Ask Mr Bible

Note the record involved:

● The event in Genesis 35

“And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also. And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin. And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which [is] Bethlehem” (Gen. 35:16-19).

● The event in Luke 2

“And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:4-7).

Note the relationships involved:

● Both describe two mothers giving birth.

  It would be Rachel’s final birth.
  It would be Mary’s first birth.

● Both babies were boys.

● Both were born in Bethlehem.

● Both would bring sorrow to their mothers.

Rachel would die giving birth to her son.

Mary would later be grieved watching her son die.

“And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34, 35).

“Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home” (John 19:25-27).

● The names given to the first son would later apply to the second son.

Rachel called her infant son, Ben-oni, meaning, “son of my sorrow.”

Jacob however, called him Benjamin, meaning, “son of my right hand.”

Spiritually speaking, Jesus was later known as Ben-oni.

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isa. 53:3).

Spiritually speaking, Jesus is now known as Benjamin.

“But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool” (Heb. 10:12, 13).

1. Who were the wise men?  It is thought that they were perhaps a group of religious astronomers living in the Mesopotamian area.

2. How did they associate the star with Christ?  There are several possibilities.  In the fourteenth century, B.C., a prophet from their area named Balaam had spoken of this star.  (See Num. 24:17.)  They also had the writings of Daniel, who had been prime minister of both Babylon and Persia some six centuries before Christ.  Daniel, of course, wrote much about the second coming.

3. Why did they come?  These men were doubtless acquainted with the various religions of the East and knew the emptiness of them all.  It would seem that they followed this star to find peace and purpose for their lives.

4. When did they arrive in Bethlehem?  It was perhaps not until some two years after the angels announced his birth to the shepherds.  He is referred to as “the young child” (Matt. 2:9, 11, 13-14), and is not a tiny babe at this time.  When Herod later attempted to destroy this unknown Babe, he had all children in the Bethlehem area two years and under slain (Matt. 2:16).

5. How many wise men came?  There is no evidence that there were three.  On the contrary, the group may have numbered from two to several hundred or more.  Tradition, however, claims that there were but three and that their names were Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar.

6. Why did the star, after leading the wise men to Jerusalem, apparently disappear for a brief time and then reappear, taking them directly to Bethlehem?  It may be that God intended this visit for the sake of the Jewish leaders.  However, they had degenerated to such a level that they were unwilling to travel down the road a few miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to see if their Messiah had really come.  But here was a group of sincere Gentiles who had traveled across a hostile and extended desert to find him.

7. Was the star a regular one?  The astronomer Kepler said there was a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn about this time in history.  However, by no stretch of the imagination could a planet or star located thousands of millions of miles from earth function in the precise way this star did as recorded by Matthew.  “The star … came and stood over where the young child was” (Matt. 2:9).  It is not at all unreasonable, however, to suggest that the star was actually a New Testament appearance of that Old Testament Shekinah Glory cloud that led Israel across the desert.

8. What gifts did they offer him?
 ● They gave him gold, which spoke of his deity.
 ● They gave him frankincense, which spoke of his humanity.
 ● They gave him myrrh, which spoke of his future sufferings. 
  Reg Grant writes:
  “During her life, Mary would see Jesus receive the gift of myrrh on five occasions; twice from  Gentiles and three times from Jews.
a. On the first occasion, the Magi brought myrrh from the east in honor of Jesus as King of Kings (Matt. 2:11).  This event anticipated the worship Christ will receive from the Gentile nations in the future kingdom.
b. The second occasion found Jesus in the home of Simon the Pharisee receiving myrrh from the loving hand of a contrite woman who approached Jesus as her great High Priest, the One who could forgive her many sins (Luke 7:36-50).
c. The third offering of myrrh came from the devout Mary of Bethany as she anointed Christ for his burial prior to his death.  This showed that she understood the sacrificial nature of his ministry in a way that even his closest disciples had failed to grasp.
d. Just before the crucifixion, the Roman soldiers offered Christ a fourth ‘gift’ of myrrh mixed with wine—a kind of narcotic to dull the pain—but he refused it.
e. The fifth and final offering came from the hand of Nicodemus when he provided a mixture of myrrh and aloes for anointing Christ’s body following his crucifixion (John 19:39).”  (Kindred Spirit Magazine, Winter 1988 edition, pp. 13-14)

For With God Nothing Shall be Impossible

“And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS … Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda”

(Luke 1:30, 31, 34-39).

Never in the history of childbirth did two expectant mothers have more to talk about than these two women.

A. Here was Elisabeth, well past the childbearing years, but anticipating a baby.

B. Here was Mary, a young virgin, but now with child. This was the case because “with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37).

It should be noted that Elisabeth’s unborn child is referred to twice as “the babe” (Luke 1:41, 44), indicating scripture’s position on abortion. From the beginning, John was not looked upon as a developing mass of human tissue or a fetus, but as “the babe.”

But what about a therapeutic abortion? Consider the following: A therapeutic abortion occurs when a pregnant woman is persuaded (often by her doctor) that her unborn child presents an emotional or mental threat to her general well-being. Therefore, the most practical and painless solution (for the mother at least) is simply to kill the offending baby. There are two well-known instances in history in which this attitude toward unborn human life could certainly have been applied.

The first case involved that of an older woman, the wife of a respected religious leader, living in a large southern city. Present-day advice to her would have been: “Do you really feel it wise to complete this birth?Consider your age. The psychological strain upon you will be much greater than it would be on a younger woman. Then too, as an older parent, don’t you think you’ll have real problems adjusting to this infant? I mean, it might even affect your relationship with your husband. No, all things considered, it would be far better to terminate the potential problem right now.”

The second case had to do with a teenage girl, engaged to a struggling young tradesman, living in a small northern town. Here there could be no doubt. A quick abortion would immediately solve the embarrassment and downright hostility, which would certainly develop if the unborn baby was not destroyed.

Two simple and clear-cut cases for therapeutic abortion. Not quite. Could even the most calloused present-day abortion mill operator stomach the thought of Elisabeth (the older woman) and Mary (the teenager) with trembling hands and hearts awaiting the sharp instrument of some ancient abortionist?