Jeremiah 31:15 is another verse that predicts events of the birth of the Messiah. It mentions Rachel weeping for her children. This is fulfilled in the massacre of the children under two years of age mentioned in the gospel of Matthew. We will discuss this more when we reach that passage. This is the aftermath of the visit of the astrologers.
Biblical prophecy often speaks to the current time and to a future where the interpretation is slightly different. This is the case in Hosea 11:1. it appears to be discussing the fact that Israel was brought out of Egypt by Jehovah and is going to be sent into exile from the Promised Land. In the New Testament, the story changes and the one coming from Egypt is Jesus, the actual Son of God. Joseph was told to take his family there in response to Herod’s coming attack on the children of Bethlehem.
Micah 5:2 is the source of the prophecy that tells that Messiah will be born in Bethlehem, but it tells more if you read on. Bethlehem was still a small village like in David’s day. It is now much larger but still considered a village. The one to be born there is from the distant past. Not a bad description for someone who is fully God and completely human.
During King David’s time on the throne, he was told by the prophet Nathan that Jehovah would reward him with the Davidic Kingdom being eternal. 2 Samuel 7:16 is where you will find this promise. Even when the kingdom of Judah was destroyed the prophecy held true.
In the book of Luke, we are introduced to Zacharias and his wife Elisabeth who wanted a child and were unable to have one. While serving in the Temple a messenger from Yahweh delivers the news that they will have a son, and his name is to be John.
John is the one that we know who came before Jesus. His father is told that he will be the Elijah that was predicted. Being an old man he has difficulty believing this message. I hope I will have an easier time believing in the Lord when He gives me this kind of good news. I might not be better than this Levite.
In Luke chapter one in the twenty-fifth verse Gabriel, the messenger that we saw earlier, goes to a girl named Mary. The message to her is that she will also have a child. His name is to be Jesus which is the Greek for the Hebrew name Joshua which means Yahweh is Salvation.
The birth of the baby is shown in Luke chapter two. Remember that the prophecy told of the birth in the town of Bethlehem. This is the boyhood home of King David. The prophets never told us about the manger that the baby would be laid in after He was born. The swaddling clothes is another detail that was not written about earlier.
Did you notice that the shepherds are spoken of in Luke but not the wise men. Matthew tells us about them. Chapter two talks about their visit to King Herod. He knows nothing about a newborn king. He is interested. This new baby is a threat to him. Notice that the number three is not even mentioned.
As you read further you see the number three applies to the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh that they brought for the baby. When they meet Mary and Jesus they are now staying in a house. There are no shepherds, no stable, and no sheep, or other animals.
These are astrologers that represent a king. They are not kings. They follow the signs of the stars. That is how they knew about Jesus. God wrote His birth in the heavens years before man was even created. That is the kind of God I want to believe in and worship. How about you?
Let’s look at the story of Christmas as recorded in both the Old and New Testaments. The life of Christ is first shown in Genesis and continues throughout the Bible. We will read the prophets that predicted the coming of Jesus and what they said about him, and then proceed to the gospels that tell how these prophecies were fulfilled.
Our trek through the birth of Jesus begins in the little book of Malachi. In chapter 3, verse 1, a messenger is to be sent before the Lord comes. Then, in chapter four, verses five and six, he says that Elijah will be that messenger sent to bring the hearts of the children back to their parents. In Luke 1, we will see this fulfilled in John, who is called the baptizer.
Let’s walk back to Isaiah 7:14 and read the prophecy that a virgin shall give birth to a son. The fact that a woman who had never been with a man sexually could have a baby is amazing to all of us. His name is “God is with us.” The virgin birth is critical for this to come to pass. The child must be God and man. God in soul and spirit, and man in body. To be a man, He must have a mother and father. God is His father and a human woman His mother.
Isaiah 9:6-7 is one of the most quoted prophetic passages about the Messiah. A male child will someday be born. He shall be our ruler. He will be wonderful, and a counselor, or it could mean he will become a wonderful counselor. We all need counsel at some point. He will also be God and will be mighty. In addition, He is our Father, but not an earthly father. This father always was and will remain forever. He will bring peace as we allow him to rule in our lives. He will take over David’s throne in Israel but will expand it to the entire world. Jehovah God has guaranteed this and will see that it comes about.
When we look at Matthew and Luke and the story of Jesus’ birth, we will read the lineage of Joseph and Mary. Isaiah 11:1 says that David’s kingdom will be cut off. Judah was still in existence at that time. Later, it was conquered by Babylon and mostly destroyed. When Nehemiah and Ezra tell us about the Israelites returning to their homeland, they have no king. The Medes rule them. Isaiah encourages them by stating that a branch will grow from this stump, meaning a new ruler will someday come from the Israelites. This was the man we call Jesus Christ, who is the Jewish Messiah.
We read Malachi’s prophecy about the predecessor to the Messiah. In Isaiah 40:3-5, we are told he will straighten the path for God’s ultimate messenger. The glory of the Lord will be seen by everyone. What do all these words mean? John is coming to guide us in becoming the kind of people who will accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. We read John’s words and can see how the Baptizer’s ministry was crucial to many of the disciples of God’s son, choosing to accept Him. The plot thickens.
Stay tuned, and we will continue with the rest of the story and go through to the birth of the baby that will change the course of the world. I hope you join me in a couple of days.
December 7, 1941, was the day that Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was bombed by the Imperial Navy of Japan. Eighty-four years is a long time. My parents recalled this day every year and the speech that President Roosevelt made.
There are many days that we recall. For my daughters’ generation, it is September 11, 2001. For the Baby Boomers that are my generation, it is November 23, 1963, which was the day President Kennedy was assassinated.
