Way of The Warrior- A Daily Devotional

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the whole empire. This was the first census to take place while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, since he was from the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to him in marriage and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her Child to be born. And she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. – Luke 2:1-7 BSB

Warrior.

The Bible is so fascinating, it has so much hidden meaning and special ‘tie-ins’.  God has hidden in His Word many mysteries.  It is like a puzzle, or an Advent calendar.  We can put a bigger picture together when we study the Bible, and there are many hidden gems behind many doors that are discovered when the picture starts coming together.  By studying these simple verses, we see so much.  What happened to get Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, at the right time, so that what was prophesied about hundreds and thousands of years prior would be fulfilled! V2 says, this was the FIRST Census to take place under this leadership- in other words, this was NOT normal.  When a woman is about to give birth, especially as a 13-14-year-old girl, riding hundreds of miles on a donkey would have been ridiculous.  The fact that Joseph was in the line of David and had to return to Bethlehem, which was a small, little, quaint, nothing town.  The fact that there was no place for the SON OF GOD to lay His head, the fact that Jesus came to His creation, but they knew Him not…. All in fulfillment of the scriptures.  NOT every person is a child of God, however, we are ALL creatures of God, created beings.  Some of His creatures, choose God and some choose, OTHER.  No matter their choice, God will use them to complete and accomplish His purpose! God used both His followers and the earth-dwellers to accomplish this GREAT GIFT!

Leaders, Biblical numbers are used in prophecies of time and cycles. The interpretation of numbers in the Bible is quite different from how numbers are interpreted under popular numerological methods. Chapter 2, v7 talks about; Firstborn, Son, laid in a manger, no room for Him where others stayed…. What a loaded verse with Spiritual implications throughout the entire Bible. Words, phrases, and concepts that are redundantly applied and connected throughout all of scripture. In the Bible certain numbers are more significant than others and the way they are used, and repetition of use, can unveil some HIDDEN MEANING. The numbers 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8,10, 12, 40, and 70 fall into a category of what are considered some of the ‘significant numbers’. The number 2 is the number of WITNESS, it is about UNION: Where 2 or more are gathered in my name, you shall have 2 witnesses, for this reason a man shall leave his mother and father and become one, with his wife…. (Matthew 18:19-20, Deuteronomy 19:15, John 8:17, Genesis 2:24). The number 7 is considered the NUMBER OF GOD, it represents Spiritual Completeness. The number 7 is incredibly significant in the book of Revelation, and the entire Bible. There are 7 spirits, 7 seals, 7 trumpets, 7 vials, etc. The number 7 is used 53 times in Revelation, and 670 total times throughout the entire canon of the Holy Scriptures.

Conduit, let us focus the rest of this study on the English word in Luke 2:7, MANGER! To better understand this word, MANGER, let us go to the Greek Lexicon. A lexicon is the collection of words, a dictionary, for a particular language. Remember the New Testament was written in Greek and it is translated into other languages, including English. In order to understand THE WORD, we must sometimes go back to THE WORD that was actually used at that time. Strong’s Lexicon is one of the most recognized and used “Dictionary” for the Greek language when studying the Bible. Strong’s Greek 5336: A manger is a feeding-trough, a stall. After the son of man was supernaturally conceived and birthed, BABY JESUS was laid in a FEEDING TROUGH! How significant is this? Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. Jesus is the WORD OF GOD. But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” Not only is Jesus FOOD FOR THOSE who seek a city whose foundation is built on the WORD OF GOD- where Jesus was made incarnate, Bethlehem, the city itself is also about sustenance. In Hebrew, Beth-lehem is two words and means “house” (Beth as in Beth-el, “house of God”) and “bread” (lehem). The Hebrew language is read from right to left, and so Bethlehem is written like this: bread house. Bethlehem was a small town, with little worldly significance. However, Biblically, it is the place of the death of Rachel, the birth of David and Jesus, and the marriage of Ruth and Boaz. It is ‘the house of bread’ and it was A PLACE OF WEEPING. As we celebrate this Christmas season, may we FEAST upon the BREAD OF LIFE! He is the sustainer of our Soul, and He is the author of our salvation, and HE IS THE ONE who went to HELL and back so that we might go to HEAVEN and spend eternity worshipping Him and in the presence of the GLORY OF GOD and never thirst, hunger, or cry again!