Loved and Redeemed

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, January 10, 2010. The text for this week's message is Isaiah 43:1-7.

Do you ever stop to think about what God really thinks about us? I mean, what He really thinks? Not the feel-good stuff that we want to hear, or “Jesus loves me this I know,” or anything of that sort, but what He really thinks. Take a look at your life. You know your faults; you know the dark things that you keep hidden from everyone else; you know the secrets that you have that would embarrass you to no end. What do you think God thinks about you in light of all this stuff? Those are some tough questions to deal with this early in the morning, but we have to face the truth at some point.

We hear it all the time, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life,” but do we get it? Do we understand that kind of love? Can we really believe that this is how God feels about us? I think this passage in Isaiah does a fantastic job of clueing us into the fact that this really is how God feels about His people, in spite of all our failures and misgivings.

Isaiah 43 begins by reminding us of who God is, and who we are. God is the one who created us. God, the Creator, the one who caused all things to be merely by speaking it into existence, created us. And what’s even cooler than that, if we read through the creation story again. Man isn’t spoken into existence; God forms man. Genesis 2 tells us that God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed life into him. Humanity wasn’t spoken into existence like the rest of creation. God formed humanity.

And we hear echoes of that here in Isaiah. It says, “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob; he who formed you, O Israel…” (v. 1). The parallel phrases here (he who created you, O Jacob; he who formed you, O Israel…) are used to emphasize God’s position as creator of the Israelites. There is no doubt who is in charge when we come to this passage. But we also are reminded of our importance as created beings. Humanity was important enough that God formed it with His own hands. That is a crucial, but subtle, reminder to begin with in today’s reading.

What is also crucial about his passage is how it starts. “But now” clues us in to the importance of the surrounding context. Another one of the reasons that I think it is going to be important for us to read through the Bible this year is because we start seeing things in their original context, and often this sheds a whole new light on things for us. There is very little about Scripture that lends itself to pop spirituality if we really dig into the context. Often what we can take at a very superficial level is enriched by the things going on all around the passage that we often leave out. If we don’t have even a basic familiarity with Scripture, we lose the richness that dwells deep within.

You see, in Isaiah 42, starting in verse 18, we see that Israel has really messed up. I mean, they are total failures in God’s eyes. They are referred to as blind, deaf, a people who have been plundered, a people without a rescuer. What is worse is that they are in this position because God himself put them in it. They failed to be obedient to God, and they did not walk in the ways of the covenant that was established with him. They sinned against the Lord, and as a result, as Isaiah 42:25 says, “He (God) poured out on him (Israel) the heat of his anger and the might of battle.”

In the ancient world, when one nation conquered another, it was believed that it was because the gods of the conquering nation were stronger. But what Isaiah says here goes totally against that way of thinking. When Israel was sent into exile, it wasn’t because the Babylonian gods were stronger than Yahweh, it was because the people of Israel failed to uphold their covenant. It was because they failed to be obedient to God. It was because they chased after idols and turned their backs on God. “But now…”

But now, Israel was being restored. Isaiah, who wrote long before the people of Israel were ever even conquered by the Babylonians, has a vision of restoration. And this restoration isn’t because of anything in particular that the Israelites had done, but it was because God, the Creator, the one through whom all things come to being, it was because of Him that they were being restored.

“But now…” In spite of all the things that they have done, in spite of their failures, their faults and their sins, they are being restored. Notice, it says, “are being restored,” not “are restoring themselves.” There’s a difference. God is the one who does the restoration. There’s always a “but now” moment in our lives; it’s a moment when we realize that our life does not have to be what it has always been.

I’ve mentioned before that one of my favorite TV shows is Scrubs. They show is a little different now because it is focusing on med students more so than the doctors. But in an episode that I watched this week, they illustrate this point so well. One of the students is a guy who flamed out of med school years before, but now he is back in and is doing things differently this time around. He is picked to give the speech at the white coat ceremony, but he initially turns it down because he saw himself becoming what he was before, and he didn’t like it. And this theme arises in the episode that we can’t let the past dictate the future.

