Why the Gifts?

We all have relatives that give strange gifts and we have others who give great gifts. Have you ever thought about the gifts given to Mary & Joseph by the wise men? Here is the description: 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Interesting gifts for a baby, even a king baby wouldn’t you say? I’m thinking diapers, some wipes, maybe a pack and play….but probably not gold, frankincense and myrrh. Now, a lot of people have written things that attach theological significance to these gifts and perhaps they are right but I doubt those ideas had any significance to Mary and Joseph at the time. But then a few verses later we read this: 13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

 Now where do you suppose Joseph got the money to make this trip. I’m sure he didn’t borrow it from his dad or Mary’s dad. I believe he got the money by selling the gifts given to him by the wise men. Though the wise men didn’t know about this impending trip to Egypt, nor did Mary & Joseph at the time, God knew about the trip and He knew that Mary and Joseph would need some resources to make the trip…so the wise men came bearing gifts. I am always amazed at how God works these things out…you’d think He knows everything or something like that J You can trust God to provide the things youneed when you need them; just like He did for Mary & Joseph.