Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For from you will come forth a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” 9 After hearing the king, they went on their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on ahead of them until it came to a stop over the place where the Child was to be found. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And after they came into the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary; and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And after being warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.
13 Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”
14 So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. 15 He stayed there until the death of Herod; this happened so that what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent men and killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. 17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
Weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
And she refused to be comforted,
Because they were no more.”
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, 20 “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.” 21 So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, 23 and came and settled in a city called Nazareth. This happened so that what was spoken through the prophets would be fulfilled: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For from you will come forth a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” 9 After hearing the king, they went on their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on ahead of them until it came to a stop over the place where the Child was to be found. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And after they came into the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary; and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And after being warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.
13 Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”
14 So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. 15 He stayed there until the death of Herod; this happened so that what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent men and killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. 17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
Weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
And she refused to be comforted,
Because they were no more.”
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, 20 “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.” 21 So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, 23 and came and settled in a city called Nazareth. This happened so that what was spoken through the prophets would be fulfilled: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
TODAY'S TAKEAWAY
To come to earth in flesh, in order to take our place in death on the cross, to pay for all sins, of all time, the Lord God chose the smallest tribe of the smallest nation, and described them as NOT being the LEAST among the Israelite tribes (verse 6)!
God chose to make a great nation out of Abraham and Sarah, who were old, and had been childless, but they were willing to go where God told them to go. And through them, all nations would be blessed. God chose to make the throne of David everlasting, taking a small shepherd boy out of the fields, because he was a man after God's own heart, willing to do what God told him to do. All of the "focus" on the Israelites is because the Lord chose this small nation to be "the missionaries" to the nations, to demonstrate His almighty power and blessings, so that all can come to know Him.
God has never and will never judge us by our size, stature, strength or popularity. With the Lord, it has always been about our hearts and our willingness, since He created all of us with a purpose to have a personal relationship with Him. Since sin entered the world, we are all born with a sinful nature, separated from God. Therefore, each of us has to realize our need to be saved, to be forgiven of our sins and be reconciled to the Lord. But this is only possible through the Lord, Himself.
We are all created with a conscience, as well as a soul that is meant to be filled by the Lord. Therefore, we all will have a sense that we were meant for eternity, and oneness with Someone, in order to feel complete! That Someone being the Lord! And we all will feel a sense that something is missing in our lives, and something is needed in order to feel fulfilled. That something being the Lord! The question is, do we want to seek the Truth, and will we recognize and accept the Truth when we see or hear it? The Truth being the Lord!
Notice that the magi came from the east! We don't know how many there were, we just assume that there were three, because three gifts are mentioned. And not all "wisemen" were or are wise, although this particular group had perhaps heard God's prophecies, most likely by word-of-mouth. Even through pagan countries, this is very possible. And, even if they had never seen any of the scriptures or heard any of God's words, understand that God is omnipresent, and is always at work! We see the magi being warned by God in a dream, so who's to say that God hadn't communicated to them in the past!
However the magi came to know of the Lord, and to know the Lord personally, this particular group had come to understand the bigger picture... their need for God to be in their lives, to love, honor and obey. I mean, they set out on an extremely long journey, with expensive gifts, in order to go worship the King of kings! Upon finding Him, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy!!! Notice, in obedience, they left the comforts of their homeland and gave of their possessions, and their reward was then followed by immense joy!!!
Seriously, how many believers struggle just to get out of bed on Sunday mornings to go to church to worship their Lord and Savior, and/or struggle to open their wallets to give just a token of appreciation, never mind ten percent of their income?!
Now let's look at the relationship that Joseph and Mary shared with the Lord God! From the previous chapter and other scripture, we already know that Joseph and Mary were believers. And in this chapter, we see just how much they trusted in God's directions. Without knowing exactly what God intended, or without knowing exactly how God was going to bring about His plans, they went wherever He told them to go. In their obedience, God protected them and provided for them!
If and when God asks us to go somewhere and/or do something... are we willing? Never mind leaving our country, are we even willing to get up off the couch to go next door and help our neighbors? Or leave our social comfort-zones to share the good news with someone we just happen to meet - at school, work, the gym, in a store, or in the community...?! Do we trust that in any given circumstance, good or life-threatening, God has some amazing plan in place?! He does!!! The question really is, are we willing to obey, in order to then experience God at work, and experience our relationship with Him growing closer each and every time?!
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