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For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.Eph 2:9 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for collecting daily manna), make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Saturday, September 15, 2018
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:Subjecta:The Home in Nazareth Bible Verse:Matthew 2:19-23 "Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, ”Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead.” Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, ”He shall be called a Nazarene.”" Message:
After Herod the Great died, he divided his kingdom into three parts, each ruled by one of his surviving sons. Unfortunately for us, all of them were also called “Herod”.
In fact, there were a number of other rulers with the name “Herod”; if you ever want to get thoroughly confused, try to figure them all out. There was even a famous woman named “Herodias”, who divorced Herod Phillip I and married Herod Antipas. We encountered her a few weeks ago in Matthew, because she was the mother of Salome and the person who engineered the beheading of John the Baptist.
Herod Archelaus was the King of Judea, the heart of Israel where Jerusalem and Bethlehem were located. He was every bit as cruel as his father (Herod the Great) had been, and Joseph was justified in fearing him.
Herod the Great
Herod the Great
Thus, instead of returning to Judea, Joseph traveled to Nazareth, a town in Galilee. This area was ruled by another of Herod the Great's sons, Herod Antipas. He was not called a king, but a “tetrarch”, which means “one-quarter of a king”.
Joseph chose wisely, because as bad as Herod Antipas was, he was the best of the bunch. As pointed out above, Herod Antipas eventually would be manipulated by Herodias and Salome into killing John the Baptist. Ironically, he was also the Herod who eventually arrested Christ and presided over His trial.
At any rate, this is how Jesus came to be born in Bethlehem, a town in Judea, but grew up in Nazareth, a tiny town in Galilee (which was considered a separate country under Roman rule). This all fit in perfectly with the messianic prophesies of the Old Testament, which predicted the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem, but also said that the Messiah would be a Nazarene.
For anyone interested in such things, Antipas is a contraction of Antipater, a frequent name of Greek notables. It does not mean “against the father”, as you would think, but rather “like the father” or possibly “not the father”. Also, the super-cruel Archelaus came to a bad end. Rome deposed him after 10 years and exiled him — a refined man, educated and frequently resident in Rome — to a rough village at the border of Roman Gaul and Germany called Vienne, which would eventually became Vienna, Austria.
Meditation : . Prayer : Into your hands, O Lord, Jesus Christ, my God, I commend my spirit. Bless me and all those who pray in faith of You this day; save us and grant unto us everlasting life....Amen |
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