“A Gift Worth Giving” by Rev. Robin Arnold
A Gift Worth Giving
by Rev. Robin Arnold
“And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother and they fell down and worship him then opening their treasures they offered him gifts gold and frankincense and myrrh” ~ Matthew 2:11 (ESV)
When I was reading this scripture I thought about some of the gifts I have received…In my past when someone would ask what I wanted, I used to say that it did not matter, but it does. When I get a gift I feel special, I feel like someone thought about me and just me. Take a moment about a gift you have received that made you feel special.
Below is a list of gifts that are my all-time favorite gifts:
One of them is my life, my life is a gift and I’m very grateful for it. Four of them are my children. They are my gifts from God and I am humbled by being given the opportunity to have such precious, precious gifts. Four of them are my grandchildren, they too are precious gifts given to me by God.
Also precious, are the gifts given to the baby Jesus…
“And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother and they fell down and worship him then opening their treasures they offered him gifts gold and frankincense and myrrh”
…going into the house they saw the child they are the Magi, wise men. The Magi were the first religious figures to worship Christ. They are linked to Old Testament prophecies that have the Messiah being worshiped by Kings, Psalm 72:10 (NIV) says, The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts.
And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and we know from the story of Jesus conception who Mary was and what was thought about her …but going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother and they fell down and worshiped him, the Magi
these great wise men prostate themselves before the baby that was born in doubt and controversy of the virgin Mary. They prostrated themselves in lonely worship…worship meaning: submission, adoration and homage
the evidence of their worship came in the gifts they gave, they gave gifts fit for a divine king. …then opening their treasures they offered him gifts Gold and Frankincense and Myrrh
Gold is dense, soft, shiny and the most compliant and pliable pure metal known. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive which maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Why Gold? How useful was this gold was to Joseph in the following months? It helped him to defray the cost of the journey into Egypt and back and to maintain his precious charges there.
It Was A Gift Worth Giving
The Heavenly Father knew what those needs would be and met them.
If you concern yourself in the affairs of His kingdom and obey the warnings and directions He gives: if you dare step out on a path of literal obedience-you will find that God will become responsible and defray all cost. Gold is nothing to him. He can make it out of common dust by a word. Gold was simply a gift worth giving
Frankincense is an aromatic resin obtained from trees. When an incision is made in the trunk or stem the sap exudes and congeals with the exposure to air. The droplets are gathered and sold ounce by precious ounce.
The droplets of Frankincense are so valuable because they have so many uses for those who know what to do with them and how to do it.
In a day of high infant mortality Frankincense was a highly regarded medicine for babies practically a pediatrician in a jar.
The aroma of Frankincense is said to represent life, and the Judaic, Christian, and Islamic faiths have often used Frankincense mixed with oil’s to anoint newborn infants and individuals considered to be moving into a new phase in their spiritual lives. Frankincense is the second of the gifts that is mentioned in the old and New Testament in the book of Exodus it is an ingredient for incense (Exodus 30:34)
It Was A Gift Worth Giving
God gave a gift that would keep His precious son well. He could have done it himself, but He gave the charge of parenting to Joseph and Mary.
Then He gave them the tools to parent with and then He waited and watched
and led scorned and confirmed as all parents should.
Myrrh is a reddish brown resinous material that was used often and regularly in Egypt and in Judea. It is obtained from a thorny tree, which grows eight or nine feet high and is native to Yemen Somalia, the eastern parts of Ethiopia and Jordan. The droplets of Myrrh are valuable because they also have so many uses for those with the know-how. Myrrh was an early period
article of commerce; both import and export and was an ingredient of the holy ointment. It was also used as an agreeable perfume and sometimes mingled with wine. In Mark 15:22-23 Myrrh was offered to Jesus as an intoxicant to numb his pain during the crucifixion
22they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha 23 Then they offered him wine mixed with Myrrh but he did not take it. And in John 19:39-40 Myrrh was one of the spices used to prepare Jesus’s body for burial:
Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 100 pounds weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as in the burial custom of the Jews.
It Was A Gift Worth Giving
The Magi or wise men gained nothing material from their long journey.
The combination of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh was not only an appropriate but necessary gift selected by true wise men.
Gold was necessary in order to pay fees, Frankincense and Myrrh were powerful medicines. The spices were gifts anyone would deeply appreciate because they address the problems common to everyone’s health and well-being. They were gifts worth giving…they were treasures
Now I submit to you, for thought, that perhaps there was a fourth gift given…and maybe this fourth gift was actually the first gift they gave
They “opened their treasures” I submit to you that when they “opened their treasures”, they imparted wisdom. “Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, Gold and Frankincense and Myrrh”.
They opened their treasures, and… then…they offered him gifts. A gift worth giving is worthless… unless the person you give it to knows how to use it.
They opened their treasures and then they offered him gifts
Gold, Frankincense. Myrrh. These gifts symbolize the worship of the wise
Gold as a symbol of kingship on earth, Frankincense as a symbol of a true God, an ingredient of sacred oil and Myrrh a symbol of humanity. Perhaps, just perhaps the gift worth giving was the wisdom that accompanied the composite of the treasures the wise men open that night.
They put the most treasured and respected items of the land in the hands of the parents that born the most treasured infant. These gifts symbolize what God most desires from us at any time of the year. He desires that we worship Him with contributions given to those who care for the body of Christ.
He desires that we meet the most basic human needs of others: clothe the naked, feed the hungry, visit the jails, tend to the sick and shut in and nurture the young…
When we do this, we are giving to Him and bestowing the wisest and most precious gift of all…Love.
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