Hearts in Expectation…
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”
Jeremiah 33:14 ESV
“In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.”
Jeremiah 33:15 ESV
The Old Testament is filled with prophecies about the coming of a Savior. As the years went by, Israel remained in hopeful expectation that the prophecies would be fulfilled. At long last, their wait was almost over…
“More than two thousand years have passed since God made the promise to Abraham, more than a thousand years since he promised David that the solution to overturn Adam’s fateful curse would come from his family. Every story of Israel has pointed to this day.”
Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story
“For most children, the longest night of the year is Christmas Eve. Once they are tucked in bed, sleep comes slowly. The excitement and the anticipation for the next morning are almost unbearable. For just this one night of the year, time seems to stand still.”
Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story
This is the time of the Christmas season that our anticipation seems to grow exponentially. School is almost out, shopping is nearly done, and plans for Christmas Day have been made. Soon, all we have left to do is wait. And, especially for our children, that can be the hardest part. But it can also be the most exciting! Because as we see preparations being made, as we hear Christmas carols being sung, as we see presents wrapped and waiting to be opened, the days seem to take on a magical quality. There’s an electricity in the air that isn’t there the rest of the year. What is it that makes this time so special? It’s the anticipation. We know something good is coming, and we can’t wait for it to get here.
The joyful expectancy we feel as we wait for Christmas morning is fitting, because I suspect the ancient Israelites must have felt the same way. For four hundred years — the time between the Old and New Testaments — God was silent. No new prophets arose. Nothing new was revealed about God’s promises of a Savior. It was a long time to wait. Finally, the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God began with a single announcement to a young girl.
“God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.”
Luke 1:26-27 NIV
The angel told Mary that she, while still a virgin, would become pregnant and bear the Son of God. While she was understandably surprised by this, she was also filled with great joy. Because Mary was a faithful Jew and she knew what this meant: The time had finally come for God to fulfill His promise to His people!
“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.”
Luke 2:4-5 NIV
I can only imagine what a long trip this was for them! In addition to the “Are we there yet?” restlessness to which we can all relate while traveling, there was also the “Is it time yet?” drama of the ninth month of pregnancy. The feelings of apprehension and anticipation they experienced must have been almost overwhelming.
Again, our own feelings can echo these as we get closer to Christmas day. As adults, we probably become more aware of the apprehension involved in getting everything ready and worrying about whether or not all will go smoothly. But I’m willing to bet there is still a bit of the childlike anticipation in our hearts, too, shouting “Is it time yet?” as we get closer and closer to the big day.
“Nine months is a long time to wait for a baby. So is four hundred years. This is how long God’s people had to wait after the temple had been rebuilt.”
Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story
Finally, thankfully, the big day arrived! Jesus was born in Bethlehem in a stable. It probably wasn’t at all how Mary — or anyone else, for that matter — envisioned it. But after the excitement of the birth and the visit of the awe-filled shepherds, when Mary had a moment of quiet to process everything that had happened, this is what she did:
“Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”
Luke 2:19 NIV
I think the lesson in this for us is that we should do the same.
“She will give birth to a son; and you shall call His name Yeshua,
Matthew 1:21 TLV
for He will save His people from their sins.”
As we think about the events of the Christmas story we know so well, it may be hard to find new things to ponder. But the more we dig into the Scriptures, the more treasures we can find. As an example, I offer a bit of wonder I discovered in The Book of Mysteries by Jonathan Cahn. It has to do with the Hebrew form of the name given to Jesus: Yeshua.
“‘Yeshua means salvation. So in the Hebrew Scriptures, it is written, “He has become my salvation.”‘
‘Who has become salvation?’
‘God,’ he said. ‘God has become salvation. . . . God would become the answer to our greatest and deepest needs. In Hebrew, God would become yeshua. . . . From the Hebrew word yeshua comes the name Yeshua. And when the name Yeshua was translated into Greek, it became Iesous. And when Iesous was translated into English, it became Jesus. Jesus is Yeshua . . . It literally means God is my salvation.'”
Jonathan Cahn, The Book of Mysteries
Inherent in Jesus’ name is His purpose: He came to be our salvation. But what we have to remember is that the Son existed before He came to Earth. He existed before we were ever created. So, Yeshua wasn’t always His name. He took on that name for us.
“Before the creation, the Son was with the Father and the Word was with God. He was the Son. And He was the Word. But He wasn’t called Yeshua. In view of eternity, He has only borne the name Yeshua for a very short time. . . . His Name is Yeshua because of us. It was because of our need to be saved. So every time His Name is spoken, it is a reminder that He joined His existence to ours. And He chose to bear that name forever.
. . . His Name is a mystery in which we are part. And when you receive the name, then the name is fulfilled. God becomes your salvation. . . . You are in His Name. He was named for you. You are joined forever.“
Jonathan Cahn, The Book of Mysteries
Jesus has joined His existence to ours. We are part of Him, and He is part of us. How amazing! This week’s Scripture passages help us to look forward to the celebration of that miraculous day. And as we wait in hopeful expectation for the wonders to come, let’s spend some time contemplating the wonders that have already been. Like Mary, let’s take a quiet moment to treasure up all these things and ponder them in our hearts.
Yeshua, our Savior, has come to our world. In stillness, in silent reverie, let’s turn to the manger and contemplate the wonderful mysteries we find there…
“The Lord is my strength and song,
Psalm 118:14 NKJV
And He has become my salvation.”
References:
- Cahn, Jonathan. The Book of Mysteries. Front Line, 2018.
- Frazee, Randy. The Heart of the Story: Discover Your Life Within the Grand Epic of God’s Story. Zondervan, 2017.
- “Sing We Now of Christmas.” YouTube, uploaded by Kyle Pederson Music, 19 July 2023, https://youtu.be/G5YxokLMx-E?si=q2tmywIt_GNULiZF.
- The Story: Read the Bible as One Seamless Story from Beginning to End. Rev. ed., Zondervan, 2008.
Images:
- Hearts featured image by Bruno from Pixabay
- Branch image by Ilyuza Mingazova on Unsplash
- Snow Globe image by Story Taler from Pixabay
- Nativity Ornament image by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
- Cross Ornament image by Julie Rothe from Pixabay
- Snowy Trees background image by Jonathan Knepper on Unsplash (edited)
- Tea Lights image by congerdesign from Pixabay
About The Author
Christa
My vision for Wondertakings was to create a devotional blog for "nerdy" Christians like me. I do believe, as Socrates said, that wisdom begins in wonder. So I love to read or watch anything that inspires wonder and figure out what I can learn from it. I view it all through a Christian lens. I believe that God can and does speak through many sources in many ways, even if those speaking are not aware of it. I am not an expert in theology or religious studies. My goal with this blog is simply to share what I've learned as a fellow student and sinner in the Christian walk. My hope and my prayer is that by doing so I may be able to help someone else. In Deuteronomy 5:33 (NLT), we are told: "Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives. . . ." So in the words of Moses (and Spock), live long and prosper, my friends!