The Gifts Redeemed

By Ray Eichenberger

Celebrate the Christmas season with this novel which focuses on what may have happened to the three Wise Men and Jesus,

Mary and Joseph after the Gospel narratives of the Nativity and the birth of Christ.  The work then dives into what may have occurred during

the lost years of the youth of Jesus, as well as what may have happened to Joseph to cause him to disappear from the pages of the Gospels after Jesus was age 12.  Entertaining, informative, and thought provoking, this book will provide you with a spiritual boost as you celebrate the Birth of Jesus

this coming holiday season. 

 

The Christmas story and the Gospels themselves are often silent as to major portions of the lives of Jesus, Joseph, Mary, and the three Wise 

Men after the Magi came to worship baby Jesus.

 

If you ever wondered just who the Wise Men were, and what their personalities were like, where Jesus spent his lost youth and early adulthood during the period of time not covered in the Bible, and what happened to Joseph after Jesus was age 12, this is the book for you. 

 

The work is respectful and reverent in tone, while still answering some of the unknown facts of the Gospels in a fun and historically feasible

manner.

 

The end of the story demonstrates the Gifts of the Magi redeemed, and how those gifts served as metaphors for the true mission of Jesus as He came to live with us on earth that first Christmas morning. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ray Eichenberger
• Release date: Oct 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215718643

Ray Eichenberger

Ray Eichenberger is a retired attorney, and lives in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio.  Ray has a B.S. in Education from Miami University, a B.A. in HIstory from Miami University, and a Juris Doctor from Capital University.  Ray's hobbies are golf, travel, and racing and breeding standardbred horses for racing.  Ray is a Christian author with twenty books to his credit, including non-fiction Christian themes, and fictional works.  Ray can be contacted at [e-mail].

Book preview

PROLOGUE

A rather stout man snored loudly as he laid in a tent in the Arabian desert, sleeping very soundly.  He quite often dreamed, but his were the dreams of most men- daily activities, interactions with friends and family, and maybe reliving weird situations from the past.

But this night was to be different.

The sonorous sleeper found his mind drawn to the most unusual scene that he had ever encountered in one of his nighttime adventures.  In his mind, he arose out of his sleep, grabbed a robe to cover himself, and left his tent to go into the darkness.  There were no other lights in the sky, but a brilliant, multi-faceted white beam appeared in the heavens above him.  The beam of light stood still, but as he moved forward, the dazzling object in the sky also inched forward along with him.

The dreaming dozer did this over and over, and each time the cache of light would move with him.

Suddenly, a booming voice rang out to him in the middle of his dream.  The voice, of unknown origin, loudly told him, Follow the star- go where it leads you.  Find my Son.

The man suddenly awoke, felt sweat dripping off of his body, and sat up with a dazed and startled expression on his face.  He thought to himself, Such a quest should be interesting- legends say that brilliant stars portend the arrival of the birth of a great leader and prophet.

CHAPTER ONE

Three men sat on the peak of a sand dune in the cool of the Arabian night, and reclined silently, staring at the brilliance of the night time sky.

One of the men, Melkie, finally broke the long silence and said, The summer sky is alive with stars again tonight- there is much for us to see once more.

Baltie, the man to his right, nodded his head in agreement and said, Even in such brilliant of a display, it’s there yet again this evening, putting on a show for us.

Caspie, usually the quiet one of the lot, said, I looked at my notes and charts from past years.  It’s definitely not a star.  Look how big and full it is.  My star map records for this time of year never mention anything like this ever appearing before.

The three men, fast friends, were wealthy beyond most men’s wildest dreams, and were sometimes called kings.  Caspie came from India; Baltie came from Persia, and Melkie lived in Arabia.  In reality, the three were astronomers, and sometimes astrologers, who studied the night time sky for spiritual signs and wonders.  They each possessed wealth because of property rights passed down to them by their fathers and grandfathers.  All three were followers of the one true God, unlike their neighbors and subjects who were pluralistic and worshipped many different Gods.

Melkie, a rather large man and usually the outspoken leader of the group, uncomfortably shifted his position but kept staring at the star as it glimmered and pulsated in the sky.

The always acerbic Baltie noticed his friend’s discomfort laying on the ground and said, Melkie, my brother, if you keep gaining weight, one of these days you are going to roll off this sand dune and we will never see you again- perpetual motion.

Caspie, the body build opposite of Melkie with a slender and light frame, chortled and said, And, I’m certainly not going to help clean the sand out of your many bodily crevices if we should even happen to find you after that occurs.

Baltie guffawed at the friendly humor, and Melkie gave him a sharp glare which the other two probably didn’t notice in the dark of the night.

