one thing we do know about the wise men is they were willing to step out in faith and follow wherever GOD led them.
why were they following the star? how did they know of its importance? since the bible doesn’t tell us, we can only guess.
the bible does tell us that the wise men came from the east. the major empires to the east had been the babylonian and the persian empires. we also know that the babylonians specialized in studying the stars.
we also know that during the jewish exile that daniel, a faithful jew and prophet of GOD, rose in such prominence that he became chief of the wise men of babylon and the third ruler in the kingdom. then when the persians conquered babylon, daniel became president of the presidents under king darius.
therefore, many scholars suggest that the wise men of the east had ample opportunities to know the o.t. scriptures and prophecies. maybe they were familiar with numbers 24.17 (niv), i see HIM, but not now; i behold HIM, but not near; a star will come out of jacob, and a scepter will rise out of israel.
so when they saw the star come from jacob, they were ready to go and worship HIM who was to wield the scepter in israel - to be the KING of the jews - the KING of kings and LORD of lords.
whatever the case was, the important thing for us to realize is that they were ready to go - to follow wherever GOD would direct them. and GOD has always been faithful in HIS leading.
HE led the children of israel across the wilderness, providing a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. HE provided them food when they were hungry, drink when they were thirsty, and clothing when they were naked.
and now HE was providing a star to lead these wise men to the place where the CHRIST child lay.
GOD may not lead us in quite as dramatic a way today, but GOD promises to lead us - if we will let HIM. someone said, “the eye of faith is one that is willing to take the next step, and trusts GOD to direct that next step.”
just a thought from the front porch…
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