Amen Pastor Sean and Sister Dorine!! Wonder O heavens and be astonished O Earth!!! What love!! That God would risk His innocent Son!! We each day we may receive a baptism of the Holy Spirit. One day many years ago I received the greatest baptism of the Holy Spirit I have ever had. I had been reading Gethsemane, Calvary, and It is Finished over and over twice a day, morning and evening. After a couple of months, the Holy Spirit impressed me to start over at the beginning of the book. Sadly, I did. When I got to the third paragraph from the end of this chapter, I was perplexed. We are told it would be well to spend a thoughtful hour a day contemplating the life of Christ, especially the closing scenes. This is why I was reading those three chapters. And, what blessings I received! But, when I read this, statement, it appeared to contradict what I had been experiencing. "The story of Bethlehem is an exhaustless theme. In it is hidden 'the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.'" Romans 11:33.
But, there are no contradictions in inspiration. So, my mind was spinning around seeking to understand what this statement meant. Knowing God is what converts a sinner daily. It is through a knowledge of God that we are reconciled to Him. "Understanding the character of God, knowing His goodness, Satan chose to follow his own selfish, independent will. This choice was final. There was no more that God could do to save him. But man was deceived; his mind was darkened by Satan’s sophistry. The height and depth of the love of God he did not know. For him there was hope in a knowledge of God’s love. By beholding His character he might be drawn back to God. DA 761.
The cross reveals that love, that sacrificial love for us while we were yet sinners. It is by His stripes we are healed. And, I experienced that at a very deep level as I read those three chapters over and over and over. But, here we read that in Bethlehem at the beginning of His life is hidden "the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God." I had to know what was hidden in the incarnation of Christ. As I read, word by word, I was searching for this most important truth. God knew my heart, He was speaking to me in a most remarkable manner. When I got to the part that explains how much Satan hated Jesus, this was something I had missed in the many readings in the past. Now, the Holy Spirit was revealing something so very important. It was into this wicked world where Satan claimed dominion that our heavenly Father allowed His innocent Son to come, a helpless baby. But, not just a baby, a human baby in the "likeness of sinful flesh." It was not the love of Jesus, I was seeing here. No, it is not the love of Jesus that is being revealed in these three paragraphs. How hard was it for the Father to allow His Son to come to this dark spot in the universe a helpless baby subject to the weakness of humanity at the risk of losing Him for eternity? Three times Jesus went to His Father seeking His approval to stand between Adam and death. Even though the agreement had been made from the foundation of the Earth, it was not easy for God to say "yes" to Jesus.
Just in case I did not understand, God wanted me, and you, to know how He felt about this. Our heavenly Father suffered greatly as He watched His innocent Son be attacked from the moment He was born, til He was crucified on the cross. Why would He suffer so, and risk eternal separation from His Son? For you and for me! Thus, through the prophet, it is laid out in a manner that none can misunderstand. He permitted Him to meet life's peril in common with every human soul, to fight the battle as every child of humanity must fight it, at the risk of failure and eternal loss. The heart of the human father yearns over his son. He looks into the face of his little child, and trembles at the thought of life's peril. He longs to shield his dear one from Satan's power, to hold him back from temptation and conflict. To meet a bitterer conflict and a more fearful risk, God gave His only-begotten Son, that the path of life might be made sure for our little ones. "Herein is love." Wonder, O heavens! and be astonished, O earth!"
We see the very same love revealed in asking Abraham to sacrifice his son. But, God did not allow Abraham to follow through. Thus, Abraham was given a living lesson in how, to a small degree, God would feel when His innocent Son was tortured and murdered. What a God we serve!!!! Wonder O heavens and be astonished O Earth!!!