style="font-size:15px;"> that the prophets had said that he should be born in the little
town of Bethlehem.
After Herod had found out all he could about the child, he
called the wise men and asked them how long it had been since
TIIE BIRTH OF THE CHRIST
15
they first saw the star. He wanted to know bow old the child
was. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying to them, u Go
and look carefully for the child, and when you have found him
bring me back word where he is, that I may go and worship
him also.»
The wise men then left Herod and went to Bethlehem, follow¬
ing the star until they came
to the house where Jesus
was. And when they had
come into the house they
saw the child with Mary
his mother, and they fell
down and worshipped him.
And when they had opened
their treasures they gave
him their gifts: gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.
Frankincense and myrrh
are costly perfumes.
This is the first time
that any child ever had a
Christmas present. And
when Christmas conies
round year after year bring¬
ing with it gifts from those
who love us, we will re¬
member this story, will we
not? And we will think
with love of the little child whose birth we celebrate on Christ¬
mas Day.
After giving Jesus their presents, the wise men started home
again. But they did not go back to tell Herod where they had
The Three Wise Men
16
A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST
found the child, for God had told them in a dream that Herod
did not mean what he said, that he did not want to worship
Jesus, but to kill him. So they went home another way.
When Herod had heard the strangers asking him where the; y
could find the King of the Jews he had been greatly interested,
and a good deal worried. He was afraid that he would have more
trouble than ever with the Jews if they had a king of their own
So he, too, wanted to find the child. He had expected the wise
men to tell him when they went back to Jerusalem just where
he could be found, and there would be no more trouble after that,
But the wise men did not come back to tell him. He waited
and waited, till at last he found that they had gone to theit
homes without seeing him again. Herod was very angry wheri
he heard this. “ I must find the child,» he said; “ it will not do
to let him live to be king.» One of his plans had failed, but h. <t
thought of another.
He did not know how old the child king was, but he watf
sure that he could not be more than two years old. So, as ho
did not know where to find him, he sent his soldiers to kill eveiy
boy in Bethlehem that was two years old, or younger. (The
word “ child ” in our Bibles really means boys; Herod did not
need to kill girls in order to be sure of killing Jesus.) The
soldiers did as they were told, and there were many sad home /
in Bethlehem that day. This sounds even more cruel than it
really was, for Bethlehem was a very small town, and there were
probably not more than twenty or thirty boys there.
But even this plan of Herod’s failed to harm the child Jesus.
For on the night after the wise men had started for their homes,
an angel of the Lord said to Joseph in a dream, “ Take the child
and his mother and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I bring
you word; for Herod will look for the young child to destroy
him.»
THE BIRTH OF THE CHRIST
17
So Joseph took the child and his mother that very night,
and left Bethlehem to do as the angel had told him. In
Egypt they were safe, for
Herod had no power there,
and could not touch them,
even if he had been able to
find out that they had gone
there. Probably he never
knew that he had not killed
the boy king when he sent
his soldiers to the city where
he had been born.
They
