Thursday 24 December, 2015

7 Then Herod secretly called for the Wise Men. He found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem. He said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report it to me. Then I can go and worship him too.” 9 After the Wise Men had listened to the king, they went on their way. The star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them. It finally stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. 11 The Wise Men went to the house. There they saw the child with his mother Mary. They bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures. They gave him gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 But God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they returned to their country on a different road.

The “Magi” often called “wise men” were scholars whose knowledge of both astrological science and prophecy helped them to figure out that the unusually bright star they saw shining over Bethlehem pointed the way to the Messiah.

King Herod, who ruled Judea, would have been jealous of any competing king who would have drawn attention away from him — especially one who people thought was worthy of being worshipped.

After meeting the Magi secretly, King Herod told them of Micah’s prophecy and told them he intended to worship Jesus too. I think these men weighed up Micah’s words carefully and realised that it was God who was guiding them by means of the star. Being wise men they were convinced of the authenticity of the pilgrimage.

They were so excited when they saw Jesus that they bowed before him and worshipped him. Mission accomplished! Being devout men they believed the dream God gave them; As we see God’s hand in our lives we are convinced He will reveal His purposes in and through our experiences.

Lord, we thank You for Your guiding light pointing us to a personal relationship with You. We gladly lift our hearts in worship to honour and adore Jesus.

Written by Keith Bennett