Kingdom People has a written a great meditation on one of my all time favorite Christmas hymns, Oh, Come, Oh, Come Emmanuel .

Above all other hymns, I think this one captures best the deep longing for rescue that lives inside the human heart. That longing has been satisfied in the advent of our Savior, Jesus. Rejoice!

And ransom captive Israel… The Jews were not praying for the Messiah’s appearing as one would hope to see a solar eclipse or desire to witness a fascinating event. They knew that when the Messiah would come, He would ransom captive Israel. Surely, God had seen their mourning in lonely exile under Babylon and now Rome. Their warrior – God’s Representative would soon be on the way. Most Jews looked forward to the day when God would come and put His world to rights, end their exile, fulfill His promises and rescue His people. But those events would not transpire until the Son of God appeared.