As we move through the Christmas story and almost come to the final ending, it would be good for us to do some thinking and pondering on all that has taken place.
Remember as I have said before, nothing is by accident and nothing without a reason.
Although I still struggle with Herod and his horrible actions.
Matthew 2: 13
After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.
“Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother.” the angel said,
“Stay there until I tell you to return because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and they stayed there until Herod’s death.
This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet:
“I called my son out of Egypt.”
*Returning to the verse from yesterday in chapter 2 vs 16
“Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the stars first appearance.” The fourteenth group of people were are learning about are the soldiers.
The soldiers were ordered to go house to house and kill all the little boys, who might have been the age of the Messiah.
Who Herod wanted to remove.
Can you imagine for a moment with me what that might have felt like for them?
To be a soldier who was given an order to kill infants.
My husband made the comment, what if they were parents too?
What if these were people you knew, even friends of yours?
How did it happen and how could they continue, as they forcibly removed children from their families, and then witness the anguish of parents reaching for their babies?
The soldiers had a very difficult horrific order give to them by Herod.
They didn’t have a choice.
We never talk about the soldiers and what they might have experienced during that horrible time.
In fact this is not a part of the Christmas story we like to talk about.
It is horrible, ugly, sad and deeply disturbing.
The word tells us in the book of Jeremiah 31:15
“A cry was heard in Ramah – weeping and great mourning.
Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted,
for they are dead.”
We cannot imagine the horror and deep intense sorrow,
it is beyond my capacity to think on or process.
Matthew 2:19
When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
“Get up! the angel said, “Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.” So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother. But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galillee.
So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth.
This fulfilled what the prophets had said:
“He will be called a Nazarene.”
The birth of Jesus changed many lives.
We often sing of the nice and the comfortable, but we must not forget the sorrow too.
On the sixteenth day of Christmas we learn about the fourteenth group of people.
The story is filled with deep sadness and overwhelming grief.
I wonder if that is the reason why Jesus is called ‘the prince of Peace.’
Even now, the world needs peace and a hope that can only come from above, when we sing, “Oh little town of Bethlehem”, we will know there was more to the story.
But we will also know, on the night Jesus was born, that Oh Holy Night, a Savior was born and our souls found our hope forever.
On the fifteenth day of Christmas we hear of the thirteenth person of the Christmas story. The thirteenth person of the Christmas story is Herod.
He is someone we don’t hear much about very often other than in the Christmas story.
I suppose there is a reason God allowed him to be a part of the story but I struggle with his decision making and his power.
Matthew 2:16
Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wisemen’s report
of the stars first appearance.
Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
A cry was heard in Ramah —
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeps for her children,
refusing to be comforted,
for they are dead. (Jeremiah 31:15)
On the fifteenth day of Christmas we learn of a terrible decision maker Herod.
Who caused much anguish of heart and much turmoil in the country.
I cannot find words to convey my horror and sorrow.
There was a reason I guess, but I do not understand it.
I cannot even imagine this terror.
More to come tomorrow… on the sixteenth day of Christmas.
On this fourteenth day of Christmas we learn more of the Christmas story.
Luke 2:1-12
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod.
About the same time some wise men (*or magi or astrologers or astronomer’s) from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking,
“Where is the newborn King of the Jews? we saw his star as it rose
(*or star in the east) and we have come to worship him.”
King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.
He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked,
“Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, for this is what the prophet wrote:
‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you and who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.”
Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told them,
“Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child.
And when you find him, come back and tell me so I can go and worship him, too!”
After this interview the wisemen went their way.
And the star in the east guided them to Bethlehem.
It went a head of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with great joy!
They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary
and bowed down and worshiped him.
Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts
of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route,
for God had warned them in a dream to not return to Herod. The twelfth group of people in the Christmas story were the wisemen.
They were well known in the region and most likely, they were very aware of the stars and which ones would shine and form constellations, which as an astrologer they would also know
the grouping of stars at the time of someones birth.
It was symbolic to see a star in the sky.
