Day Nineteen: A Careful Search

Read Matthew 2:1-10

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a]from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’[b]”

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the "house of bread,"* in Judea (meaning "He shall be praised"**) during the time of King Herod.  King Herod was from a long line of Herod's whose names all meant "heroic."***  A hero is someone you look up to, someone you want to be like.  

If only he had lived up to his name.

Magi came from the east to Jerusalem asking "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?"  Interesting that they knew He had been born but didn't know where he was at this point.  "We saw His star in the east and have come to worship him."

This greatly disturbed the hero, King Herod, and upset the whole city.  What?  Another king has been born?  Herod had to find out who and where this so-called king was so he called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of the law to get some answers.  When he learned the prophet Micah foretold that a ruler would come out of Bethlehem to shepherd the people Israel, Herod called a secret meeting of the Magi.  He asked them the exact time the star had appeared and then sent them to Bethlehem saying, "Go and make a careful search for the child.  As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

Proverbs 21:27 says, "the sacrifice of the wicked is detestable - how much more so when brought with evil intent!"  The hero of the day 'said' he would go and worship this newborn king, but what was his motive?  

A true hero isn't threatened by one.  

I Chronicles 28:9 says, "the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.  If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever."

"After they heard the king, they (the Magi) went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was (even creation points man to God).  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with EXCEEDING great joy!!

Have you seen the starlit sky lately?  When was the last time you literally looked up into the heavens and beheld the glory of God in the night sky?  For many of us, social media has replaced the celestial moonlight.  We may even rise before dawn but often we run straight to our mobile device or iPad, or laptop to see who's sent a text or who's posted a comment or tweet that we missed while asleep.  Modern media is the new American idol and we wonder why we've lost our joy.  "When they saw the star," the star that led them to the bright Morning Star (Revelation 22:16), "they rejoiced with great joy!"

And isn't it something that they rejoiced when they saw the star?  They hadn't even seen the Christ child yet.  They rejoiced at the sign...the step toward what God said...the step in the direction of His will...even BEFORE they laid their eyes on Him!!!

Are you making a careful search for Him today?  He can be found.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you."  (Matthew 7:7)

*Greek Strong's #965, **Greek Strong's #2449, ***Greek Strong's #2264