Third week of Advent
Visit of the Wise Men
Sunday * Read Isaiah 7:13-15
Much has been said concerning the Hebrew word Alma, which in some
translation in rendered virgin and in others as young woman. Some scholars
believe that is a dual prophecy, with the first fulfillment found in Isaiah
8:3-4 and the final fulfillment in Matthew 1:23. However, the first
fulfillment was obviously not a virgin birth.
There is, however, a more important aspect to the prophecy that is
often lost in the translation. The Hebrew does not say a virgin will conceive.
It would be more accurately translated as, "the virgin shall conceive." The
Hebrew has a definite article, as does the Greek in Matthew 1:23. This is in
keeping with the very first prophecy in Genesis 3:15, "And I will put enmity
between thee and the woman." The one and only person who could be the woman
and the virgin is Mary, the mother of Jesus, "for that which is conceived in
her is of the Holy Ghost" (Matt. 1:20).
Monday * Read Micah 5:1-5
Luke recorded that Joseph took Mary out of Nazareth to Bethlehem
"because he was of the house and lineage of David" (Luke 2:4), and because the
enrollment decree from Caesar Augustus required that every one was to return to
his city of origin to be enrolled (see Luke 2:1-5).
The Roman mind doesn't understand the Hebrew mind! I imagine the
purpose of the enrollment was to check birth records and the Romans wanted each
Jewish man to return to his own place of birth. The Roman clerks in Bethlehem
must have been frantic when every descendant of David proudly went to Bethlehem
to enroll. No wonder every inn was filled! But through this ironic and
confusing situation, the prophecy of Micah was fulfilled.
Tuesday * Read Jeremiah 31:15-22
With the joyful fulfillment of so many prophecies of Christ's birth
comes the sad fulfillment of a troublesome prophecy. Obviously Herod lied when
he said, "Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found
him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also" (Matt. 2:8)/
Herod had no intention of worshiping Jesus. He so feared for his own
position as the king of the Jews that he ruthlessly had every child killed
that was two years old and under, in order to be sure the Jesus would be
included. A terrible example of absolute authority, corrupting absolutely!
Wednesday * Read Matthew 2:1-6
Tradition says that there were three wise men, or Magi, who followed
the star from the east to Jerusalem. The scripture doesn't tell how many wise
men there were. Possibly the number was derived from the three different types
of gifts that they brought--gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
I enjoyed a planetarium lecture one December that sought to explain
what the star was that the wise men saw. Various theories were suggested--a
conjunction of planets, a super nova, a comet. The planetarium lecturer ended
by saying. "Whatever it was, it had to have been a miracle."
Thursday * Read Luke 2: 21-35
I often wonder to how many people Simeon told the revelation from the
Holy Spirit that he would see the Messiah before he died. Probably not too
many, because people would most likely consider him either deranged, or at
least a dreamer.
There are people today who make predictions concerning the second
coming of Christ, and some have even claimed the promise that they too would
not see death before He comes. However, some of them have already died. When
people make predictions concerning the future, it pays to be very cautious.
False predictions are proof that the predictions did not come from God (see
Ezekiel 12:25).
Friday * Read Matthew 2:7-12
Verse 9 shows that the star which the wise men saw was a miracle. They
originally saw the star in the east and it only had guided them as far as
Jerusalem. They received the directions to Bethlehem from Herod (2:9).
The star, however, reappeared and stood over the very place where Jesus
was. A conjunction of planets couldn't have done that, nor could a super nova
or a comet. could it have been an angel, since Revelation 1:20 refers to
angels as stars? Could an angel have taken on the appearance of a bright light
in the sky? In Luke's gospel, the angels accompanied a glorious light, which
was seen at night by shepherds (Luke 2:9). As the planetarium lecturer said
(see Wednesday), whatever it was , it was a miracle.
Sabbath * Read Matthew 2:13-23
We can almost make the claim that, when the going gets tough, the
people of God start to dream. Matthew 1:20 tells us that, when Joseph was
about to make the difficult decision concerning Mary, an angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream to give him guidance. In verse 12, the wise men were
warned of God in a dream not to return to Harod.
In our scripture for today, we have three references to the dreams of
Joseph. The first refers to the appearance of an angel to warn Joseph to flee
to Egypt (2:13). In the second dream, an angel appeared to Joseph to tell him
to return to Israel (2:19). The third dream guided Joseph and his family away
from Judea and to Galilee (2:22).
We do not know whether or not God will guide us through the use of
dreams and visions (Peter and Paul also had them). But we can be certain of
one thing: God does promise to guide us in our daily lives. He has promised
to never leave us or forsake us, no matter what the dangers we too must face
(see Matt. 28:20; Romans 3:389-39).
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