Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries of Saint Louis, Missouri, United States "Herod's Seat" by Reverend Wayne Palmer for Sunday, January 3, 2016

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries of Saint Louis, Missouri, United States "Herod's Seat" by Reverend Wayne Palmer for Sunday, January 3, 2016
Read Matthew 2:

4 He called together all the head cohanim and Torah-teachers of the people and asked them, “Where will the Messiah be born?” 5 “In Beit-Lechem of Y’hudah,” they replied, “because the prophet wrote,

6 ‘And you, Beit-Lechem in the land of Y’hudah,

are by no means the least among the rulers of Y’hudah;

for from you will come a Ruler

who will shepherd my people Isra’el.’”[

Matthew 2:6 Micah 5:1(2)

]. TEXT: (Micah wrote) "And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd My people Israel"(Matthew 2:6).

King Herod has no idea where the Christ Child is to be born. He is not even a Jew himself. He was appointed ruler over the Jews by the Roman Senate. So he summons the Jewish chief priests and scribes to learn where the Christ is to be born.
The aged king hears the Word of God, but he fails to notice the humble reign of Israel's new ruler--He comes as a shepherd. Though he hears the good news, he closes his mind to his gracious Lord and dwells instead on his dark, self-absorbed, paranoid thoughts.
Herod's subjects fear his rage and cruelty. Soon they will see yet one more evidence of what a deluded person does when he cuts himself off from his God and Savior. How different from the good and noble wise men who will bow in worship before the King of the Jews!
Each of us also finds ourselves in Herod's seat. Each of us must decide if we will submit our lives to our Shepherd King like the wise men or if we will arrogantly resist His humble coming, trying in vain to live life on our own terms. In his selfish blindness Herod's noble traits fell away one after another, until only a wretched shell of a man remained. He may refuse to bow to Jesus now, but soon he must come before His judgment seat.
It's a chilling picture of our future if we cast aside the Christ in cold, uncaring unbelief.
THE PRAYER: Lord Jesus, forgive my selfish ambitions. Cleanse my heart and turn me to love and worship You as the wise men. Amen.
Through the Bible in a Year
Today Read:
Genesis 7:1 (ii) Adonai said to Noach, “Come into the ark, you and all your household; for I have seen that you alone in this generation are righteous before me. 2 Of every clean animal you are to take seven couples, and of the animals that are not clean, one couple; 3 also of the birds in the air take seven couples — in order to preserve their species throughout the earth. 4 For in seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; I will wipe out every living thing that I have made from the face of the earth.” 5 Noach did all that Adonai ordered him to do.

6 Noach was 600 years old when the water flooded the earth. 7 Noach went into the ark with his sons, his wife and his sons’ wives, because of the floodwaters. 8 Of clean animals, of animals that are not clean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, 9 couples, male and female, went in to Noach in the ark, as God had ordered Noach.

10 After seven days the water flooded the earth. 11 On the seventeenth day of the second month of the 600th year of Noach’s life all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of the sky were opened. 12 It rained on the earth forty days and forty nights.

13 On that same day Noach entered the ark with Shem, Ham and Yefet the sons of Noach, Noach’s wife and the three wives of his sons accompanying them; 14 they, and every animal of every species, all the livestock of every species, every animal that creeps on the ground of every species, and every bird of every species — all sorts of winged creatures. 15 They went in to Noach in the ark, couples from every kind of living thing that breathes. 16 Those that entered went in, male and female, from every kind of living being, as God had ordered him; and Adonai shut him inside.

(iii) 17 The flood was forty days on the earth; the water grew higher and floated the ark, so that it was lifted up off the earth. 18 The water overflowed the earth and grew deeper, until the ark floated on the surface of the water. 19 The water overpowered the earth mightily; all the high mountains under the entire sky were covered; 20 the water covered the mountains by more than twenty-two-and-a-half feet. 21 All living beings that moved on the earth perished — birds, livestock, other animals, insects, and every human being, 22 everything in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life; whatever was on dry land died. 23 He wiped out every living thing on the surface of the ground — not only human beings, but livestock, creeping animals and birds in the air. They were wiped out from the earth; only Noach was left, along with those who were with him in the ark. 24 The water held power over the earth for 150 days.

8:1 God remembered Noach, every living thing and all the livestock with him in the ark; so God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water began to go down. 2 Also the fountains of the deep and the windows of the sky were stopped, the rain from the sky was restrained, 3 and the water came back from completely covering the earth. It was after 150 days that the water went down. 4 On the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5 The water kept going down until the tenth month; on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains were seen.

6 After forty days Noach opened the window of the ark which he had built; 7 and he sent out a raven, which flew back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. 8 Then he sent out a dove, to see if the water had gone from the surface of the ground. 9 But the dove found no place for her feet to rest, so she returned to him in the ark, because the water still covered the whole earth. He put out his hand, took her and brought her in to him in the ark. 10 He waited another seven days and again sent the dove out from the ark. 11 The dove came in to him in the evening, and there in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf, so Noach knew that the water had cleared from the earth. 12 He waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, and she didn’t return to him any more.

