Immanuel, God With Us

Well, this evening I would like to speak with you about a certain phrase that we will first pick up in the 39th chapter of Genesis, Genesis chapter 39. Genesis chapter 39 gives us the story of Joseph.

He is in Egypt. He has been sold into slavery. And beginning in verse 2 we read, the Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man and he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand.

Then if you skip down to verse 21, but the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer, in verse 23 the chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph's charge because the Lord was with him and whatever he did, the Lord made to prosper.

Now you probably see that we have there a repetitive phrase. Verse 2, the Lord was with Joseph. In verse 3, his master sees that the Lord is with Joseph. In verse 21, the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him and the result of this is that he gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer and then verse 23, the chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph's charge because the Lord was with him.

What does it mean that the Lord was with Joseph? It was a sort of an older greeting or salutation amongst Christians. The Lord be with you. That's not really a phrase that we use a lot anymore, but what did it mean?

What does it mean if we say the Lord be with you? What was it that the Lord was with Joseph? Isn't the Lord omnipresent? Isn't the Lord everywhere? So how is it that we can use this phrase, the Lord is with us in any individual way?

Well, it seems rather obvious that in Genesis 39, the Lord being with Joseph wasn't just in a spatial sense, certainly God is present in all of his creation and so I suppose on one very surface level, anyone could say that the Lord is with them, but the presence of the Lord with Joseph demonstrated his graciousness.

The Lord was with Joseph in a special way and so he helped Joseph. He helped Joseph when he was in Potiphar's house. He helped Joseph even once he was falsely accused and was in prison. The presence of the Lord brought about a gracious result in the life of the person with whom the Lord is in this special way.

So keeping that in mind, when we think about a certain phrase, especially this time of year, the Lord is with us or Emmanuel, God, with us, what does that mean? There are many people this week who will sing songs and will use that phrase, Emmanuel.

Many people don't know what it means. You probably hear the word El at the end of Emmanuel, El is the word for God, Emmanuel is with us and so God is with us. But what does that mean? Does that simply mean that, well, God's on our side?

A lot of folks wouldn't like that kind of language today. We don't want God to be taking sides on anything. God doesn't get to say what is evil or good or anything else, so we don't want a God who is Emmanuel in that way.

Anyway, this idea of God dwelling with man, God condescending to have something to do with these creatures that he has created, it is a concept that is all through scripture. Remember, back when our first parents were in the garden in Genesis chapter three, beginning of verse eight, we read, they heard the sound of the Lord, that's the Lord God, Yahweh, walking in the garden in the cool of the day and the man and his wife hid themselves in the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Then the Lord God called the man and said to him, where are you? And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid. What an amazing question from God. Where are you?

Clearly, there had been a custom, we don't know how long, we're not given the information as to how long, but there had been a custom to where the Lord God would actually commune with his creatures there in the garden.

Can you imagine what that was like? For God to actually enter into his creation in such a way as to commune with his creatures and how beautiful it must have been. And yet, once sin enters into the human experience, just to hear the sound of God walking in the garden, which up until that experience of sin had brought joy, now man hides himself.

And how do you hear the question of verse nine, Lord God called the man and said to him, how do you hear? Where are you? Do you hear, where are you? Do you hear confusion? Where are you? Or do you hear sadness?

God well knew where God wasn't confused, God didn't have to play hide and seek with Adam and Eve. The question was to bring about a confession from Adam and Eve. Where are you? That intimate communion that clearly existed in Genesis three is now broken.

And there's no more instances like this. We have Enoch, he walks with the Lord and the Lord takes him. But there is a barrier that now exists between the creator and the creation, which of course in this very same chapter of Genesis three brings about that promise of that future redeemer.

But there is desire on God's part to have communion, to have relationship with this creature he has made. And so once God begins to work with the people of Israel to bring about the Messiah, we read in Exodus chapter 13 verse 21, the Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light that they might travel by day and by night.

