Our Daily Bread Devotional January 6, 2024 Saturday ODB Message
Read Our Daily Bread Devotional January 6, 2024 ODB Message written by Tim Gustafson and Today’s Insight By K. T. Sim
Topic: The Meaning of Myrrh
Bible in a Year: Genesis 16–17; Matthew 5:27–48
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. – Matthew 2:11
Today’s Scripture
Matthew 2:9–13 (NIV)
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
The Escape to Egypt
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
Our Daily Bread Devotional January 6, 2024 Insight
The word Magi (Matthew 2:1) is translated “wise men” in many Bible versions. Because these men followed a star in search of a king, we know they were also astrologers. Coming from the East, they could’ve originated from the Arabian Desert, Babylon, or Persia. They’re first mentioned in 1 Kings 4:30: “[Solomon’s] wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East” (nlt). They could be the astrologers found in the courts of Babylon (Daniel 2:2; 4:6-7).
Interestingly, Daniel was placed in charge of them (2:48; 5:11) and could’ve told them about the coming Messiah. For five hundred years, these magi looked forward to this prophecy. These men of great faith—whose main lead was a star in the sky—traveled thousands of miles in search of a Jewish king. As representatives of the gentile world, they saw God wrapped in human clothes and “bowed down and worshiped him” (Matthew 2:11).
Our Daily Bread Devotional January 6, 2024 MESSAGE:
Today is Epiphany, the day which commemorates the event described by the carol “We Three Kings of Orient Are” when gentile wisemen visited the child Jesus. Yet they weren’t kings, they weren’t from the Far East (as Orient formerly meant), and it’s unlikely there were three of them.
There were, however, three gifts, and the carol considers each. When the magi arrived in Bethlehem, “They opened their treasures and presented [Jesus] with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh” (Matthew 2:11). The gifts symbolize Jesus’ mission. Gold represents His role as King. Frankincense, mixed with the incense burned in the sanctuary, speaks of His deity. Myrrh, used to embalm dead bodies, gives us pause.
The fourth verse of the carol says, “Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume / breathes a life of gathering gloom; / sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying, / sealed in the stone-cold tomb.” We wouldn’t write such a scene into the story, but God did. Jesus’ death is central to our salvation. Herod even attempted to kill Jesus while He was yet a child (v. 13).
The carol’s last verse weaves the three themes together: “Glorious now behold him arise; / King and God and sacrifice.” This completes the story of Christmas, inspiring our response: “Alleluia, Alleluia, / sounds through the earth and skies.”
Reflect & Pray
How do you feel when you ponder the truth that Jesus was born to die for you? How does His resurrection inspire you?
Heavenly Father, may Your Spirit help me live my life in gratitude for Your Son giving His life for me.
Our Daily Bread 6 January 2024 Saturday ODB Message. Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODB) is a Christian organization founded by Dr. Martin De Haan in 1938. It is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with over 600 employees. It produces several devotional publications, including Our Daily Bread. our daily bread devotional for today audio our daily bread booklet.
READ MORE TOPICS: OPEN HEAVENS, OUR DAILY BREAD, IN TOUCH, SEEDS OF DESTINY, STREAMS OF JOY, JOEL OSTEEN, MOUNTAIN TOP LIFE, DCLM DAILY MANNA, UCB WORD FOR TODAY