See, there really are spiritual insights just waiting to be uncovered in the most unexpected places. Because isn’t that what this passage is about? Isn’t this passage about not letting the past dictate the future? Isaiah begins the passage with “but now,” and that is a reminder that, yes, Israel messed up big time in the past, but that doesn’t mean that God has totally given up on them. I could almost stop there, but there’s more just waiting for us in this passage.

Twice the people are told to “fear not.” The first time, it says, “fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, and you are mine” (verse 1). God is not only reminding them of His position as creator, but he is reminding them of His position as their redeemer. And it isn’t the first time that God has redeemed His people.

In Exodus, we read of the first, and most important, act of redemption in the Old Testament. The people have been slaves in Egypt for 400 years. They cry out to God, and God sends Moses. The people are set free. No longer are they slaves in a foreign land, but now they begin a journey that ends with them traveling for decades until they finally enter the land that was promised to their forefather Abraham. In Judges, we read time and time again about how the people fall away from God, only to have Him raise up a great leader that runs off the oppressors. It is a cycle that we see several times in that book. God is in the business of redemption.

And here’s the thing. God doesn’t do the redeeming because the people are worthy of it. He doesn’t redeem them because they’ve been following Him and are still being oppressed in spite of their obedience. In fact, it is quite the opposite. They are redeemed in spite of the fact that they have gone astray; in spite of the fact that they have failed to be obedient; and in spite of the fact that they are full of sin. Why does God do this? He tells us in verse 4.

“Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you…” (Isa 43:4). Because they are precious, honored and loved. They are worth something to God, even though they don’t act like it. Even though all they seem to do is mess up and live their lives in sin, they are worth something to God, and He loves them. God’s love makes them worthy of redemption.

In verse 5, we see the second “fear not” statement. This time it says, “Fear not, for I am with you…” God is not absent. God is not some distant being that just reached down, set things in motion and is coming back to check up on it. The world is not a Ronco rotisserie oven as far as God is concerned. There’s not “set it and forget it” here. “Fear not, for I am with you” God says. God is active and involved in the world.

It doesn’t say that God is only with them temporarily. It doesn’t say that God is only with them when they are obedient. It doesn’t say that God is only with them as long as there isn’t anything better for Him to do. It says that God is with them. And when God is with you, there is no need to fear. Yes, the people will be defeated and exiled. Yes, the people will be separated from their homeland for quite some time. But that doesn’t mean that God wasn’t with them. And it doesn’t mean that God didn’t care about them.

So, what does all this mean? Why should we care about this particular passage? Isn’t this just something that God said to the people of Israel thousands of years ago? Why should it matter to us? Because you have messed up; because you have failed to be obedient to God; because your life sometimes looks like a pile of garbage that you don’t think God wants to even approach. Because sometimes, you think that God couldn’t love you because of the sin that’s in your life. Honestly, we aren’t all that different from the Israelites.

Sure, we don’t openly chase after the false gods of the Canaanites. Or do we? Do we have idols in our lives? Do we have things in our lives that take precedence over God? Do we spend our time and energy chasing after things that aren’t God? Do we focus more on our jobs, our sports teams, and our pursuit of money, position and power than we focus on God? An idol is anything that draws our worship from God. An idol is anything that takes our focus off of God. We have idols in our lives, whether we recognize them or not. There are things that constantly pull us away from God. And some of them don’t have to try all that hard.

We are in need of redemption. We are in need of redemption because we get distracted. We can’t always see God. We can’t always know what God is doing. Consequently, we often forget about Him. We often forget to give praise to God for the blessings in our lives. We often forget to spend time listening for His voice. We often forget to spend time in His word. We have sin in our lives, and no matter how much good we try to do, we cannot get rid of it. It’s not like we have a ledger sheet where if we do enough good things, then we don’t have to worry about the sin that’s in our lives. That’s not how it works. We are in need of redemption, and there is nothing that we can do to earn it. “But now…”

But now, God reminds us of who He is. God reminds us that He is our creator, the one who knew us before we were in the womb. God reminds us that we need not fear because, out of His love, He has redeemed us, and, out of His love, He is with us.

