In a few days, I will finally be on Christmas break. In a few weeks, it will be 2017. About two and a half years from now, I will be graduating from college. Ten, fifteen, twenty years from now, who knows where I will be? Lord willing, married and with kids. One hundred years from now, I’ll be dead. A few thousand years from now, if the world is still around, things will be very different. Time – it’s a crazy thing.
There’s a lot I’m looking forward to. Sometimes, things just seem to come so slowly, especially during those hard times of life. The last week of a semester for a college student, for example, feels more like a year. The happy days seem to blow by, while the tough times last forever. Don’t believe me? Go do a 5 minute plank, then go watch a five minute funny video on YouTube…yeah…I think we all know which one took “longer”.
In the beginning days of humanity, just after the Fall, God made Adam and Eve a promise. One day, a man, the offspring of Eve, would come. This man would defeat sin and crush the head of the serpent. He would put things back the way they were supposed to be. He would right the wrongs that had been done. This man would restore shalom to God’s creation. One day.
When God called Abraham, He said that through Abraham, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed”. Israel, this small nation, would stumble its way throughout history. But God’s hand was with Israel, and one day something would come from Israel that would bring a blessing to all peoples. One day.
It was a dark time in Egypt. In a single day, the firstborn of every Egyptian household would perish. However, the blood of a lamb on the doorposts of the Israelites would save them from the judgment of God during the tenth plague. The Angel of Death would see this sign, and know that within that house resides God’s people, and Death would pass over that home. This momentary affliction would pass, but one day a true Passover lamb would stand before God and take on the judgement for all the sins of His people. One day.
King David’s reign might be rightly seen as the “Golden Days” of Israel’s history. In a lot of ways, they were on top of the world. Riches, military power, peace, and a truly good king who was “a man after God’s own heart.” But even this king would fail, and would soon pass away – leaving a void in the throne. One day, however, a new king would come and sit on this throne forever. This King would rule in all goodness, mercy, peace, and justice. The true golden age was coming. One day.
In the days of darkness, the prophet Isaiah delivered a message of hope. A son was coming. This child was not just any child, but this child would carry the government on His shoulders. This child was the Prince of Peace. Our Mighty God. This was a child of hope, and he was coming for His people. One day.
Rejoicing throughout the city of Jerusalem may have seemed like near impossibility during some of the rougher times in Israel’s history. There were a lot of those rougher times, actually. But those days are not the end. Zechariah called out to the people: “Rejoice!” (Zech. 9:9). Why? Because their King, their Messiah, was coming to them, ushering in a reign of justice, peace, and salvation. One day.
Griefs and sorrows abounded. The transgressions of Israel were great. Judgement…the wrath of God…could not be stopped. They deserved it. This is why they had all of the sacrifices and ceremonies. They served as some small appeasement for the wrath they had incurred for themselves. But there was no true freedom in this system. The sin was never truly erased. The guilt was still there, it was just hidden under the blood sacrifices of the animals. God required a blood sacrifice, but these animals simply weren’t enough to satisfy the judgement of God. So they continued to sacrifice, day after day. This system was not permanent, however. Someone, a man of sorrows (Is. 53:3), was coming for them. A man who would bear their griefs and carry their sorrows (Is. 53:4). This man would be crushed for the iniquities of His people, appeasing the wrath of God. Through His wounds, there would be healing (Is. 53:5). There would be peace. The true, perfect, sacrificial lamb was coming. A blood sacrifice to cover sin once and for all. One day.
“Come, everyone who thirsts; come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!” The people are thirsty! They are hungry! Yet they have no money. They are slaves to their sin. There seems to be no hope. But yet the people of Israel get this promise. A Jubilee is coming. Oh, what sweet Jubilee. Their thirsts will be satisfied without price. “Come!” says the prophet, and see what freedom awaits for you. One day.
I’ve been thinking about each of these promises this Christmas season. These people, the people of Israel, were not just waiting a few days to find relief from the stress of final exams. They waited years. Thousands of years. Waiting, longing, hoping, remembering, believing…for thousands of years! Millions of them died never seeing the fulfillment of these promises for which they had longed throughout their whole lives. For thousands of years, they waited on the Lord. Belief couldn’t have always been easy. Yet they held on. They continued to trust. They continued to wait. They knew that one day, relief was coming.
Fast forward to Mary and Joseph in a barn. Surrounded by animals, rejected by man. Here, in this little town of Bethlehem, the day had come. I imagine the earth itself letting out a long sigh of relief. This is what they had all been waiting for. The Savior was born. The King was ushering in His Kingdom. Israel need not wait any longer. In such a subtle night, the promises were all fulfilled. I often think of the shepherds and the wise men who came to visit Jesus. I can’t even imagine what they must have felt – all the emotion. And what must Mary and Joseph have felt as they looked upon their newborn baby? This was it. It was what all of Israel had waited for. I can’t even imagine the joy – that indescribable outburst of joy. The smiles, the tears, the utter relief. Finally, the Messiah had come.
Fast forward again, to 2016. Here we are. It’s been nearly 2000 years since Christ rose from the dead and ascended back into heaven. 2000 years since the disciples were told, “why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). The promise was made. Jesus is coming again. He will return to make all things new. He’s coming. Two thousand years later, we too find ourselves waiting, just as the Israelites waited all of those years for their Messiah to be born. It can be hard. Sometimes I wonder “why?” Why God? Why do you wait? What’s taking so long? We’re ready for you to come back for us. We long to be with You. We long for the pains of this life to end. It doesn’t seem to make any sense. But then I think of the shepherds, as they fell and worshiped at Christ’s feet. I think of the wise men traveling all that way just to see their long awaited king. I think of the joy they must have felt at finally seeing the culmination of all the promises and all the waiting. What joy is coming for us, when we too see our Lord’s promises fulfilled. He is coming – you can count on it. And when He does, we will see that all the waiting, all the pain, and all the tears, were worth it. We’ll finally see, understand, and know, what it is to look upon our Savior, and weep those sweet tears of joy.
One day.
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