December 20th

No Presence

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.' Matthew 2:13

Maybe you've read the story of the wise men visiting baby Jesus dozens of times. But this time, consider Herod's point of view.

When I was a kid, my parents would threaten me with no presents to keep me in line. No presents? That's the scariest thought for kids. Yet, much more than a threat or a thought, it became a reality for Herod and all of Jerusalem. No Presence.

Jerusalem is only about five miles away from where the Presence of the newborn King came into the world. And yet, they missed it. We need to find out why so that we don't also miss it and end up spending Christmas with no Presence.

We can see from the circumstances in Herod's life that God was desperately attempting to get his attention. First of all, many historians, both secular and Christian, have traced what's been written about King Herod and believe that he was sick, physically sick, as this particular event recorded in Matthew 2 was unfolding.

Secondly, God used the same external sign for Herod that He did for the wise men. There was a star in the heavens that all of a sudden appeared. I think Herod had to wonder where it had come from and why it was there. God was trying to get the world's attention. It didn't work for Herod.

Thirdly, there was this emotional thing going on with Herod. These wise men showed up from the Orient and asked, Hey, do you happen to know where this King of the Jews has been born? That was Herod's title! That was what he was supposed to provide for Rome. He was king over the Jews. That had to have brought up all sorts of emotions from anger to pride to jealousy.

God disrupted things so that He could break through in Herod's life, but it didn't work. Herod ran to religion in search of the truth, but it didn't bring him to Christ. And he remained one with no Presence as a result.

God is trying to speak to you today; are you listening? Don't spend this Christmas with no Presence.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for giving me Your Word so that I can learn from Herod's mistakes. Thank You even more that I can experience Your presence this Christmas! I am listening, and I worship You.

Amen