Do you feel like you’ve stopped following God? Do you feel like there’s too much junk in your life for God to want anything to do with you? Do you feel like the sins that fester inside of you keep you from being loved by God? Do you know other people who feel this way? Read this passage again. Read it again when you aren’t feeling up to par. Read it again, when you think you’ve gone too far and have completely separated yourself from God. Read it again if you think that God can’t possibly care about you because of what you’ve done. In spite of all Israel has done, God was with them. And back to the question I opened with, what does God think of you? In spite of all that you have done, God is with you, and He loves you, and He has redeemed you through His Son Jesus Christ.

Bible in a Year: Cliff Notes, Week 1

For my Bible in a Year reading, I'm trying to keep brief notes on all the chapters of the reading. I thought I'd try a Cliff Notes version of my read through. Some of it is commentary, some of it is just what happens in those particular chapters. While my previous post is more of a general update, this one is more specific.

Week 1 covers January 1 through January 7, or Genesis 1-24

January 1: Genesis 1-3

The opening chapters of Genesis cover creation and the Fall. After each stage of creation, God declares it to be good. In 1:31, as God observes creation as a whole, it is declared to be “very good.” Creation is declared to be “very good” by God.

Genesis 2 gives another account of the creation, but the focus this time is on the specific creation of humanity. While Adam doesn’t have much of a role in the opening chapter, here, in Gen 2, he is involved in naming creation. It is when Adam doesn’t have a companion that something is finally declared “not good” by God. What is not good is the fact that Adam is alone. We are not meant to be alone, but we are meant to be in relationship with other people.

Genesis 3 recounts the Fall. The man and the woman are told to not eat from one tree, and yet, that is the thing that gets them in trouble. It begins by the serpent taking God’s words and twisting them, beginning to confuse the woman. Notice her response as well, “…neither shall you touch it.” She added on to the command of God. It left a wider opening for the serpent to sneak through. There is also a “passing of the blame,” the man blames the woman (and God to some extent), and the woman turns around and blames the serpent. The all end up getting punished and the world has never been the same.

January 2: Genesis 4-7

The story of Cain and Abel. Why does God regard Abel’s offering more than Cain’s? It doesn’t really say. My guess is that God is an omnivore and likes the smell of a good steak. Seriously though, it doesn’t really say. Quite frankly, that’s not important. What is important is the fact that Cain’s response is what led him to commit murder. The question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” is one that we have to deal with all the time. Cain is left to wonder the earth, but notice that he doesn’t do that. He ends up settling in the land of Nod. We are left with Cain’s descendants and the story of Lamech, which goes to show the depravity that has followed Cain’s line.

Genesis 5 stands in contrast to Cain’s line, by examining the line of Seth down to Noah. Genesis begins with a statement on the depravity of the earth in the time of Noah. Noah was the only righteous man on the earth at the time. Humanity grieves God so much that God sends a flood to destroy it

January 3: Genesis 8-11

Genesis 8 concludes the story of the flood. Here it begins to subside, and when it is done, Noah builds an ark and offered burnt offerings to the Lord. Noah and his family are given the command found in the beginning of Genesis to “be fruitful and multiply.” In Genesis 9, Noah gets drunk and passes out. One of Noah’s sons sees him naked. He apparently says something to his brothers, who cover up their father without looking at him. It is unclear as to why Noah curses his son, but he does. There seems to be a lot of reporting of events, but not a lot of commentary on them. In Genesis 10, we get another geneaology from Noah’s sons.

Genesis 11 recounts the story of the tower of Babel. It is not so bad that the people were communicating with one another, but that they tried to join together and build something that would put them on a level with God.

