The three wise men

by Simon 45 Replies latest watchtower bible

• 

  Simon

  Just a thought...
  Looking through The Greatest Man book, something just occurred to me which I can't recall has ever been highlighted (but please correct me).
  I always thought it a bit strange that Jehovah allowed the three pagan astrologers to find Jesus especially as they were obviously guided to him by Satan's star (remember they were led to Herod first who wanted to kill the messiah). What purpose did it serve?
  Well, a few pages earlier in TGM book, we see Mary presenting a dove as a sin offering at the temple - this was the cheapest offering that was acceptable which must have meant that they were pretty poor at the time.
  Shortly after the three wise men visited the family had to flee to Egypt when Herod started to kill all the young boys in an attempt to kill Jesus.
  What would they need to travel and live as exiles for a couple of years?
  Money !
  I'm sure the Gold, Frankincense and er, "the hard to spell one" came in very handy.
  Sometimes, Jehovah can use those who oppose the truth to further it's cause!
  - Simon

  Edited by - Simon on 25 March 2000 14:45:14
• 

  Bro Racer

  Yeah Simon, just like how Jehovah used the Babylonians in the last couple WT studies...

  Hugging friends and corners tightly. All in a day's work for Bro Racer...
  [email]BroRacer @email.com[/email]
• 

  jschwehm

  Hi Simon-

  If what you say is true, perhaps the star did not originate with Satan after all. Maybe Jehovah lead the way.

  In any case, it is amazing how God can turn an event that we might consider bad into an opportunity for good to happen.

  Jeff S.
• 

  Quark

  Just thought I would point out something. Who says there were 3 wise men? The Bible certainly doesn't.
  At Matthew 2:1-13 all it points out is that astrologers from Eastern parts came to Jerusalem.
  There could have been 3 or there could have been 10. 3 comes from a tradition which is not based on truth.
  I'm not meaning to criticize just correct a misunderstanding.

  Edited by - Quark on 27 March 2000 20:38:57
• 

  Simon

  Yeah, that's true...
  It's because there are three gifts mentioned we automatically assume there must have been one each.
• 

  Prisca

  It was myrrh Simon.

  Has anyone ever looked into why these particular gifts were given to Jesus? In ancient times, myrrh and frankencense was used in preparing bodies for burial. A documentary I saw on tv recently said they were to recognise the future death Jesus would have to undergo as the ransom sacrifice but I don't recall ever hearing that theory before.

  Any takers?
• 

  thinkers wife

  Simon,
  One of the coolest things about this forum is that questions I have had for years and suppressed are brought up verbally. I always wondered about that too. I have no answers, just concurrence on the question.
  TW
• 

  thinkers wife

  Welcome Bro. Racer, jschwehm, and Quark,
  Looking forward to hearing more from you!
  TW
• 

  Prisca

  Ummm, TW, look at the dates these guys made their posts. I've just been spending a event-less evening going thru some old posts!
• 

  ZazuWitts

  Prisca, Thinker's Wife, Simon & all,

  Just a few 'rambling' recollections from some past reading(s) - I can't even cite the sources - it's been too long.

  We can only know that there were at least two 'wisemen' from the 'east.'
  Religious historians claim, that outside of the Jewish religion, the Persians are considered to have had the next 'purest form of worship.' They worshipped Ahura Mazda, "The Wise Lord." (They did have other minor gods.) They also acknowledged a "holy spirit" and believed that Ahura Mazda, along with his "holy spirit" would wage war with an evil spirit they called "Ahriman."

  There was an element of Messianism in their beliefs, and they taught that after an earthly life of the Saviour, and his death,
  God will triumph over evil.

  I wonder if the Persian, basically monotheism, may have appeared to the Jewish to contain elements of devine insight? Ah, unlikely, but maybe it was the other way around, the Ahura Mazda worshippers, were willing to acknowledge the Jewish faith as possibly being the one that would bring forth the Messiah.

  Well, as I said, just some thoughts ....

  Regarding frankincense - the resin that exudes from the tree dries into a small yellow 'tear.'

  The Persian myrrh sap turns blood red as it hardens (and as you mentioned, Prisca, was highly prized in embalming.) Also, it was not the same myrrh that was commonly found where the 'New Testament" Jews resided.

  I'm sure all three gifts had monetary value - so Simon, has a point - they may have been useful when the family went into exile.

  Just speculations - 'that's all folks.'