The days we remember should not be just those horrible days that we recall from the past. They should be the days that we hold near and dear to our hearts. This is why we celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. I am sure that there are days that you like to remember in your life.
The days my brothers and sister, and I graduated from high school were highlights for our parents. Neither of them made it past the eighth grade. I was the first of us to complete my college degree. Later, one brother received his diploma in computer science, and our sister took a teaching certificate after her five children were almost out of the house.
All three of our girls have B.A.s, and one has her master’s, and another is finishing up her master’s program. Five grandchildren have completed high school, with the sixth due to move on in her education in the spring. The weddings of our girls were special times, and we celebrate the births of twelve grandchildren each year.
Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day are also dear to our family. Cindy’s oldest brother died in the Vietnam Conflict, and her other brother, a nephew, my Dad, and her oldest brother all served.
Today, we do not expect another attack from a country that we thought was our friend as we did in 1941. It is possible. Then, again, most US citizens never expected it. The military was warned and did not give it credence. Who knew Japan would do that?
Who knew terrorists would fly airplanes into skyscrapers? It had been years since a President was assassinated in 1963. President Trump seems to attract would-be assassins like honey attracts flies. With all the shootings of private citizens, would we even be shocked if a political figure were killed? Violence of all kinds is rampant these days.
Do not worry about what tomorrow may bring. Today has enough worries of its own. Let’s all remember this as a day when we pulled together, just as we have on other days that live in infamy. Thank you to our military personnel who fought these battles and continue to do so today.
I have been researching the mythology of Christmas for years. When we had our first child, I told my wife that I did not want to perpetuate the falsehoods about Saint Nicholas. My thinking was that if we intentionally told them lies, they would not believe in God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. She disagreed with me, and guess what? We did it her way.
We repeat the stories that we have heard. Nicholas made and delivered toys to the local children in his village. His parents’ wealth enabled him to do this. Often, he left the gifts outside the doors of their homes. The British have Father Christmas, that is the personification of love. He was more focused on adults than children when the legends began.
When the story of Santa Claus came to the United States, Father Christmas was changed. The name came from the Dutch Sinterklaas, and in Pennsylvania, we got the name Kris Kringle in the 1800s. Because of the melting pot of our culture, we have a varied tradition of celebrations this time of year.
You may have Hanukkah, Kwanza, Saturnalia, or other holy days that are part of your traditions. That is what freedom of religion in our Constitution guarantees. As Burger King says, have it your way.
Christmas music and movies are things I have discussed in previous columns. I don’t care what holidays you want to celebrate. The way you serve others on your high holy days is your business. Human sacrifices and property destruction are some of the areas where I think the line needs to be drawn.
Years ago, one of my seventh and eighth boys told me that he and a friend had bashed pumpkins on Halloween. I asked how he would have felt if young men like him had destroyed his decorations when he was younger. He looked like he understood what I meant.
Another student showed me the hood ornament that he had broken off a car the day before. I asked him if he knew how much it would cost to replace it. Of course, he did not know. I informed him of what I had been told by a friend that it cost him to replace one, and he seemed surprised. My point to him was that it was a joke. He would not want to cause that expense for his parents.
We make fun of how others worship, play, sing, or do just about anything. Not everyone who does these things intends to hurt others. They may just not think it through thoroughly. The historical St. Nicholas attempted to improve the lives of children and their families.
I hope that you try to be a good Saint Nick all year round. Finding ways to serve others is appropriate at any time of the year. He is not a mythical figure. He was a real man who tried to make a difference. Let us all see if we can be more like he was.
It’s the holiday season. Halloween and Thanksgiving are over. Thoughts go to Mom and Dad and times long gone. Gone, but not forgotten. Growing up in Springfield, MO, was great. Life was easy for a child. Not so much for parents. Kids could be kids. Television was available, but not a necessity for the young. Not yet, anyway.
Toys in the nineteen-sixties were exploding. Improvements in batteries have enabled mechanical and electronic devices to surpass those powered by wind or hand. I remember those, though. Vanessa had the monkey that banged on the cymbals. Someone had a bank shaped like a firetruck that was a bank.
The Sears and other catalogs brought never-before-seen toys to the home. The method chosen for allowing parents to determine what to buy was to circle the item in a catalog. Because there were four children, each put their initials inside the circle. If a brother or sister had already circled and marked an item, all one had to do was include another set of initials.
Later, Mom or Dad would review the selections and their prices and place the order for the gifts. One particular year, a helicopter was one of the choices. There was a cargo door that opened. Accessories that could be lifted in and out of the fuselage by a battery-operated crane. Lights flashed, and while the propeller did not turn, it made a noise that sounded like it was.
The other things marked that year are long forgotten. When the boxes were opened, that was the gift. There was a problem. The cargo door hinges were broken. The door could not be closed. It just fell off. No one was on the phone on Christmas Day. The toy was played with carefully. Everything else was inspected, and the next business day, a phone call was made.
The damaged item was placed back in its box and set aside until it could be returned and a new one sent. The call was a disappointment. None of the helicopters were left. All had been sold. It could be returned, and some other items shipped to replace it.
All that was broken was a hinge on the plastic door. A metal pin was found in the junk drawer that could replace the plastic that broke. The tip of an ice pick was heated, and a hole was made. The pin was inserted and carefully glued in place. It lasted longer than the electrical part of the helicopter.
A few years later, when the toy was thrown away, the door hinge still worked. The lights could no longer be lit. The winch had stopped working. The propeller blades had been snapped and repaired more times than could be remembered. The repaired hinge still worked fine. The final accident was a crash from a stairway landing that caved in the opposite side of the fuselage. New toys had been received, and it was not necessary to try to fix them this time.
Sometimes toys are never forgotten, even if their names are not Buzz and Woody.
Charles (Chuck) Kensinger 