Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
“‘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.’”
Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. Matthew 2:1-12
Jehovah Jireh is a title for God in Genesis 22:14 when Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac and God provided a ram instead of Isaac. The meaning of the Jehovah Jireh means in English ‘the God who sees and or provides’. This example found only in the gospel of Matthew of the magi visiting the child Jesus is another example of Jehovah Jireh. Now our current concept of the story of the birth of Jesus has the magi coming on the night of the birth, but that cannot be substantiated by history or this account, but more likely the magi came at a later date closer to the time right before the angel came to Joseph in a dream telling him to take his family and to flee to Egypt and to remain there until the angel tells him otherwise (verse 13).
As a child I never questioned the narrative of the wise men in the nativity scene. In fact that narrative was always presented in movies, pictures, plays, and stories yet when I was an adult and learned to research – that I began to question the timeline of the magi’s visitation time and place. Because Herod sent them to Bethlehem most believe the earlier account narrative. Where and when the magi found the child Jesus isn’t the main issue I see now – but that God “saw” the coming situation and “provided” for the new family to be able to travel to and stay in a foreign land by funding the entire trip. I always wondered why the magi brought ‘gifts’ and some speculate that each ‘gift’ spoke to the nature and life Jesus was to live, but being the weird person I am and having a different perspective, I saw the extreme financial value of those gifts. Then it ‘dawned’ on me –those ‘gifts’ funded their escape and time in Egypt. Joseph now having the urgent angel message – could now buy the needed provisions and way for their escape to Egypt. Those (gifts) provisions most likely provided the money to establish a life in Egypt.
Jehovah Jireh. The God who sees.
He sees your situation too. Do you believe that?