Interview with the magi, page 1: Christmas Series Part 12
For the next three days, I will post a rare interview with one of the magi who trekked to Bethlehem in search of the Christ Child. This document from antiquity has been passed down for millennia in my family. My many-times-removed, great, great, great, great, etc., forebear, Dorotheonea Fricknacius, was a young reporter for the Jerusalem Journal around the time of Christ. She, like Lydia in Paul’s day, was something of a novelty—a woman in the work world. Her journals show that she sensed the hand of God on her pen as she wrote, and she always cited Psalm 68:11, “The Lord gives the command; the women who proclaim the good tidings are a great host.”
She famously tracked down one of the magi from the East who had sought out, found, and worshiped the newborn Messiah. She changed the names involved to protect the innocent. Her ancient account will appear for the next three days in the First of All, Pray blog, starting with today.
Interview with Harar, magi from the East
By Dorotheonea Fricknacius, reporter for Jerusalem Journal
[Reporter’s note: Shortly after last year’s slaughter of male children aged two and younger in Bethlehem and its environs, I became increasingly concerned about what part, if any, the mysterious royal visitors from the East might have played in this devastation. Understanding that they were connected to a “child search”, I had to know if they had any influence on Herod’s subsequent all-out attack on the baby boys of Bethlehem and throughout Judea. My sources gave me several regions in which I might find some of the eastern kings and magi, so I set out two months ago in a caravan heading east. My first stop was to be in Moab, our neighbor to the east of the Dead Sea. Here my effort was immediately rewarded for there I met a man who was the spokesman for one of the magi whom I will call Harar. He was reposing in the region of Mizpah on his way to other business when I was granted an interview. I determined that if all went well, I would have no need to continue eastward in search of more magi. Fortunately, Harar told me everything I needed to know. I praise God; I do not relish camel rides.]
Harar: My servant tells me you come from Jerusalem to obtain an interview concerning my recent Judean visit. I must first ask, however: were you sent by Herod?
Journal: No, sir. I have come seeking Truth.
H: You, a native of Judea, come to me, a Gentile astronomer, to seek truth?
J: Yes, sir. Although my people are blessed with the Holy Scripture, it seems in this case that those further from the Truth in distance and blood have searched for it more diligently than many of us to whom it has been so graciously sent. I seek to learn of your purpose for visiting Bethlehem.
H: Are you speaking in reference to the Child?
J: Yes, sir. As you surely have heard, soon after you and your party departed Bethlehem, a slaughter of the innocents was ruthlessly carried out by decree of Herod.
H: So I have been told.
J: After the slayings, Herod implicated you and your fellow magi with planting a male child from the east into a household in Bethlehem. This child supposedly would one day overthrow Jerusalem and then give control of Israel to the kings of the east. With this story he defended the massacre.
H: Such lies will not prosper! So you have come for the Truth?
J: Yes, sir. I want to tell my people your story.
H: Quite the contrary, young lady. This story belongs to the Jews. The fact that they are largely unaware of it makes it no less theirs. My fellow magi and I were merely appointed by Providence to play a small role, and now our lives will never be the same. Oh, that Israel would have recognized the dawn of her visitation!
To be continued tomorrow…
© 2015, Dorothy Frick
(The preceding has been fictionalized.)
Read MoreShepherds: Christmas Series Part 11
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. Luke 2:8
Working men—shepherds—were out in the field, doing what they had done all their lives—working their trade. It was to such hardworking laborers that the heavenly announcement came.
In our day, perhaps the good tidings of great joy would have been announced to cops on the beat or to paramedics on a run. Perhaps linemen repairing fallen wires or retail associates arriving early to the store would be the recipients of the big announcement. Maybe some Denny’s servers or cooks on their break during the overnight shift would receive the angelic proclamation.
To be sure, wise men, with their learned calculations and studious research, would find their way to the newborn King, but God made certain that common “blue collar” laborers of the day were given a VIP invitation straight from Heaven itself.
What was it about these shepherds that merited such an angelic visitation? Had they proven that they possessed impeccable knowledge of Scripture? Had they demonstrated profound spiritual proclivities? Were they skilled in ascertaining the move of the Spirit? Had they ever been established as reliable prophetic voices? No, no, no, and no. Why, then, would God condescend to send His angels to them?
