On the fifth day of Christmas
my true love gave to me
Five Golden Rings.

If you remember the story of wisemen brining gifts to the baby Jesus, you’ll remember those gifts to be gold, incense and myrrh. Now that we are five days into our Christmas celebration you undoubtedly have received a gift or two yourself. Perhaps your gifts are different? Maybe you received money to buy what you really need most. Perhaps it was clothing that filled the boxes under your tree. Maybe it was something practical that you wouldn’t buy yourself. Whatever it was, Christmas is a season of giving and receiving.

Today’s gift is reminiscent of the gifts given to Jesus, especially the gold. One of the first times gold is mentioned in the bible is back in Exodus when Moses is talking with God and receiving the 10 Commandments. While he’s out of sight the impatient Israelites melt down their jewelry to form a golden calf. The precious material of gold was used as an object of worship rather a reminder of the one we worship.

When the wisemen brought the gifts to Jesus shortly after his birth, they did so as a reminder that even in their wealth there was someone greater. But why 5 golden rings you ask? There has to be more than just restoring the Israelites golden jewelry.

When the Bible was written, it was written in different styles. Some books are history while others are poetry. The first five books of the bible, known as the Torah or Pentateuch (five-books), are God’s launching point into the rest of the Bible.  In these five books of the bible one can see God’s plan for a perfect relationship with His people. They also contain the evidence of mankind’s desire to be better than God and take matters into our own hands. Then there’s the plan for salvation. Since man did what was wrong in God’s eyes, there had to be punishment and that’s what is seen in these 5 Books.

The first five books of the bible are like mini treasures each with its own part of the story of God’s love for his people. These five books tell a story that seems to repeat through history – God’s love for humanity, humanity’s rebellion, God’s relentless pursuit of His wayward people.

So it’s fitting that today, on this fifth day of Christmas, we celebrate our beginning…our fall into sin…and our new beginning in Christ. May you have a wonderful continuation of Christmas! Perhaps in this new year you could better familiarize yourself with the wonderful gift of the 5 Golden Rings, or the rest of the bible for that matter. If you’re looking for a way to read the bible but just don’t know where to start, send me a message and I’ll gladly share with you a simple and easy way to connect with the message of the Bible.

Merry Christmas!