As I was planning my lesson for my high school youth group, I came across one of my all-time favorite hymns and was blown away by the amount of theology packed into its familiar verses. “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is the quintessential advent hymn and as we take a closer look my hope is that you will begin to feel just how good of news the birth of Jesus was and still is.
O Come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Emmanuel means “God with us”. Israel had a history of God being physically present with them – in the burning bush, in the pillar of fire and smoke, he passed by Moses, in the ark of the covenant, etc. This time, however, they were looking for an anointed one of God – that God would work through the Messiah. What they got instead was God himself.
400 years before the birth of Jesus Christ Israel was a conquered, separated nation who had heard the last of the Old Testament prophets They had split into Israel and Judah. One was conquered by the Persian Empire, the other by the Babylonians. Israel was again an enslaved nation, much like they were in Egypt, and again their only hope was for God to intervene.
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
The phrase “Wisdom from on high” speaks again of Christ. Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians that “Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” It is this wisdom that spoke to the prophets and this wisdom that leads us down right paths. This verse, more than any other, is a prayer that is just as applicable to believers today as it would have been to Israel in their captivity.
O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell thy people save.
And give them victory over the grave.
The phrase “Rod of Jesse” refers to the royal line. Jesse was the father of Kind David and the prophet Isaiah foretold that the messiah would be a descendent of the royal line. What is particularly fascinating is that not only is Christ a descendent of David as the son of Mary – but he is also his predecessor since Christ has always existed.
Israel was immediately concerned with being freed from their current captivity, but as this verse makes explicit – Christ freed them from their enslavement to sin and to Satan. He not only saved Israel from the hands of the Babylonians and Persians and Romans, but he saved them from an eternity with Satan. He was the Messiah they were hoping for, but he was also much more than that.
O Come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Luke writes in his gospel that the Dayspring from on high shall visit us (1:78) – again another term for Christ. He is the sunrise after a dark and dreary night. For Israel, that night lasted for centuries. This verse reminds us that Christ’s coming is the only thing that could end Israel’s enslavement – and our enslavement as well.
O come, thou key of David, come
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
The “key of David” is another reference to the royal lineage of the Messiah. Not only that, it also refers to the authority that David had as a king. The Messiah would have the ability to open the way to heaven, through his actions on a cross. There is also an echo of this imagery when Peter is given the keys of the kingdom. In that passage Peter is told that whatever he binds on earth will be bound in heaven.
O come, O come great Lord of might,
Who to thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Israel’s identity as a nation is bound up in one event – the Passover and exodus out of Egypt. Every Israelite would know the significance of Mt. Sinai and where the law of their people came from. This verse reminds us that it is the same God of ancient Israel who was born in a manger in Bethlehem.
O come, thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of thy people be;
Before thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on thy mercy call.
Another royal image – the root of Jesse’s family tree. This passage brings up the misunderstanding that many Jews had about the messiah. They looked for a great military leader who would conquer nations and rulers would fall to his feet. However, the messiah was not a great warrior – or even in an army. He was a carpenter. However, we know that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid thou our sad divisions cease,
And be thyself our King of Peace.
Jesus was not only the savior for the Israelites – but the savior of all nations. We are all united as members of the body of Christ. The last verse of this song is a plea to remember our unity in our need. We all need a savior. We all rejoice in the coming of Christ to earth and celebrate that at Christmas. We all look forward to the day he returns in his full glory.
