Luke the physician wrote how Mary, “brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night”, and in chapter two and verse nine of his book Luke shares how,“the angel of the Lord came upon them” where we read:
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them:
and they were sore afraid.
The verse reads, “And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them:” Luke began with the words, “and lo” or “and behold, look and consider”, “the angel” which means “the messenger or envoy” “of the Lord” or “belonging to the One to whom a person or thing belongs about which he has power of deciding; master and the title for God the Messiah” “came upon them” which means “presented himself to the shepherds”, “and the glory” or “and the magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity and grace” “of the Lord” which means “belonging to the One to whom a person or thing belongs about which he has power of deciding; master and the title for God the Messiah” “shone round about them” or “illuminated and shined upon the shepherds”. Luke shared how one of God's “messengers” from Heaven appeared to the shepherds and “illuminated” the area around them with God's “magnificence and grace”.
The verse goes on to say, “and they were sore afraid.” Luke continued with the words, “and they” which means “and the shepherds” “were sore afraid” or “were greatly and intensely filled with fear, terror, alarm and fright”. Luke shared how the shepherds responded by being “greatly afraid” at the appearance of the “angel”.
When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we discover another part to the story of Jesus' birth. “Shepherds abiding in the field” were visited by the Lord's “messenger” who appeared in the brightness and glory of God. As we can imagine, the “shepherds” became greatly “afraid” when the “angel” came. God had a special assignment for this “angel”, and He would employ the “shepherds” to announce the coming of the Messiah. God's plan was being fulfilled, and because He loves people so much, His plan would save them from their sins and provide them with “everlasting life”. Those who are wise will carefully examine the “angel's” message and yield their lives to the One who is able to grant salvation.
Next time Luke shares how the angel says, “fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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