Day 274, or October 1st. Seek, and you will find.
Our thoughts today are rooted in Matthew 2, verse
1. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea,
during the time of King Herod, Magi, wise men,
from the east, came to Jerusalem. And now the big
picture surrounding this verse. Matthew gives
us one of the two biblical accounts of the birth
of Jesus. The other one is in Luke. Matthew is
writing primarily for a Jewish readership, and
it is therefore not surprising to learn that
he concentrates on the visit of the ancient kingmakers,
the Magi. Matthew's major theme is to declare
Jesus as king of the Jews, and the Magi's visit
underpins this. The major had great influence,
and it is therefore understandable that King
Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard of their
visit, as was everyone else in Jerusalem. Herod
was afraid he would lose his throne, and as he
was a ruthless ruler the people were frightened
too, because they knew he would stop at nothing
to keep in power, and would brutally destroy
any potential rivals. They were quite right too.
as he ordered the killing of all male children
who were two years and younger. Nevertheless,
God's Messiah had arrived, and nothing Herod
or anyone else could do would change that, and
Matthew relates how Jesus matured to ultimately
become the redeeming sacrifice for our salvation.
And now today's action step. Only Matthew tells
us about the Magi. who we often call the wise
men, and who the hymn -writer John Hopkins claimed
to be kings in his hymn We Three Kings, written
in 1857. They had looked for him in their astrological
charts, a place I would warn people not to consult,
in line with Isaiah chapter 47 verses 13 and
14, but they finally found him in Bethlehem.
They were looking in the wrong place, But God
honoured his promise of, seek me and you will
find me. Isn't it great to know that we don't
have to be clever enough to always know where
to look? If we earnestly seek God, he will let
us find him. So keep looking.