On the third day of Christmas my True Love gave to me, three gifts from wisemen, two speaking prophets, and a great big herd of bleating, dumb sheep.
One of my favorite songs from our church's cantata was "We Will Find Him" . Of course, I love most pieces done by an all men's group, but I was thrilled even more when I looked in the book today and saw this was written by Michael Card (one of my many favorite music authors). Every time our men's group sang this song, I could close my eyes and envision a music video playing out the lyrics. The following video doesn't portray everything my imagination does when I hear the song, but it's very similar.
I was always taught that according to Matthew 2, the Christ child was no longer in the stable when the wisemen found him (it says he was found in a house). Others say based on Herod's order to kill all the baby boys 2 and under, it's possible that Jesus was at least a year old before they found the child.
Can you imagine searching for someone you didn't know, all because of ancient writings and star formations? Can you imagine their frustration at their discussion with Herod and finding his ignorance and such an important event? What kind of wise ruler would have to call all his scholars and counselors, to find out a prophecy that any scholar should know? And not only was he ignorant, but unaware of the event!
How much money did they spend on their journey? Was it a mere pittance or their life's savings? Was this the journey of a lifetime, or just another academic research trip? And how did their life change after the journey?
We always assume it was only three men because of the three gifts, but I often picture this as a caravan of scholars and priests. And we'll save the symbolism of their gifts for Easter, but I am always intrigued by this whole aspect of the Christmas story: the three wisemen, or three gifts brought by a group of wise men. Hence, our third day of Christmas.
One of my favorite songs from our church's cantata was "We Will Find Him" . Of course, I love most pieces done by an all men's group, but I was thrilled even more when I looked in the book today and saw this was written by Michael Card (one of my many favorite music authors). Every time our men's group sang this song, I could close my eyes and envision a music video playing out the lyrics. The following video doesn't portray everything my imagination does when I hear the song, but it's very similar.
I was always taught that according to Matthew 2, the Christ child was no longer in the stable when the wisemen found him (it says he was found in a house). Others say based on Herod's order to kill all the baby boys 2 and under, it's possible that Jesus was at least a year old before they found the child.
Can you imagine searching for someone you didn't know, all because of ancient writings and star formations? Can you imagine their frustration at their discussion with Herod and finding his ignorance and such an important event? What kind of wise ruler would have to call all his scholars and counselors, to find out a prophecy that any scholar should know? And not only was he ignorant, but unaware of the event!
How much money did they spend on their journey? Was it a mere pittance or their life's savings? Was this the journey of a lifetime, or just another academic research trip? And how did their life change after the journey?
We always assume it was only three men because of the three gifts, but I often picture this as a caravan of scholars and priests. And we'll save the symbolism of their gifts for Easter, but I am always intrigued by this whole aspect of the Christmas story: the three wisemen, or three gifts brought by a group of wise men. Hence, our third day of Christmas.
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