Gifts for the King - Guest Post by Annie Yorty

 

by Annie Yorty

I recently sat teary-eyed in the theater watching The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, directed by Dallas Jenkins. In this movie based on the book of the same name by Barbara Robinson, a family of six unruly and unkempt kids takes over the local church’s annual Christmas pageant. Near the end, in a welcome moment of levity, the boys acting as wise men present a ham as a gift to the baby Jesus.

Magi—A Symbol of Christmas

In a devotion from my newly released book, 25 Symbols of Christmas: Finding Jesus, I show how the magi from the Christmas story remind us Jesus is our wise guide. Due to space constraints, I didn’t elaborate on the gifts the wise men brought to the Christ Child. Nevertheless, these gifts for the King deserve our attention and can help us understand more about how we can honor Jesus as the star of Christmas.

We can get hung up on the inconsistencies between the biblical text about the magi and the way they’re portrayed in nativity scenes, carols, and pictures. Sometimes our worry over artistic license distracts us from thinking more deeply about their purpose in the nativity story.

First, let’s address a couple of myths. Most of our Christmas traditions portray these wise men, as they’re also called, as arriving the night of Jesus’ birth. More likely, they came at a later date to a house Mary and Joseph had moved into. We don’t know how many magi there were. We assume there may have been three because they gave three gifts. They were not necessarily kings. More likely, they were men who studied ancient texts of various cultures to learn truth and watched the heavens for signs. 

We don’t know exactly where they originated, except from the east. Some say from Arabia while others speculate they came from as far away as India. We know they journeyed over hundreds of miles probably for a period of months. We don’t know how they traveled, though most depictions show camels.

Gifts for the King

In his gospel account, Matthew records that the wise men brought three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. This part of the story hearkens back to prophecy from the book of Isaiah. “The people of Sheba will bring gold and frankincense and will come worshiping the Lord” (Isaiah 60:6 NLT). In ancient times, these three items in combination were standard gifts for kings and deities.

Gold

As one of the most precious metals on earth, gold was typically brought to important kings as tribute. In the days when Israel followed God, He blessed His people with gifts of gold from other nations. A gold crown denoted royalty in ancient times as well as today.

God also designated gold as a fitting material to adorn His temple. When He gave David the design of the first temple in Jerusalem, He specified that pure gold must overlay the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant and be used to make the lampstands and other instruments for serving Him (1 Chronicles 28).

We have no way of knowing how much gold the magi brought as a gift for the newborn King, but I don’t believe they traveled over hundreds of miles for several months to bring a paltry gift. Some Bible archaeologists suggest the gold may have been worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in today’s currency.

Yes, gold is always valuable, but God says there’s one thing far more precious that will hold its value in any economy.  The psalmist wrote, “Truly, I love your commands more than gold, even the finest gold” (Psalm 119:127 NLT).

We may not have a pile of gold to offer our King, but when we love His Word more than any earthly possession, He is honored and pleased.

Frankincense

People valued frankincense, an aromatic resin gathered from the sap of Boswellia trees, long before Jesus’ birth. They used the spice for medicinal purposes, and the wealthy embalmed their dead with hundreds of pounds of its anointing oil. Most Middle Eastern cultures burned the costly resin in ceremonial worship of their deities.

Frankincense also has a spiritual use designated by God. In His instructions for Temple service, God told the priests to add the precious oil to sacrifices on the altar to add a pleasing aroma to the offering.

The baby whose birth we celebrate at Christmas “offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God” (Ephesians 5:2 NLT). In this same verse, Apostle Paul exhorts us to follow His example and display Jesus’ self-sacrificing love to people around us.

Myrrh

Myrrh was a rare and expensive commodity at the time Jesus was born. Some estimate its value would have been $4,000 per pound. This tree resin was also used for medicinal purposes, to make expensive perfume, and to anoint bodies for embalming.

When God established the tabernacle as a meeting place with His people, He told Moses to create a mixture of precious spices, including myrrh. He tasked Moses with anointing every part of the tent, the instruments of worship, and even the priests with this oil to set them apart as holy for His service (Exodus 30:22-38).

The gift of myrrh from the magi foreshadowed the death of Jesus on the cross. Jesus’ death paved the Way for us to be set apart from sin, to live for God’s purposes instead of our own. Like the priests of old, God calls us to “proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9 NLT).

Our Gifts for the King

The pagan magi searched for truth, and God led them to the Truth. When they met Jesus, they worshiped and offered their best gifts to Him. In The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, hungry children couldn’t imagine how gold, frankincense, and myrrh would be suitable gifts for a baby. Much to the amusement of the audience, they substituted the ham that was most valuable to their growling tummies in place of the three biblical gifts.

What gifts will you offer to Jesus—your King, your High Priest, and your Savior—this Christmas? (click to share on X)

 

Would you like to add meaning to your Advent season with free resources and 25 Symbols of Christmas: Finding Jesus? Visit my website to download a Christmas journal page to record your heart thoughts. If you have children and would like to read the devotions aloud with them, I offer a coloring page for each day. Also, you can use my Candy Cane Gospel to tell people about Jesus throughout the season. Go deeper with each devotion when you view short daily videos at my YouTube channel. The links are listed below.

I wish you a merry Christmas and pray you know Jesus better than ever by the beginning of the new year.

