We three kings... the real story?

We three kings. I love the carol sung by the choirs just now. But here are some historical realities that add to the story.

There was probably a caravan of magicians travelling to find the babe-- not only 3 wise men. It was probably up to 3 years after the birth of the baby. Do the dates matter? Not at all to me.

The story is the lesson.

Gentile kings (leaders/ mayors/ magicians) came to find the baby. They followed a star. A comet? To me-- irrelevant. Here's the story. Gentiles from Iran/Iraq saw something in the sky that indicated a king was coming/ born in Israel. They probably had been taught about this over several generations from the information that either Queen Esther or Daniel the Prophet had deposited previously. Who is the king who is coming? Where is he? They believed he was the messiah, but beyond that, they were not sure.

They didn't know, but they followed the star. The star stopped 'above' the child. According to the biblical record, they travelled to Jerusalem. After all, kings should be born in a capital city. Not Galilee or Gaza. But also not Oslo or Salt Lake City. They came to Jerusalem. (Matthew 2.1) They brought him presents of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Takeaway: if Gentiles from Mesopotamia can believe in a Jewish king and travel to Israel to worship him, then maybe we Jews from Israel, New York, Sydney, Jo'burg, and anywhere else can stop to listen and discover if this Yeshua (Jesus) is actually of note. And is he to be worshipped? And is he our Messiah? Stop. Look. Sh'ma.

The actual story as recorded in the Bible:  "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ² “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” ³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written ¹by the prophet:

⁶  ‘^aAND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, 

ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; 

FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER 

WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’” [quote from Micah chapter 5 in the Older Testament]

Matt. 2:7   Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” ⁹ After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹ After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshipped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way." (recorded in the biography written by Matthew, chapter 2, verses 1-12.

Do you hear what I hear?

Fascinating?

by Bob Mendelsohn
I'm writing this blog in the air. Not in my back yard overlooking the creek. Not from a high-rise building. But from 36,000 feet, on a United Airlines jet plane. I plugged my computer into the power point, strengthening the battery for the long haul 13-hour flight, signed up for the Wi-Fi service, and began working as if I were in the office in Sydney. Only I was sitting in seat 33 and not standing at our work stations in Bondi. Otherwise, it felt the same. Answering emails, uploading photos to Flickr and to our Social Media calendar for the weeks ahead, And sending this blog to the blogosphere....it all seemed so ordinary. BUT IT'S NOT ORDINARY! When you think about it, it's fascinating. 350 other people are with me, flying at 800-1000 kph, across the Pacific Ocean, and I'm typing like I'm sitting in an office back home. You couldn't even get normal people 50 years ago to 'get it' about this one, could you?

Other things fascinate me, like watching magicians perform publicly, and trying to figure out how they do that! This defensive ball of an armadillo amazes me as does watching fairly drunk men in a pub throw very sharp darts at a little circular cork board. Standard height from the floor to the bullseye on the dartboard is 5 feet 8 inches, while the oche (distance between the front of the board and the toeline) should measure 7 feet 9.25 inches. How do they even see the dart board, much less hit it and calculate backwards from 501 to gain dart game supremacy? Fascinating.

What fascinates you? What intrigues you? What grabs your attention?

A Jewish man 3,000 years ago wrote some fascinations he had in Proverbs chapter 30. "There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Four which I do not understand:
The way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship in the middle of the sea, and the way of a man with a maid." (verses 18-19)

I like Agur the son of Jakeh who penned those words. I too am fascinated by so many things, including how I'm able to stay up here in the air, or an eagle can do that, how a ship below can make it over the course of weeks, and that whole man/ woman curiosity. I get it. I mean, I don't get it. Which is what fascinates me.

Two days before Christmas, just as I was readying to exit for a somewhat lengthy holiday, our office received an email from a Jewish man out west. His language and tone were such that I had to answer it and enquire about his religious journey. When the next day he and I spoke on the phone and he prayed to receive Jesus as his Messiah and Lord, I was again fascinated (or as Aussies usually say, gobsmacked). Why does it take 20 hours for some and 20 years for others. My grandmother heard me testify about Yeshua in 1971 when I got saved, but it wasn't until 1991 when she gave her life to Him. What it is that gives us opportunity after opportunity to witness of God's love to some, and others won't even give us a chance to speak for a moment? It's God's plans, and God's sovereignty. And we rest in that. And we rest in Him.

Stop to ponder something just now which is full of wonder. Something which is 'beyond' the normal of your life.
The Hebrew word is להקסים (L'haksim) which carries alternate meanings of "intrigue , matter to , interest ; transfix , grip , spellbind , interest ; capture , enamour , trance , catch , becharm , enamor , captivate , beguile , charm , bewitch , entrance , enchant , attract , appeal... Definitely not the normal.

I appreciate the Christians of the Great Southland of the Holy Spirit. I moved to Australia in 1998 and although we had very very little by way of support, the believers here have not only taken our mission on board as worthy of support, but they also come to buy products at the shop (or order online), volunteer with us, send money monthly or once in a while... it's amazing, it's fascinating. God nods to us through you, and we are grateful.

Let God captivate you the rest of January and the rest of the year with His love and surprises.