Matthew 2:1

 Matthew 2:1 says, Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,  After the birth of Jesus, which occurred during the reign of Herod, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem seeking Jesus.  They came to the rulers seeking Jesus, but Jesus was not born to be an earthly ruler.  I sometimes read the names of the wise men, but have yet to find their names recorded in the Bible.  Verse two adds, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.  The wise men asked where they could find the One born to be King of the Jews so that they could worship Him.  They said that they came because they had seen His star.  This was probably quite a shock to Herod.  When we seek Jesus, we should not go to leaders of the world to find Him, but should simply look to God to reveal Him to us.  Verse three declares, When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  Herod was troubled by this revelation of a new King of the Jews, and we are told all of Jerusalem was troubled with him.  These were the people who were supposed to be God's people, and they were troubled by the wise men from another country announcing the birth of One Who was to be the King of the Jews.  We as followers of Christ should make sure that we are following God and not just the leaders of the world.  Verse four adds, And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.  Herod gathered all the chief priests and scribes together and demanded to know where Christ, the awaited Messiah was to be born.  At least Herod looked to the religious leaders, but Jesus' birth was not announced to the religious leaders, which says something about them I believe.  We as Christians today have the responsibility of proclaiming Jesus Christ to the world, but if we fail, God will still reveal Him.  Verse five says, And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,  Then verse six adds, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.  The chief priests and scribes at least knew what the scripture said, and told Herod that Christ was to be born in Bethlehem.  Of course, knowing scripture does not mean that a person has a relationship with God.  Verse seven declares, Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.  Herod called the wise men privately to ask when the star appeared.  We are not told a specific time frame here, but know that Herod was not asking in order to worship Christ, which is why he called the wise men privately.  Verse eight continues, And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.  Herod gave the wise men a mission, and that was to go to Bethlehem, find the young Child, and come back and tell him where He was so that he could go and worship Him.  Like Herod, not everyone who professes to seek Jesus to worship Him really want to do so.  Verse nine declares, When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.  After the wise men left Herod, the star guided them to where Jesus, the young Child, was.  This was probably not the day Jesus was born, but possibly up to two years later.  I don't believe that we can say that for certain, but based on the time the wise men were following the star, we now usually say that it was when Jesus was about two years old.  I personally do not believe that His age at that time is important, but the fact that God led the wise men to Him is.  It is not important how long it takes a person to come to Jesus today, but is only important that he or she comes to Jesus in faith to accept Him as Savior and Lord.  Verse ten adds, When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.  When the wise men saw the star again, the rejoiced, since it was leading them to Jesus.  However we are lead to Jesus today, we should rejoice that God has led us there.  Verse eleven states, And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.  When they found Jesus and His mother Mary, they fell down and worshipped Jesus, but not Mary.  Some people basically worship Mary today, but this was never God's intention.  The wise men brought gifts of gold, frankincense,  and myrrh, and because there are three gifts listed, we usually say that there were three wise men, but we are not really told this in the Bible.  When we come to Jesus, accepting Him as our personal Savior and Lord, then we should bring to Him all that we are and have.  We should live under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. and worship God in all that we do.  Verse twelve declares, And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.  God warned the wise men to not return to Herod, so they went back to their country another way.  They obeyed God and not Herod, just as we today must obey God above all earthly rulers if we are followers of Christ and the earthly rulers are doing anything that is against God.

