O COME EMMANUEL

Azariah set down the last stone of the day as there was no longer enough light to see and the floor of the temple was nearly finished. He was old, exhausted and wished for an end, an end to the day, end to the project, and most of all an end to their life in Babylon. The men of his crew trudged wearily to their quarters speaking few words even though it was the first time they could openly speak to each other that day. 

"We cannot do this much longer," Mishael muttered as they walked slowly. "How much longer will the Lord God have us suffer this exile?" "Only He knows," said Azariah, "and He has not yet told us." Kenaniah, the eldest said, "The Scriptures say a Deliverer will come, so we must trust Him and wait." 

Azariah stepped inside his hut and smelled the delicious aroma of food. Sitting down on the mat next to his wife Miriam and their two boys, he lifted his eyes heavenward and said, "Let us pray. O God our Father, we thank You for this food that blesses our bodies. Come, Lord God and send Your Promised One. Save us, O Merciful God. Come, Emmanuel and end our exile here, amen."

The year was 539 BC and in less than a year God would answer the prayers of His people. Cyrus the Great had already decided to allow the Israelites to return to their own land. But Azariah's prayer would be repeated over and over, sung in prayed throughout the coming centuries until Jesus of Nazareth, the Promised One of God, would be born in Bethlehem and live to fulfill God's promises. 

Yet this song would not stop there. Early believers in Christ would continue to pray for His promised second coming, that He would again be Emmanuel, their "God With Us." In the eighth century AD, an unknown monk would compose a Latin song, “Veni Emmanuel,” in which he would plead for Christ's promised second return in glory. The song continues to this day in the Advent hymn we love, translated by Henry Sloane Coffin: 

"O Come, O Come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel 

That mourns in lowly exile here, until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel."

"Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:21)