Isaiah prophesied during dire times to God’s people who had strayed. Their consciences had to be pricked and prodded with rebuke as well as offered hope and restoration. During the Advent season we often read the Immanuel Chapters 7-12. But there is more good news from Isaiah!
One of those hopeful and comforting sections is found in Chapter 26. It’s a future song of praise. “In that day” it begins, declaring that there was a potential future of joy for those who return to God. The promises are rich and sweet.
I think of Joseph as he is leading the donkey bearing his betrothed Mary struggling with the burden of the Christ Child in her womb. The Roman Government had commanded a census to be taken from their hometowns (Luke 2:1-7) The NIV characterizes Joseph in Matthew 1:19 as “faithful to the law”. In other versions the word “righteous” is used. But where does that righteousness come from? Is it something that we determine to do by our own will power? Or is it a gift? Paul wrote in Romans 5:17 about “God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness [which can] reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” Paul affirms and declares the realized promise and hope that had come down through the ages through the likes of Isaiah and other prophets.
But Joseph had not yet met Jesus as his Savior. He only had the embedded prophesies. It was the promise and the strength of God, the Upright One, who gave him that marvelous gift! That enabled him to accept an “unwed” mother despite the perceived shame of the community, travel miles required by the oppressive government to register, listen, and follow the directions of God through assurances, dreams and directions when faced with the terrible threat of death against God’s infant Son. As he trudged along that road between his home and Bethlehem, it could be that his heart cried out with the prophet, “We wait for You! My soul yearns for You! My spirit longs for You!”
Is God’s promise so deeply embedded into our hearts and minds that we are able to receive that gift of righteousness to see His Kingdom come?
May our Merry Christmas come from God’s gift of righteousness and our longing for Him.
M. ReeAnn Hyde
ReeAnn Hyde is a retired elder in the Church of the Nazarene. She continues to pursue her call to preach God’s Word through monthly blogs, teaching in rotation for the Cornerstone Sunday School Class, and writing Christian literature and poetry. She is also an active artist, exhibiting her artwork around the community.
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