Christmas, 2024
Havasu Christian Church
Gold for a baby? You’ve got to be kidding me!
The word GOLD sets hearts beating faster. We’ve all probably had a moment where we thought “If I was digging a hole in my yard and found gold, wouldn’t that be AMAZING?”
People have gone to great lengths down through the ages to “get rich quick” by searching for Gold. When we made our trip to Alaska, we traveled to the city of Skagway, where our guide told us much of the history of the area.
Starting in the 1870s, prospectors trickled into the Yukon in search of gold. By 1896, around 1,500 prospectors panned for gold along the Yukon River basin—one of them was American George Carmack.
On August 16, 1896, Carmack, along with Jim Mason and Tagish Charlie, later called Dawson Charlie discovered Yukon gold on Rabbit Creek (later renamed Bonanza Creek), a Klondike River tributary that ran through both Alaskan and Yukon Territory.
Little did they know their discovery would spur a massive gold rush.
Conditions in the Yukon were harsh and made communication with the outside world difficult at best. As a result, word didn’t get out about the Klondike gold discovery until 1897.
Once it did, however, droves of people known as stampeders headed north, searching for Yukon gold and a wealthier fate. Most had no idea where they were going or what they’d face along the way.
Canadian authorities required every stampeder to have a year’s worth of gold mining equipment and supplies before crossing the Canadian border.
warm clothes and outerwear, moccasins and boots, blankets and towels, mosquito netting, personal care items, medicine, first aid items, candles and matches, soap, approximately 1,000 pounds of food, tools and mining equipment, and camping equipment
Getting to Yukon Territory wasn’t easy, especially while hauling a literal ton of supplies. For the first leg of the journey, well-stocked stampeders traveled to port cities in the Pacific Northwest and boarded boats headed north to the Alaskan town of Skagway which took them to the White Pass Trail, or Dyea (Dye-ee) which took them to the Chilkoot Trail.
The next leg of the trip was the most difficult no matter which trail a stampeder chose. The White Pass was not as steep or rugged as the Chilkoot, but it was new, narrow, clogged, and slippery with mud. Many animals became stuck and died, earning the trail the nickname, “The Dead Horse Trail.” It’s estimated 3,000 horses died on White Pass.
The Chilkoot Trail was steep, icy and snowy. Although pack animals were used to haul supplies for much of the stampeders’ journey, once they reached Chilkoot Trail they had to abandon the animals and carry their supplies the rest of the way. This usually required making several trips up and down a frozen slope, including 1,500 steps carved of snow and ice known as the “golden staircase.”
Daunted, many prospectors gave up at this point and headed home. One eyewitness reported, “It is impossible to give one an idea of the slowness with which things are moving. It takes a day to go four or five miles and back; it takes a dollar to do what ten cents would do at home.”
The final leg of the journey was also treacherous and slow-going. After crossing Chilkoot or White Pass, prospectors had to build or rent boats and brave hundreds of miles of winding Yukon River rapids to reach Dawson City in the Yukon Territory, Canada, where they hoped to set up camp and stake their claims. Many people died during the river trip.
Only about 30,000 weary stampeders finally arrived in Dawson City. Most were gravely disappointed to learn reports of available Klondike gold were greatly exaggerated. For many, thoughts of gold and wealth had sustained them during their grueling journey. Learning they’d come so far for nothing was too much to bear and they immediately booked passage home.
Miners who came to the Yukon in the winter had to wait months for the ground to thaw. They set up makeshift camps in Dawson and endured the harsh winter as best they could. With so many bodies crammed into a small area and sanitary facilities lacking, sickness, disease and death from infectious illness were commonplace.
Some stayed in Dawson and attempted to mine gold—they usually came up empty-handed. But instead of returning home, they took advantage of Dawson’s booming infrastructure and worked in or opened saloons, supply stores, banks, brothels and restaurants. Most of the town’s merchants made their fortunes off the never-ending supply of miners arriving consumed with gold fever.
Back in the Old Testament, God required gold to be used in His Tabernacle and later in the Temple.
The Ark of the Covenant was covered inside and out with Gold, and the mercy seat was made of Gold as well. The two cherubim on it were made of hammered gold, the poles to carry it with were covered with gold, and inside it was a golden pot, containing some of the Manna that God gave the people of Israel to eat.
