A Magi’s Story (Part 2)
The second part of George Booker’s imagined account of a Magi’s journey to honor Israel’s king.
Read Time: 8 minutes
I had dreamed of a pillar of fire. I knew, from previous readings of the Jewish Scriptures, that the God of Israel, the only true God, could reveal Himself in a great light, a glory so bright that mortal men could scarcely look upon it. I knew also that the same God (there is no other!) could conceal His bright presence behind an impenetrable cloud of smoke or incense. This insight came, of course, from the story of Moses and his deliverance of all God’s people out of Egyptian bondage—not just out of Egypt, but also from the clutches of Pharaoh. This ruler saw the Jews as fit only to build his pyramids, and he did not mind in the least if their numbers were controlled by the killing of their young male children. When they appealed to God, He brought plagues upon the Egyptians. Then He led His people out of Egypt, with the great pillar of cloud and fire, a sign of His divine presence, going ahead of them until they finally came to the Land of Promise.
The more I thought about this, the more I wondered: Was this history of the Jews in Egypt about to be repeated, now that they were slaves once more, being ruled by another foreign king?
I decided that, before I was ready to set out on a journey based on no more than a dream, I needed to spend some time searching through the Holy Writings—as much time as I could spare in the ensuing months. I had many duties, but I confess that, when I reasonably could, I delegated jobs to my closest assistants. It would be a good thing, anyway, to see how they fared under the burdens of heavier duties.
As I combed through the Scriptures, and especially the prophets of Israel, I found evidence which I had not seen before, bits of their testimony which I used to build a broader picture.
One of the psalms praised God for His royal Son, who (when he comes) will bring peace and prosperity to God’s people, and will reign upon the earth: “From sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.” (Psalm 72:8 NIV).
The most exciting part of this psalm, from my point of view, was that it mentioned our kingdom! “May the desert tribes bow before him… May the kings of Sheba and Seba present him gifts.” (Psalm 72:9-10 NIV).
I must tell you: when I read that psalm, I could scarcely sleep for several days, and I could think of nothing else. Had my dream really been brought to me by an angelic messenger from the LORD? Was the Ruler of the universe telling me what I should do?
There was more, so much more. I can only explain my excitement by quoting a long passage from the great prophet Isaiah, which further develops the psalm’s theme. In the prophecy, God speaks to Zion, or Jerusalem, the capital of Israel:
It was all there for me to read. How could I have missed it before? But I think it was there all along, waiting for the right time, when God would direct me to these wondrous words, and their glorious message. Praise be to the only God, who watches over all who trust in Him, who will reveal His purpose when the time is right!
When I had read this same passage from Isaiah half a dozen times, I carefully rolled up the ancient scroll, returned it to the custodian, and left the library. I hurried to take myself to the most secluded area I could think of—my own home. There, in the privacy of my bedchamber, with no one to interrupt me, I fell down and prayed. And I cried, and cried, every tear a tear of joy. God had chosen me! It was all there, in the few verses of His Word, waiting to be read hundreds of years after they were written. It was such a wonderful story: a king would be born in Israel, a king who belonged exclusively to God, a king who would bring peace to the world. And his presence would be announced by the visit of kings and rulers, from Sheba and Seba and Ethiopia, from Midian and the tribes of the desert, who brought presents to the young child—the treasures of many countries, including gold, and fine incense.
A Royal Journey
Now there was more that I would have to do. First, I sought an audience with my lord, King Abdalah. I explained to him that I believed the time had come for Sheba to seek the cooperation of nearby trading nations, asking them to accompany us to visit Jerusalem and the king who reigned there. This, I said, would solidify our position as head of the trading coalition in our region, and secondly, solidify the collective financial positions of all the kings.
When I had secured Abdalah’s agreement in principle, I called in secretaries and began dictating messages to be sent to the other rulers and their advisers in neighboring lands. I was inviting them all to join us in a great journey to Israel, with the prospect of even better trading deals.
Another Vision
At this point, I decided to keep quiet about my earlier vision. I thought it best to trust in the LORD to reveal Himself in due time, as He had done to me in the first place. Some of the rulers and advisers of neighboring areas were believers in Judaism, while the leaders of the other nations were at least familiar with the concepts. Better for them to experience for themselves the hand of Yahweh in our affairs.
So it came to pass. The preparations for this special journey had taken much time. Every participating nation had its own retinue: royal participants accompanied by their servants; drovers with their camels to carry all the merchandise; and armed guards to protect their nation’s representatives and their gold and treasure. We sent scouts ahead of the main caravan to find the best route and prepare the outposts along the way. As we got underway, I prayed again, time after time, that this trade journey would be successful—not so much in material things, but in the spiritual matters which by now were practically all I cared about.
Following the Pillar of Fire
I was not disappointed. Only a few days into our journey toward Israel, we were all awakened very early with the watchmen’s cries of alarm and wonder. They pointed to an extraordinary phenomenon: a great pillar of fire that had risen in front of our camp. It seemed to consist of a column of dust and clouds swirling around an inner core, which burned but was not consumed.
