Bible: Matthew 2: 7-12

Main verse: 1SAMUEL 15: 22 part B – Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

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All of us know the Christmas story in which the wise men from the East came to worship Jesus as He was born in Bethlehem. They came and brought gifts for Jesus to show their respect. The presents were gold, frankincense and myrrh.

MATTHEW 2: 9-11 – When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

We all know the meaning of these gifts. Gold is the symbol of high status, like of a king, as Jesus is the Word of God and He is God Himself:

PSALM 47: 2 – For the LORD most high is terrible; He is a great King over all the earth.

1KINGS 10: 10 – And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

Frankincense is the symbol of the priest, as Jesus was called the High Priest of all, Who was going to offer to God a sacrifice for the sake of all mankind:

LEVITICUS 2: 16 – And the priest shall burn the memorial of it, part of the beaten corn thereof, and part of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

HEBREWS 9: 11 – But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building.

Lastly, myrrh is the symbol of the suffering that Jesus was going to endure on the cross for all humans’ sins:

MARK 15: 23 – And they gave Him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but He received it not.

The wise men brought those gifts to Jesus because they were inspired by God as they longed to see a Savior that came from Heaven. If we Christians have the desire to see Jesus on the glorious day when He comes back to Earth, then we will also be inspired to offer the most precious gift to Him in this Christmas season and for the rest of our lives.

The Bible reminds us that every time we come before God in His house, we should not go with empty hands. We should bring in an offering:

EXODUS 23: 15 – Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty.

PSALM 96: 8 – Give unto the LORD the glory due unto His name: bring an offering, and come into His courts.

The main verse we have today lets us know that obeying God is the best offering:

1SAMUEL 15: 22 – And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

There are three main reasons that makes obeying God the best offering. Firstly, obeying God to live a good life according to the standards in the Bible is counted as true faith, and it will help us obtain salvation in Jesus Christ.

JAMES 2: 14,17- – What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Obeying God to live a good life pleases God the most because He wants us to live an eternal life with him:

1TIMOTHY 2: 4 – Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

MATTHEW 7: 21 – Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

JOHN 3: 3 – Jesus answered and said unto hi: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Secondly, obeying God to live a good life according to the Bible’s standards will help us glorify God and spread our belief to other people. By doing so, we can show Him our appreciation for His love to us.

2CORINTHIANS 2: 14 – Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

The words “triumph in Christ” means we must depend on His blessings and strength to win over temptations in order to proclaim our faith to the world. We are blessed only by abiding to His teachings and living accordingly, because God is just and He never bless those who sin. Obeying God to live a good life in order to glorify Him is an offering that pleases God.

Thirdly, obeying God will help us to gain more blessings from him. That pleases God because He wants all mankind to be blessed, especially those who are His children.

EPHESIANS 1: 3 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

JOHN 9: 31 – Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth His will, him He heareth.

JEREMIAH 7: 23 – But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.

Those three reasons lets us know that obeying God is the best offering we could give. In this Christmas season and for the rest of our lives, we should always obey God and His teachings in the Bible.

We should also know that obeying God is not an easy thing to do. Human nature has the tendency to disobey, and with every kind of temptation around us, we know that humans always find reason to disobey, both God and human laws. That’s why every government has a mean to force the populace to obey their imperfect laws.

For Christians, obeying God is the thing that we should do willingly. God has punishment for humans as consequences for their actions on Earth, but He never forces anyone to obey Him or to serve Him. It is beneath His dignity. He is the powerful Creator Who does not need humans to serve Him. We serve Him because we want to be blessed by Him, not because He needs our services.

ACTS 17: 25 – Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though He needed any thing, seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.

Because of human nature and because of Satan’s temptations, mankind feels that it’s so hard to obey God’ standards in the Bible. The Apostle Paul had experienced such struggles in his life when part of him wanted to please God and the other part of him wanted to indulge in sins and temptations:

ROMANS 7: 18-19 – For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

ROMANS 7: 24-25 – O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Only by God’s grace and His strength that we Christians can win over temptations to obey Him and lead a good life. We can start to obey God by doing small things first then eventually will take on bigger standards.

May God bless us with more grace to obey Him always in this life until the day we see Him face to face in glory. Amen.