judea's countryside

arrived a Savior

Jesus was born

God's righteous favor

that Christmas morn

in tiny village

of Bethlehem

The city of David

gave a new Prince

the world's King

Who'd go from hence

making the nations sing

born in the town

of Bethlehem

From Bethlehem

was born Jesus

victorious Lord

come to save us

as God's Word

predicted He'd come

from Bethlehem

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,

who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me

one who is to be ruler in Israel,

whose coming forth is from of old,

from ancient days.

Micah 5:2

Shepherd

 

He will tend his flock like a shepherd;

he will gather the lambs in his arms;

he will carry them in his bosom,

and gently lead those that are with young.

Isaiah 40:11

 

Look upon that manger scene and see the shepherds adoring their Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord. God intended for simple peasant shepherds to be the first to know about the Lamb of God come to save His people from their sins. He too would shepherd His people. Jesus is both Lamb of God and the Great Shepherd Who gives His life for the sheep.

Hundreds of years before angels spoke from the stars telling shepherds where to find an infant Savior, Isaiah foretold the tender care of the Great Shepherd. Jesus tends His flock. He cares for us. He gathers lambs up to hold them close, and He gently leads His people. Jesus loves us in this way because the Lord is our Shepherd and we shall not be in want. Jesus came to care for us like no one has. He came to lead us like no one could. He came to give His life for us so that we might be saved in Him, by Him, to Him as His flock. Jesus is our Shepherd and we shall not want.

O Lamb of God and Shepherd of my soul,

By Your blood I am forgiven and by Your life I am given life. But I must be led by my Great Shepherd. I must know how You gather me close and gently lead me, though I am prone to wander. Your rod and staff comfort me. The voice of Your Word calls me and I know You in that voice and follow You. Each manger scene that I see this Christmas reminds me of Your Shepherding love for my sheepish, wandering soul. Thank You, Lord!

Amen

light shined

 

The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;

those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,

on them has light shined.

Isaiah 9:2

Jesus is the light of the world. His light is the life of mankind. By the light of Jesus we see our great need, we find salvation in Him, and we find hope and peace as He clearly shows us the way to a joy-filled relationship with the Father. Jesus is the only light in our darkness. Only He can bring hope and healing over our sin.

How fitting it is to think through Isaiah's poetic prophecy on a dark winter's morning. The season is in full control now. It is dark. Days are short, and gray... cold, with very little sunshine. A numbing cold and darkness settles in and even creeps into my soul ever so slightly. And that is just a physical manifestation of the winter season that will lift in another 60 days or so. We shall see light again by God's good design.

This is just a picture of what is always true for our souls. Sin is a great darkness (really the worst darkness) and it grows unfathomably deep as it is multiplied by billions of sinners in cultures and a world that is far from God. It feels as oppressive as a sub-zero December ice-storm frozen morning. But the light of Jesus breaks through to shatter this deep darkness with a great light. And the warmth of the incredible good news of the gospel warms us so that sin's winter has no more frozen death grip on our hearts. A universe frozen in darkness is thawed and reborn by the warm light of God's grace.

At Christmas we celebrate that the light has shined. Jesus has come. And the gospel is a roaring flame that warms hearts and melts the cold darkness of sin and death around us. Live now, warmly, in the light of the Son!

the greatest gift is yours

 

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Philippians 2:5-8

And that, Charlie Brown, is what Christmas is all about. It is easy to get caught up in the holiday wrappings as we labor to decorate around the celebration of the arrival of our Savior. But do we really worship Jesus with lights, trees, eggnog and parties? Sometimes it is good to take a long look at the gospel story again at Christmas time. And this Philippians passage leads us to do that today.

Jesus humbled and emptied Himself in the manner of a slave to become that wondrous baby in the manger scene. God came down. The invasion of grace occurred at an unlikely entry point of Bethlehem, and in the humble home of a carpenter's wife, a child would grow to bring a revolution to the world... a revolution of peace and reconciliation that would come by His life, death, and resurrection.

Jesus in life teaches us how to truly live. In His death, He took the worst of our dying away, and in His resurrection guaranteed our own lives beyond hell and the grave. In His humility He became Lord of all. And He calls us to arm ourselves not with power or strength or weapons, but with His same humble obedience so that we might be born again to new life.

Jesus is the Christmas gift. He is the Giver of life and love to all who will only believe the amazing good news as they repent of sin and trust Him for eternal salvation. This also is "yours in Christ Jesus".

present and future Messiah

 

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

Isaiah foretells of Jesus in this passage. And as I look back at the prophecy fulfilled, I am in awe of what God has done in sending His Son. So long ago, centuries before Jesus was born, God spoke through Isaiah of a branch sprouting forth from a broken stump of Jesse. A Messiah would come from David's line. He would be known by the Spirit of God clearly at work in His wisdom, words, and rule.

The Branch out of Jesse would bring justice. He will judge the wicked of the earth and bring justice to the weak, poor, and oppressed among all the nations. He is adorned and strengthened by faithfulness to God's Law and wears righteousness like a warrior's sash around His waist.

The rule of this Messiah restores the world to Eden's gentle and beautiful perfection. There are no more predators to fear. Children romp and play with lions as lambs frolic with wolves. Cobras become baby toys. It is a world where the curse has been lifted and evil no longer imperils human life. Jesus shall reign in such a new earth, and because I know Him as Savior, I shall know Him as the Prince of Peace in a world totally made right again. 

I'm on the back half of my life as I have reached the age where mortality is a daily reminder. That's OK. That is how life works now. And I find myself longing for Eden's perfection to come not just to my body (as I am reminded every morning of it's slow demise... limping into the kitchen to make coffee, working arthritic fingers so that I can grab a Bible and turn the pages), but to all of Creation. We groan together, this world and I. We want to know that Jesus rules over this all and I know that with my own eyes (and without the aid of trifocals) in a resurrected new life, I shall see and experience that Jesus' resting place is glorious. I long to breath the invigorating air of that land!

complete repentance

 

Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.

2 Kings 23:25

This is God's assessment of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in Jerusalem at just eight years of age, but who ruled with an unrivaled passion for God and obedience to God's Law. There are four times that the word "all" is used in this one verse to describe Josiah. They are worth pondering.

He turned to the Lord, first, with all his heart. God had the king's heart. He loved the LORD and His Word and thus serving God came first from his affection for God. We serve what we love, and there was no doubt, Josiah loved the Lord, and as a leader, modeled that love for all the people as his heart compelled him to lead Judah in loving repentance back to the worship of Yahweh in His temple.

The young king turned to God with all his soul. This was not a political move or a shift of emphasis to gain power. This was a deep, spiritual work in king Josiah. And it brought spiritual change to the souls of those who lived in Judah.

Josiah turned to God with all his might. The king used all power at his disposal to personally repent and worship the LORD. He led the nation to do so as his reforms became national revival. He used his power to worship and glorify God and it staved off judgment and saved his generation in Judah.

Finally, Josiah was thorough in his understanding of scripture to keep all the law of Moses. Here is the real power behind Judah's revival. They turned back to God's Word. It all began with the discovery of the Law in the back of the temple. God's Word convicted Josiah who led the nation to obey scripture and glorify God.

O God,

May Your Word draw me with all Your power to worship You with all my heart, all my soul, and all my might. May you draw me so close to You in Your Word that nothing else is nearly as important. And may I be used to help others see Your greatness so that my generation might know You are the Lord.

Amen