Noel

 

What does noel mean? In the Christmas story, what purpose does the word serve? Is it in the Bible? These and more questions arise about the word noel as I sing the Christmas carol called The First Noel. You know the first verse:

The first noel, the angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields where they lay. In fields where they lay keeping their sheep on a cold winter’s night that was so deep. Noel. Noel. Noel. Noel. Born is the King of Israel.

This carol gives us a first hint of what noel is. First, let's examine the word's etymology.

Noel comes from the Old Latin word (natus) meaning to be born. The Church carried natas forward into Church Latin (natalis) referring to the birthday of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. As time passed, the word became noel, a variant of the Old French nael, came to mean the feast of the nativity. Middle English translated noel nowel, a shout of joy or a Christmas song. Considering each of the translations through history, noel is a shout of joy by verbal proclamation, including songs, of the birth, the nativity (natus), of the Christ child, Jesus the Messiah.

Is the word noel in the Bible? The word noel is not stated explicitly in the Bible. Noel defines the activity of the angels. Luke 2:9-14 is not the first noel of the Bible. The angel proclaimed the Messiah’s birth to Mary in Luke 1:26-28. He spoke to Joseph, Mary’s betrothed, in Matthew 1:20-25. Before the New Testament, God foretold many prophets Himself and through His messengers about the Messiah’s birth in Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6. Micah writes of God’s foretelling of the Messiah in Micah 5:2. These are all prophecies foretelling the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. They are a proclamation of great joy. The proclamations of good news for the Hebrews and all people of the birth of the One God promised. None who heard the proclamations foretelling Jesus’ birth remained unchanged. Each knew they had encountered God. These people carried God’s promise in their hearts and waited expectantly for the Christ child.

When Mary’s birth pains ceased and Jesus was born, the angels proclaimed that good news. Luke 2:9-14 records their proclamation of God’s fulfillment of His promises. The angel of the Lord (a messenger from God) stood before the lowly shepherds in the field with their sheep. These men “were terrified.” The shepherds recognized they saw a messenger from God. How did they know this? The “glory of the Lord shone around them.” The Jews understood this phenomenon. Their shared history evoked images of Moses embodying the glory of the Lord, having spent time with Him on the mountain and in the tabernacle. The Israelites asked Moses to cover his face because they feared being struck dead by God because of looking directly at God’s glory. This fear carried over to the worship in the tabernacle and, later, the temple. God told the Levites to tie a rope around the chief priest’s waist to pull him out of the Holy of Holies should he not return from offering what was required of him. If the chief priest entered into God’s presence (the Holy of Holies) without having ritually cleansed himself, he would die.

The Hebrews recognized the presence of God, so when the shepherds of Luke 2 saw the angel of the Lord, they absolutely were terrified. The shepherds recognized they saw the glory of God in His messenger and feared they would die because of being in the presence of God’s glory. Instead, the angel surprised the shepherds by telling them not to be afraid, but aware and joyous. The angel said in Luke 2:10-11, “Do not be afraid! For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people: Today in the city of David, a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord.” The shepherds had no reason to fear when the glory of the Lord rested upon the angels. The angels brought the good news of great joy that the Savior, of whom prophets and angels foretold for millennia, was just born. They heralded the proclamation, the good news of the birthday of the Christ. These describe what the word noel means. Proclamation in word of the good news of the Messiah’s birth.

Now, consider again the song, The First Noel.

The first Noel the angel did say

Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;

in fields where they lay keeping their sheep,

on a cold winter’s night that was so deep.

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,

Born is the King of Israel

 

They looked up and saw a star

shining in the east, beyond them far;

and to the earth it gave great light,

and so it continued both day and night.

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,

Born is the King of Israel.

Even to this day, the proclamation of the Messiah’s birth continues to ring from one people group to another and from one nation to another. The foretelling of Jesus’ ex birth is no longer. Instead, the punctuation of His birth is an exclamation. It proclaims the salvation He gives to any person who believes in Him as the Messiah, the Savior from sin and death. Jesus’ birth was not an afterthought. From before creation, God planned to save His creation—people made in His image—because of His great love for us. Paul explains this in Ephesians 1:3-5 when he wrote to the church at Ephesus. He wrote,

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love, He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will. (Berean Study Bible)

God’s love for His creation began before He created people. He heralded His love by His messengers—prophets and angels—in the Old Testament. He proclaimed the birth of His Son, Jesus, with angels. God does not mean for the proclamation to end since Jesus already was born and later crucified, risen to back to life, ascended to heaven, and now sitting at the Father’s right hand. No, the proclamation days have not ended. Jesus instructed His disciples (any person who has believed in Him and been saved) about this in Matthew 28:18-20. He said,

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Any person who has ever believed in Jesus for salvation is His disciple. To each of them, to us, He issues this commission. Christian disciples must herald the good news of Jesus' birth and the salvation He offers by their teaching, preaching, singing, and any other means possible. Love came down that day and continues to come from God. He wants all people to know of His great love and the salvation belief in Jesus as God’s Son gives.

Be the Herald. Sing Noel!

This Mind

“And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.”

— Ephesians 4:32

 

“Kind” is from a Greek word meaning kind, good, benevolent, not harsh, sharp, or burdensome. Compassionate means tender-hearted and empathetic. 

