A promise is precious when it is made sacrificially and wholeheartedly. The biblical definition of a promise from God is a divine guarantee of God’s commitment. Yesterday, we visited the promise God made to Joshua; a promise to be with him as he moved forward, by faith, from the Egyptian wilderness [a land of bondage to sin], and led Israel into the unknown land of Canaan [a land of God’s provision and blessing].
Today, in our message from the gospel of Matthew, we ponder the promise God made to Israel to send an eternal King through the lineage of David. It had been 150 years since a descendent of David sat on the throne of Israel—since the exile of Judah to Babylon—but many of God’s people pressed on by placing their hope in God’s promise to provide a delivering King for them in the future. Sometimes, friends, we just have to wait awhile for God’s promises to manifest.
Today is the celebration of Epiphany—the manifestation of Christ our supernatural King—who came to save both the Jews and the Gentiles. The Magi, who were Gentile scholars and perhaps astrologers, followed the star looking for God’s promised newborn King. Herod, the reigning king of the Jews, became deeply troubled when he heard about a new King for God’s people.
To preserve his position, Herod made plans to get rid of his competition—killing males under 2 years of age—the approximate age of Jesus at this time. Herod was not a good king, nor a faithful Jew. He was in the political pocket of Rome and he was morally depraved. Herod killed several of his own sons, so they would not take the throne from him. Obviously, a paranoid liar who did not want to worship Jesus the true King of the Jews.
The slaughter of the innocent lives of babies in our passage certainly connects Jesus with Moses in the OT who was another promised deliverer of God’s people. So, evil seems to always find a way to emerge when God is about to bring forward a promised breakthrough. Don’t give up, stay faithful, and keep following Jesus…you can trust his promise.
Matthew 2:1-12 NLT The Magi Visit the Messiah
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi [wise men] from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6
“‘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 shepherd my people Israel.’[quoting Micah 5:2,4]”
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for our lesson, today. Clearly, you help those who seek to worship you and you frustrate those who seek to destroy you. Thank you for protecting your family, Lord, and for being faithful to every promise. Holy Spirit, help us to remain faithful as we wait for the fulfillment of your promises in our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.