And they were overjoyed

They appeared to the shepherds in the field that night, those angels. The Glory of the Lord shone around them and they were terrified. A righteous terror accompanies seeing the face of God. And surely the proclamation of the birth of Christ was seeing the face of God. Emmanuel, God with us.

Moses' face shone for days after seeing the face of God on that mountain. The shepherds were terrified. I wonder at the face of Mary when she saw the face of her son—the face of God. I wonder what Joseph did. That perfect, precious baby, head laid in hay: such humility. The God of the Universe sleeping in a manger. Perhaps righteous terror accompanied the parents on that day—moved to tears by a little baby who slept and breathed and was holiness.

That day was the realization of salvation—the birth of the life-giver. John Piper says it best: “Christmas cut history into two ages: the age of promise and the age of fulfillment.” Surely the birth of Christ realizedthe promise of a Savior—the promise of God-come-down. What mercy, grace, and joy is ours.

And then those magi. Those wise-men, astrologers. They saw the star in the east and decided they must follow. Perhaps righteous terror leads to feet that move and follow and trust. Perhaps righteous terror leads to faith.

It was prophesied, “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.” {Micah 5:2}

And that star, it was prophesied about too. “A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.” {Numbers 24:17}

The birth of Christ moved us from the age of promise to the age of fulfillment.

Balaam prophesied about that star, and look how he describes himself: “one whose eye sees clearly, the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened.”

Surely seeing the face of God is accompanied by righteous, prostrate fallen, on-the-knees, face-to-the-ground, kissing the feet, terror. Surely that terror leads to faith that moves feet, and faith that moves mountains.

Maybe feet are the first biggest mountain that faith moves.

The Magi “went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.”

It stopped at that manger-site. It stopped where humility met glory. It stopped at the face of God—the realization of salvation.It stopped at a little baby boy, head in hay, cribmates with a goat and a calf. It stopped at a barn with a new mama knelt at the feet of her baby son.

It stopped at a barn with a man and a woman knelt at the feet of their God.

The star went ahead of them until it stopped at the Christ. It wasn't a day-trip organized with step-by-step instructions. It was a long journey to see the face of God, led by one star saying, stay the course. He has come. Come and see.

His star went before them. I'm reminded of the Israelites in the desert, led by a pillar of fire by night and cloud by day. He led them to the Promised Land, just as that star led the Magi to the Promised One.

“In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.” {Exodus 40:36-38}

They carried the tabernacle through the desert with them—the presence of God; it was the age of promise. The Glory of the Lord would fill the tabernacle as the cloud settled upon it. The presence of God was referred to as Shekinah—the dwelling, physical manifestation of the presence of God. The Israelites carried that tabernacle around and it was filled with the Glory of God—the Shekinah Glory.

And then those magi and those shepherds and that mama in the barn saw the fulfillment of Shekinah Glory—the tangible, physical, dwelling presence of God. The Incarnate Word—the Word-became-Flesh. A baby in a manger—Emmanuel, God with us.

So many parallels between those Israelites following the Lord's Glory cloud and those Magi following the Lord's Glory star. Shekinah Glory, God with us.

But what joy on that day to not have the star itself be the only realization of His Glory, but rather Shekinah Himself laying in that manger, living and breathing and sleeping and being holiness.

Being Glory.

Christ's birth carried us from the age of promise into the age of fulfillment.

“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.”

Seeing the face of God is accompanied with righteous terror that moves hearts and souls from the age of promise to fulfillment. The magi couldn't help but fall prostrate, bowed down at the feet of God and worship. Shekinah Glory filled that barn, and filled the hearts of those men laid down flat at the feet of a baby. They gifted Him with all their most precious.

Shekinah Glory—the Face of God—moves hearts to bow down and open up and give until it hurts.

Because that's what Shekinah Glory looks like. It looks like the God of the Universe bowing down flat, humbling himself to a small baby in a manger who would later be murdered at the hand of brutal men he came to save. It looks like the God of the Universe opening himself up and loving and serving and allowing Himself to be vulnerable and open and free to all of mankind. He became flesh—the Incarnate Word. Shekinah Glory looks like Jesus Christ giving His Life in service to God, loving the least of these—giving until it hurt so bad that nails were driven through hands and thorns driven through His head and whips driven through skin and boulders driven into graves that sealed in death.

But then Shekinah Glory dwells and manifests itself as Lord, and the baby in a manger is seated at the Throne of God, and the man on the cross put in the grave is raised to life, and the one crucified at the hands of men is worshiped and praised, and men bow down because they have seen the Lord and they were overjoyed.

Shekinah Glory dwells in us, and we too, are lifted to new life in Him who took on our sin, our shame, our death, and gave us His life instead. Shekinah Glory—the presence of God—came to be known by men. He came and dwelt and lived among us, that we may know the Glory of God.

And the only response to knowing the Shekinah Glory—the only response to seeing the Face of God, is righteous, prostrate fallen, worship at the feet of Jesus Christ.

Shekinah Glory has come. Emmanuel, God with us.