“…and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was… 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 and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’” (Matthew 2:9-15, NIV)
A special star led the way as magi, wise men from ancient Persia, searched the Judean hills until, following the star, their search ended at the home of Joseph and Mary, his wife, the teenaged mother of the couple’s firstborn, a son.
Perceiving the child’s significance as the royal they were seeking, the wise men bowed in worship, presenting lavish gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to Joseph and Mary, gifts of tribute soon to become the young family’s provision to flee those seeking to kill their young son.
At Christmas, our celebration of Jesus’s birth includes the magi—wise men from the East, led by a star and warned in a dream. In the same way today, the Lord fills us with His Spirit and gives us wisdom to interpret signs and understand dreams: “… but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. And the wise among the people shall make many understand…”
The Lord’s covenant people, wisest of the wise.
Amen.
Matthew 2:9-15, NIV | Numbers 24:17 | Daniel 11:32-33 | Verses@Once