Matthew 1:18

 Matthew 1:18 says, Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.  Matthew tells us about the miracle of the birth of Jesus.  Mary was with child while she was still a virgin by the Holy Ghost.  This was while she was espoused to Joseph, but before they had sexual relations.  Verse nineteen states, Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.  We are told that Joseph was a just man and was going to quietly divorce Mary.  He did not want to cause Mary any public humiliation, so he still cared about her.  Today, the world would ask what the big deal was, but Mary would likely have been an outcast then.  Verse twenty declares, But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.  While Joseph thought about what to do with Mary, an angel appeared to him in a dream, telling him to not be afraid to take Mary as his wife, because she had not been unfaithful to him but had conceived by the Holy Ghost.  Now, Joseph could have just written this off as a strange dream or wishful thinking, but he recognized it as a message from an angel of God.  Verse twenty-one adds, And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.  The angel told Joseph that Mary was to have a son and His name was to be JESUS, and He would save the people from their sins.  This was not just the people in that day, but all the people who had put their faith in the coming Messiah and all the people who have put their faith in Him since His coming.  It may now be common for a couple to know the sex of their child and even name the child before he or she is born, but it certainly wasn't in that day.  Verse twenty-two says,  Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,  Then verse twenty-three adds, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.  Matthew tells us that this was done to fulfill a prophesy that a child would be born to a virgin and His name would be Emmanuel, which means God with us.  This was to be the fulfillment of a prophesy made to Isaiah, which he never lived to see happen.  We have the prophesy of the second coming of Christ, which we may not live to see, but it is just as certain as the birth of Christ was.  Verse twenty-four declares, Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:  Joseph had to have a lot of faith to believe in the message that came to him in a dream.  The angel did not even appear when he was awake, but only in a dream, but Joseph did what God through the angel had told him to do.  As followers of Christ today, we need to be open to hearing the message that God has for us in life today, no matter how He delivers it.  Verse twenty-five adds, And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.  Joseph married Mary and did not have a sexual relationship with her until after the birth of the baby Boy, whom he named Jesus.  Joseph obeyed the message of God, just as we must today when God speaks to us.

Matthew 1:1

 Matthew 1:1 says. The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.  The first several verses of Matthew are the genealogy of Jesus, beginning with Abraham.  Verse two states, Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;  Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were the ones that God made the promise to that He would make them a great nation if they obeyed Him.  Verse three says, And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;   Verse four states, And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;  Verse five says, And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;  Some of the names are spelled differently, such a Booz instead of Boaz, but they are the same person.  Verse six states, And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;  David, the first king chosen by God for Israel, was in the lineage of Jesus, just as God had said he would be.  God always fulfills His promises.  Verse seven says, And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;  Verse eight adds, And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;  Verse nine states, And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;  Verse ten says, And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;  Verse eleven adds, And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:  The good and the bad times of Israel did not change the promise of God, and the good and bad times in our lives today will not change the promise of God that we are His forevermore if we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse twelve states, And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;  Verse thirteen says, And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;  Verse fourteen states, And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;  Verse fifteen adds, And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;  Verse sixteen adds, And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.  We have the lineage of Jesus from Abraham to Joseph and Jesus Himself.  Verse seventeen concludes, So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.  It had been forty-to generations since the promise of God to Abraham to the coming of Jesus, the promised Messiah, and this may seem a long time to us, but God's promise was in effect the whole time.  No matter how many years may pass before the return of Christ, God's promise is still in effect.  Jesus Christ will return one day to claim those who are His.

Leviticus Summery

We will review some things learned from the book of Leviticus.  First, we need to realize that God gave Moses many laws on Mt. Sinai, and not just the Ten Commandments.  God gave Moses many specific laws concerning worship, both the nature of the worship and the role of the priests in the worship service.  Today, God expects us to worship Him in accordance with His guidance and under His authority.  Moses did not just make up the rules for worship, but God gave them to Him.  Moses did not just make up the rules for the priests, but God gave them to Him.  God also had Moses to continually remind the people of Israel of their covenant relationship with God.  We must never forget that we are in a covenant relationship with God as followers of Christ.  God reminded the people of Israel that He was the One Who had delivered them from Egypt and that He had the right to have authority over them.  As Christians, God has forever delivered us from the power of sin in our lives and from the penalty of sin as well, so He has every right to expect us to be obedient to Him.  God also gave Moses the blueprint we might say for the tabernacle, and how it was to be set up after it was constructed.  As followers of Christ, our bodies are the tabernacle of the Holy Spirit and should be kept under the guidance of God.  God also gave Moses laws concerning sacrifices, both what was an acceptable sacrifice and how and when it was to be sacrificed.  We do not have to be concerned with these laws of sacrifice today, because Jesus Christ is the only acceptable sacrifice.  God gave Moses laws concerning holy days and years, which included laws concerning the sabbath day, the sabbath years, and the jubilee years.  All were to be kept holy to God, with limited work being done.  We today set aside the Lord's Day to worship God, but we often do not keep it holy unto Him for even the whole day.  God gave Moses laws concerning the redemption of property that was sold by one of the people of Israel.  God gave Moses many rules concerning the relationships between people and their redemption if they had been sold into servitude.  We today have only one way to redemption, and that is through putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. Of course, this was really true for the people of Israel in that day as well as they looked ahead to the Messiah that was to come.  God also told Moses that the priests were to be treated differently than the rest of the nation, and as Christians today we are a priesthood of believers, and we are to be different than the rest of the world. These are but some of the things learned from the book of Leviticus.