And he did not take away the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people. Can you imagine what it was like to be in that generation? I mean, I sort of doubt that there were a lot of pillars of cloud and fire just, you know, running around the desert in those days.

I would imagine it was a pretty amazing sight to see. But has it ever crossed your mind that these are the very same people who die in the wilderness? They had seen the very presence of God amongst them.

Now it wasn't, do you sense the sort of the difference in the relationship Adam and Eve have with God before sin? And now you have the pillar of cloud and fire. God is dwelling amongst his people, but there's something different in how that happens.

But he still dwells amongst his people and communicates with Moses. And yet the people see this and seeing the miraculous does not change the heart because the vast majority of these people who see it die in the wilderness.

They don't enter into the promise. There's no faith. They've seen it, but there's, they see plagues and the deliverance and the exodus and the Passover, the killing of the firstborn, the pillar, the earth opening up and swallowing Korah, Dathom, and Abiram.

They see all of this. It's not joined with faith. And they perish in the wilderness. Interesting. Then when the temple is built, you know that God's glory fills the tabernacle. Then when the temple is built, for example, in first Kings chapter eight, verse 10, it happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord so that the priests could not stand and minister because the cloud for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

Then Solomon said, the Lord Yahweh has said that he would dwell in the thick cloud. I've surely built you a lofty house, a place for your dwelling forever. And so God shows his acceptance of this by the glory of the Lord filling the temple.

He has come to, he would dwell, as Solomon says, he would dwell in the thick cloud. So his glory enters in the temple and he meets with his people on that day of atonement, Yom Kippur, when the high priest enters into the holy place.

But then remember, it wasn't that long ago that on Sunday evenings, we read through Ezekiel and in the 10th chapter of Ezekiel, we have a progressive event beginning in verse four. Then the glory of Yahweh went up from the cherub at the threshold of the temple.

The temple is filled with a cloud and the court was filled with the brightness, the glory of the Lord. But then you skip down to verse 18, then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim.

And then verse 23, the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood over the mountain, which is east of the city. That's actually verse 23 of chapter 11. What you have here is the progressive removal of the glory of the Lord from the temple.

How many of you have heard the name Ichabod? Heard of Ichabod? What Ichabod means? It's a Hebrew term. We want to make sure that when you sing hymns or when you read American stories, when you encounter Hebrew terms, you know what they mean.

So we all know that Ebenezer, Ebenezer, which we hear about a little bit this time of year too, Ebenezer means stone of help or remembrance. So whenever we sing that song, I keep reminding you of that so that you know what you're singing.

But Ichabod is a Hebrew term as well. And it means kavod, the glory. The glory has departed. And it especially refers to this story in Ezekiel, the glory departing from the temple. Ichabod. It's really not a, if you really don't like your kid when he's born, you name him Ichabod.

Okay? For many, many reasons, but that would be a Hebrew reason for doing so. The glory of the Lord departs from his people. Judgment is coming. They've broken the covenant. He's no longer dwelling amongst his people.

They've profaned the covenant. But think about how many generations passed before the glory of the Lord left. What patience, what long suffering has been demonstrated by God in that situation. So if you're thinking, you've certainly started thinking about the New Testament as well.

John begins, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to being through him and apart from him. Nothing came to being that has come into being.

And then that same Word becomes flesh, and the Word became flesh, verse 14. And dwelt among us, dwelt among us, and we saw his glory. Glory is of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

So the glory may have departed the temple, but the glory returned in a tremendous way. In a permanent way. In that Jesus remains the God-man, he did not abandon his humanity, he hasn't dissolved his body in the gases.

Instead of dwelling in a stone building, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory. God dwelling in his people again. And so it does not surprise us then, that when we get to the end of the story, yes we see the church becomes the dwelling place of God, and each believer, Jesus promises in John 14, 23, we'll make our abode with him by the presence of the Holy Spirit, and then we get to the end of the story, Revelation chapter 21, there we have that great promise given to us, and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and he will dwell among them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be among them, and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will no longer be any death, there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain, the first things have passed away.

