Walking In Peace

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What kind of journey are we talking about for these so-called wise men or as one translations has it “some men who studied the stars”?

If you go back to the lyrics for We Three Kings, you find that that part of the trip was over moors. Now moor is primarily a word used in England to describe an open, uncultivated area. So why was the hymn’s author, John Henry Hopkins, Jr. an American clergyman using this word? He was born in Pittsburgh and his father was an Episcopal bishop. They both, no doubt, were influenced by hymns and text from England. Glad we cleared that up. 

Well, there is no mention of exactly where the three wise men came from or how their journey to Betlehem progressed. We do hear of a stop along the way in Jerusalem to seek directions to this newborn King of the Jews (no Google maps to guide them at that time, just THE star or stars).

The mode of transportation is also not known, even though we most often picture the three wise men on camels. Unless of course you go back to Isaiah 60 which seems to allude to the coming of a caravan of camels with gifts of gold and frankincense. 

Another clue for you all is in psalm 72 which also alludes to the visit of the magi as kings (a later interpretation of the three wise men). “All kings will pay homage and all nations serve him”

So we have kings coming from the east on camels while reading the movement of stars (and THE star) to pay homage to the king of kings lying now in a hay trough. And after all that they prostrated themselves and paid him homage. 

Most certainly it must have been an interesting return trip with these fine wise gentleman from the east. They are now another great model to guide us to Thy perfect light.