On this night, the night when Jesus was born they saw a special kind of brilliance.
It was a star out of the ordinary and it rose and and became brighter until it arrived at the place where Mary and Joseph and Jesus was staying.
It was a home, a house, not an inn with a stable.
The baby was nearing age two now because most likely it took them months to find him.
(Remembering there were no GPS devices back then).
The star led them to the house where Mary and Joseph were with the baby. Studies have said they were in a home, as it took months to find the baby and when they found him he was near the age of two.
There gifts were symbolic of royalty, of death, and of priesthood.
This was no accident. The gifts were chosen for a reason.
On the fourteenth day we learn of the twelfth group of people.
God continues to use the ordinary. The least expected.
As we move through the Christmas story we soon realize it is not just
about a little baby born in a manger, in the town of Bethlehem.
It is so much more.
So much ordained and planned as the story continues.
On the thirteenth day of Christmas we learn of the eleventh person of the Christmas story.
The prophecy of Anna.
Luke 2:36-40
Anna, a prophet was also there in the temple.
She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher,
and she was very old.
Her husband died when she had been married only seven years.
Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four.
She never left the temple but stayed there day and night,
worshipping God with fasting and prayer.
She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph,
and she began praising God.
She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.
I am not sure if we have ever heard of her before other
than in this scene in the temple.
She was a prophet and she understood and knew that
Simeon would know without a shadow of doubt who
was the one to come to rescue and save the people.
She saw the excitement in Simeon and his worship of
the baby and then at that moment, it was clear to her,
this is the one they had been waiting for.
He is here. The Messiah.The chosen one.
I would imagine she had to have been very in tune to the prayers and
petitions of those in the temple, since she had lived there
for so many years.
I would also think that because of her excitement upon seeing this child, she confirmed one more time to Mary and Joseph that this baby, their baby, was the chosen one.
The Messiah who they had been waiting for.
On the thirteenth day of Christmas we read about
Anna and the hope that was fulfilled for her along with Simeon.
Before they died they both were blessed to see the
Savior who had been sent by God.
Luke 2:39
When Jesus parents did all the requirements of the law
of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee.
Jesus is presented in the Temple
Luke 2: 21-23
Eight days later when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.
Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law according to Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
The law of the Lord says. “If a woman’s first child is a boy,
he must be dedicated to the Lord.”
The prophecy of Simeon
Luke 2:25-35
At the time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon.
He was righteous and devout and eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel.
The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.
That day the Spirit led him to the temple.
So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus
to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there.
He took the child in his arms and praised God saying,
“Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised.
I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people.
He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and
he is the glory of your people Israel.”
Jesus parents were amazed at what was being said about him.
Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother,
“This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall,
but he will be a joy to many others.
He has been sent as a sign from God,
but many will oppose him.
As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.
And a sword will pierce your very soul.” Our tenth person of the Christmas story is Simeon.
I don’t believe we have heard of him until this passage in the story.
His age did not discount his significance or value to the prophetic words spoken over Jesus.
He confirmed and revealed the significance of who Jesus was
to Mary and Joseph.
She remembered her conversation with Elizabeth about her baby boy
and the experience with the angels and the shepherds.
They both knew he was a chosen child yet they remained amazed
at the prophetic words from an old man, who waited at the temple.
I wonder what it felt like for them, to have him reach out and hold their precious son and then reveal to them, his future, of leadership, of signs and wonders, and also his death,
as he tells Mary a sword will pierce your soul.
Anyone who has lost a child knows the piercing of the heart that cuts
deep into the soul of a mom and dad. It’s an intense loss.
I don’t believe at the time of his birth did they ever imagine the
depth of pain and agony his death would bring them.
One can never know that kind of sorrow until it surrounds them.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, we learn of Simeon a gentle old man, who waited
patiently year after year for the Messiah to come.
Luke 2: 8-12
In the same region there were shepherds out in the field,
keeping watch of their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the
glory of the Lord shone around them, and
they were filled with great fear.
And the angel said to them,
“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David
a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.” The ninth group of people in the Christmas story are the shepherds.
