From: The Word Among Us
(Standing On The Promise Of God)
I will give you rest from all your enemies. (2 Samuel 7:11)
When God promised to “establish a house” for David, chances are that David and his descendants were thinking in terms of a military leader who would keep the kingship of Israel in the family line—a dynasty, in other words. This “son of David” to succeed him would be like David himself: a mighty warrior, a godly man vanquishing all of Israel’s military and political foes. He would bring freedom through the use of conquest and power.
As we stand on the brink of Christmas, with the manger before us, we can tell that this is not all that God intended. In fact, Zechariah’s prophecy in today’s Gospel reading touches on the deeper issues of freedom that God promised to the house of David. It was not only freedom from external enemies; it was the freedom to worship fearlessly, the freedom to stand before God holy and righteous.
Jesus, the ultimate Son of David, came to bring us this freedom by defeating the foes within us—sin and death. Far from giving us simply an external peace characterized by a lack of conflict, he came to give us the deeper and more substantial peace that comes as our internal struggles are calmed and the effects of sin are healed. These are the real tyrants, for they are the enemies that give rise to every external conflict we face, both in our lives and in the world at large.
Born in humility and weakness, Jesus beckons us to join him at the stable. He beckons us tonight to a place where our enemies are blocked at the door. He invites us to leave our sin and fears behind, and—miracle of miracles!—he does it by taking all of these obstacles upon himself and putting them to death by his cross.
On this holy night, let’s ask Jesus to bring us into his freedom. Let’s ask him to give us confidence that he will defeat everything in us that is opposed to him. Let’s rejoice in his promise of freedom and rest from our enemies—the greatest Christmas gift we could ever receive!
“Lord Jesus, you are the true Son of David. Come this night, and give us all your freedom!”
2 Samuel 7:1-5,8-12,14,16; Psalm 89:2-5,27,29
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