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An Apres Christmas question: Why the struggle to resist following God’s purposes?

(Contemporary English Version of the Bible used here.)

Matthew 2:1-15… When Jesus was born in the village of Bethlehem in Judea, Herod was king. During this time some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem  (2)  and said, “Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”  (3)  When King Herod heard about this, he was worried, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem.  (4)  Herod brought together the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses and asked them, “Where will the Messiah be born?”  (5)  They told him, “He will be born in Bethlehem, just as the prophet wrote,  (6)  ‘Bethlehem in the land of Judea, you are very important among the towns of Judea. From your town will come a leader, who will be like a shepherd for my people Israel.’ ”  (7)  Herod secretly called in the wise men and asked them when they had first seen the star.  (8)  He told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, let me know. I want to go and worship him too.”  (9)  The wise men listened to what the king said and then left. And the star they had seen in the east went on ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  (10)  They were thrilled and excited to see the star.  (11)  When the men went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they knelt down and worshiped him. They took out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and gave them to him.  (12)  Later they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and they went back home by another road.  (13)  After the wise men had gone, an angel from the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Hurry and take the child and his mother to Egypt! Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is looking for the child and wants to kill him.”  (14)  That night, Joseph got up and took his wife and the child to Egypt,  (15)  where they stayed until Herod died. So the Lord’s promise came true, just as the prophet had said, “I called my son out of Egypt.”

I want to focus on the major theme runs through this account of the wise men from the east, and their searching for the Newborn King…

— First, think about the thoughts that were running through the mind of King Herod in the first 3 verses.

1/ Why would this news that powerful men from foreign lands brought from their study of the stars?

— Do you think that Herod believed in supernatural powers meddling in the affairs of mankind?

— Of course he did, all the peoples of the earth believed in various gods and goddesses who played with the lives of men and women.

— So even if Herod did not honor his country’s faith in an all-supreme God of Israel, he still was worried by this news of a fate-appointed new king.

2/ I would ask you to recall from your school days studies of history, what common reaction does this news of another king born to take his place cause in Herod.

— How many accounts in history do we have of kings trying to desperately hold onto the power of their throne, and to pass it on through their own bloodlines?

— From before Herod’s time, to past the time of King Henry VIII of England, we see this played out over and over again.

— So it is a given that when Herod heard this news, he felt he must interfere in this event of a newborn king, so he and his lineage could hold onto the throne of Israel.

3/ This becomes the major theme of the account of the wise men and their interactions with Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus, as we read in Matthew 2:1-15.

Now that we see the focal struggle, let’s see how God deals with this resistance to His will.

4/ In truth, God starts dealing with this issue of a Redeemer King being born, back in the days of Isaiah.

— (SEE Vs.14-15)  That night, Joseph got up and took his wife and the child to Egypt,  (15)  where they stayed until Herod died. So the Lord’s promise came true, just as the prophet had said, “I called my son out of Egypt.”

— This refers to the prophecy given and recorded in Isaiah 7:14… Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

This prophecy of the birth of Jesus continues in Isaiah 8:11-15… For the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying:  (12)  “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread.  (13)  But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.  (14)  And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.  (15)  And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”

— See Matthew 2:3, where we read that all Jerusalem was worried about this disturbing news of a new (rival) king.

— Now see how Isaiah’s prophecy calls out all struggles against God’s will in Isaiah 8:12-13… “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread.  (13)  But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

5/ Now, let’s look at how God deals with Herod’s and Jerusalem’s efforts to derail the prophecies of Isaiah…

— Back to Matthew 2:8-12… He (King Herod) told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, let me know. I want to go and worship him too.”  (9)  The wise men listened to what the king said and then left. And the star they had seen in the east went on ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  (10)  They were thrilled and excited to see the star.  (11)  When the men went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they knelt down and worshiped him. They took out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and gave them to him.  (12)  Later they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and they went back home by another road.

— Here we see displayed, the arrogance of man, and the omnipotence of God…

— In Matthew 2:8 we see the arrogance of Herod, as he thinks he can hide his deceit and divert God’s prophecies.

— Verses 9-12 display the over-ruling power of God, as He first warns the wise men, and they leave Herod fussing in the dark, waiting to enact his plan to eradicate this new threat to his throne.

— With a little understanding, we can also see how God provides a way of escape for His chosen family and His infant Son.

— This comes in the form of the gifts given to the baby Jesus, these no doubt became the financial support they needed when God called them to flee to Egypt, as basically refugees.

— Then in Matthew 2:13-15 we read… After the wise men had gone, an angel from the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Hurry and take the child and his mother to Egypt! Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is looking for the child and wants to kill him.”  (14)  That night, Joseph got up and took his wife and the child to Egypt,  (15)  where they stayed until Herod died. So the Lord’s promise came true, just as the prophet had said, “I called my son out of Egypt.”

— Again we see how futile it is to try to thwart the will of an all-powerful, all-knowing God.

— A crucial point for each of us to grasp in this is that God has not changed, He is not weakened, or fallen into old-age frailty. He has the same power to protect and preserve His chosen people today, and just as in this account, His Word and promises that have been given to mankind, cannot fail or be frustrated.

— So in closing this Apres Christmas article, I would ask all to ponder the question…

Why do we struggle to resist following God’s purposes?

— If you think that you need to protect yourself by resisting God’s will in your life… I hope and pray God will show you how much He loves and cares for you. And I hope that you would accept His payment for your repented of sins. For as you make Him Lord and director of your life, you also become one of His chosen people. Then as His chosen one, you can also be sure that He would never bring into your life something that He has not purposed for good, and in all your struggles, just as He did with Mary and Joseph… God will provide for you the means, the timing, and the knowledge of how to follow His will and escape the plans of the ‘Evil One’.

Hear God’s Word from Romans 8:28… And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

May God bless you all in 2024… (KK)