Plastic Soldiers and HVAs

Monday December 1, 2014

Our two young boys wanted a nativity set, so we got a small one to place in their room One night my wife went to tuck them in bed, only to find that Liam (age 5) had posted little plastic soldiers to guard the nativity. "They´re making sure baby Jesus is safe," he announced.

I couldn´t wait to share a pic of his work with some military buddies. "LOL" one texted back. "Gotta protect those HVAs (High Value Assets).

Liam´s trust in military strength may be misguided. It was soldiers, after all, who carried out Herod´s heinous command to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16). But his concern for the child - Messiah melts my heart.

God has some unusual ways of caring for those He loves. With heaven´s armies at His disposal, He chooses surprising methods of leading us out of trouble - or into it. In the case of baby Jesus, "an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream" and told him to flee in to Egypt (v.13). Herod´s soldiers couldn´t catch God´s Highest Value Asset. More than three decades later, however, there would be no divine escape plan, and Roman soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. Did the Father love Jesus less when He was grown? To Christ we are High Value Assets! That´s why He went to the cross.

"Put away your sword," Jesus told the disciple who defended Him on the night He was betrayed. "Don´t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled?" (Matthew 26:52-54).

"Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God" (Psalm 20:7) - the God who sent His Son to die for His HVAs. - Tim Gustafson

Read
Matthew 2:13-23
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet : "Out of Egypt I called my son."
When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled : 

"A voice is heard in Ramah,

weeping and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children

and refusing to be comforted, 

because they are no more."

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child´s life are dead." So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."

Matthew 26:36-56

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and kep watch with me."

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" He asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."

When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"

While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them : "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him."

Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him.

Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you came for."

Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

"Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "For all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?"

At that time Jesus said to the crowd, "Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

Question to Ponder

Are you more prone to fight or flee when you see trouble coming?
How might God help you to stand your ground today?

**Taken from the ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Dec 2014- Feb 2015 issue