THE KING’S BUSINESS
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Advent of the Messiah (Christmas Lesson.) DECEMBER 23, 1917. LESSON XII. Matt. 2:1-12. (Memorize vs. 1, 2). G olden T ext : “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”“—Luke 2:11. DAILY BIBLE READINGS Mon., December 17—Matt. 2:1-12. (The Lesson).
Tues., December 18—Matt. 2:13-23. Wed., December 19—Luke 2:1-14. Thurs., December 20—Luke 1:67-79. Fri., December 21—Gal. 4:1-7.
Sat., December 22—Heb. 2:1-9. \ Sun., December 23—Heb. 2:10-18. EXPOSITION AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
vs. 1, 2. " Now when Jesus was horn in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came.(omit, there came) wise men from the east (add, came) to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is horn King of the Jews? for we have seen {saw) his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” The certainty ■and exact and verbal accuracy of the statements contained in God’s Word come out conclusively in this passage. Seven hundred years before Micah had prophe sied that He Who was “to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” was to “come forth” out of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). But the woman whom God had chosen to be the mother of Jesus the Christ did not live in Bethlehem but in far away Naza- ret. How then could the prophecy come true ? In this way, men who were.utterly unconscious of God’s purposes and God’s prophecies, by their many decrees and in many ways worked together so that Mary was brought to Bethlehem at the exact time of our Lord’s birth, and thus our Lord’s Word was fulfilled to the very letter and His plan carried out (cf. Luke 2:6; Ps. 76:10). The sure word of prophecy spoken over seven centuries before by a man who was “borne along by the Holy Spirit” was thus fulfilled to the very letter, in spite of all the cunning of great men, and indeed through their very
cunning and through their evil plans. Through their very wickedness, God’s pur poses. and words were fulfilled. These wise men who came from the east belonged to the ancient magi. They were students of the stars, astrologers. They sought to live up to the best light they had and God met them just where they w^re and gave them more light. It is always so.; he that lives | up to the light that he has will get more light (Acts 10:1-5, 30-32), but the man who refuses to live up to the light he has will lose even the light he has (Matt. 25:29; 2 Thess. 2:11, 12). God guided these men by the stars, because, they studied the stars and depended upon the stars for guidance. God always meets man where he is. We in our teaching should imitate God in this respect. In our attempts to lead men to Christ we should begin just where they are, at the light they already possess. The light that led these magi was dim, it was only star light, but it was the best they had, and, as they followed it faithfully God gave them fuller light, the light of His revealed Word, and following that they found Him who is “ the light of the world” (John 8:12). In their eagerness to find .the king they took a long, weary journey, but their labor was abundantly rewarded. They made a far better use of their little light than the chief priests and scribes made of their fuller light. They came for the best of
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