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speak truth to power

Matthew 2:5&6
"5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule My people Israel."

This week we are studying the WISE MEN seeking the newborn King. Their arrival in the court of King Herod was a challenge to the king's rule. Here the Wise Men experience the tension and wicked nature of Herod's rule. Herod thought he was the one and only King of the Jews. And, he would NOT entertain the idea of ANY competition.

How embarrassing it was for outsiders to come and reveal the prophetic writings in the Jewish Scriptures! Herod "DEMANDED of them where Christ should be born." In today's verses we read their answer. "In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a GOVERNOR, that shall RULE My people ISRAEL." The Holy Scriptures they are quoted is Micha 5:2. It's important that Herod's scribes did NOT quote the whole prophecy. They left out “whose goings forth have been from of old, from EVERLASTING.” Most likely their fear of Herod made them unwilling to share all the information. We can see in our world today that people jealously hold onto information and fear speaking TRUTH to powerful people.
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