Ok, maybe it's just me, but WOW is there a lot of action packed into one small chapter! Magi travel thousands of miles to see a baby, the king of the land wants to kill the poor child so Mary and Joseph are on the run to protect baby Jesus...secretly travelling to Egypt and eventually Nazareth.
I like to hold onto the quiet, silent night, picturesque view of Jesus' birth that we see in all the Christmas cards and hear about in melodic carols. But what I read in Matthew 2 is so opposite of that! My study guide said that the Magi didn't even get to see baby Jesus until he was probably 1-2 years old. (I guess it took a little longer to travel over 1,000 miles than they thought.) The birth of Jesus didn't create peace in the land...actually it stirred things up pretty bad. Rome had given Herod the title "King of the Jews", and news of a newborn King made him worry that he would lose his status and position. He was so afraid of losing material things, that he didn't realize Jesus could have given him so much more. One of those things that are still true today for so many people, unfortunately.
One personal note: If you don't have a Life Application Study Bible, I highly recommend getting one. I like the NIV version, but there are other translations that might work better for your reading style. There's SO much information and background given that it makes the readings more understandable...and shows how the words of the bible can easily apply to every day life. It makes an amazing difference in my ability to understand the Bible. Just thought I'd share, in case it helps you too.
I tried commenting yesterday but aparantly it didn't take. I was going to say I agree with you about the "silent night" image. I also just can't imagine if I was a mother of one of those baby boys ordered to be killed, what they must have been feeling...
ReplyDeleteHerod was so paranoid he even had his own child killed. I know what you mean, though...that's the first thing I thought too. How horrible.
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