O Come, Emmanuel
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel”
In JRR Tolkien’s book The Return of the King, there is a proverb, “Thus it is spoken: Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.” This is precisely where we find Israel at the beginning of the book of the prophet Isaiah.
It was the time of Ahaz’s kingship in Judah. Though he was in the line of David, he looked nothing like King David. We are told in 2 Kings that “Ahaz did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God.” He even burned one of his sons as an offering. Now, it should have been pretty apparent to the people of Judah and Israel what happens when you have a king who does not follow God. It was pretty clear cut from the beginning; if the king followed after God, then God, as the true King of his people, would care for them as faithful subjects. But, if the king did not do what was right in the eyes of God, then God would give them over to their ways so that they could see their own brokenness exemplified in this godless king.
And so here they are, Judah, being led by a godless king and about to be attacked by Syria and Ephraim so that they could put their king in power. Who they want to put in power does not really matter, what matters is that there is an attack upon the house of David and the Davidic kingship from whom the Messiah is supposed to come. With this military might pressing down upon Judah, in God’s mercy he sends the prophet Isaiah to visit Ahaz, but even then, he ignores the LORD’s request to ask for a sign. As I am sure none of us has ever done, he spiritualizes his own choices to not follow what God tells him. So, instead of a sign of blessing, Isaiah gives a sign of judgment to Ahaz, that he is to be replaced by Immanuel. Ahaz will not be king of Jerusalem but God will be with his people and rule them. And who is this Immanuel?.... That’s right Hezekiah. Perhaps, some of you are a little confused by that. This is where Christmas music has done us a great service and disservice.
Let’s start with the disservice. The people of Judah are in desperate need of help, they are forlorn. They are ruled by a godless king who is supposed to lead them to God and rule them in a like manner. Surrounded by enemies seeking to tear down their kingdom, destroy the line of David, and capture or kill them. This is an immediate and pressing concern. Not just for their own lives but for the hope they have in the one promised in the Davidic covenant, who will sit on the throne and rule the people forever; the hope of a Messiah. It would seem odd if the only hope given to Israel is to come over 700 years later and that God will meet them on the other side of captivity. No, who is to be the hope of God to his people now? How will God be with his people amid their fear, uncertainty, and coming doom? A king, a Davidic king, one who will bring the hope of God in their midst. He is prophesied of here in our passage but only two chapters later we are told of his birth, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”-- Wait a second, these are titles for Christ, we hear them every year around Christmas, how could they refer to anyone else?!
This may seem like lofty words for a mere man. But it would not be uncommon to speak of a king in this way, especially a godly king like that of Hezekiah, who is the king that brings Israel back under the Kingship of God. He is the king who brings God to his people. What is said of God, can in some way be said of the king who brings God into the midst of his people. The king represents God.
In the immediate context of Isaiah, Immanuel is Hezekiah, Ahaz’s son, who is far better than Ahaz. We are told in 2 Kings that Hezekiah “Trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.” God uses Hezekiah to rule his people and to bring God to his people. Immanuel, God with us, God for us. He is the temporal hope that Israel desires to free them from the Assyrians. He is the Davidic king even greater than that of King David. Hezekiah becomes the image of kingship in Israel.
It makes sense then that when we get to St. Matthew’s Gospel, we see Israel again needing hope, this time to be freed by the rule of the Roman Empire. Israel needs a King, the promised King. The King that the Davidic line has figured in the kings of David and Hezekiah. And not just Israel but all people; Jew and Gentile. We need a King to bring God into our midst and to save us, not just temporally but an eternal and cosmic redemption. And so, of course, Matthew connects Isaiah’s Immanuel prophecy and the rest of the book of Isaiah, which looks to the Messiah the one who is Hope among us, who is God among us, and God for us, Jesus the Christ.
This is where our Christmas hymns and music help us out. They connect Jesus the Christ as the fullness of Immanuel. The King has come and is establishing his kingdom. And this is why Hezekiah is important. Because the one who is the Messiah, the King of Kings, is not an eternal and heavenly type with no earthly referent. No, God used Hezekiah to give us a glimpse of the one who is to come and rule eternally as King. He was a foretaste of the promised King, who truly is God with us. He was the image of the divine King to come, Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews, Messiah of the nations. Christ who is the fullness of the titles Wonderful Counselor, mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, and Immanuel, for he is truly God with us.’
But we await his second coming still, we too need the King of Kings to rule in our lives. In his first coming, he has won our salvation and is making us new. But we wait, we await the New Heavens and New Earth as our final home, where Christ shall rule as the perfect King. Not a king who cannot relate to us but a King who took on flesh, dwelt among us, bringing the presence of God into the midst of the mundane, the times of worry, of hopelessness and he redeems these moments. And he is redeeming and recreating us too for his Kingdom.
But why the need to talk about Hezekiah, isn’t it fine to jump to the King that really matters?
A year or so ago, I was ironing tablecloths trying to get all of the wrinkles out. Someone walked up and asked why in the world I needed to get all the wrinkles out, they were just going to get dirty and wrinkled anyway. Plus, probably no one would know the difference. In my best over-spiritualizing priest’s voice, I asked, ‘Would you iron your tablecloth if Jesus was your guest?’ (cheesy, I know, but bear with me)
Christ is often in our midst as those who are figures of Christ to us. Would you iron the tablecloth for Jesus, for your co-worker, for me, for a stranger, for a child? Scripture tells us that “Some have entertained angels unaware.” If we miss those in Scripture who are figures of Christ to his people, we might well miss those he sends to us, those who, as figures of Christ, bring God into our midst.
My point is not for you to go home and iron your tablecloth. But that as we wait for the Second Coming of our Lord, we might receive others as though they are Christ himself. “For what you do to the least of these you do unto me,” says Christ. To look for those who figure God to you. To know that in Christ Jesus, Immanuel, that God is truly with you and for you and your good. And that he invites you to his table, with altar linen ironed, candles lit, and where Christ gives himself to you in his body and blood, the bread of heaven and the cup of salvation. And as we feast, we also wait with expectant breath for our King is returning.
God's Peace,
Fr. Aaron