December 14 – Great Persons would Visit Him. Psalm 72:10-11 “The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. 11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: All nations shall serve him.”
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You can read how this prophecy was fulfilled in Matthew 2:9 –
‘When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.’
Can you just imagine?! No internet, no mail service to speak of, and these people living in the ‘Dark Ages’, packed up their camels and headed east to follow a star in the sky! The minutest of details were carefully orchestrated by God to direct people to a little child born in the darkest region of Israel (Galilee).
The Israelites were notorious for looking down their noses at this region as its populace was a mix of ‘foreigners’ who couldn’t care less about the political, or religious climate of their host nation. The Aramaean, Iturean, Phoenicians and Greeks, filled the landscape, with virtually no one honoring the God of Israel.
The majority of people were uneducated, indigent, and living hand to mouth, one generation after another with no end in sight. It was a bleak, dismal existence, and its spiritual aptitude was no better.
No one ever paid attention to the upper regions of Israel, so it’s easy to see why Herod would’ve been startled at seeing his well known visitors when they showed up!
Speaking of spiritual aptitude…this would be a fantastic piece of the Christmas story to share with a Mormon! The historical aspect of what took place at the time of Jesus’ birth is rarely looked into. The stories they have to hold onto at this time of year is the BoM verse where it says He was born in Jerusalem, or the myriads of teachings telling them Jesus was a created being because God came down and had sex with Mary.
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Alma 7:10 “And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.”
And of course you know their pat reply: “Bethlehem is in the area of Jerusalem, like a suburb….” Balderdash!
Amen, amen, amen! That’s why it’s important to show the OT prophecies of exactly where He’d be born.