The people of God are a people acquainted with exile: a period of absence from one’s home, whether forced or voluntary. Adam & Eve were exiled from Eden after disobeying God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good & evil. Cain was exiled east, toward Babylon, after murdering his brother, Abel. Joseph was exiled into Egypt, sold by his own brothers. As a result of their repeated apostasy, the entire nation of Israel was handed over by God into captivity by the Babylonian empire, dragged into exile while their homeland was plundered & desecrated.

Verse 1 of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” captures the mourning heart of the exiles longing for home. The loneliness & weariness of the homesick is an experience not limited to Old Testament people. Peter reminds today’s Christians that we are sojourners & exiles, seeking to live honorably while we await our promised homecoming (1 Peter 2:11-12). We know of wicked rulers, oppression, violence, war, & want, much like those taken captive into Babylon & Assyria. We long for the day when evil ceases & good reigns, just like they did.

Our hope is their hope: the coming of “God with us,” Emmanuel. Just as they commemorated the promise given, we celebrate the promise kept at Christmas. Just as they longed for the first coming of Jesus, we long for His return when He has promised to make all things new (Rev. 21:5). The first coming of Jesus, celebrated at Christmas, was only a partial fulfillment of all the prophets foretold. We look forward to that day when war will be no more. We look forward to that day when hunger, want, & strife will be no more. We look forward to that day when even the struggle within ourselves—the struggle against sin & for godliness—will be no more. And some days, our exile is mournful. There has been no lack of occasion to mourn in recent months. But we know that our mourning will only last until the Son of God appears. And in our mourning, we rejoice.

“Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!”