I find several lessons for me as I read these familiar words. Think with me ...
1. Joseph ... righteous Joseph ... did you notice how long it took him to decide to respond to what the Lord had said? He did not argue ... he did not give God a different plan that would suit him better ... he did not complain that it was too hard, too much to ask of him. He just got up, collected his little family, and left for Egypt. I am touched by the beauty of his pure obedience. I want to be more like that. God speaks to us all the time through His Word ... and sometimes I justify and argue my way right out of obedience. Not Joseph. I don't think God has spoken to me through a dream ... if He has, I missed it! Obedience ... it matters.
2. Meanwhile, back to King Herod. He was so infuriated that the Magi had tricked him. So he took out his rage and madness on innocent victims. Some scholars question the reality of this massacre because there is no record of it in historical writing outside of the Bible. However, consider that Bethlehem was a small town ... a town of no importance in the mighty Roman Empire. Most estimates I have read say that there may have been somewhere between 20 to 30 little boys 2 years old and under killed by madman Herod. So on a world scale ... genocides of much greater magnitude take place in our world today and have throughout history. I am not surprised that the death of 20+ babies in a little obscure town in an occupied, unimportant, backwater country in the Roman Empire did not make an historical splash.
It is dangerous to outwit an all-powerful, ego maniacal king. I wonder if the Magi knew what had happened? I wonder if Mary and Joseph knew what had happened? O the sadness ... the grief ... the loss. My heart breaks for those moms and dads who lost innocent, precious little ones that day to satiate the power of a mad monarch. Whether there were few or many ... if one was yours, there was wailing and grief the depths of which only you who have lost children can possibly understand. But think about the moms and dads around our world throughout history who have been forced to bear the same tragedy! It blows our minds. Jesus will later tell his followers, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." William Barclay translates that 'beatitude' with these words:
O the bliss of those whose hearts are broken for the world's suffering and for their own sin, for out of their sorrow they will find the joy of God.
3. After Herod died, God told Joseph it was safe to take his family back to Israel. So Joseph packs up and heads home ... but not to Bethlehem, to Nazareth. Nazareth is in the northern part of the country. It is green, surrounded by hills and quite beautiful. Joseph settles his family there, and, perhaps, they enjoyed some years of just ordinary living ... raising children ... training them in Jewish life and law ... and teaching them the family trade.
When I taught school some years ago, I remember the continual barrage of "This is boring!" that assaulted me periodically. I told them that one day they would be grateful for ordinary days - no drama, no crises. They vehemently disagreed! But ordinary can be so good ... and I wonder if Joseph and Mary had some 'ordinary' years together in Nazareth. I hope so. And I hope you are in a season of 'ordinary' in your life right now!
Matthew does not give us any glimpses into the childhood of Jesus. But we learn from Luke that "the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him." (Luke 2:40) We also learn in Luke that Jesus had the opportunity to be taken to the Temple in Jerusalem when he was 12. That experience is recorded for us in Luke 2: 41 - 51. Jesus' childhood is summed up with these words from Luke 2:52:
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.Parents, that's our task - to help our children grow - in what areas?
In wisdom (that requires God's word)
In stature (that requires attention to physical health)
In favor with God (that requires learning love for and submission to God)
In favor with men (that requires social skills and consideration for others)
Lord, help us as parents to grow our children in these ways. Give us strength when we grow weary. Give us wisdom to focus on the important and not the trivial. Give us patience to train well. Give us your love to spread all over our children.
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