Thursday, December 22, 2011

Matthew 2

We three kings of orient are.....
That's right!  Matthew 2 involves the wise men visiting Jesus!  So many prophecies are fulfilled in this chapter.  The wise men traveled to Bethlehem and upon seeing Jesus, fell down and worshiped Him, and offered gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Prophecy #1 "And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel."

Herod was King during the time of Jesus' birth, and when the wise men asked where they could find 'He who has been born king of the Jews?', Herod and his chief priests and scribes began to plot how to ensure His death.  He asked the wise men to bring back word of where this King was, that he too could go and worship Him.  In a dream, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph saying, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child and destroy Him."  This fulfills Prophecy #2 "Out of Egypt I called my Son." 

When Herod realized he had been tricked by the wise men, by them returning to their home by way of a different route, he because furious and sent for all of the male children in Bethlehem age 2 and under to be killed.  Looking at my baby boy, sleeping so peacefully next to me, I realize he falls in that age range.  I cannot imagine...nor do I want to...what the mothers went through.  Did Mary ever hear what had happened?  Did she know that God provided protection for her baby?  What was her reaction, if she did hear the horrible news of what had taken place?  Prophecy #3 "A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more."

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, telling him to take Mary and the Child, and go to the land of Israel.  They went and lived in a city called Nazareth, fulfilling Prophecy #4 "He shall be called a Nazarene."

I love rereading these chapters and writing about them.  It helps me to be reminded of all the prophecies that were fulfilled.  That could only be fulfilled by the Messiah.  Praise God for keeping His promises!  Great is His faithfulness!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Matthew 1

Again, I took a break from writing.  Not because I didn't want to!  Many days I thought about it, yet allowed my blog writing to slip through the cracks while Parenthood took over.  I just love my son so much and have to watch him every moment he is awake....and some moments while he is asleep.  He is just so, peaceful.  I wonder if God's peace that He has given us is supposed to look like a peaceful sleeping babe to the outside world?

Yesterday I finished my year long (+ a few months) read through the Bible chronologically.  How great it was!  I learned things I hadn't known before, and reaffirmed my faith in so many ways.  My view of God's sovereignty has grown exponentially!  While reading through the New Testament, I decided I couldn't wait to get to the end and begin again...in the New Testament.  Of course I will read through the Old again, but I really want to share with you, and me, each chapter of the New.  (I probably won't tackle Revelation though in this blog....we will see how God leads.)

So, Matthew 1:  The genealogy of Jesus Christ, fulfilling prophecies of Him being born of a virgin, in the line of David, from the seed of Abraham.  And then the birth of Jesus Christ!  Our Saviour.  He came to this world for the reason of redeeming His children.  His story does not end in Matthew 1.  Nor does it begin there.  His story began at the beginning of time.  All of creation waited for this moment, looking forward to the Messiah.  A song was being written since God created the heavens and the earth, and the birth of Christ was adding a new melody to His sonata. 

After Mary was found to be with child, Joseph resolved to divorce her quietly, since she had conceived before they wed.  Yet an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him to fear not, but that Mary had conceived this child by the Holy Spirit, and that He would save the people from their sins.  When Joseph awoke from his dream, he did as the angel commanded.  And Mary gave birth to a son.  They called Him Jesus, Immanuel, God with us.