O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

— O Come, O Come Emmanuel (v. 1)

Around 735 BC, Ahaz, king of Judah, faced an enormous menace. Tiny Judah was attacked by powerful kings, Pekah of Israel and Rezin of Syria. Ahaz trembled.

How could he withstand the onslaught and escape the threat? King and country were in dire straits. Ahaz could not see a way out (Isaiah 7:1–2).

Into this hopeless situation came the words of the prophet Isaiah. He reassured the king that God would deliver Judah, that there was no reason to be afraid. God even offered a sign to show His determination to help. “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Despite some mystery about the boy’s mother, the message was clear: God would definitely intervene and demonstrate His rescuing presence (“Immanuel” means “God is with us”) by delivering Judah within about two years (Isaiah 7:15–16). Against all the odds, God seems to be involved in the affairs of the nation. And that is also our hope today.

Some two centuries on, a crisis of a different nature held God’s people ransom. This time, it was not external but internal evil that wreaked havoc—the people’s “iniquities” and “sins” in general (Isaiah 59:1–2) and their bloodthirstiness, guile, unreliability, corruption and violence in particular (Isaiah 59:3–8). Israel had failed to obey God. Consequently, “justice is far from us” (59:9), “At midday we stumble as if it were twilight” (59:10), “We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away” (59:11). This is not just ancient Israel’s experience but that of the church, too. We, too, see pastors involved in scandals, corrupt bishops stick to power and the church fail in her mission.

It is not only the prophet who was troubled by this state of affairs. The Lord Himself was so “displeased that there was no justice” and indeed “appalled that there was no one to intervene” (59:15–16) that, once again, He decides to act in person (59:16–17). Because no one cares, no one bothers, no one assumes responsibility, God once again promises personal intervention and deliverance to restore justice: “The Redeemer will come to Zion” (59:20). And this makes the situation hopeful.

We are not immune today to political crises of the nature Isaiah witnessed or to moral/religious crises among God’s people of the magnitude he described. The wars in Ukraine, Gaza and elsewhere have shaken our complacency, constitutional changes and political leaders have destabilized social and political life in many places and the church has struggled to be the salt and light of justice, righteousness and love she is supposed to be. In this world, too, “We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away” (Isaiah 59:11). In this world, Europe and Russia, Israelis and Palestinians, corrupt governments and impotent oppositions, politicians and voters of the right and left likewise badly need God’s redeeming presence and justice. Is there hope to be found?

Two thousand years ago, Israel again experienced oppression by foreign hands as well as self-inflicted corruption and injustice. Israel was captive to Rome and her own sins, once again in need of God’s rescuing presence: Immanuel.

Two thousand years ago, as a helpless child, God came and ransomed captive Israel from sin’s oppression and every other possible power (Colossians 2:13–15). So we experience Immanuel now, the presence of the Holy Spirit with us and in us, made possible by Jesus’ death and resurrection. And we press on as members of that ransomed people of God, mourning in exile, striving in the Spirit’s power to proclaim the gospel and to embody love and justice among the nations and rejoicing in anticipation of God’s ultimate appearance and deliverance.

We know that, when the Lord takes matters into His own hands, the most desperate political and moral/religious crises can be resolved and one day will be. So we, too, take up the cry: O come, O come, Emmanuel!