Divine Reactions

Divine Reactions

Good Morning, and Happy Epiphany. For those of you who came in after announcements, I again let everyone know what we have been doing in our 8:30 Sunday School Class, to which everyone is invited. We’ve been looking at prayer in the Bible, but there are other fun tangents and rabbit holes we run down as well, when people have questions. And there was one Prayer Story we looked at a couple of weeks ago which lends itself to today, in a kind of twisted way.

700 years before Jesus was born, a group of wise men from Babylon came to visit the King of the Jews. This king was Hezekiah, and his story is found in Isaiah 39 and 2 Kings 20. He was mostly a God honoring king, but like any of us, he had his flaws, the greatest of which was that he was full of himself.

The Bible records that Hezekiah became sick to the point of death. Nearing death, he prayed to God with tears!! And the Lord heard his prayers, and sent the Prophet Isaiah to him, to let Hezekiah know that the Lord had granted him 15 more years. His recovery was the talk of the Middle East, and reports of it spread everywhere, including to the king of Babylon.

The Babylonian king sent wise men to the king of the Jews, bearing gifts for the king and his family. But just take a minute to think. Why would the king of a nearby powerful empire send envoys to the capital city of another nation, who’s king was sick to the point of death. A-Because of his concern for his fellow king’s health? B – to either grab a political ally, especially one where the Lord intervenes to protect them, or maybe less positively to scout out the defenses and military strength, of this nation with weakened leadership with his sickness.

What was Hezekiah’s response was on receiving the wise men? To evangelize by honoring the Lord who rescued rescuing him from certain death, and teach them about the Lord Almighty? To bring them to the temple to worship and have the priests there teach him if they didn’t feel that comfortable? That’s actually a pretty smart thing.

What is the worst, dumbest possible thing a king could do? Hezekiah’s response to the wise men was to show off everything God had given him, and pretty much claim it as his work and effort. all the gold, silver and spices and other extravagances in his Treasure house and vault! This King of the Jews decided to brag, not in the God who saved him, and blessed him, but in how great of a King he was, and how much wealth he had amassed.

Isaiah told Hezekiah that because of his actions, every item he showed the wise men, the riches he bragged about, would be taken away to Babylon, which it was 100 years later. The messengers didn’t prove to be any wiser. They saw God’s power when they that Hezekiah was healed. They saw how the Lord had blessed Hezekiah’s with prosperity. But on seeing God’s Glory, and how God blesses his people, they came up with a plan to “steal” God’s blessing.

It's nothing new, it’s simple Jealousy. When you think about it, it is the same problem our first parents had in the Garden. They saw something, they thought it was wonderful and beautiful. And it was. It was just that God hadn’t given it to them. Or at least hadn’t given it to them yet, and they wanted it now.

The sin of jealousy can easily tear us apart inside, when we see people God has blessed, and we look for every way but God for how we can be like them. That’s how the prosperity Gospel charlatans have fleeced American Christians. They claim, “Look at how rich God has made me. Give me money, and God will bless you just like he blessed me.”

Now we come to the New Testament Wise Men. When they arrive in Jerusalem, Herod is King. Herod is one of the evilest people who ever lived. Not only did he have all the infants 2 and under murdered in the vicinity of Bethlehem, but he also had most of his family members murdered as well.

He’s also famous for ordering the execution of the most popular people of Jerusalem as he died, so that their would be tears at his death, because he know that at his death, there would be none unless others suffered loss as well. Just a taste of Herod.

So, the wise men from Babylon who came to Herod, what did they bring and present to the King? We don’t always think of this, but these Gentiles brought the Gospel to Herod, who thought he was the King of the Jews. And in doing this, they presented a sacrifice of thanksgiving and obedience to God, even though they didn’t fully understand God.