The Twelve Days of Christmas is a traditional song for the holiday season. Each day in the song lists a different gift received over the course of the celebration. Over the hundreds of years this song has been sung, the gifts have varied some, a few have changed position in the lineup, and a couple have been renamed due to the archaic terms originally used. However, none seem to have any real meaning except for joyful irreverence during the Christmas season.
The first gift we sing about is a Partridge in a Pear Tree. What spiritual meaning can we derive from the unusual bird given in this first gift?
Look to 1 Samuel 26. In this chapter, Saul has pursued David with intent to kill him. However, God hands Saul over to David, giving David the perfect opportunity to kill the king who wishes him dead.
David refuses, taking only Saul’s sword and his container of water as proof of God’s opportunity.
In Verse 20, David cries unto Saul, “Why do you hunt me, as if I were a partridge in the hills?” Then he shows him the proof he could have killed the king if he had wished.
David’s cry is for relief from Saul’s oppression, and it is also the cry of the modern world unto God for relief from sin. The world needs a savior, and that savior can only be found in the person of Jesus.
So, when we hear that joyous and irreverent Christmas song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, let’s make that partridge ring out. It is more than a meaningless gift on the first day of the season. Rather, that first gift offers us an entreaty to let Jesus into our world, so that he might bring an end to our sins.
When we cry unto Jesus, he brings us comfort in our time of need.
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