It was at this point that, with the approval of my lord Abdalah, I addressed all the other companies with us. I explained that I had seen this same vision more than a year earlier, but that I was unsure what it all meant until I had consulted the Jewish sacred writings. Once I had read the scriptures, I knew that they were a sign from God that a most special king was about to be born in Israel—and that all of our peoples, the desert-dwelling tribes and nations, would pay homage to him with the treasures at our disposal. It was, I explained, a sign of loyalty to the heavenly Power who was so much greater than we could ever imagine.
It went as I expected and hoped. Those who knew the Jewish scriptures began to recognize what they were seeing before their very eyes—that is, the presence of God. And the other companies, with lesser knowledge of such things, were also impressed—since they generally knew of so-called “wise men,” or astrologers, who saw great prophecies of coming events in special heavenly signs.
So it was agreed: We would all follow the great Light which had arisen before us, until we came to the place where the new king of Israel was to be found. Our trip took us several weeks, following the great pillar of cloud by day and camping near the great column of fire when darkness fell—until we came to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.
The Meeting with Herod
There, our leaders met with King Herod, telling him of our desire to see the one who had been born king of the Jews. Knowing what I did about Herod the Great, I had my misgivings, yet I was surprised when he showed genuine interest in our enterprise. He called his priests and scholars and demanded of them, “Where will the Messiah, the Anointed One, be born?” Their answer was, “In Bethlehem of Judah,” and they quoted a passage from Micah the prophet:
My misgivings grew when Herod asked how long it had been since the great “star” or light had appeared. I had to tell him, truthfully, that it was more than a year since the first appearance of the heavenly vision, but I was very worried: Why did he need such information? Then, when he spoke again, I became very afraid: “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” By this time, I was sure that he meant only harm toward the child, wherever he was. But I could say no more at that time.
Our company left Herod in Jerusalem, and once again the pillar of fire led us toward Bethlehem, just a few miles south of the capital. As the sky grew darker and evening approached, the great light stopped above a modest house on the outskirts of the town, and there our whole caravan waited at a respectful distance while I approached the door.
The Meeting with a True King
A young man answered my call, and I asked him if this was the home of the heir to the throne of Israel. For a moment, I saw fear in his eyes, and thought he might have assumed we were soldiers sent by Herod. But then he answered simply, “Yes, this is where he lives.” I asked if a few of us might see the young king-to-be. He turned and looked back, into the darker recesses of the small cottage. Out of the darkness there was the soft voice of a woman, “Yes, they may come—all of them—but please, only a few at a time. He is asleep.”
Then a young girl (no more than 15 or 16) emerged from the house’s shadow, carrying a small bundle. She settled herself on some hay stacked near the small door and then nodded toward us, an invitation to come forward.
We came, several at a time, the rulers with their ministers, bowing to offer the greatest homage—I might even say reverence—to the little king, now about a year and a half old and sleeping in his mother’s arms. The kings, like Abdalah my lord, so accustomed to seeing awe in the eyes of those who came into their royal presence, now showed the same wonder and deference as they bowed before the little family. The young man nodded politely, but the girl smiled at each of us, acknowledging our presence, as though she had done this before.
Then followed the lesser servants, from each of the represented nations, bringing gifts. They brought bags of gold coins, and boxes of frankincense and myrrh—the rich smells saturating the air in front of the little house. The young mother nodded and smiled upon them, as though she were bestowing a blessing upon the meekest of them all. And so she was. It occurred to me that, on behalf of her son, she was treating all the supplicants exactly the same way, the poorest servant no differently than the most powerful king. In her presence, and in the presence of her little boy, we were all worshipful servants, bowing together before a true king!
We left shortly thereafter and made our camp for the night in the fields near Bethlehem, where shepherds were watching their flocks. That night, I had my second dream, another message from my God, warning me of potential trouble with Herod, which I had feared. Early in the morning, I approached King Abdalah to tell him we must leave soon, and avoid Jerusalem and Herod as we returned to our countries. Communicating further with that evil man would only bring harm to other innocent people.
The king agreed, and so our whole caravan—kings and servants, camels and guards and guides—left the region in haste. Once we were clear of the borders of Israel, we began to break up into our own groups and go our separate ways—all of us with stories to tell once we got home. As we Sabeans traveled generally to the south and home again, we traded with some settlements and outposts along the way. Our endeavors brought us no profit from the trip; in fact, my books showed a considerable loss for the kingdom of Sheba. But it was a loss well worth taking. In my mind, we had not just helped a poor family along the way, but had also invested some of our riches in the future and in the king who would reign over it.
How and when the prophets’ expectations and my dreams will come true, I do not know. But as surely as I know that I saw the God of Israel in the desert, I also know that our gifts were an investment which will yield a hundredfold… some day.
I know also that, some day, even if it be beyond this world—and in another, better world—I will kneel before the true King of Israel once more.
George Booker,
Austin Leander Ecclesia, TX