Sometimes when I hear of pedigrees and qualifications bandied about in the Church as to why God will speak to some in our time but not others, I wonder if we really understand the Lord at all.
“From God our heavenly Father
A blessed angel came;
And unto certain shepherds
Brought tiding of the same;
How that in Bethlehem was born
The Son of God by name.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy,
O tidings of comfort and joy!” (First published in 1760; author unknown.)
God knew what He was doing when He sent the angelic host to that certain band of shepherds who were abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. God hit the bull’s-eye by choosing rough, common folk to receive angelic revelation. He was setting the stage for the proper functioning of His Church way back in the infancy of His Son’s earth life. He was revealing with every detail of the nativity what really mattered to Him; He was revealing the invaluable estimation He placed on every soul.
“God rest ye merry, gentlemen,
Let nothing you dismay,
Remember Christ our Savior
Was born on Christmas Day;
To save us all from Satan’s power
When we were gone astray.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy,
O tidings of comfort and joy!”
Despair, oppression, and immovable restrictions upon individual lives were lifted when souls came to faith in Christ. No longer were men and women held in bondage to the stifling limitations imposed upon them by governments or religion. Certainly, not everyone opened up to the freedom that came through faith in Christ. As a result, outward opposition to such liberty still existed, yet those who found rest and rebirth in Him experienced a freedom that defied the oppression of man—and it liberated them from the power of the devil.
Indeed, the message proclaimed to the shepherds was wondrous and utterly inclusive: Unto you is born this day a Savior. Unto you—no matter how insignificant you may think you are—has come a Deliverer. You have been chosen to be recipient of God’s greatest gift to the earth—His Son Jesus Christ.
What a comfort! What a joy!
Dorothy
© 2015, Dorothy Frick
Read MoreNo room: Christmas Series Part 10
While they were [in Bethlehem], the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:6-7
Have your plans ever fallen through? Can you imagine going into labor or assisting someone else who was about to give birth yet not being able to find clean, comfortable facilities?
This was the situation in which Mary and Joseph found themselves. Bethlehem was packed with census travelers and the inn was flat-out filled up. No vacancy. No room. Not even a corner.
I don’t know—but if I had been Mary, I might have battled with indignation and outrage. Don’t they know who I’m carrying? The angel visited me. I’m blessed above all women. Let me see the manager right now!
But nowhere in the Scripture is there any indication that Mary thought any of these things. Instead, she and Joseph, led by Providence under the light of a lone, majestic star, humbly allowed themselves to be reassigned to a hillside cave, of sorts—some kind of shelter for livestock. There they had a semblance of privacy; there the Lord of lords was born under the oversight of mildly interested cows and sheep quietly munching hay, shifting their weight and nosing in for a closer look.
Have you ever felt that there was no room for you, your talents, your skills, your insight, or your gift? You’re in good company. The Lord entered life this very way. In fact, few people paid any attention to Him at all that first Christmas. To be sure, had Mary and Joseph been shown to the penthouse suite with the best view of Bethlehem, fussed over by servants and served the best food money could buy, the story of Christmas might have been a source of great pride for some, but it never would have manifested the simple dignity of humility—the essence of God becoming Man.
By design, God entered the earth as Man in humble obscurity. His destiny had nothing at all to do with the trappings of human power or success. His destiny was to lift up the meek and to bring down the mighty—by leading each to repentance, cleansing them by His shed blood, and creating within each one a new heart.
The question of Christmas is not: Is anyone making room for me? No; the question each of us must ask this Christmas and throughout our lives is: Have I made room for Jesus? Am I giving Him full reign of the facilities of my heart? Or am I insisting on keeping certain rooms in my life for myself? These may be uncomfortable questions to consider, but they are of eternal significance to the course and destiny of your life.
The good news is this: whoever you are, you were created with a permanent vacancy in your heart that can only be filled by the Lord Jesus. He says to each one of us, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).
Welcoming the Son of God into the vacancy of your heart will change your life. And as you grant Him not only room but also free reign of your life, you will be transformed to be more and more like Him (see 2 Corinthians 3:18).
Joy to the world! The Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing. (By Isaac Watts, 1719.)
