Thursday 27 Dec 2012

Thursday Reading: Matthew 2:7-18

Key Verse: Matthew 2:12
12  And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

Devotion:
There is always someone behind the scenes trying to get their own way and trying to make the most out of any situation and Herod was no exception to the rule at this time! He must have had a few too many sleepless nights thinking that the people were going to turn against him because they were very religious and he was in the most precarious position. Think about it for a while. He was supposedly in charge, but he must have already been feeling a bit unsure of his position because he wanted to know all about this Messiah that the religious crowd were talking about.

He must have also seen a change in the religious leaders at this time as they got to be a bit worried that they would lose their own positions as well. So the last thing he wanted was to give in and allow things to run their own course. Here on in he jumped at the chance to try and make things work according to the law of Herod instead of God’s way. What Herod did not know was that God would allow him to get his own way for a while because that was exactly what had been told to the world previously by the prophets.

Another thing he did not count on was that even though the Messiah was a little child, God the Father was making sure that everything continued to happen in exactly the right ways. This is when we begin to see just how awesome our God actually is by making sure that the baby was protected before the king could get anywhere close to Him. Just because Jesus was coming to be born as a human baby did not mean that He was in any danger of things not happening according to God’s plan.

When God had made sure that Herod was out of the picture and that Christ would no longer be in any danger from him, God sent the message back to Joseph and Mary to bring the child back so that He could be brought up in amongst the Jewish people and not in a foreign land. Once again, God making sure that things happen in the right place and at the right time – we just have to learn what God plan is and when His time is. And if we get worried about not knowing things we need to take a step forward and trust God!

Points to Ponder:
Do you try to push God into your own ways?

Do you think God will allow you to get away with things?