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Robert Morgan
Luke 2:8-14 tells about the angels appearing to the shepherds at Jesus’ birth. Verses 13 and 14 say, “And suddenly there was with the angels a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
I have had the Bible read to me and I have read it since a child, but as I read it this Christmas season, something jumped out at me I have not seen in over eighty years. The “multitude of the heavenly host” means army! The heavenly army came to see Jesus born! Joshua 5:13-15 says, “…when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face…and did worship…And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoes from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.” The Man Joshua met at the wall of Jericho is the “captain of the host of the Lord.” The NIV translation says, “commander of the Lord’s army.” The heavenly army came to rejoice at the birth of their Commander!
This is Jesus of the Old Testament because He accepted worship and no angel ever accepted worship from men. I used to feel sorry for this Baby because it seemed He was at the mercy of the world, but now I see he was the safest Child on the face of the earth because the heavenly army was watching over Him! Nothing could touch this Baby. All during His earthly ministry that army was with Him. I am thankful His army came to watch their Captain being born!
Luke 2:9 says, “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.” What is glory? It usually refers to divinity. Often glory and God are used simultaneously. His glory is something which can be seen. It is interesting when Adam was created, the glory of God was seen on him because he was created in the image and likeness of God. God deals in light; therefore, Adam was covered with light. When the glory was on Adam, he did not know he was naked, but when he sinned, the light disappeared and he then knew he was naked.
At the beginning, God’s glory was on both Cain and Abel. Because Abel offered a proper offering, God’s glory remained on him. However, when Cain’s offering was not accepted by God, Genesis 4:5-6 says of Cain, “…and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen?” In other words, the glory disappeared from Cain’s face. God told Cain if he had offered a proper offering, it would have been accepted as Abel’s was. Sin and disobedience remove God’s glory from our faces.
Moses said in Exodus 33:18,” …I beseech thee (God) shew me thy glory.” When Moses came down from the mountain, after receiving the Ten Commandments, his face shown so brightly the people were afraid of him. Because of this, Moses had to put a veil over his face when he talked to the people. At Pentecost the glory was seen in the tongues of fire. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” In Colossians 1:27 we read, “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of the mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Paul says in II Corinthians 3:18, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
These scriptures tell us the glory of God that rests on Jesus should be on us! Jesus’ glory will begin to appear on our faces if we will spend time with Him in prayer and the Word. This is how we are changed into His image. The more time we spend with Jesus, the more the glory of God will shine in our faces. I Corinthians 11:7 says, “For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, for as much as he is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the man.” While we see the glory in Jesus, He wants it seen in us. We should be the most beautiful people in the world because of the glory of God shining in our faces. When we get to heaven, everyone will be beautiful because of the glory of God resting upon all of us. If the glory of God is resting upon us here, the world will know who we are because of what they see. On the return of a tour group from the Holy Land, of which I was a part, we visited an art colony in Paris, France. They wanted to paint portraits of the people because they said they had the faces of people who had come from prayer!
I Kings 8:10-11 says, “And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.” The glory that filled the temple was so strong the priests could not stand it. It is possible yet today. It is possible for a cloud to be in our church! It has happened in other places and it can happen here. Israel experienced this glory when they were led by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. God wants His glory seen on earth and it should be seen wherever His people are. If we are close enough to Jesus, His glory will appear in our church. That is what I am longing for.
Arthur Mouw, who was a missionary to Borneo, felt one time he should preach to the natives on divine healing, so he ask how many of the people were sick and they all stood up. He felt they did not understand, so he said he meant if they were really sick and all of them stood up again. He had someone anoint all of them with coconut oil and when he prayed for them all of them were healed! There was a glory that stayed near the ceiling of the building for three days and everyone who came into the building was healed!
John 1:14 says, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” This glory is on Jesus and He wants it on us. It is something we need to have and will have if we spend time with Jesus in prayer and the Word.
Matthew 24:30 says, “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” When Jesus comes again, He will not be riding a donkey but will be coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. He wants His glory resting on us. It is His glory but He wants it resting on us. I am trusting His glory will rest on us individually and on His church as a whole!