The Wise Men Visit Jesus-Part 2

A military escort would undoubtedly have met his sizable caravan of visitors at the outskirts of the city and brought them to Herod. Herod was extremely paranoid about losing his position and authority. As rumors fly, he is fearful that the birth of a baby said to be the long awaited king is a direct threat to him. His inquiries about the baby's location are thinly disguised attempts to launch a concerted campaign to kill the baby Jesus just as he had done with several wives and sons whom he believed threatened his throne.

The trip from Babylon to Jerusalem and on to Bethlehem, some 1700 miles could have taken several months. A day's travel in antiquity would have been about 17 miles. When Herod calculates the age of the Child based on the time when the Magi first saw the star, he orders the death of every male child 2 years old.

Two warnings from God find their mark: The Magi are warned to return home by an alternate route than the one first planned, and Joseph is warned in a dream to flee to Egypt and stay there until the death of Herod.

Two teenagers and a new born infant are forced to flee to a strange land without the means to support their family. Was the gold brought to them by the Magi simply a happy coincidence or was an all knowing God aware 600 years prior, a financial need would be critical for the young couple as they fled abroad?

The Magi bring gifts for the Christ Child. Gold signifying royalty (the means for Mary, Joseph, and Jesus' flight to Egypt. They stayed up to two years until Herod's death). Frankincense signifying deity. Myrrh signifying death (used myrrh for embalming). (From:When the Good News Gets Even Better)

Hope you all have had a very Merry Christmas. I was going to post a Thursday Thankful when I remembered I had not posted part 2 of the wise men. For some reason I just felt this was the thing to do. Not that I don't have a million things to be thankful for - I do. I'm trying to follow my heart a little more than my head (for me those two fight all the time). Well, the heart won tonight.