25 Symbols of Christmas: Finding Jesus: https://mybook.to/yksqv

Free Christmas resources to download:  https://annieyorty.com/books/

YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@annieyorty1014

Blog – Perceive God: https://annieyorty.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnieYorty2020

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annieyorty/

X: https://x.com/AnnieYorty

Crosswalk: https://www.crosswalk.com/author/annie-yorty/

From Ignorance to Bliss (Amazon):  https://www.amazon.com/dp/1649498365/ref

Empowering Homeschool Conversations: https://www.spedhomeschool.com/podcast

Ordinary Moms of Extraordinary Kids podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/ordinarymoms/

 

Bio

Award-winning author Annie Yorty writes and speaks to encourage others to perceive God’s presence in the unexpected twists and turns of life. She has written From Ignorance to Bliss: God’s Heart Revealed through Down Syndrome and a devotional, 25 Symbols of Christmas: Finding Jesus. She also contributes devotions and articles at Crosswalk.com and cohosts Empowering Homeschool Conversations, the authority in homeschooling diverse learners.

Married to her high school sweetheart and living in Pennsylvania, Annie mothers three adult children (one with intellectual disabilities). A lifelong learner, Annie seeks new and eclectic challenges. She gravitates toward anything crafty or creative—except sewing clothes. Sporadically, she works at learning to play the piano and ukulele. Always open to travel adventure, Annie helps organize mission teams that share God’s love around the world. She wishes she had more time to read, crochet, and practice Russian. Amidst the fun, challenges, and chaos, Annie encourages others to look upward with her and perceive God. Annie would love to visit with you at AnnieYorty.com.

 

3 Ways Gratitude Benefits Our Lives

 

3 ways gratitude benefits our lives

by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta

Have you ever wondered why we are told in the Bible to be thankful?

Our flesh defaults to complaining. Sometimes we may not realize our words or thoughts contain grouchy sentiments.

Even though we have been made new in our spirits when we accept Christ, our soul still needs to be renewed or we drift back into unholy thinking.

Gratitude may be easy when we contemplate answered prayers and receiving what we want. But even those blessings can be taken for granted when we get comfortable. God warned the Israelites against complacency when they arrived at the Promised Land where everything was already provided for them (Deuteronomy 8:11-18).

There are more verses in the Bible about thankfulness than we can count here. That should tell us how important this virtue is to our lives.

Here are 3 ways gratitude can benefit our lives.

8 Scriptures to Help Us Overcome Damaging Emotions

 by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta

We are commanded to do this in Scripture. But how do we resist our enemy?

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7 NKJV).

It is not a suggestion. God gives us this instruction to protect us from the schemes of satan. If he gets a foothold in our mind, whatever we allow in is harder to uproot once we have entertained the temptation.

Joseph is an example of fleeing from evil. When Pharoah’s wife attempted to seduce him, Joseph ran. He didn’t stand around and debate his thoughts. If he had, the temptation would have overcome him. He was a young, handsome man and a beautiful woman desired him. He was alone and away from home. Who would know?

How Can the Calendar's Seasons Give Us Life Lessons?

 

How can the calendar's seasons give us life lessons

by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta

 Seasons can teach us how to withstand the challenges of life. We go through transitions, but they don’t always bring circumstances we like. Bue we can learn from these seasons when we follow the Lord’s directions for nourishing our hearts.

How can the calendar’s seasons give us life lessons?

Condemning Thoughts Cause Mental Bondage - Excerpt from New Book Sustaining Life’s Victories

 

Condemning thoughts cause mental bondage - How to sustain life's victories

by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta

Do you struggle with guilt and shame? Do thoughts plague your mind with accusations of past sins or missed opportunities? These attitudes can place us in a soulish prison that we can’t escape on our own. Condemning thoughts cause mental bondage. We need God’s help.

Condemning thoughts can cause us to shy away from talking to God or reading our Bible. I have done this many times. Whenever I would do something wrong, I would wallow in remorse and not feel worthy to approach God’s throne. But this is when we should be running into His arms.

We aren’t worthy to approach His presence in ourselves. But we are worthy to approach Him because of Jesus. Jesus makes us worthy.

6 Ways the Bible Teaches us to Live Successfully

 

by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta

King Saul was an example of a man who began his national leadership submitted to God. He enjoyed victories in war while he followed the Lord. But when his true character was revealed, jealousy of David drove him to the point of madness where he even tried to kill David. His selfishness was the downfall of his reign and it cost him his life and the lives of his sons as well.

In contrast, David is called a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). David sinned terribly on more than one occasion, yet he always repented. He never blamed anyone else for his failures, rather he took the consequences that the Almighty laid out.

David won multitudes of battles because he listened to the Lord’s guidance before he pursued an enemy. He is an example to us that seeking divine vision is the path to success.

These 6 Biblical Principles Will Teach Us How to Live a Successful Life

5 Remedies for Fear

by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta

I could say, “Have you ever been afraid?,” but that would be a silly question.

Of course, we have all faced fear at some time in our lives. The news we hear daily from various sources promotes anxiety.

The “what-if’s” can plague our souls. World events and political division can create chaotic thoughts of disaster.

Fear is an enemy to our mental stability and physical health.