The table of Shewbread was covered with gold as were the poles to carry it. All the utensils made for it, including plates and bowls were made from gold as well.
The Altar of Incense was covered with Gold and all the utensils for it were also gold.
The lampstands were hammered out from a single piece of solid gold.
There were LOTS of other things that were made of Gold as well!
There are many other references to Gold in the Bible, but in this season of the year, the one we’ll focus on today, is the first gift that is mentioned as a gift from the Magi, the Wisemen.…. Gold.
Today, we will be answering the question, WHY did the wisemen bring GOLD?
Matthew 2:11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
- As we have already established, gold is and always has been precious.
- As of 4:57 PM EST on December 6, 2024, the spot price of gold is:
- Per ounce: $2,647.16
- Per gram: $85.11
- Per kilo: $85,108.17
- A gift that matters most is one that cost you.
- An extremely rich guy buying you a Jaguar to drive would be great!
- But your young child saving up his nickels & dimes to buy you a Hot Wheel because they love you would cost your child a lot more!
- In that sense, it would be WORTH much more than a Jaguar.
- God wanted His people in the Old Testament to understand how precious a gift it was for God to choose them as His people.
- The Tabernacle had to cost them something!
- God wanted them to respond in a way that showed that they considered Him precious too.
- God wanted His people, including us, to understand that His Son, Jesus was worthy of a precious gift!
- Gold was useful.
- Very shortly, after the wise men didn’t return to Herod, Joseph had his little family on the road.
- They were headed to Egypt.
- To escape what Herod was about to do in order to get rid of his “rival King!”
Matthew 2:13–23 Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord *appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.”
14 So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt.
15 He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON.”
16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.
17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
18 “A VOICE WAS HEARD IN RAMAH,
WEEPING AND GREAT MOURNING,
RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN;
AND SHE REFUSED TO BE COMFORTED,
BECAUSE THEY WERE NO MORE.”
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord *appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said,
20 “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.”
21 So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee,
23 and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
- Joseph takes his little family to a place where he had no connections.
- No friends.
- No family.
- No “word of mouth” advertising for his livelihood as a carpenter.
- Gold will be a lifesaver while they get themselves settled.
- No one living knows for sure how long Jesus, Mary & Joseph stayed in Egypt.
- There’s argument about the year Jesus was born.
- There’s argument about how old Jesus was when the Magi appeared on the doorstep of the house where they were living in Bethlehem.
- There is some argument about exactly when Herod died.
- It really doesn’t matter!
- They went.
- They had funds to help them live.
- They came back!
- Gold was a fitting gift for a King…. JESUS!
- Even then, Jesus was already KING!
- He obviously has not declared Himself King, but He is!
- God saw to it that this gift from the Magi reflected His Son’s Kingship!
- The Magi understood this.
“Where is He who is born King of the Jews?”
- Herod understood this as well.
- He looks at Jesus as a future political rival.
- He commits a heinous act, to try to get rid of the future King.
- It kind of reminds you of Saul trying to get rid of David!
- Herod could no more defeat the plan of God then Saul could.
- Jesus, the King of the Jews, would be protected, and would come forth at the proper time to show Himself King!
Conclusion:
- Jesus is still Precious!
- Jesus still wants our gifts to Him to cost us something.
- What is precious to you?
- It might be your money.
- It might be your time.
- It might be things that you have.
- It might even be your family.
- There can be nothing we withhold from Jesus.
- What we give Jesus will not go to waste.
- When we give up what is important to us, and give it to Jesus, He understands our sacrifice.
- It is precious to Him!
Matthew 6:19–21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
- Jesus WAS the King, Jesus IS THE KING!
- There should be no debate on this!
- The only question is this: Am I living in a way that reflects that Jesus is MY King?
- Each of us have to answer that question before God, in our own minds.
- He sees everything I do.
- He sees everything I say.
- He knows my innermost thoughts, better than I do.
- He knows WHY I do WHAT I do.
- Before we fall headlong into all the celebrating,
- I need to be intentional in making sure that JESUS IS MY LORD!
- YOU need to be intentional in making sure that JESUS IS YOUR LORD!
