“I see him, but not here and now. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel.” Numbers 24:17
One of the most unusual
prophecies of Christmas is
the star that guided the wise
men to the Messiah. As we know the
wise men were not at the birth of Christ
but arrived within 1-2 years afterwards.
The prophecy of the star originates with a
wicked man who was intent on defying God’s word to make money. The man, Balaam lived in Mesopotamia along the Euphrates River. He was renown for being able to access the supernatural and therefore the king of Moab hired him to put a curse on the nation of Israel. God would not allow him to do that and instead he required him to speak truth. In his fourth message to the King of Moab, Balaam prophecies of a star arising out of Judah when the Messiah comes to rule. Fast forward to Daniel being taken as a captive to Babylon where he became head of the King’s wise men. Daniel’s influence on this nation was profound. He brought God’s word to the Chaldeans he oversaw. As a result they would have studied with great interest the story of Balaam and His
prophecy of the star along with Daniel’s prophecies of the time the Jewish Messiah would arise.
What was the star? God does not give us the answer to this question. The Greek word is “aster”. Strong’s Concordance says the term is used “for a celestial body; it is used metaphorically to represent guidance or divine intervention and it can be used to symbolize individuals who have a significant role in God’s plan”. In Revelation “aster” is used of an angel. Some think it was a comet. Others suggest it was a rare triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn within the constellation Pisces that occurred in 7 B.C. It is also reported that Chinese astronomers documented a “guest star” that appeared around 5 B.C., possibly a nova or supernova, which aligns with the timeframe of Jesus’ birth. What we know from God’s word is that His star began in the east, moved in the sky and, as far as we know, was only seen by the wise men. The best explanation is that this star was God’s Shekinah glory that appeared to Israel as a cloud by day and fire by night to lead them through the wilderness (like the wise men).
What can we learn? The miracle in the sky is a sign of the coming of the Messiah. It also sends a great message to us. In Isaiah 9:2 Isaiah writes of the birth of the Messiah, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them” (Isa.9:2), Matthew writes of the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy in Jesus’ coming and preaching in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. He calls Jesus the light to the Gentiles. As far as we know the wise men were the only ones to see the star. Why might this be? First they were Gentiles and Jesus came to save the whole world .Second they studied the scriptures and looked for God to fulfill His word. Scripture tells us that those who “seek Him and find Him if we seek Him with our whole heart”. It seems that as the wise men neared Jerusalem the star disappeared for a short time. This caused them to visit King Herod and ask for direction – they had “seen his star”. After leaving the king, the star reappears and guides the wise men to the exact house where Jesus now lived.
Why did Herod or the priests of Israel not see the star? Those who live in darkness do not see the light. That is the nature of the society we live in. It scoffs and mocks God in total ignorance for it refuses to see the light. Remember the star stopped “over the place where the child was”. The light led them to Jesus (God’s light always will). Thus the wise men were overjoyed (wise men always are).