 

So be benevolent and not sharp and be tender-hearted and empathetic to each other. Freely give undeserved grace and pardon, just as God gave you grace and pardon when you didn’t deserve it.

 

Who of us hasn’t needed mercy and empathy? Who hasn’t needed kind words and forgiveness? Who hasn’t been grateful when we’ve received such love and kindness? Remember the relief you felt. Remember the weight of your burden being lifted. Remember the engulfing love that wrapped around you. 

 

Go. Be compassionate. Give love. Be kind. Give undeserved forgiveness. Even to the people who curse you and make your life hard. Remember, God graciously gave you mercy and undeserved forgiveness and love. “Have this mind in you that was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5-11).

More Than Your Past

 

The king (Josiah) also desecrated the high places (the pagan shrines) that were east of Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption-the ones Solomon, king of Israel, had built for Ashtoreth, the vile goddess of the Sidonians, for Chemosh, the vile god of Moab, and for Molech, the detestable god of the people of Ammon. 2 Kings 23:13 (NIV)

Have you felt you will never overcome what you did or what someone did to you? Have you thought you will never be good enough? Everyone has considered themselves like this at least once, most people more than once. Whatever has caused you to see yourself as insignificant, tainted, and sinful, God can change and remove. Consider what happened on the Mount of Olives during Josiah’s time.

In 2 Kings 23, the writer tells us, after king Josiah read aloud the Book of the Covenant of God with the Israelites, he went to the Mount of Corruption to tear down and destroy the shrines to false gods and idols. During the reigns of his father and grandfather (Amon and Manasseh), they and the Israelites erected shrines throughout the land of Judah. They chose to believe in and offer sacrifices to the gods of other nations, just in case their God, I Am, was not the only true god. Josiah knew from his studies, belief, and relationship with the LORD God that He is the only God; no other exists.

The Mount of Corruption is the Mount of Olives. This mount is about 1 mile from the temple in Jerusalem. Josiah did not have to look far from his palace or the temple to see the corruption by shrines to idols and false gods. He removed and destroyed the shrines and poles from the temple, then walked to the Mount of Olives and did the same.

God created the Mount of Olives. He called it good. People are the ones who corrupted it, but God could make it holy again. Often God makes places holy with the help of people, like Josiah. Other times, He does it by Himself because He is the only one who can.

Just as God created the Mount of Olives, He made each person. When He created people, He said humanity was good. Over time, because of humanity’s sin nature, each person corrupts him or herself and/or considers him or herself corrupted by what other people did to him or her. God made a way for each person to be made new-to be remade and cleansed. Nothing can keep us permanently away from God, not sin, pain, abuse, rape, neglect, or anything. He has power over all these. God loves us when we consider ourselves unlovable. He desires to be in a relationship with us. Because of God’s love, He made a way for our sin and the sins others put upon us to be washed away so we can be clean and made new by Him. Jesus made this possible for each person who believes in Him as the Son of God and confesses and repents of his or her sins. We can never do enough or be good enough to earn this salvation. This salvation God offers to each person redeems us from how we consider ourselves and our sinfulness to His beloved and holy child. Jesus’ redemption He offers freely to people who believe in Him is His paying the price for our sins. He bought our freedom from sin and death.

Consider the Mount of Corruption. Josiah desecrated the shrines, poles, and land on which they stood. He redeemed the Mount for God’s purposes with His righteous indignation of destroying these shrines and idols. We see Jesus sitting on this Mount of Olives centuries after Josiah destroyed the idols. Josiah dedicated it for God’s use, not idol worship. Often Jesus taught His disciples on the Mount of Olives, called the Mount of Corruption in Josiah’s time. What God redeems; no person can blemish eternally.

Just as God created the Mount of Olives and sent His servant Josiah to give it anew to Him by desecrating the shrines, idols, and land on which they stood, so He can redeem you from your past and sins. If you have believed in Jesus Christ for salvation and the forgiveness of your sins, He redeemed you. Jesus saved you. No lies Satan or any person says about you and your past can change that. God made you and redeemed you. Paul said it this way in Romans 8:31b-39.

If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all-how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died-more than that, who was raised to life-is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. [NIV]

If you have not accepted God’s love and trusted in Jesus Christ for redemption, you can today. Just pray to God saying you believe Jesus is His Son who died for your sins so you can receive salvation and forgiveness and live with Him forever. Confess your sins to Him and repent of them asking for His help not to do them again. You need only do that. Once you profess faith in Jesus and confess and repent with your whole being, God redeems you. He saves you from your past and your sins. Nothing will ever be able to separate you from God again, not your past or your future. You are more than a conqueror, more than a survivor of whatever you lived through in the past. God redeemed you, made you His own child, and consecrated you for Himself. He made you holy. He remade you and declared His recreation good.

We are more than what people have done to and with us and more than what we have done to ourselves. We can be who God sees us-cleansed, forgiven, and loved eternally. We do not have to stay a mount of corruption. We can be as God intended, like the Mount of Olives, a place He uses to show and share His love and the Gospel. God will renew-remake-us and call us good as He intended when He first created humanity. On our own, we are never enough. God makes us whole and new by the sin judgment His Son, Jesus Christ, paid for our salvation. He redeems of us from our past and sins.

Will you accept His love and redemption He freely offers to you?