ADVENT FOR ADULTS #17
December 17th… 8 NIGHTS TIL CHRISTMAS
THE PRODIGAL NATION
“And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel.” [Luke 2:34]
I can’t really go any further in my examination of the Christmas Story in Luke 2 unless I factor in the nation of Israel. The topic is a huge one, as was yesterday’s. (I suppose Wednesday’s blog must have been a lot for you to handle!) But I remind myself that this is an ADVENT for ADULTS— so of course I’m going to have to cover some ground that I wouldn’t normally cover with children.
Simeon took the baby Jesus up in his arms and prophesied, “this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel!” What has Israel got to do with Christmas, and Christians?
When I was a boy going to Norman Cook Public School, on Danforth Road in Scarboro, I was fascinated by the special events and assemblies we used to have at Christmas. But I could never understand some of the songs we used to sing:
The first Noel the angels did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay:
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep
On a cold winter’s night that was so deep.
[Chorus] Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel.
What did the songwriter mean by the King of Israel? What has Israel got to do with it?
Well, it’s only when we understand the place of Israel in the world that we can really understand why Christmas is such a cause for celebration.
There’s an odd bunch of verses in Psalms 133 that deserve explanation:“ Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.”
That “precious ointment” represented the anointing of God. “Anointing” in the Bible was the act by which a special aromatic oil was poured out on the head of the man God was endorsing as HIS CHOICE to be king, or priest. It was a way for God to announce that this man was approved by God, that God would work through him to bless the nation.
So we have the example of David, who was anointed as king over Israel. We must understand that God has the final choice of who will rule his people. And this applies also to God’s choice of nations—like it or not, believe it or not, God has anointed the nation of Israel to be the means by which he intends to bestow the greatest blessing of all— “even life for evermore”.
There’s not room enough today to develop an idea I will discuss in detail later, but let me assure you that life forevermore is the greatest blessing God can possibly bestow on anybody! My point is , God has ordained this blessing will come “from the mountains of Zion”.
Zion was the ancient name of the hill on which Jerusalem was built, and has come to refer to Jerusalem itself, and is an epithet (a nickname) for God’s people,Israel.
You may have heard it said that the Jews are God’s chosen people. What this means is that they were chosen as the ambassadors for the Kingdom of God. God has a kingdom, which starts here on Earth and extends out into eternity— and to become a citizen of that kingdom you need to go to “the embassy” and apply for citizenship. The “embassy” for any foreign country is the place where all the documents are kept, and where transactions between the host country and the new applicants are performed— and in the case of the Kingdom of God, this “embassy” is the Word of God, the Bible.
The Bible was first given to the Jews, who have passed it along to us— and if you will read the Bible for yourself you will discover what it takes to become a citizen of heaven. Now all of this is pretty hard to believe just from reading the words here on this page. The only way to confirm all this for yourself would be by reading the Bible from cover to cover. If this is a daunting thought, here’s the good news. You don’t have to read the whole book to receive the chief benefit offered by this book. The book has a focal point, something it is trying to say to all people, everywhere, and if you will believe what it says and do what it says, you will receive the benefit, “even life for evermore”, immediately.
That’s what it says John 5:39,40, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”
This was Jesus talking to the Jews. He said to them: “You think you have eternal life because you have the Book— but the book is talking about ME, and without me you have nothing!”
The Jews, as a rule, have studied the Book, protected it, passed it on for generations, but have not actually believed that Jesus is their Messiah, their saviour, and their coming King. As a rule, most Jews are not saved. That’s what the Apostle Paul was talking about in Romans 10:1,2 “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.” They have heat, but no LIGHT.
Remember I started this series of blogs encouraging you to follow the light. It is one thing to immerse yourself in knowledge, and another thing to follow the knowledge to where it leads. The Jews have been talking about and arguing about Scripture for 3500 years, and yet most of them are not even saved. Because they are not saved — adopted as children into the family of God— they do not have the intimate fellowship with God they need to get His specific guidance.
This is so unfortunate, because at this time in history their nation is at the epicenter of the Middle East conflict, their very existence as a nation is being threatened, and they do not seem to have enough understanding of God’s ways to speak to the world about what is happening— and about what is going to happen next.
In a way, Israel is the prodigal nation. While all nations are eventually going to be held accountable for their rejection of God, Israel of all nations was the very household of God— they were family— and because of their wilfulness, they were dispersed all over the world, much like the prodigal son, who “took his journey into a far country.”
The good news is, the prodigal son is heading home. Tomorrow we’ll talk about the regathering of Israel— and of the joy this should bring to the whole world. Just like the joy we all feel when we hear lyrics like this: “I met a man who lives in Tennessee/ He was headin for/ Pennsylvania, and some home-made pumpkin pie/ From Pennsylvania, folks are travelin down to Dixies sunny shore/ From Atlantic to Pacific, gee, the traffic is terrific…”
“Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays/ Cause no matter how far away you roam/ If you want to be happy in a million ways/ For the holidays, you can’t beat home, sweet home!
NEXT: THE RISING AGAIN OF ISRAEL
GO TO START: ADVENT FOR ADULTS #1