Matthew 2:5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:”

It has always bothered me that the priests and scribes were so familiar with the Old Testament that they could come up with this answer, but they had so little expectation of prophecy being fulfilled that they made no move of their own to try to find the child of whom this was prophesied, even though magi had come a great distance to search for Him, convinced that the prophecy was fulfilled. Human beings are capable of incredible rationalizations and justifications that have no basis in reality! We get so completely blinded and absorbed by what our senses tell us that we don’t listen to God at all. We expect everything to be business as usual, when God is saying, “Behold, I do a new thing.” Things can change! Recently something happened in Washington DC that Bill Whittle characterized as pigs flying: a 1500+ page Continuing Resolution was cut down to less than 10% of the original, and then was passed overwhelmingly. There is hope for change in Washington! As momentous as that might seem, it is relatively insignificant on the eternal scale, and it is not very personal for most of us. We need to be listening to God and doing what He tells us. Many are pointing to signs of prophetic fulfillment, indicating End Times, but many more are oblivious. That’s on the eternal scale. On the personal scale, God tells us to speak to someone, but we’re embarrassed or just can’t be bothered, and so we miss out on participating in something God wants to do. The priests and scribes who essentially ignored the magi and Scripture were not unusually bad. In a way, they were all too typical of how we respond to the truth God presents to us.

I have long felt that James 1:22 was written expressly to me: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” I have been steeped in the Bible all my life, but I too fail to apply it consistently to my daily life. God speaks to me in various ways all the time, but I am all too prone to say, that’s nice, and just go on my way as though I never heard Him. That’s the height of stupidity, deceiving myself, just as James said. As a pastor, I am forever telling others to listen to God, but I don’t bat 1000 myself. I’m reminded of something Jesus told His disciples: “So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” (Luke 17:10) I haven’t even done everything I was told to do! I am not to put people down for their failures, but walk with them in spiritual growth, knowing that God alone is perfect, and He is incredibly gracious and loving.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I’ve always been down on those priests and scribes, but I’m not much better! Help me not only take in what You say to me, but follow through to do it, in Your strength and wisdom, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!