January 4: Genesis 12-15

We begin the story of the Israelites in Genesis 12 with the call of Abram to leave his hometown based on the promise that God will make him into a great nation. Abram’s relative Lot also comes along. They travel through the region and end up going through to Egypt. In Genesis 13, Abram and Lot realize that they have a whole lot of livestock and they are crowding one another. Abram allows Lot to take part of the land that they had so there would not be any problems.

Genesis 14 recounts a battle between some small nations in which Lot was taken captive. Abram led the charge to get him back. Melchizedek, the king of Salem, blessed Abram. It is also said that he (Melchizedek) is a priest of God Most High. Genesis 15 begins with a covenant between God and Abram. They split the animals in half and God passes through them in the form of a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch. Essentially saying, “If I break this covenant, may the same be done to me.”

January 5: Genesis 16-18

Abram is promised a son, and his wife Sarai gets the idea to have Abram lay with her servant Hagar to have a child. Hagar becomes pregnant and Sarai becomes jealous and treats her very harshly. So much so that she runs off, but is convinced by a messenger of God to go back. Genesis 17 recounts the establishment of the covenant of circumcision. Circumcision is a means to mark those who are a part of God’s covenant people. Their names are also changes from Abram to Abraham, and Sarai to Sarah.

At the end of Genesis 17, Abraham is promised that within a year, Sarah would give birth to a son. Sarah doesn’t believe it, and God calls her out on her disbelief. Abraham and God then look over Sodom and discuss its impending destruction.

January 6: Genesis 19-21

The story of Lot in Sodom is mildly troubling as well. Lot offers his daughters in the place of the men who come to visit him. But, once again, Scripture is reporting what happened, not necessarily condoning it. Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed. Lot is warned not to look back, and his wife does and turns into a pillar of salt. Why does this happen? There really is no explanation.

Abraham and Abimelech are discussed in Genesis 20. It is a flashback to what happened when they first went to Egypt and Sarah is told to say that she is his sister, not his wife. Why does Abraham do this? Is it because of a lack of faith? Does he not trust God to take care of him, even if things may get a little dicey?

Isaac is born in Genesis 21, and Sarah wants to get rid of Hagar and Ishmael. They nearly die in the desert, but are protected by God. God tells Abraham to go ahead and listen to Sarah regarding Hagar and Ishmael because Isaac was the one through whom the line will continue. Genesis 21 closes with a treaty between Abraham and Abimelech.

January 7: Genesis 22-24

Today’s reading begins with the story of the sacrifice of Isaac. It is perhaps one of the most intense stories in all of Scripture. Abraham had waited so long to have a child with Sarah, and they finally did, and now, God was asking him to sacrifice his son. This story is a precursor to what happens in Jesus when God does sacrifice His one and only Son. Abraham’s words, “the Lord will provide the Lamb,” are so crucial to this story. Many debate the morality of God in this story, but I think it’s important to remember that God is God, and God does provide. This was a time when child sacrifice was not uncommon, and for God to intervene and stop the sacrifice makes a huge statement on the practice.

Genesis 23 has to do with Sarah’s death and the purchase of some land from the Hittites. This is the first piece of land that Abraham actually owns in the Promised Land. It reminds us of the promise that God has made to Abraham.

In Genesis 24, Isaac is given a wife. Abraham did not want him to marry one of the women in Canaan, so he sent a servant to his homeland to find a woman for Isaac to marry. The servant finds Rebekah, who was Abraham’s niece. She came back to be Isaac’s wife.

The Bible in a Year

I've challenged my churches to read through the Bible in a year in 2010. It's not going to be an easy task. It is going to take perseverance and dedication. Realistically, it's not that hard. It's rarely more than 3 chapters a day. The hardest part is persevering through Leviticus, some of Exodus and the genealogies in Numbers and 1 Chronicles. I want to update from time to time where I have been reading and what has come up during my readings. Hopefully, I can be disciplined about writing, as well as reading through the Bible this year.