Melkie crossly said, "Enough of your attempts at humor.  I have been praying about this star.  God told me in a dream last night that we should follow the blazing light in the sky and see where it will take us.  We will search for a new King and a powerful Prophet- God somehow revealed that to me.  I’m departing tomorrow- are you going to join me?

Baltie, never an intrepid soul and rather timid, softly replied, The star is in the western sky from us.  Such a path will certainly take us into Roman territory.  You know how much I loathe the Romans- they are pigs and violent infidels.

Melkie said, A little danger has never stopped you from traveling with us in the past, Baltie.  If indeed this star is a sign from our God and a command to find its point of origin and the new King, He will guide us and protect us along the way.

Caspie said, The Romans may be violent infidels, but they are also rather stupid and ignorant fools.  I will meet both of you at the outskirts of town, but in two days time.  I’ll bring my servant to tend to our camels and to take care of our provisions for the trip.

The star glowed even brighter in the night sky, and still seemed to pulsate and increase in size as the three friends agreed to begin their journey.

CHAPTER TWO

Several months later, the caravan of the four men went up and down yet another sand dune, and Caspie complained from the rear of the row of travelers, "This camel is rubbing my legs and my posterior into screaming, red sores.  How long is this trip going to go on?

Melkie gleefully replied, You two criticize my ever-increasing girth.  At least I have plenty of padding to make my trip on this beast a little more comfortable and enjoyable.

Baltie chortled and said, I guess there are advantages to you becoming as fat as that heifer waiting in the field for me to return for our celebration feast at the end of this trek.

The trio usually travelled at night on their many trips together, to avoid the heat of the day, but this time also did so to be able to permit the star to guide them along their way.  The star, now appearing to be like a multi-pointed flame in the sky, didn’t falter in the least, seemed to move ahead of them, and was taking them directly west towards what they knew was the Mediterranean Sea.

Melkie called back to Caspie, the acknowledged expert on stars and planets of the group, and said, Caspie, what have you finally concluded this thing is that we are following?  An alignment of many stars?  A convergence of a planet or planets and several stars?  I’ve still never seen anything like it.

Caspie screamed as his camel bounced him over yet another bump in the terrain, but finally calmed down and exclaimed, Have you ever seen a star or a planet visibly move so quickly in the sky so that you can notice its path?  It’s a sign from God, a creation from the Most High.  I have no idea what it is, but its existence renews my faith.

Baltie quietly affirmed, Amen, Amen to that.

Several days later the terrain finally turned from stark desert to occasional plant life, trees and rolling hills covered with vegetation.  The small caravan of four men and four camels came upon a town in the twilight glimmer of the early evening, as the star again hovered slightly ahead of them.

Melkie signaled the travelers to stop as they came upon a man in a flowing robe.  A tall man, he had long red hair and appeared to be walking quickly with a mission in mind.  Melkie asked, Friend, can you tell us exactly where we are?

The red headed man said, "Shalom my friends.  You are in Israel.  Our humble town is called Bethany.  You have come to the Mount of Olives.  What is your destination?

Baltie said, We are following that star, as he pointed to the heavens, and we do not know where it will lead us.

The red-head said, "My name is Lazarus, and I am a Jew who follows the one true God.  All of us have noticed the object in the nighttime sky- it is truly amazing.  You are welcome to spend the night with my young sisters and I.  Martha and Mary will be most happy to feed you and provide you shelter for the evening.

Melkie said, We must travel at night so as not to lose the star.  Israel?  How far are we from Jerusalem?

The ginger haired man said, We are only a handful of furlongs from the Temple and the Holy City.  Is that where you are going?

Caspie said, inflicting a mysterious tone to his voice, Only the star can tell us when we have arrived.

Lazarus said, Go in peace, and may my God and your God be with you.  I pray that you safely complete your quest.

The camel train slowly descended the Mount of Olives, went up another hill, down another valley, the Kidron, and eventually arrived at the eastern gate of Jerusalem.  As they approached the city walls, a Roman soldier shouted to the men to stop.

Caspie barked, and Baltie could hear him say something under his breath which sounded strangely like an Arabic curse word for ‘dog’ or ‘vermin’ or worse.

The Roman soldier roughly said, My job is to check out foreign travelers.  What is your purpose in coming to Jerusalem?

Melkie said, We are your humble servants, star gazers from Arabia, Persia and India.  We have followed the brilliant star in the heavens and believe that it has led us to this place.  Our beliefs and faith tell us that the star is an omen of a glorious event, perhaps the birth of a new ruler and prophet.

Baltie let out a hearty Pffffft, sound upon hearing Melkie tell the Roman soldier that the group of men were humble servants of the Romans.  He brought his camel alongside Caspie and whispered, I would not serve these scoundrels in any capacity, and Caspie snickered at the words.