Leviticus 27:26

Leviticus 27:26 says, Only the firstling of the beasts, which should be the LORD’s firstling, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox, or sheep: it is the LORD’s.  People could not sanctify the first born or even the first of their crops to God because it already belonged to Him.  I believe that today our tithes already belong to God, and we cannot claim that we are giving some special gift to God if we use our tithes to do so.  Verse twenty-seven adds, And if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall redeem it according to thine estimation, and shall add a fifth part of it thereto: or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy estimation.  Unclean animals could be sanctified to God, and if they were redeemed, they were to be redeemed by adding twenty-cent to their estimated value.  If they weren't redeemed, they were to be sold for the estimated value.  Verse twenty-eight continues, Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the LORD of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the LORD.  God told Moses that northing devoted to God could be redeemed or sold.  As followers of Christ we are devoted to Him and nothing will ever ever be able to separate us from Him.  Verse twenty-nine states, None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.  Matthew Henry basically says this means that foreigners who had been defeated and were therefore devoted to God were to be killed so that they would no longer be a problem to the people of Israel.  Whatever the case, anyone devoted to God, which went beyond just sanctifying his or her self, could not be redeemed so would therefore die still devoted to God.  As Christians today, we may not be put to death, but we will die still devoted to, or belonging to, God.  Verse thirty adds, And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’s: it is holy unto the LORD.  The tithe belonged to God, just as it does today.  We may not give it to God, but it is still His.  We really have done nothing but what God had already told us to do when we tithe, so there is no reason to feel proud of our self for doing so.  Verse thirty-one continues, And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.  If a person wanted to redeem something that was a art of his or her tithe, then he was to add twenty percent to it.  We must remember that the tithe included not just the money that people might make but the first of all crops and animals that they owned.  I believe that God expects us to tithe on everything that He blesses us with, and even then this is only the minimum that we should be doing.  Verse thirty-two says, And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.  This is just a further statement that a tenth of everything the people of Israel had belonged to God.  Verse thirty-three adds, He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.  If a person attempted to exchange something for the tithe, then both the original tithe and the exchange were to be considered holy and could not be redeemed.  Things of God belong to God, and we should not attempt to reclaim them as our own, even by exchanging something else for them.  Verse thirty-four concludes, These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.  We are then told that these are the commandments given to Moses by God on Mt. Sinai.  We sometimes see Moses as having gone up on Mt. Sanai and receiving the Ten Commandments, but he received much more than that.  He received the laws of God as well.  Today, when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we accept the law of God as well.  It does not save us, but it does tell us how to live in a right relationship with the world and God.