No longer ask, Will there ever be room for me? But determine this above all other concerns: I give my life to make room for You—have Your way in me.
Lord Jesus, there is room in me for You.
Dorothy
© 2015, Dorothy Frick
Read MoreO Little Town of Bethlehem: Christmas Series Part 9
“O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by.” (By Phillips Brookes, 1868)
I’ve never been to Bethlehem, but I’ve often visited it in my imagination. I envision it that sleepy night, loaded with weary travelers slumbering in inns and along the roadside, oblivious to the moment in time of which they were a part, suspended forever in history.
Upon a hillside in a cave that sheltered livestock, a young woman was giving birth. I picture her new husband looking on anxiously as he nervously assisted a kind stranger lady who had some skill in midwifery. While others slept dreamlessly, a Child was born who was destined to save them from their sin.
As he gazed at the newborn Infant, the husband mulled over the words the angel had told him not too long ago. “…the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit…He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).
High above the dark streets shone a magnificent star, rivaled in brightness only by the Light of the world now sleeping on the young mother’s breast.
“Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.”
In not too many days, an old prophet named Simeon would declare to the young woman, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed—and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34b-35).
From the little town of Bethlehem would arise One in whom the hopes and fears of all the years would intersect—hope for all those helplessly lost in darkness yet longing for forgiveness, cleansing, peace, and purpose. Such souls clung to the hope of His appearing.
But as Simeon would soon predict, the life of this little One of Bethlehem would also be a sign to be opposed—indeed, stirring the fears of those who dreaded His appearing. Yes, He would break off the shackles of fear from the lives of many, but some, of whom Simeon would soon refer, “loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed” (see John 3:20-21).
Despite those who would refuse to believe, God gave His only begotten Son into the earth as the ultimate gift.
“How silently, how silently,
The wondrous Gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.”
The free gift of God arrived with little fanfare; only the woman and her husband—and whoever might have been helping—witnessed the birth of the Redeemer. A small band of shepherds would also arrive a short time after the birth to behold the Infant proclaimed to them by the angel of the Lord.
“No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
The dear Christ enters in.”
Without much fanfare, men and women, boys and girls have encountered Him in moments of quiet desperation, moments of confusion, storm, or turmoil. And as meek souls join those who have gone before by receiving Him still, the dear Christ enters in…and lives of desperation transform into lives of dedication and delight.
What a truly wondrous Gift God has given!
Dorothy
© 2015, Dorothy Frick
Read MoreBethlehem: Christmas Series Part 8
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting. Micah 5:2
Tiny Bethlehem, just south of Jerusalem, has witnessed a mighty flow of history. Rachel died there and was buried by the wayside (see Genesis 48:7). Just east of there, Ruth gleaned the fields and met Boaz who, marrying her, would tie her into the Messiah’s direct genealogy. The psalmist David was born there, and as a teen he was anointed there as king by the prophet Samuel (see 1 Samuel 16:4-13). There three of David’s mighty men risked their lives to get him a drink of water from the well when he was being fiercely pursued by Saul (see 2 Samuel 23:13-17).
But above all other cities and every other notable event, Bethlehem stands alone—shining forever as a beacon in history—as the birthplace of Him whose goings forth were from old, from everlasting.
Micah, the prophet who foretold that Bethlehem would be the origin of the One who would be Ruler in Israel, lived about 700 to 750 years before the birth of Christ.
This Ruler would be One whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting. The people of God anticipated this Ruler; they knew He would be Someone very special; but here Micah declared that He would be from old and from everlasting. He was yet to be born, yet He was from before the days of antiquity. The thought boggled the mind.
Who could have been alive from everlasting except the Ancient of Days Himself?
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.…And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1-2; 14
He—the One who would be Ruler in Israel—is also the One who was in the beginning with God and who was the Word of God—and who was God—yesterday, today, and forever. He became flesh, was conceived within the womb of a virgin, and entered the human race to dwell among us.
In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. John 1:4-5
At the right time, in tiny Bethlehem, was born the Word of God. He came to be Ruler in Israel; He came from everlasting into time and space. He came to those dwelling in darkness; in Him was life and His life was the Light of men.
