If you get this in your e-mail you will want to click the blue title
to be taken to the actual page to see the video of one of my favorite Christmas songs.
Numbers 24:17
7 “I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;
a scepter will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,
the skulls of all the sons of Sheth.
There are some really amazing things about the Birth of Christ that we kind of gloss over. There are many, many prophecies concerning the birth and the coming of Christ. The likelyhood of them being fullfilled in one person is astounding. These prophecies were each written at very least 400 years prior to Jesus birth many being much older. The one that is our verse today is one of the older ones it was written between 1440 and 1400 B.C. Written by Moses who leads the people out of Egypt in route to the promised land. They get there and send in the 12 spies of which all but two, Caleb and Joshua have the faith to trust the Lord in a land filled with giants. The other 10 discourage the people from going in and they enter as a result a 40 year period of wandering in the desert. The unfaithful generation must die off before the people can go in led by Joshua. But thats another story - I want to talk about a star fortold.
So I was wondering about the wise men and how these smart guys from the east would know about a king being born to the Jews. That they would leave their home to go and worship a baby in an land far far away. So far that it would take them several years of traveling. I mean come on - they had to really think something special was happening to leave their home, families, jobs and go off following a star. What were they nuts - or really really smart or had someone clued them in on Gods plan?
Who were they and how did they know. Why were these non Jews expeciting something to happen in thier life when the people Jesus came to pretty much missed his coming.
I had been podering thiese thoughts about a week ago. I wondered if they might have been an off shoot line from Abraham. Kind of like how Moses finds Jethro when he flees Egypt. The priest of a people who worshiped the one God. How did they know about God. I think in that case they were an off shoot from Abraham. He did have another wife after Sarah and he gave gift to his other children before sending them away and leaving everything to Issac when he died. Perahps one of them carried on the worship of the one God. The more I thought about that...it just seemed too far in the past. The wise men needed to be from someone a bit closer.
Next I thought about Daniel. He was carried to Babyalon along with all the other smart and tallented people when Jerusalem finally fell. He becomes a pretty influential and respected guy even among the wise and learned men of that day. So I was wondering if he might have clued them in. Turns out he had some very specific prophetic words. My pastor who loves history took up this very topic in todays sermon. It turns out that I was right about Daniel. He however was able to explain some of the whys and the missing pieces of the puzzel that I had not totally solved on my own. So I thought I would give you the link so you can listen to the sermon for yourself.
Here's the link. http://www.fccspokane.org/2011/12/sunday-12-11-2011/
I'm going to make this one a short one and enjoy the evening with my family.
Prayer:
Dear Lord,
I pray you will bless those who read this today and those who listen to the sermon from the link I posted. Lord your story is so amazing and when someone can help us connect the real history it is incredable. Help us all Lord find you. Help us make room in the inn of our heart even though the world around us is busling and full of holiday activities and festivities. I pray we would make room to spend time with you - to did in to the story more and seperate the myth from the real history of your story. I thank you Lord for people like my pastor who have a gift for helping us understand history. I pray my readers will be blessed as they listen.
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