O, Come, O, Come, Emmanuel

Here are my notes from 13 January…
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Introduction:
Today, we will celebrate Advent, the arrival of Jesus, by unpacking the meaning of a favourite Christmas Carol. During the Christmas season, we often sing these familiar songs without thought about the meaning.
Many of the lyrics are rich with Scripture, dense with meaning. Today’s carol is one such lyric.
What is a CAROL??
Mark Roberts “…the word “carol” comes from the Old French word “carole,” that refers to a circle dance.
In centuries past there were carols not only for Christmas, but for other holidays as well.

Lyric:
- O come, O come, Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

- O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

- O come, desire of nations, bind all peoples in one heart and mind
Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease, fill all the world with heaven’s peace
- Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel.

Key Words
1. Come—a call for help, for an intervening visit
2. Emmanuel—a name, the centrepiece of the lyric
3. Ransom Captive Israel—buy out the prisoner, the slave, Israel
4. Exile—Israel is captive, far away from it’s home in Palestine, away from it’s God, YHWH.
5. DaySpring—poetic for DAWN
Luke 1:67 ¶ And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
Luke 1:68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,
Luke 1:77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins,
Luke 1:78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
Luke 1:79 TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Isaiah 9:1–2; 42:7; 49:9–10 NASB
“But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon,
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
Saying to those who are bound, ‘Go forth,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
Along the roads they will feed,
And their pasture will be on all bare heights.
“They will not hunger or thirst,
Neither will the scorching heat or sun strike them down;
For He who has compassion on them will lead them,
And will guide them to springs of water.”

6. Advent
7. Desire of Nations
KJV: Hag. 2:7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.

“That which is desired/treasured by all nations” they will bring their wealth.

NASB: “‘And I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations; and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts.”

Now, back to our central word:

Emmanuel—a name, from Isaiah 7 & 8
Renn –Bible words
This word is only found in Isa. 7:14; 8:8, where it constitutes the name assigned to the son born of the virgin, and means “God with us.” ‏עִמָּנוּאֵל‎ ʾimmānûʾēl (i.e., Emmanuel) specifically refers to the son born to the “prophetess,” the unnamed wife of the prophet Isaiah (see Ἐμμανουήλ Emmanouēl, below).

[Ἐμμανουήλ--This term only occurs in Matt. 1:23, where it refers to the infant Jesus as the direct fulfillment of the sign given to the prophet Isaiah
Texts:
Is. 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

Isaiah 8:6–7 NASB
““Inasmuch as these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah,
And rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah;
“Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant waters of the Euphrates,
Even the king of Assyria and all his glory;
And it will rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks.”
Isaiah 8:8 NASB
““Then it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through,
It will reach even to the neck;
And the spread of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.”

NET notes
15 sn The appearance of the name Immanuel (“God is with us”) is ironic at this point, for God is present with his people in judgment.

Matt. 1:23 “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”

Immanuel (with us is God); name of child, symbolizing presence of ’‏י‎ to deliver his people; declaration of trust and confidence, with us is God.

8. Rejoice!


"Joy To The World!"