And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just
and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
Luke 2:25
It could have been worse, but then again, it could have been a whole lot better. The year Jesus was born, most of the Jewish people were living in part of the pagan Roman Empire, and those living in Jerusalem were under the control of the wicked King Herod. He was an Edomite, a descendant of Esau whom God had cursed, and not of Jewish ancestry. He had allied Himself with Marc Anthony during the Parthian war, so the Roman Senate declared him king and gave him soldiers to seize the throne. Herod was paranoid of losing his power and executed a number of his sons, whom he suspected of plotting against him. The Emperor Augustus once joked, “It is better to be Herod’s pig than his son.”
The glory years of Israel were a millennium in the past, and there hadn’t been a descendant of David on the throne for six hundred years. The Jewish people felt forsaken and forgotten by God.
But God hadn’t forgotten His people. He took note of a man named Simeon who was actively praying and waiting for the Lord’s Christ, the Consolation of Israel. He wasn’t satisfied with the status quo and was ready for God to do something. The Lord was also ready to radically change things, so He allowed Simeon to see and hold the baby Jesus, the promised Messiah.
The Savior came to His own, but He became a rejected king. Another two thousand years have gone by without the promises of God to the Jewish people being fulfilled. It is true that the nation of Israel has been reborn, but Jerusalem has no peace. Terrorism and the threat of nuclear annihilation make many still long for the Consolation of Israel.
The Jewish people cannot really be consoled or comforted until they acknowledge Jeshua (Jesus) as their Mashiach (Messiah). Christians need to be continually in prayer for the peace of Jerusalem and the salvation of the Jewish people.
September 19