When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another,
“Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened,
which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and
found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told to them concerning this child.
And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God,
for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
At the time of Jesus birth the shepherds were not the most popular people in the land.
They were often considered as outcasts, dirty, unsociable and even marginalized. But they were chosen.
It was an ordinary night for them only the skies were full of brightness, they knew the stars and they knew what it should look like and on this night it was very different.
They were terrified when they saw the angels and heavenly host.
I am amazed at that because these men, these rough and rugged shepherds were fearless.
They knew how to fight predators who wished to harm their sheep.
Nothing gave them great fear. BUT the angels did.
Can you even imagine what they saw and heard?
It had to be so convincing for them to leave the sheep and run to go see the new baby.
Their job was to protect at all times, nothing would ever make them leave their flocks for they knew they were vulnerable alone.
Yet they left the herds to go find Mary and Joseph and the little baby born lying in a manger.
God showed the shepherds their worth when he included them in the Christmas story.
(Remembering the song, “oh Holy Night” and the line in it that says “and the soul found it’s worth”.)
He valued them enough to draw them into the eternal, forever known story and they became credible witnesses when they saw and later shared about the baby Jesus.
What a way to share the story of a miraculous birth.
Common shepherds who were fearless and courageous, not respected but heard, when sharing the story of how they bent down and experienced the new little Jesus child.
Another one of those life altering moments.
On this eleventh day of Christmas we learn of the ninth set of people,
who were not forgotten but chosen to help tell the Christmas story.
Before we do a ninth person of the Christmas story
we need to return our focus back to Joseph and Mary.
They were alone in Bethlehem after traveling many miles to get there, soon to deliver a precious child.
Joseph knew there was no choice but to get there and even though
it was so close to delivery Mary had to go with him.
It was a chance they took not fully realizing that it was all a part of a bigger God ordained plan.
Their story is one of obedience, and trust, and love.
It is a story of a young mom preparing her heart for delivery and a
dad who would walk alongside her, as their lives would change before them forever in time.
I wonder sometimes about the birth story.
As they walked on the roads to Bethlehem did they talk and share with each other about their fears and concerns about what was to come for them?
Did Mary share her experience with him about her visit with Elizabeth, and what it was like for her to be there for those months before the birth of John?
Meeting Elizabeth was a pretty life changing moment for her as she proclaimed her words of praise and adoration for Mary and her child.
So many questions surround the birth of this Holy baby.
As they entered Bethlehem and realized there was no place for them to rest.
They had to look hard for a shelter, for Mary was soon to deliver their little baby.
There were so many people in town because of the census they had to find whatever they could, and that turned out to be a barn with a manger for the baby to sleep in.
Did God allow her a deep peace and extra comfort because of who she was, or did she have the real labor, like anyone else giving birth to a newborn?
What about a soft clean spot for her to lay down on, did they use the donkeys blanket full of hair and the smell of animal sweat or did Joseph make part of his tunic or robe as covering for her.
She knew she was giving birth to a very special baby.
I wonder how each contraction felt for her, as she pushed and waited like any ‘expectant mom’ wishing for it all to be over.
The journey to Bethlehem was just the beginning of their sacrifice.
Their lives would never be the same.
She would always be the mother of Jesus.
Mary might have learned some things about giving birth after being with Elizabeth.
The difference this time were the conditions and smells surrounding her, they were not perfect or even clean.
They were in a barn where animals had been.
It was birth. Raw. Real. Revealing. The details not told to us.
We know the Christ child was born and we also know
in a town called Bethlehem life began.
Hope appeared and a family was born.
Lives would forever be changed because of Mary’s little boy.
Can you even imagine being the first one to hold and touch and kiss
his soft little cheeks, feel his wispy hair and touch his baby ears?
To look into his precious eyes and see love already.
God trusted them because she had a pure heart and he was a man of integrity and honor.
Like many new parents, they counted fingers and toes,
and marveled at his beauty and innocence.
Holding their baby tight their lives would be changed forever.
