A Divine Warning

Herod was a dangerous king who often killed those who offended him. Yet because of a dream, a group of men found the courage to defy him. 

This tiny piece of the Christmas story reveals how powerful dreams can be—and how you and I can benefit from paying attention to them.

The magi followed the Christmas star into Israel, where Herod gave them clear instructions: “Tell me when you find the Child because I want to worship Him too.”

Continuing on their way, the wise men located a very young Jesus, and they worshiped Him and presented Him with gifts. 

But then the Bible includes an interesting little phrase: “Being divinely warned in a dream that they shouldn’t return to Herod…”

They knew what Herod had said, and they also knew what it would cost them to ignore it. Their decision closed the door on any possibility of having a good relationship with the king.

If you’re going to ignore a murderous king’s request, you’d better have a good reason! Their good reason was a dream. These men were not in covenant relationship with God, but they recognized His voice and obeyed Him anyway.

Not every dream carries the same weight. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we discern whether or not a dream is from God or another source, such as our soul or the enemy. When we know what God is saying, we have the privilege of taking the dream seriously. “This is what God is telling me.” 

Has God given you a weighty dream you need to take seriously? 

This Christmas, let’s join the magi in following His voice.

To hear more about this Christmas dream, check out episode 26 of The Dreams Guy podcast.