You see, there's a theme here. And even though written by different authors over a 1500 year time span, you see this thread all the way through. God creates, he dwells with his creatures, but then sin.

And then who takes care of all of it? God is the one. God creates the nation of Israel, God brings the Messiah, God brings the cross, resurrection, redemption, the church, and so then in the final state, the tabernacle of God is among men, and he will dwell among them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be among them, and the results of that sin, he will wipe every tear from their eyes, there will no longer be any death.

Introduced in the garden, wiped out by God, it is all to his honor and his glory. So, this dwelling of God with men, that's the background then, of Emmanuel. Matthew chapter 1, verse 20. But when he had considered this, Joseph that is, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord of the prophets. Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which translated means, God with us.

Now, maybe when you have heard that phrase, Emmanuel, God with us, your thinking has primarily been, ah, this is an exalted title of Jesus, God dwelling with us, and that would perfectly fulfill John 1, 1 through 14.

That would be in perfect harmony with what the prophet later says, only two chapters later in Isaiah, when he talks about the prophecy of this coming one. Who is he? He is the Prince of Peace, the mighty God, the El Gabor, the Everlasting Father, which remember the Trinitarian relationships are not revealed until the Incarnation.

It's probably best to understand Everlasting Father is the creator of eternity itself. It would fit with that as well. And I think that's proper. But there's more to Emmanuel, because look how Matthew puts this.

Somehow, in Matthew's thinking, Emmanuel means Jesus. Well, hopefully you know what Jesus means. Yeshua, Joshua from the Old Testament. And it means Yahweh is salvation. And that was exactly what the angel says.

You shall call his name Jesus. Why? For he will save his people from their sins. The very name of Jesus shows us that the cross is not some afterthought. It is the very purpose of the Incarnation itself.

The babe born in the manger is intended to provide salvation through the giving of himself from the very beginning. But, Matthew says, this is to fulfill. What is to fulfill? That Jesus will save his people from their sins is to fulfill the prophecy from Isaiah 7.

They will call his name Emmanuel, God with us. Well, think about what it meant for God to be with Joseph. The first verses we looked at. To say that God was with Joseph, God was with Joseph to help, in grace, to give aid.

Emmanuel, as understood by Matthew, is a fulfillment of this Jesus who will save his people from their sins. Because God will be with us, not just in the sense of dwelling, but in blessing and in salvation and in grace.

And so while it is true that we can see God with us, he has dwelt in his own creation, in the Incarnation. That's part of it. But he has done so for a purpose. And that purpose is to bring about our redemption.

To glorify himself for the redemption of a particular. The more you see the panorama of Scripture, the consistency, the themes that run from beginning to end. And you think about all the different people who lived and died that God used to write these things.

And whose lives are narrated. It just once again demonstrates the absolute supernatural nature of this revelation. And when you think about Emmanuel, when you sing those words and think about the Incarnation.

He didn't just enter into this world to say, ah, look what I can do. Before we came to this church, we were at a very large church. That would have cantatas and Christmas musicals and things. I'm not sure we could ever do a Christmas musical here.

Because I don't think any Christmas musical has ever been written to have Amen sung at the end of every song. I think that would just... There was one song in one Christmas musical that had an incredibly deep message to it that I don't know everybody really caught.

It was Well Done. I don't know if Kelly remembers this one or not. This was a large church. So you had, while this song was being sung, there was a manger. And we had cut out the shape of a cross on one of the lights up in the...

I mean, this place is so big, I would never even get close to getting up where the lights were. But we shot this shadow of a cross over the manger. And the song was The Shadow of the Cross. And the whole message was, from the manger onward, Jesus lived his life with his face set to Jerusalem under the shadow.

And it was a tremendous message. And that really does tell us what Emmanuel means. God with us for a purpose. And the purpose was, he will save his people from... Not try. Not make it a possibility. It is so sad that for so many evangelicals today, that verse has been changed to, He will make it possible for his people to save themselves.

That's not what it says. And that's not what Emmanuel says.