God's Voice That First Christmas

I have been meditating on God's wonderful voice that surrounded the first Christmas - think about it - all these people heard God's voice in supernatural ways (mostly through angelic visitations).

I can't think of any time in history when there was this amount of angelic visitation surrounding an event. I can't recall any other time when God spoke quite so dramatically and as often as this, to so many different people. I have tried to list these events in chronological order:

Lu. 1:8-25 Zacharias (a priest who ministered in the presence of God) had a visitation from the angel Gabriel who stands in the presence of God. Gabriel told him he would have a son and that he would remain mute until the child was born. Zacharias obeyed the Lord and called his son John.

Lu. 1:26-38 Mary (a simple Godly young woman who was favored by the Lord) had a visitation from the angel Gabriel who told her she would conceive and give birth to Jesus - she yielded to God's word and obeyed 

Matt. 1:20-24 Joseph (a simple carpenter) had an angelic visitation in a dream - the angel carried the message of God that Joseph should make Mary his wife and that she would have a child - Jesus. Joseph obeyed everything that he was told to do.

Matt. 2:1-12 Wise men from the east (educated men) heard God's voice through signs in the stars, through the prophets, and in a dream. The wise men obeyed everything the Lord directed them to do and say.

Lu. 2:8-20 Shepherds (simple working men) had a visit from and angel and a short time later from a whole host of angels who praised God. The shepherds obeyed the call to visit Jesus in Bethlehem

Matt. 2:13- 14 Joseph had a visit from an angel in a dream. The angel gave specific instructions that Joseph should take Mary and Jesus to Egypt because Herod was seeking to kill him. Joseph obeyed everything that he was told to do.

Matt. 2:19-21 Joseph had another visitation from an Angel in a dream telling him to take his family back to Israel. Joseph obeyed everything the angel told him to do.

Matt. 2:22-23 Joseph was spoken to by God in a dream and given instructions to go and live in Nazareth. He obeyed what the Lord told him to do.

Each of these people heard God's voice in a way that was specific to them - how they would best be able to hear and be impacted by God's message of hope. The Lord designed each visitation of His voice in a way that best suited these listeners. For example, God showed Himself to the wise men through the signs they were used to seeing and interpreting. I can imagine that the Shepherds were hardened men who needed some sort of dramatic display in order to believe it was really the voice of God, so the Lord showed up very dramatically with a choir of angels.

There is no indication that any of these people had heard God's voice like this before, and yet each one immediately obeyed what the Lord was saying.

Let us turn our ears to God's voice this Christmas - let us be open to hearing what He has to say. He is our Emmanuel - God who is always with us! He spoke when Jesus was conceived and born - He is still speaking today and his grace is renewed in our hearts. He is able to speak to each of us in a way that has the greatest ability to impact our lives - I love Him for that!!

Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh 1

The Wise Men travelled a great distance to greet the Savior in Bethlehem. They presented gifts to Mary, Joseph and Jesus: gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Over the next few days I will post a few thoughts about each of these gifts.

Gold

Matthew 2:11

And when they had come into the house,

they saw the young Child with Mary His mother,

and fell down and worshiped Him.

And when they had opened their treasures,

they presented gifts to Him:

gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Gold was very valuable in Biblical times – just as it is today. To find gold you have to dig underground. This was very difficult back in Bible times because they didn’t have the tools and machinery as we do today. God digs deep into our hearts to find the gold that comes from the testing of our faith:

-Job 23:10 But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold;

-1Pet. 1:7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 

Frankincense and Myrrh grow as a plant form; Gold is formed by God and found in the earth and streams. In the same way, the Lord forms gold in the core of our beings - gold that represents the spiritual victories and excellence of Christ that we walk in day by day.

Gold has always been a means of exchange…something that for Mary & Joseph would come in handy as they would soon travel to Egypt and would need food, clothing and shelter. The Lord asks us to exchange impurities in our hearts and lives for the gold of His Divine nature.

Symbolically Gold represents Jesus as our Divine king. It also represents the purification process we go through in our trials as a Christian.

Gold is one of the only metals that when heated with fire will not lose anything of it’s nature, weight, color, or any other property. Gold is totally resistant to corrosion. Genuine faith is the same way. When we obtain true faith, it is made stronger through trials and suffering. Gold is used in scripture when talking about the strength of someone’s faith. Job refers to gold after he has been through all his trials. (Job 23:10)

It is interesting to me that the final verse in the Bible about Gold tells us that we will spend eternity in a place where gold is so plentiful - even the streets will be made of some form of pure transparent gold (Rev. 21:21)

Part Two: HERE

Translation from Diana Rodriguez on Twitter - @dianarodriguez

Cuando el oro es pasado por el fuego, no perderá nada de su naturaleza: ni su peso, ni su color, ni ninguna otra propiedad. Con la fe pasa lo mismo.



More Christmas material (Bethlehem): Here and Here