The Ohio Independent Baptist, December 1963

(Concluded from page 3) But these Gentile scholars understood. They may have associated the heavenly phenomenon with Balaam's pro– phecy, ' There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of I rael" (Num. 24: 17). Their knowledge of Daniel, associating the Jewish Messiah with the Ancient of day (Dan. 7: 9), may have caused them to look into the heavens for a sign. In any case, they recognized the star as the sign of the birth of the king (Matt. 2: 2). This was the only reason that they could give to Herod for their long journey. God had not spoken to them; they had not seen a vision. What makes this so remarkable is the fact ithat they alone recognize<l the sign. o one else came although the star must have been visible to others. Their faith can also be seen in their patient prepara– tion for the journey. The faith of the shepherds was con– firmed by sight on the same evening the angels appeared to them. The Magi did not see Christ until two years after the star ap,peared. When Herod asked them when the star appeared (Matt. 2: 7) , their answer was "Two years ago. ' This time element formed the basis of Herod's decree to s lay all children "from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men" (Matt. 2: 16). Journeyed by faith They then journeyed by faith, not by sight. They did not follow a star. The star had disappear ed before they started on their pilgrimage. Notice the language of Mat– thew's account. If the star had been leading them, why did they go to Herod's palace in Jerusalem? Why didn't they go directly to where Mary and Joseph were living? Since the star had disappeared, this was the logical place to inquire. Wouldn't you expect to find a king in a king's palace? The Magi said to Herod, ". . . we have seen his star in the east. " The Engli h tense bear out the Greek (Aorist) ; they saw once, they were not ,presently seeing. Herod "enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared" (2:7). His decree (2:16) uppo.rts the view that the tar appeared once two year ago. When the Magi le ft Herod to go to Bethlehem, ' lo, the star which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was" (2: 9). The word, ' 'Jo," draws attention to something unusual or exciting. The star, whi ch they had originally een in the ea t, had again appeared . This time, it did go before them, leading them to C"hri st. This reappearance of the tar can be the onl y r eason for the exuberant joy manifes ted by them in verse J 0. Why rejoice a t eeing the tar if the tar had been with them a ll the way? Thi s was no ordinary, repeata ble heavenly phenome non . The M agi kn ew it. God honored their fai th by leading them to C hrist . Many popular expl ana tions of the tar are a broad . One o f these i th a t the star was the conjunc tion of aturn and J upi ter wi thin the con\ tcll a t1on o f Pisces 111 7 B. . However, this phenomenon can no t expl ain the appear – ance, tl1e disappearance, the rea ppear ance and the 111ove 111 e11 t of tl1e s tar to tl1e s ite o f c~hri, t '~ hoL1~e. Abrah an1 '~ fai tll is CO J11111cnued for leavi ng U r and goi ng to an aan ; tl ie f er\'e11ey o f tl1c fai tl1 o J tl1c Magi ca11 be seen in their • jOllffle)'. T llcir fait l1 can next 1,e cen in the si 111 plici ty of tl1cir \VOr~hi Jl. Tile)' 'fc II dow11 and worshiJ)ped h i111" ( 2: I l ) . \\'h}' v. 1 or hi J> , s1na ll ct1 ild wl1c11 tl1~ recog11izcd pare11 ts are till alive? ariot1 ki r1gs l1a(l be 11 wor~ tliJJ J)ed bt:for >, but not their children. Did the Magi know that this was no ordinary child ? that diety was united to humanity in one person? Is this why they said , "Where is he that is born King," not prince? Did they know that this was the "Ancient of Days" of whom Daniel wrote. App arently they did. Christ, at this time, was between the ages of forty days and two years. In this passage, he is called a "youn,g child," not an infant. When a sacrifice was offered for the ceremonial purification of Mary, two turtle doves or pigeons were presented (Luke 2: 22-24). According to Leviticus 12, if a family had the means, a lamb should be offered. Apparently Joseph and Mary didn't have enough money to purchase a lamb. Had the Magi come during the 40 day purification period, the gifts would have provided sufficient buying power for a lamb. Certainly Joseph and Mary would have offered God the very bet if it was within their means to do so. The two year limit is established by the time that the star originally appeared. Christ could have been any age within these limits because the star could have ap,peared approximately two years before the birth of Chris t jus t as easily as at ,the exact 1 time of his birth. The point is that they worshipped "him," a child, not Mary nor Joseph. Demonstrated their worship They demonstrated their worship by pros trating them– selves before Him and by presenting Him gifts. True worship involves a genuine submission of self before God . The faith of the Magi has now been confirmed by ight in the direct worship of their King and Creator. God then protected them by giving them a peciaJ revelation, the firs t to be given a Gentile in over 400 years . The return journey no doubt was accompanied by provocative conversation over the recent ,pa t event . May God give to u today that faith which charac– terized the Magi. Instead of journeying back 1900 year to Bethlehem to the first advent of Chri t, let u look forward to His second advent. Let u believe the record, "I will come again" (John 14: 3) . Let u be looking for that Ble sed Hope. Let us prepare our elves a we patient– ly wait for Him. Let u work and walk by faith every day as we move closer to the time of Hi coming. Let u truly wor hip Him in spirit and in truth , pro trating our wills before Him. Let u pre ent Him with the love gift of our praise, our ub tance, and our very elve . Let u labor for Him knowing that He will protect u f rom the evil one. A the Magi loved Hi fir t appearing and their faith became ight, let u love Hi econd a ppear ing wi th the an1e a urance th a t one day our fa ith will become ight . BAPTIST BIBLE SEMINARY Johnson City, N Y. A cademically equipped and Sp i r i tua 11 y d i sc i p I I r1 ed t o give the Best 1n tern11nal tra1r11ng for Pastors, M issionaries arid Ch r istian Workers Fo r further informat1or1 1 ega rding these Ma1ors in Bible and Theology M1ss1or1s, Chr1st1ar1 Educat1or1, Bible languages and Mu':>1<. WRITE: D 1 • Ca rI E. EI g e r1 a Office of the Vice-President Baptist Bible Sen1inary Jo t1 n son Ci t y, N . Y.