I looked at several different reading plans, but finally settled on a canonical reading plan that goes straight through from Genesis to Revelation. Why did I do this? I felt like some reading plans that had multiple readings from various parts of the Bible would not be cohesive enough. It's hard to follow the story of Genesis if you're reading a chapter of it a day alongside chapters of Matthew, Isaiah and the Psalms. I think that by jumping around you do get some variety, but you don't necessarily get the flow of the narrative. And, when there are only 3 chapters to read from the same book, it doesn't seem as daunting as three or four readings from different books. It's mainly psychological, I know, but whatever helps.

The awesome thing about technology these days is the fact that you can read the Bible almost anywhere. I downloaded the mobile version of YouVersion to my Blackberry, and can follow my reading plan from my phone. It also tracks my progress and lets me tweet my readings after I finish them. It's been pretty handy so far.

Today, I finished Day 9 of the readings. So, to this point, I have read Genesis 1-29. This part of Scripture covers a lot of ground. The first 11 chapters focus on creation, the fall, the flood and the Tower of Babel. Once we hit Genesis 12, we get into the story of Abraham and his offspring. Perhaps what has stood out to me the most so far is the fact that Scripture does a lot of reporting, but not a lot of commentary on the events that took place. There are things that Abraham, Noah, and Jacob have done that we would think are just terrible. By reporting them, Scripture isn't necessarily condoning it, but giving us a window into what happened in a different time. And perhaps, in spite of all their shortcomings, the fact that God still chooses to bless the line of Abraham should give us pause to reflect on what it is that God can do for us, in spite of all our shortcomings.

2009 Fantasy Football MVP's

I thought it would be fun to do a rundown of the final numbers for the players on my fantasy football teams. I started with the ESPN leagues, and was going to do the Yahoo! league, but for two reasons, I didn't. 1) I didn't really care about the Yahoo! league, and 2) They started using decimal points in their scores, and I didn't want to mess with it. Don't judge me.

First, the awards and criteria:

1) Super Sub - the player with the most average points with only 1 or 2 starts

2) Best Week - the player with the highest single week score of the season

3) 1st Team - played at least 5 games and averaged 10 points/game

4) Weekly MVP - the high scorer of the week

5) Overall MVP - the highest scorer of the season

ESPN League Bricksquad: Veedersburg Killer Wombats MVP's

1) Super Sub - K Rob Bironas, 2 starts, 12 points on average

2) Best Week - RB Adrian Peterson, Week 1, 37 points

3) 1st Team: QB Philip Rivers (14 starts, 17.07 points), RB Adrian Peterson (16 starts, 17.67 points), RB Joseph Addai (13 starts, 12.76 points), WR Reggie Wayne (14 starts, 12.28 points), D/ST Bears (5 starts, 12.6 points)

4) Weekly MVP - QB Philip Rivers 6, QB Ben Roethlisberger 3, RB Adrian Peterson 3, WR Hines Ward 2, WR Reggie Wayne 2, RB Joseph Addai 1, D/ST Bears 1

5) Overall MVP - RB Adrian Peterson, 265 points

ESPN League Swish's Pals - Hillsboro Rabid Monkeys

1) Super Sub - RB Jerome Harrison, 2 starts 19 points on average

2) Best Week - QB Drew Brees, Week 1, 48 points

3) 1st Team: QB Drew Brees (14 starts, 23.20 points), RB Ray Rice (16 starts, 14.25 points), RB Pierre Thomas (12 starts, 11.16 points), RB Knowshon Moreno (8 starts, 12 points), WR Roddy White (13 starts, 11.2 points), WR Sidney Rice (10 starts, 11.9 points), D/ST Ravens (9 starts, 11.22 points)

4) Weekly MVP - QB Drew Brees 9, RB Pierre Thomas 2, D/ST Ravens 2, WR White 2, WR Rice 1, RB Rice 1, D/ST Seahawks 1

5) Overall MVP - QB Drew Brees, 348 points

Since the Hillsboro Rabid Monkeys is a keeper league, I'll be looking at this kind of stuff to help me out in deciding who to keep. It's a good bet that Drew Brees and Ray Rice will be on my team next season, but the real question is, "Who else?" That will be answered next season!

