Oh, come, oh, come great Lord of might
Who to your tribes on Sinai’s height.
In ancient times once gave the Law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel
Yesterday, I reminded you that the word Emmanuel means “God is with us.” Today, let’s look at another verse from this favorite Advent carol.
Who is the God who is with us?
“Oh, come, oh, come great Lord of might,” sings the second verse. How do we know God’s might? Well, this verse points us backward. It reminds us of the Exodus, of how God rescued Israel from their captivity in Egypt. Indeed, as this verse sings of an aspect of the Exodus – the giving of the Commandments on Mt. Sinai – it sings also of the attributes of our “great Lord of might.” He is the transcendent one who descended on “Sinai’s height … in cloud and majesty and awe.” Why? To “g[i]ve the Law.”
Do you see it? In a few short, lines, we hear that God is … mighty.
He is also righteous. (The Law is God’s gift to his people.)
Furthermore, God is the deliever. Indeed, the line, “cloud and majesty and awe,” remind us of how God delivers. In fact, it should draw our hearts back to how God led his people step-by-step from bondage and toward victory. Remember how he did it? He led them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
The point? God is the mighty deliverer. And …
if he could deliver captives from slavery in Egypt, then he could deliver his people from Exile in Babylon. And …
if he could deliver Exiles from Babylon, then he can deliver you from your bondages?
Do you see the pattern, the hope, and the promise? What are your bondages and enslavements? Isn’t it time to be set free? Do you believe that God is the source for deliverance? And do you believe that he has the power to do this? That’s what this verse – and a whole Old Testament full of prophecy – is all about.
In Christ’s Love,
a guy who can almost see
the cloud and majesty and awe
when I sing this carol
(and to think, some people
have to buy drugs to
be transported so high)
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