Week 2 / Simeon’s Song

The Restoration

Read: Luke 2:25-32; Isaiah 61:1-3; Psalm 147:1-3

SOAP: Psalm 147:3

“He heals the brokenhearted

and bandages their wounds.”

Into the Text

Many people in the Old Testament had been waiting for the Savior whom God would send into the world. He had announced it first in Genesis 3:15 and many more times through the following centuries. When Eve had her first son, she probably wondered if this was the promised one. Instead, Cain became the murderer of his brother Abel.

This anticipation and waiting continued throughout the history of God’s people. The patriarch, Jacob, longed for this Savior. As he was dying, he cried out “I wait for your deliverance, O Lord” (Genesis 49:18). And the prophet Isaiah prayed impatiently, “If only you would tear apart the sky and come down” (Isaiah 64:1). Many had received God’s Word about a coming deliverer and all died while waiting for the promised One.

All except for one: old Simeon. He, too, had waited many years for God’s promise to be fulfilled. Imagine what his interactions with his friends were like: “Simeon, you always look like you’re waiting for something. What is it?” “Oh yes, I’m waiting. Not for something but for someone. I’m waiting for the one who will bring restoration and comfort to our people.”

Simeon was a man who knew that his people needed comfort. God showed him the condition of the human heart with its deep sadness, guilt, envy, pride, hunger for approval, fear of failure, and need for love - in one word: brokenness. Simeon knew that comfort and true restoring power could not be found in any person of earlier generations or anyone he had met during his life. But now, finally, he was allowed to see the one God had told him about. With deep joy, he held the baby, God’s Son, in his arms and proclaimed: “My eyes have seen your salvation!”

What about us? We don’t have to wait anymore. Jesus has come. We can simply open the door of our hearts and let Jesus in. Jesus, the comforter, the one who can heal our broken hearts, the one sent by God to bring us restoration, is with us now in our pain. He helps us day after day until we will one day see Him in heaven where we will not experience any sadness ever again.

Prayer

Lord, you see my broken heart, you see my sadness, you know how much I need your comfort. Please restore to me the joy of your salvation. Amen.