Batman Demotivational

A little something that I came across on verydemotivational.com in tribute to the Dark Knight.

Fantasy Football 2009, Championship Edition

While the Yahoo! League ended in disappointment with a 4th place finish, the ESPN leagues finished up this week with far different results.

Team 1: ESPN League Bricksquad - Veedersburg Killer Wombats

QB - Ben Roethlisberger

RB - A. Peterson, Justin Forsett, B. Westbrook

WR - Austin Collie, Antonio Bryant

TE - John Carlson

D/ST - Bears

K - D. Carpenter

High scorer: Ben Roethlisberger, 19 points

Low scorer: Austin Collie, 1 point

Result: Veedersburg Killer Wombats 67, VA Bengals 76

Overall Result: Veedersburg Killer Wombats 141, VA Bengals 129

Commentary: Champion!!!! I have never won a fantasy football championship before this year, and I've been playing since 2003. I typically come close, but have never pulled it out before!

Team 2: ESPN League Swish's Pals - Hillsboro Rabid Monkeys

QB - Alex Smith

RB - R. Rice, J. Harrison, K. Moreno

WR - R. White, S. Rice

TE - J. Finley

D/ST - 49ers

K - D. Carpenter

High scorer: Sidney Rice, 23 points

Low scorer: Dan Carpenter, 6 points

Result: Hillsboro Rabid Monkeys 128, TBAR Heels 51

Overall Result: Hillsboro Rabid Monkeys 257, TBAR Heels 146

Commentary: That's right, a two-time champion!!!! In all honesty, this was the league I cared about this most this year because it is a league with several of my friends. I really thought I was going to lose this match-up. My friend Tony had the highest scoring team this season, and I really thought that he'd destroy me in this round, as you can see, it was quite the opposite. I almost could've sat my entire team and still pulled out a victory. This is a keeper league, so the fun is just starting. I need to decide which three to keep for next season's shot at a repeat!

And just for fun....

Contrasting Responses

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, January 3, 2010. The text for this week's message is Matthew 2:1-12.

Today is a very special Sunday in the life of the church. It is the Sunday when we remember the “wise men from the east” who come to worship Jesus. This is probably one of the most well known, and yet, least understood passages in all of Scripture. It’s least understood in the sense that we don’t necessarily know exactly what the story says, we just take the details for granted. We all know the story, or at least some version of it. I think this is one reason why it is so important for people to read through their Bibles this year.

Okay, pop quiz. Let’s see which story we know better. Rudolph is a what? (Reindeer) What color was Rudolph’s nose? (Red). Where did Rudolph live? (North Pole) Rudolph, Hermey the elf and Yukon Cornelius the prospector, go to what island? (The Island of Misfits Toys). Okay, good. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer has been around since the mid-60’s, and I’m sure that many people here have seen it numerous times. We know that story. It sticks with us because we watch it nearly every Christmas.

Now, the wise men came from what direction? (east) Who is the first person that they go to see when they get to Jerusalem? (Herod) They are directed to go to what town by the chief priests and scribes? (Bethlehem) How many wise men were at the manger Okay, that last one was a bit of a trick question. Many may have thought that the right answer is “we don’t know,” and it’s true, we really don’t know how many of these men traveled from the east because the actual number is never given. We have assumed through the years that there were three wise men because of the gifts – gold, frankincense and myrrh. But the truth is, Scripture doesn’t tell us how many were there. However, that’s not why it is a trick question.

It is a trick question because none of the wise men were at the manger. It takes us really reading the story to figure this out. There are two major clues that tell us that the wise men were not only not a part of the birth narrative, but that they didn’t even arrive until nearly two years after Jesus’ birth. Notice that Herod gets from the wise men the approximate time when the star first appeared, which is about when Jesus was born. He then tells them to come let him know when they find the child, so he can worship him as well. But when Herod realizes that they aren’t coming back, he has all the male children two years old and under killed. Do you really think Herod would have waited two years for the wise men to come back? We’ll talk about Herod a little more in a minute, but there is absolutely no way that he would have waited that long.

