People are more likely to pray when life is going badly than when life is going well. It shouldn’t be that way, but it is. The Old Testament book of Judges shows that exact pattern of a prayer life. According to Judges, most people then would chase after what they wanted in life, forgetting about the law of God. Each did what he thought was right in his own eyes instead of following God’s norms of right and wrong (Judges 17:6).
But once life turned hard and cruel–after they had done what was evil, after circumstances became unbearable, after they found themselves under their enemy’s feet–then they would cry to God for help. And God would hear their call and send them their help. That was the pattern of prayer in the book of Judges; perhaps, even of the entire Old Testament. Is that also your pattern?
The help God sent to Israel during the time of the Judges was usually someone who would defeat Israel’s enemies and give them peace and security. You’ve probably heard of the judges God sent. They were men like Gideon and Samson. Yet, one time, God even used a woman, Deborah, when the man whom God had chosen was too frightened to do what God had given him to do (Judges 4:4-7). Those judges, whom God raised up from the people, were a combination of Moses, who led the people from their captivity and Joshua, who led the fight to secure the Promised Land.
In the thick of their trouble–much of it brought about by their own doing–the people would call to God for help, for there was still a remnant of faith that caused them to believe that God would hear their prayers. They still had enough faith to believe that their personal laments would reach God’s ears, and He would save them if He chose to do so. They knew that God had saved them in the past. And part of the faith they held, was that God would send someone like Moses, but better (Deuteronomy 18:15-18).
King David was such a one. He wasn’t the complete fulfilment of that promise but Judge Samuel did anoint him, under God’s direction, to be the helper of the people. God had raised David up to save God’s people in the same way that God raised up the Judges. David was a spiritual and military leader.
Yet, even David, whom Scripture describes as a man after God’s own heart, still needed God’s help (Acts 13:22). Many times, David needed the Lord’s help and he had to call out as the people had earlier called out: “Arise, O Lord! Save me, my God!”
Psalm 3 is one of those personal laments of David. David the mighty warrior and man of God said: “O Lord, how my enemies have increased! Many rise against me! Many are saying of my soul, ‘Not even God will save him.’”
It was the rebellion of his own son, Absalom, that caused David to write Psalm 3. Absalom wanted to kill his father and become king. What a troublesome son Absalom was. For example, at one time, Absalom had claimed the right to judge over the affairs of the crown (2 Samuel 13).
However, when David wrote Psalm 3, that episode was already a distant memory. But Absalom’s unsavory character and sinful ways would show their ugly face more than once. Absalom again would declare himself a better and more competent judge than his father, David. Even worse, during this later grab for power, Absalom declared himself as king. He gathered many supporters around him, so much that David fled across the Jordan River, hiding with a small band of loyal and faithful men.
David’s own son, Absalom, turned against him, accusing him of being unjust. David’s own nation and people had also turned against him and sided with his son. And so David cried out: “O Lord, how my enemies have increased! Many rise against me! Many are saying of my soul, ‘Not even God will save him.’”
Have you been in such a place? Your family is against you. People speak against you, making you to be some hideous person that you are not. People actively seek to harm you in some way. Embroiled in such distress, David placed his hopes in the LORD. He said: “But you, O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call aloud to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain.”
Before this sermon, we sang, “O Come, O Come Emanuel.” Emmanuel is one of Jesus’ names. Emanuel means “God with us.” Jesus is “God with us.” Jesus is God with you! No matter what difficulty you find yourself in, no matter what trouble afflicts you, Jesus is with you. Jesus is the final fulfillment of the One whom God would send, who was like Moses, but better.
When it comes to Jesus being with you, when it comes to Him being Emmanuel for you, most of us think of Matthew 28:20. After all, Jesus said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” But Jesus spoke that passage to His Apostles, the New-Covenant’s first pastors, giving them the mandate to baptize and teach until He returns on the Last Day. Jesus was telling them that He would be with them always as they were doing what He had given them to do.
Baptizing and teaching are also shorthand ways of saying “Word and Sacrament.” Teaching is teaching the word that brings you the Word, Jesus. Baptism is the New-Covenant fulfillment of circumcision, which is the way God brings someone into His covenant (Colossians 2:11-12). And so, through Word and Sacrament, Jesus is still with us to this day.
But, we also know that Jesus lives within each Christian. The Apostle Paul said, referring to his life in Christ, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). And in the book of Ephesians, he referred to Christ dwelling in our hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:17).
So, what does it mean that Jesus not only comes to you Word and Sacrament but even dwells in your heart? It means that no matter what, like the people of Israel in the time of the Judges, like King David, you can call out to God: “Arise, O Lord! Save me, my God!” You can do that, knowing that the One who saves is with you, Christ Jesus, Emmanuel. You can call out to Jesus, “I need You, O Lord!” You can do that all the while knowing that Jesus does know how you need Him in ways beyond counting.
King David, remembering how he was facing death at the hands of Absalom, with no certainty outside his faith in God, wrote:
I lie down and sleep, and wake up because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands attack me on every side. Arise, O Lord! Save me, my God! You strike all my enemies on the cheek; you shatter the teeth of the wicked! Salvation belongs to the Lord; may your blessing be on your people.
“Arise, O Lord! Save me, my God!” That’s also the prayer of Advent. In Advent, we remember how God heard that call for help from His people. And God responded, not just by meeting an earthly need, but more importantly, meeting our eternal needs. That’s why God sent His one-and-only Son, that first Christmas, to save us. That’s the prayer of Advent as we also remember our Lord’s cross and death that saves us from our sin.
In Advent, we also look forward to the Day of complete salvation. We look forward to the final victory over all our enemies on the Last Day, when Jesus will descend from on High with the sound of the trumpet. On that Day, no one can stand against us. For, on that Day, no one can stand against God. We will be free from sin, death, and the devil. The corrupted world that tempts us into sin will be remade in perfection, never again to tempt us. But that’s not all: Our own sinful flesh will be transformed into perfection, and ours hearts will be made clean, once for all.
Well, back to David and Absalom. What ever happened to them? God gave David just enough time to prepare for the attack that Absalom was preparing to make. Because of that, David, with his loyal and faithful men, triumphed against a much larger army. Absalom fled for his life. While doing that in haste, his hair got caught in the branches of an oak tree, his handsome head and flowing auburn hair caught in the branches. It was then that David’s nephew, Joab, with his armor bearers, killed him.
Despite Absalom’s rebellion, David grieved deeply over his son’s death. After all, David was still hoping for reconciliation. David didn’t seek the death of his enemy, even when his son was seeking his death.
We often pray prayers of lament when events in our lives go badly. And God answers our prayers and we receive help in our present troubles. But there is a far better help coming for all who place their hope in Christ Jesus, for all who have faith in Him. It’s a help that’s revealed in Christ alone. It’s revealed in Christ’s resurrection from the dead, for that’s also what awaits us. It is as Scripture says: “For if we have been united with [Jesus] in a death like his, we will also be united with [Jesus] in a resurrection like his” (Romans 6:5).
Even better, we know that the help God sends in Jesus, His Son, is not just help for you and me but even for all who are being saved. So, repent! For the Kingdom of God is at hand. But also rejoice! For the kingdom of God is at hand. O Come, O Come Emanuel: Come Lord Jesus, come quickly. “Arise, O Lord! Save me, my God!” Amen.