He beckons to all—to the Jew first and also to the Gentile (see Romans 1:16)—calling to men and women throughout history and from all ends of the earth—I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life (John 8:12). Many have come to His light—the Light that was born long ago in the tiny town of Bethlehem.
His light still shines in darkness, and try as it might, the darkness has never been able to comprehend it. But to as many as receive Him, believing in His name, to them He gives the right to become sons and daughters of God (see John 1:12).
May the Light of life, born in Bethlehem, enlighten your path and shine through your heart and life as you trust wholeheartedly in Him.
Dorothy
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting. Micah 5:2
© 2015, Dorothy Frick
Read MoreThe government: Christmas Series Part 7
Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth…And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David. Luke 2:1, 3-4
…and the government will rest on His shoulders… Isaiah 9:6b
God’s big, sweeping plan to redeem mankind from the grip and tyranny of sin was ordained before the foundation of the world. As part of that plan, He also designed smaller sub-plans laced with prophetic and intricate details to bring clarity, precision, and confirmation to His greater plan. And as His plan unfolded, most of the individuals involved were utterly unaware that they personally played a specific role in its fulfillment.
Take Caesar Augustus, for instance. Caesar’s own records (“The Deeds of the Divine Augustus”, see http://classics.mit.edu/Augustus/deeds.html, #8) reveal that he conducted three censuses during his reign. They were held in roughly twenty-year cycles, and the census that summoned Joseph to Bethlehem when Mary was pregnant with Jesus was likely the second of the three. Caesar Augustus—the self-proclaimed “divine Augustus”—was merely a mortal chess-piece played by the wisdom and hand of the one true God to fulfill His predetermined purpose. Whereas Augustus took great pride in amassing boundless wealth for his administration through taxes collected in the census, God used this empire-building monarch’s hunger for ever-increasing power to get Mary and Joseph to the right place at the right time.
Know this: There is no power or throne established by the hand of man or angel that supersedes the power and authority of our God and His Christ. Neither Caesar, nor Pilate, nor Herod, nor Nero, nor Lenin, nor Hitler, nor governments present nor governments to come can override the rule and the plan of God.
Don’t be surprised if the heathen rage (see Psalm 2:1). Don’t be shaken if you see the “nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing. The kings of the earth” may indeed “take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!’” (See Psalm 2:1-3). The fact is that your God is aware of it all and He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them (Psalm 2:4).
The God who used the governmental drive of Caesar Augustus to get His handmaiden and her fiancé to Bethlehem for the birth of the Christ child is not moved by regulations, laws, decrees, or even lawless acts of the governmental leaders in our day. He sees the end from the beginning and His purpose will be established; He will accomplish all His good pleasure (see Isaiah 46:10).
Knowing this—that God is sovereign and His purpose will not be thwarted—how then should you live?
- Connected: More than anything else, you are to maintain your vital and intimate connection to the Lord. Though the mountains are shaken and the hills tumble down, His steadfast love will never leave you (see Isaiah 54:10). As you praise Him and give thanks throughout your days, you will be nurturing that vital, unshakable connection with Him.
- Confidently: You have entered an unbreakable covenant with the Child of Bethlehem, Jesus Christ, through the blood He shed on the cross. He will neither leave you nor forsake you. You are called to walk with confidence in Him, knowing that He who has begun a good work in you will see it through to completion (see Philippians 1:6).
- Circumspectly: You also are called to walk with vigilance and watchfulness. To walk circumspectly, you shun the things designed to hinder or halt your connection with the Lord. You listen carefully to Him and let Him lead you through your day as you watchfully pray about the people and situations He places on your heart.
- Compassionately: You are a carrier of the One who laid down His life for the world. Wherever you go, His compassion is upon you and within you. Led by His compassion, directed by His Spirit, and filled with His Word, you are a light shining in a dark place. He is able to move upon situations and people as you yield to His compassion within you.
Caesar Augustus was subject to the plan of God unawares. And despite the rumblings within governmental proceedings of our day, no purpose of God can be thwarted. You, as one who has opened your heart to the Highest Authority in the universe, can be confident in your God as you live out your days. You were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord. No one—neither man nor government nor devil—can stop you from walking as a child of the Light.
Be confident and be bold this Christmas season…and forever! It is your birthright in the Lord.
Dorothy
…if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36
© 2015, Dorothy Frick
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