The second major clue that tells us the wise men weren’t at the manger is in verse 11. Let me read it again, it says, “And going into the house they saw the child…” Jesus wasn’t considered a baby at this point in Matthew’s narrative; he is a child. And they aren’t in the stable; they are in a house. And yet, there isn’t a nativity set out there that doesn’t have three wise men in it. It’s an important part of the story, but let’s make sure we get the story correct. Again, that’s a major reason why I want to challenge you to read through the Bible this year. You will begin to see things that you haven’t seen before and you will begin to understand things that you didn’t understand before. All because you took the time to read the book.

Now, I want to dig a little deeper into this story because there is always something that we can learn from even the most familiar of stories if we take a little bit of time to look at it a new way, or from a different perspective. What I’d like to do is take a look at the differences in the response of Herod and the Jewish leaders and the response that we see from the wise men. What should we expect, and what do we actually get? To begin, how about a little bit of background.

We know that the wise men are from the east. The word magoi was once used to refer specifically to priests and experts in the mysteries of Persia and Babylon. By the time the first century rolled around, this same term was used for people who engaged in a wide range of practices – astrology, dream interpretation, the study of sacred writings, the pursuit of wisdom, and magic. We can tell that these wise men were certainly men who studied the stars (because you don’t see the stars unless you look at them, and you don’t notice an unusual occurrence of a star unless you are familiar with them), and we can also assume that they may be familiar with some of the ancient writings of the people of Israel. Now, why would we assume that? Because of what they say in verse 2.

When say that they saw his star when it rose, it is possible that they are referencing the final oracle of the pagan prophet Balaam, which can be found in Numbers 24. It says, “a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth. Edom shall be dispossessed; Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed.” (Num 24:17-18). More on Edom in a bit, but I do want to point out that Seir is an alternative name for Edom.

It appears as though these wise men are familiar with either the writings of the people of Israel, which they would have received while the Israelites were in exile in Babylon (500 years before these events took place), or that they were familiar with the oracles of the prophet Balaam directly. Either way, they were not strangers to this particular oracle. As people who watched the skies, something like a star rising out of the west would have also been significant enough to catch their attention. And it must have been something because if they came via the established trade route from Babylon, it would have been an 800-mile journey.

The other main party in this story is Herod and the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem. First off, a few words about Herod. Herod was actually not Jewish. He was an Idumean, which was the Greek term for Edomite. Now, Edom was a nation that was on the southern border of Judah. Its descendents were from Esau, Jacob’s brother. The strife between these two brothers, which you’ll read about over the next week or so if you’re following the reading plan, starts to come back into focus here, even if it is in just a subtle way. Herod, a descendent of Esau, is being told that the king of the Jews, the descendents of Jacob, was born.

Herod was not known for treating threats to his thrown with kindness. Herod was placed as king of Judea by the Roman Emperor, which explains why he was king in Judea in spite of the fact that he wasn’t Jewish. Herod ruled firmly and ruthlessly. In order to keep his power, he murdered his own wife, several sons and other various relatives. He may have been called Herod the Great, but there wasn’t much about him that was great. He was known as a master builder. He oversaw numerous projects in the region, and he even restored the Temple. But let’s not forget, it wasn’t out of devotion to God that he did these things. He did them because they served his purposed in some way.

When Herod gets word from these wise men that the king of the Jews was born, he would have been listening very intently. Remember the oracle of Balaam that brought the wise men to the area? The one that said a star and scepter, items that represent kingship, would rise out of Israel and Jacob; the one that said Edom would be displaced? Well, guess who was sitting on the throne at the time – an Edomite. Herod hears that this oracle is coming to pass, and he is starting to get a little worried about his power. He wants to know where this threat to his reign is located because he wants to take care of it.

