Luke 2:25 says that the righteous and devout Simeon was looking for the consolation of Israel. Not long after the birth of Jesus, when He was presented to God in the temple at Jerusalem, Simeon, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, extolled Him, not only as the light of the Gentiles but also as the glory of God’s people, Israel (v. 32). In the Old Testament Jehovah is the glory of Israel (Jer. 2:11). In Christ’s incarnation, He was extolled by a Spirit-inspired man as the prophesied One. This indicates that the newborn Jesus, as the very Jehovah God, was expressed among the Israelites to be their glory. He is not only the glory of Israel outwardly; He is also their consolation inwardly. Without Him, God’s chosen people do not have outward glory or inward consolation. In the arrangement of God’s economy, the incarnated Christ in His first coming is the glory of Israel to uplift them, and He is their consolation that comforts them.
Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6 are two of the greatest prophecies in the Bible concerning Christ. These prophecies speak of a child being born to us and a Son being given to us. This child of both divine and human natures born of a human virgin was also a Son given in the divine nature by the Eternal Father.
The child born of the virgin is Jesus, whom man called Emmanuel, and this child is also the Son, as the gift to us from God. This Son, this gift, is the Mighty God and the Eternal Father. When we received Christ, we received Him as so many marvelous items. He is Jehovah our Savior to save us from sins into Himself, and He is Emmanuel, God with us. We enjoy this One as grace, which is God Himself becoming our portion for our enjoyment, and the issue is that He becomes our reality.
Isaiah 32:1-2 prophesies that Christ in His first coming would be a King as well as a man, coming to be among men in a lowly way to be a refuge to us from the wind and a covering from the tempest. He is like streams of water in a dry place to supply, comfort, and satisfy us so that we can be watered in a dry place. He is also like the shadow of a massive rock in a wasted land to be our covering. His first coming was prophesied by the prophet Micah. Micah prophesied that, on the one hand, Christ would come out of “David’s city” and, on the other hand, He would come forth from the days of eternity. Haggai prophesied that Christ, in His first coming, would be the Desire of all the nations. All people desire to have life, light, peace, goodness, and righteousness. The reality of all these human virtues is Christ.
Malachi 3:1 prophesies that Christ in His first coming is the Messenger of God and the Angel of the covenant. As the Messenger of God, Christ not only brings a word or a message from God to God’s people; He Himself is the living message. He is also the Angel of the covenant, who enacted the new covenant with His blood before going to the cross. In the new covenant God is obligated to dispense Himself into our being to be our life, to be the law of life, and to be everything to us. Furthermore, He executes the new covenant in resurrection as its surety, making it real to us. Luke 2:25 says that the righteous and devout Simeon extolled Christ in prophecy as not only the glory of Israel outwardly but also their consolation inwardly. The incarnated Christ in His first coming is the glory of Israel to uplift them, and He is also their consolation that comforts them.