Week One: Waiting

There wasn’t a whisper. The voice of God was gone.

Have you ever read the first seventeen verses of Matthew 1? 

C’mon.  Really? 

“This dude begot this dude, who begot this dude,” and so on.  For seventeen verses.  It drags on a bit. 

It’s basically Jesus’ family tree, starting with Abraham and going all the way to Joseph (Mary’s husband, not the one with the coat of many colors).  Matthew breaks it down into three sections:  the rise and peak of Israel from Abraham to David, the fall from grace into captivity from David to Babylon, and from captivity through the return to Israel until the birth of Jesus.  And while everyone loved the fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and David was a man after God’s own heart, starting with Solomon, everything went downhill after that. Kings went from bad to worse until invading armies took the Jewish people out of Israel into Babylon. Devastation reigned in this time of relocation.

It seemed like things were getting better when the Israelites returned to Jerusalem and the Promised Land.  Starting around 516 B.C, a handful of prophets described the restoration: Haggai, Zechariah, Nehemiah, Ezra, Esther, and Malachi.  God’s people had returned to the home He had promised them!  

But after Malachi died around 400 B.C., God stopped speaking. 

Total.  

Silence. 

I don’t know why God got quiet.  The time from the captivity in Babylon to the coming of the Messiah was over 500 years.  And God appeared to be absent for 400 of those years. That’s a long time to wait. 

And it’s easy to skip over, because in our Bibles, it’s only a couple blank pages from the end of Malachi until the beginning of the New Testament and that first chapter of Matthew. But a lot of things happened in the world during this span of centuries.  Alexander the Great ruled and died.  The Great Wall of China was built.  Julius Caesar came to power.  The world around the Israelites was hopping. 

But in Israel, there wasn't a whisper.  The voice of God was gone. 

Maybe it was the calm before the storm.  A thunderstorm brings torrential rain and sweeping winds sending everyone scattering for cover.  But in the few minutes preceding the blast, everything is quiet.  No wind.  No rain. No birds chirping.  The world is still before all hell breaks loose. 

Or maybe it was like the beach before a tidal wave.  When a giant wall of water is coming, the level at the beach drops as the waves are sucked out into the ocean to join the tsunami.   You know, until the water comes back with devastating force.

I think God was inhaling.  Before you sing, you’ve got to breathe in so that you can produce the force of air needed to project your voice over the audience.  Maybe, just like God breathed into Adam’s nostrils of dirt to bring him to life, God exhaled into Jesus to give birth to the second Adam through Mary.  God's silence was His sharp intake of breath before God became man in a Song still echoing in our ears. 

As we will see this week, even though many in Israel had given up hope of the promised Messiah, someone still waited.  And prepared.  And saw the newborn King. 

One part of Advent preparation is looking back and putting ourselves in the shoes of the Israelites waiting for the Messiah, building to the crescendo of Christmas and the arrival of Jesus.

But the other half it realizing we are waiting just like they were, for the return of the King. Just as the Jews were in eager anticipation of the One who would throw off the oppressors, we begin to practice that same excitement of what is to come. Or more accurately, Who is to come.

If you are in a season of waiting, maybe even of silence, don’t give up hope.  God always had, and still has, a plan. The promise is coming.  Now is your time to prepare for the arrival.  

And if it feels like I'm leaving you hanging, I am.  This is not a time to wrap everything up with a pretty bow.  The Israelites were frustrated in the silence, chafing under the rule of the Romans. Instead of rushing on to what’s next, let’s sit and marinate in the waiting.  Develop a longing for the coming of the King.  

  • What are you waiting for this Advent season?  

  • What should you do in the waiting room? 

  • What do you look forward to in the coming Kingdom?

Prayer for the week

Father, as the days grow shorter, the darkness grows. In many ways, my world is like that space between Malachi and Matthew. The world is waiting for the return of Jesus. I am waiting for the return of Jesus, to set things right and begin the restoration of the Kingdom. Help me to trust you, even when You are silent.

Jesus, unlike the time of darkness before your birth in Bethlehem, you are present. You are Emmanuel, God with us. You are still with me. Be present in my waiting, and in my preparation for your return. Show me what to hope for, and how I can be ready.

Holy Spirit, you are the Comforter. Comfort me today as I wait. Comfort me in the darkness. Show me the coming Kingdom. Bring me hope in the darkness, peace in the storm.

In the name, the power, and the hope of Jesus,

Amen.

Daily Readings

Over the next week, read these and meditate on the promise fulfilled, and consider how it applies to our waiting today. I invite you to journal each day as you discover what God has in store for you in this season of waiting and preparing. 

Sunday (11/28) - Matthew 1:1-17, Malachi 3:1 

Monday (11/29) - Luke 1:5-25, 1:57-80 

Tuesday (11/30) – Isaiah 40:3-5, Matthew 3:1-5 

Wednesday (12/1) - Luke 2:25-36 

Thursday (12/2) - Matthew 25:1-13 

Friday (12/3) - Luke 17:22-37, 22:29-36 

Saturday (12/4) - Matthew 25:31-46, John 14:3 

Songs for the week

Pick a song to listen to each day to draw close to God.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Even So Come

My Soul in Stillness Waits

Movie to watch

This is Men at the Movies, so of course we have a movie to recommend. This first one is a classic, and will actually air on the podcast on Christmas Eve. To get you ready for this time of waiting, watch “It’s a Wonderful Life” starring James Stewart. Notice how his character, George Bailey, is always waiting for what’s next. But it’s what he does in the waiting that makes his life wonderful.