Leviticus 27:14

Leviticus 27:14 says, And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto the LORD, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it be good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand.  A man could sanctify his house to the LORD.  This was the house itself and not the people, and the priest would estimate the value for the man to pay to redeem it.  Verse fifteen adds, And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be his.  To redeem the house, the man who sanctified it had to add twenty percent to the estimated value.  Of course, everything is really God's to start with, but when we sanctify, or set aside, something that is ours in the view of the world for God's use, if we later decide to use it for our own purpose, we should expect it to cost us more than what it is valued at.  Verse sixteen continues, And if a man shall sanctify unto the LORD some part of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the seed thereof: an homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.  Matthew Henry says this is land that was inherited.  This had to do with set a value on a part of a field sanctified to God.  The value would be based on the yield of the field.  Verse seventeen states, If he sanctify his field from the year of jubile, according to thy estimation it shall stand.  Verse eighteen continues, But if he sanctify his field after the jubile, then the priest shall reckon unto him the money according to the years that remain, even unto the year of the jubile, and it shall be abated from thy estimation.  Once more, the year of the jubilee would come onto play.  If the land was dedicated in the year of jubilee, it would be redeemed for the price, but if after the year of jubilee, it would be reduced by a percentage based on the years left to the next jubilee.  Verse nineteen says, And if he that sanctified the field will in any wise redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be assured to him.  Again, the redemption price was a fifth more than the valuation price.  Verse twenty adds, And if he will not redeem the field, or if he have sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more.  If the man would not redeem the land or had sold it to another then it could no longer be redeemed.  Verse twenty-one continues, But the field, when it goeth out in the jubile, shall be holy unto the LORD, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest’s.  A field unredeemed at jubilee would be God's forever, just as when we are redeemed by Christ we are God's forever.  There is no reduction in the value of our redemption, no matter how long we may have lived, but the redemption of any individual cost the same, and that is the death of Christ on the cross.  Verse twenty-two states, And if a man sanctify unto the LORD a field which he hath bought, which is not of the fields of his possession;   This had to do with land the man had purchased and not with inherited land.  Verse twenty-three adds, Then the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy estimation, even unto the year of the jubile: and he shall give thine estimation in that day, as a holy thing unto the LORD.  The man giving the land would pay the estimated value of the land to the priest and it would be considered a holy thing.  Verse twenty-four continues, In the year of the jubile the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land did belong.  In the year of jubilee the land would be returned to the one who had originally owned it.  This I believe would prevent the one who purchased the land from simply claiming to give the land to God knowing that revert to the original owner in jubilee.  The one donating it would still be out the cost of the estimation.  We should be wary of trying to claim to give something to God because we figure that it is going to be lost to us anyway.  Verse twenty-five concludes, And all thy estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel.  This once again was just assigning a monetary value to the land.

Leviticus 27:1

Leviticus 27:1 says. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse two adds, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the LORD by thy estimation.  God was addressing people who made vows to Him and letting them know that God would set the value of their vow.  These were vows where a person dedicated themselves to service in the tabernacle according to Matthew Henry and were not something required by God but were voluntary vows.  It is good to do what God asks of us, but it is even better when we willingly go above and beyond what He asks.  Verse three continues, And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.  Matthew Henry says that this was the value to redeem the person from their vow, so that the priests would have money to fund the tabernacle.  The amount of the redemption depended on the age and gender of the person making it.  Through Christ, all people are valued the same regardless of age or gender, and He paid the price to redeem each individual.  Verse four states, And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels.  The price to redeem a female was less than the price to redeem a male in his prime.  Verse five adds, And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.  Then there was the amount set to redeem a child between five and twenty, with the different amounts for the male and female.  These amounts were set based on the amount of work it was believed that the person could do, and once again these were voluntary vows made to God.  Verse six continues, And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver.  Since children of this age would not be able to make a vow, it would have to be assumed that their parents were the ones making the vow.  When the children were dedicated to God, they could be redeemed for a price.  The price of redemption today so that we can be dedicated to God is the same for all individuals, and that is accepting Jesus Christ as one's Savior and Lord.  Verse seven says, And if it be from sixty years old and above; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels.  The redemption value between a man and a woman over sixty were still different, but the woman was considered to be of a closer value to the man.  Verse eight adds, But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him.  If a person was poor, then the priest was to set the value of their redemption if they made a vow to God.  Matthew Henry says this was to teach the people to not make rash vows, because a vow made to God had value.  We today likewise should not make rash vows to God.  Verse nine continues, And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the LORD, all that any man giveth of such unto the LORD shall be holy.  If a person vowed an animal to the Lord, then it was to be considered holy, or set aside for God.  Verse ten states, He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy.  Once an animal was vowed, it could not be exchanged, but if a person attempted to exchange another animal for the one vowed, then both would be considered holy, or set apart for God.  Once we come to Christ vowing our faith to Him, we are forever His.  Verse eleven adds, And if it be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice unto the LORD, then he shall present the beast before the priest:  Unclean animals that were vowed to God, that could not be sacrificed, were to have a redemption value for them set by the priest.  Verse twelve continues, And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be.  Verse thirteen concludes, But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy estimation.  The animal, if unclean, was to be for the use of the priest, and if the man vowing it wanted to redeem it, he would have to pay an additional twenty percent over the value.  God expects us to take our vows seriously.