A Messiah for all people in every generation

We leave for Israel the day after tomorrow. It is hard to believe the trip is this close.

Since April 19, 2006, I have been reading from the The Daily Bible in Chronological Order on a not so daily basis. (FYI, I highly recommend this particular version as I have bought other similar daily Bibles in chronological order that I did not like nearly as well) This lack of daily consistency is obvious in the fact that I started reading at the April 19th (2006, mind you) entry which occurs at the end of David's reign and just prior to Solomon taking the throne and just this morning, I read the first accounts in the Gospels of Jesus' birth. I would imagine by the time that April rolls around again I will have finished the entire Bible. It only will have taken me three years. It may have been set up to take a year, but true to form, God needs a bit more time with me.

There is something very epic and dramatic in getting to this point in my reading at this particular time on the eve of this trip. After slowing working through the Old Testament since at least David's reign, I have a whole new perspective on what Israel has gone through leading up to Jesus' birth. I can understand in an entirely different way how strong the desire must have been for a King to deliver them from the oppression of so many years. Although I can't fully imagine, I can certainly better appreciate the hope the Jewish nation must have held so deeply in their hearts. And yet, what was happening in their midst was something far more than they hoped for and infinitely more than they imagined. In the commentary transitioning from the Old Testament to the New Testament, L. LaGard Smith writes:

"All is now ready for the most important event in human history. It is an event planned for even before the creation of the world. It is the keeping of a promise made to Abraham over 2000 years earlier. It is the fulfillment of a host of prophecies regarding a Messiah who would come to establish his kingdom. Most importantly, it is the beginning of a dynamically new relationship between God and man. The event is the coming of the Savior of the world, the Messiah--or, as referred to in the Greek, the Christ.

This Christ is not to be just another world leader, as Cyrus, Alexander, or Caesar. He is not to be just another great man of God, as Abraham, Moses, or David. He is to be God himself in human flesh! The Lord of heaven is to become a servant of the earth. God, who has previously made himself known through a nation and a law, is now to reveal himself in the most personal way possible--in the form of a man. Until now God's blessings have been reserved mostly for a chosen people, but now they are to become available to all people in every generation."
(p. 1349)

There are many things I love about the movie The Nativity Story, but one frustration was the fact that the movie has the Wise Men at the manager the night Jesus is born. Having grown up with Nativity scenes and Nativity plays at church, I just accepted this as fact. It wasn't until I was an adult that I learned from a closer reading of Scripture at Ben's encouragement that the Wise Men did not visit Jesus until he was probably 6 months old. Likewise, Smith's commentary explains, "The Magi are prompted to travel the great distance to Jerusalem because of a star which appeared at the time of Jesus' birth. It is not known how many make the long journey (certainly no compelling evidence exists for the traditional three), but they apparently arrive some six months after Jesus' birth and inquire as to the child's whereabouts." But, in spite of the artistic license that is taken in the movie, I appreciate the message the imagery communicates, and this is where I chose to focus. From the lowest shepherds to the wisest of men, Jesus comes for all men and all women so that God's blessings "become available to all people in every generation." Am I humble enough and wise enough to yield my very life to the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life?