13 By the first day of the first month of the 601st year the water had dried up from off the earth; so Noach removed the covering of the ark and looked; and, yes, the surface of the ground was dry. 14 It was on the twenty-seventh day of the second month that the earth was dry.

(iv) 15 God said to Noach, 16 “Go out from the ark, you, your wife, your sons and your son’s wives with you. 17 Bring out with you every living thing you have with you — birds, livestock and every animal that creeps on the earth — so that they can swarm on the earth, be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” 18 So Noach went out with his sons, his wife and his sons’ wives; 19 every animal, every creeping thing and every bird, whatever moves on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark.

20 Noach built an altar to Adonai. Then he took from every clean animal and every clean bird, and he offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 Adonai smelled the sweet aroma, and Adonai said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, since the imaginings of a person’s heart are evil from his youth; nor will I ever again destroy all living things, as I have done. 22 So long as the earth exists, sowing time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.”

9:1 God blessed Noach and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth. 2 The fear and dread of you will be upon every wild animal, every bird in the air, every creature populating the ground, and all the fish in the sea; they have been handed over to you. 3 Every moving thing that lives will be food for you; just as I gave you green plants before, so now I give you everything — 4 only flesh with its life, which is its blood, you are not to eat. 5 I will certainly demand an accounting for the blood of your lives: I will demand it from every animal and from every human being. I will demand from every human being an accounting for the life of his fellow human being. 6 Whoever sheds human blood, by a human being will his own blood be shed; for God made human beings in his image. 7 And you people, be fruitful, multiply, swarm on the earth and multiply on it.”

(v) 8 God spoke to Noach and his sons with him; he said, 9 “As for me — I am herewith establishing my covenant with you, with your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you — the birds, the livestock and every wild animal with you, all going out of the ark, every animal on earth. 11 I will establish my covenant with you that never again will all living beings be destroyed by the waters of a flood, and there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 God added, “Here is the sign of the covenant I am making between myself and you and every living creature with you, for all generations to come: 13 I am putting my rainbow in the cloud — it will be there as a sign of the covenant between myself and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth, and the rainbow is seen in the cloud; 15 I will remember my covenant which is between myself and you and every living creature of any kind; and the water will never again become a flood to destroy all living beings. 16 The rainbow will be in the cloud; so that when I look at it, I will remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of any kind on the earth.”

17 God said to Noach, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between myself and every living creature on the earth.”

(vi) 18 The sons of Noach who went out from the ark were Shem, Ham and Yefet. Ham is the father of Kena‘an. 19 These three were the sons of Noach, and the whole earth was populated by them.

20 Noach, a farmer, was the first to plant a vineyard. 21 He drank so much of the wine that he got drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Kena‘an, saw his father shamefully exposed, went out and told his two brothers. 23 Shem and Yefet took a cloak, put it over both their shoulders, and, walking backward, went in and covered their naked father. Their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father lying there shamefully exposed.

24 When Noach awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him. 25 He said, “Cursed be Kena‘an; he will be a servant of servants to his brothers.” 26 Then he said, “Blessed be Adonai, the God of Shem; Kena‘an will be their servant. 27 May God enlarge Yefet; he will live in the tents of Shem, but Kena‘an will be their servant.”

28 After the flood Noach lived 350 years. 29 In all, Noach lived 950 years; then he died.

Matthew 3:1 It was during those days that Yochanan the Immerser arrived in the desert of Y’hudah and began proclaiming the message, 2 “Turn from your sins to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near!” 3 This is the man Yesha‘yahu was talking about when he said,

“The voice of someone crying out:

‘In the desert prepare the way of Adonai!

Make straight paths for him!’”[Matthew 3:3 Isaiah 40:3]

4 Yochanan wore clothes of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Yerushalayim, from all Y’hudah, and from the whole region around the Yarden. 6 Confessing their sins, they were immersed by him in the Yarden River.

7 But when Yochanan saw many of the P’rushim and Tz’dukim coming to be immersed by him, he said to them, “You snakes! Who warned you to escape the coming punishment? 8 If you have really turned from your sins to God, produce fruit that will prove it! 9 And don’t suppose you can comfort yourselves by saying, ‘Avraham is our father’! For I tell you that God can raise up for Avraham sons from these stones! 10 Already the axe is at the root of the trees, ready to strike; every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown in the fire! 11 It’s true that I am immersing you in water so that you might turn from sin to God; but the one coming after me is more powerful than I — I’m not worthy even to carry his sandals — and he will immerse you in the Ruach HaKodesh and in fire. 12 He has with him his winnowing fork; and he will clear out his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn but burning up the straw with unquenchable fire!”

13 Then Yeshua came from the Galil to the Yarden to be immersed by Yochanan. 14 But Yochanan tried to stop him. “You are coming to me? I ought to be immersed by you!” 15 However, Yeshua answered him, “Let it be this way now, because we should do everything righteousness requires.” Then Yochanan let him. 16 As soon as Yeshua had been immersed, he came up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, he saw the Spirit of God coming down upon him like a dove, 17 and a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; I am well pleased with him.”

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