Introduce kids to the Savior of sinners. This is a series of audio podcasts for kids who want to meet with Jesus by using Meeting with Jesus: A Bible Reading Plan for Kids (RHB). Listen to previous episodes here.
What do you do when someone tells you to do what God has commanded you not to do? Perhaps someone tells you to steal something, or tell a lie, or hurt someone. You know it’s wrong but what will you do? Will you obey God or obey the person?
Sometimes it’s a hard decision because the person might be someone you want to be friends with, or maybe you’re scared of them, or you want to impress them.
Let’s see what the wise men did when Herod the King commanded them to do something really bad in Matthew 2:7-12. He commanded them to tell him where baby Jesus was, because he wanted to murder him.
GOD TESTS OUR OBEDIENCE
- A king’s authority: Herod the king was very powerful. When he told anyone to do anything, they did it.
- A king’s trick: Herod told the wise men to tell him where they found Jesus so that they could worship him too. But he really wanted to kill him. It was all a trick.
What will the wise men do? This king is very powerful and very clever. Will they obey him and help him kill Jesus, or will they obey God and protect Jesus? God is testing their obedience.
But God doesn’t just test our obedience, he also encourages it. How does he do that here?
GOD ENCOURAGES OUR OBEDIENCE
- With a star (9): He sends a star to lead them to Jesus
- With joy (10): He gives them great joy in Jesus
- With worship (11): He helps them worship baby Jesus and give him gifts.
- With a dream (12): He guides them in a dream not to return to Herod.
What did they do? God tested their obedience and encouraged their obedience. They obeyed God rather than Herod.
No matter who the person is, we must always obey God rather than anyone else. When God tests our obedience, remember God also encourages our obedience with his Word and his providence, with joy in Jesus and with worship of Jesus.
Listen to this episode on Living the Bible podcast. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and Spotify.