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We’ve all had them: gifts that are just …well…weird.  One Christmas my parents gave me a purple fluffy pyjama holder in the form of a French poodle with a zip on its underside. That thing dutifully perched on my pillow for years!

 

Three gifts that seem very strange to give a baby were the gifts presented to Christ by the three wise men. Gold? Frankincense? Myrrh? Hardly practical in the circumstances, I’m sure you’ll agree. However, when we consider the symbolic value of the gifts it all seems to make a lot more sense.  

 

Gold was a scarce and valued commodity in the ancient world and was particularly associated with royalty and nobility.

 

Frankincense is a costly aromatic gum resin that creates a strong and beautiful aroma when burned as incense during ceremonial worship of a deity. 

 

Myrrh is a fragrant spice derived from the sap of a tree native to the Near East. It was a key ingredient in the mixture of spices that were used to prepare bodies for burial.

 

"Gold, as to a king;

Myrrh, as to one who was mortal;

Incense, as to a God."

 

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).