Did you notice Herod’s initial reaction? He was troubled, and all of Jerusalem with him; it says it right there in verse 3. Those in power, those who stood to lose the most, those who did not want things to change because they liked the way things were, were troubled. And you almost can’t blame Herod for being troubled. I mean, he’s not Jewish. He is king of the area because Rome made him king. But “all of Jerusalem”? They should have been rejoicing.

According to their understanding at the time, this meant that the Messiah was coming; this meant that Israel would return to its glory days; this meant that things were looking up for the Jewish people! But they were troubled. Because things were going good for them; because things were going their way; because they were the ones that were in charge. And that wouldn’t be the case once the Messiah came.

This hits a little too close to home sometimes, doesn’t it? There are times in our lives when we like the way things are going. We would prefer to just “keep on keepin’ on.” The status quo has worked for us for this long, so what’s the big deal? God wants to do something incredible in your life, but that means it is going to take some significant changes, and maybe even some significant sacrifices. What are you going to say? “Nah. I’m good. I like the way things are going right now; there’s no sense in messing that up.”

How many of us settle for mediocrity when God has something in store for us that is far better than anything we could have ever imagined? God was bringing things together that would bring about a huge change in the way the world looked. But they were troubled. We shouldn’t see people being troubled when good news is being proclaimed.

We should be seeing the people rejoice. The birth of the Son of God should have been news that was welcomed with open arms and cheerful hearts by the people of Israel. We should have seen the people traveling hundreds of miles, giving all they could, praising and worshiping God. But it’s not the Jewish people we see doing that; it’s the pagan wise men. These men who have no vested interest in the matter; these men who don’t even worship the God who is at work in the world; these men who are not direct descendents of Jacob; they are the ones who worship the Son of God.

I love what verse 10 says, and it stands in amazing contrast to the response of the Jewish leaders. It says, “When they saw the star [the star that had brought them all this way and finally brought them to the house of Mary and Joseph]; when they saw the star, they rejoiced.” Wait, that’s not all it said. “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly.” There, there’s better. No, wait, there’s more. “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

How many went to a New Year’s party last week? How many people saw 2009 off and welcomed 2010 in with a bang. I’m not going to ask you if you went crazy or anything like that, so stop worrying, but would you say that you rejoiced exceedingly with great joy? What about when the Cubs actually won a playoff series in 2003, or for those who like a real team, when the Cardinals won the Series in 2006? Did you rejoice exceedingly with great joy? Or when the Colts won the Super Bowl? Did you rejoice exceedingly with great joy? Do you do that every single time you stop and think about what it is that God has done for you? Do you do that when you stop to think about what God could do in our community with just a handful of people willing to reach out in His love?

These pagan kings worshiped the Son of God. They may not have worshiped the God of the Israelites; they probably worshiped their own gods, but they knew that there was something significant going on in this little boy. They knew that the world was going to be changed. They didn’t know how, but they knew something was up. They brought valuable gifts, gifts of incredible value, and the worshiped the Son of God.

Here’s another thing to think about as we look at this story too. What happens afterwards? We are told that the wise men were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod. They were more open to what God was telling them to do. We think that God only talks to those who are in some kind of special relationship with Him. But, I think, the only ones who hear God are those who are open to listening. The wise men were more open to the promptings of God. They heard God speak to them because they were willing. Herod’s response? Not so much.

We didn’t read about it today, but we have talked about it a little this week and a couple weeks ago. Herod realizes that they aren’t coming back and slaughters an entire town’s children. I think we could say that Herod was just as closed off as ever to what God was doing. And see, that’s our choice. Now, we may not go to the extremes of killing a bunch of toddlers, but we can be just as closed off to what God is doing. We can be just as destructive in trying to get things to go our own way. What God was doing was so huge that it was going to upset the established order. We can decide to let it happen and praise God in the midst of the confusion, or we can fight it. Who are you going to be like when God decides it is time to do something drastic your life? Are you going to fight it, or are you going to embrace it?