I am not sure they understood the impact of his life and
the miraculous birth of their baby boy.
God’s chosen Son.
On this tenth day of Christmas I ask you to think on these things.
as we learn of the miracle of the Holy Child of Bethlehem.
It was all in the plan.
Isaiah 7:14: Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.
Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and she
shall call his name Immanuel. (God with us-the Messiah)
Luke 2: In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.
This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
All went to their towns to be registered.
Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee in Judea,
to the city of David called Bethlehem.
He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged
and who was expecting a child.
While they were there, the time came time for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her first born son, and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger,
because there was no place for them in the inn.
(or no lodging available to them because of the many people)
We move from Mary’s response from what Elizabeth had said
about her baby and the position she now finds herself in,
as the mother of Jesus.
To the knowledge that Mary is young and she is quickly moving into a life altering moment that would change her forever.
The journey back from Elizabeth’s had to have been more difficult as
she was getting further along in her pregnancy.
She wanted to return to her family and to Joseph and to rest.
Upon arrival from that journey, Joseph tells her,
“we must leave again.”
I imagine that was not the best news she could have heard.
I also imagine her exhaustion and many questions for him.
The last thing she would have wanted to do, was travel again this late in her pregnancy.
One of the verses said ‘she was obviously pregnant’, which I interpret as very large, with a birth coming very soon.
She had to leave her place of familiarity to a new and different place away from family. The eighth person in the Christmas story is the Emperor Augustus.
By calling a census he was forcing Joseph, to go back to the city of David to the town called Bethlehem, in order for prophecy to be fulfilled, nothing is by accident or coincidental.
Jesus had to be born in a lowly setting in Bethlehem, where he could be placed in a manger as the story continues to play out.
For the word said, “you will find the baby lying in a manger.”
All this had to take place according to what was told, and Joseph
was following the decrees of the land, not fully realizing it was
‘God ordained’. Remember nothing is by accident.
Like characters in a play each one had some purpose and some reason to be in the Christmas story.
On the ninth day of Christmas we are introduced to Emperor Augustus who God used in order to get the baby where he needed to be, for his birth to take place in the city called Bethlehem.
Instead of moving into the seventh person of the Christmas story.
I think we need to spend a bit of time focusing on Mary again.
When Elizabeth reacted so strongly to her and her baby to be,
Mary listened and took it into her heart.
Can you even imagine this moment between them?
They had been close for many years and then all of a sudden
Elizabeth is praising her as the one who is Blessed
among all women…and she was called “the mother of my Lord.”
That was very affirming and also very encouraging to this young
expectant mommy to be who was basically in a crisis pregnancy.
We find Mary’s response both amazing and prophetic in Luke 1: 46-55
Mary’s song of Praise begins:
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will be called blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
Her reaction was powerful.
She knew the Old Testament and knew the stories of old.
She realized that she was favored and chosen.
Elizabeth validated that within her as only a close friend can do.
She realized for ever in time, from now on she would be known
as the Mother of Jesus. It wasn’t enough to just be expecting
but she was expecting with great anticipation the Son of God.
What an amazing reaction to a life changing moment.
From a young very vulnerable and very trusting teenager.
On this eighth day of December we think of Mary and
the many things that would change for her as time moved on
in the Christmas story.
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Philipians 4:13
I can do everything through him who gives me strength. ==================== Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow." Courage is not the absence of fear but it's taking action in the midst of it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A diamond is a chunk of coal that made good under pressure.
It's your heart, not the dictionary that gives meaning to your words. Matthew 12:34 (msg) version.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Below you will find a few of my favorite websites or blogs. They have given me encouragement and challenged me on this journey.
Ann Voskamp's blog A holy Experience This image of a bleeding heart represents a journey of healing from brokenness to wholeness. Some of my favorite books: One thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
Married over 46 years and entered into my 65th year of life.
I am a mother of two and grandmother of six and mom to two very spoiled kitties. I love to worship and encourage and of course write whenever I can find a topic or subject to share about.
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