12/22/2023
𝕄𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕟𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 ℙ𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝟚 𝕠𝕗 𝟜
Passages: Matthew 2:1-2; Daniel 2:47-48; 5:11-12
¹ 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝, 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐦, ² 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠, “𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐉𝐞𝐰𝐬? 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐇𝐢𝐦.”
In the previous post we consider the question of how the wise men from the East made the connection between the appearance of a star and the birth of Jesus. That post introduced the prophecy of Balaam (Numbers 24:17). It was established in that prior material that the prophecy makes the connection. But we were left with a question: How did the wise men know about that prophecy? The prophecy was well known among the Jews. But the wise men are not Jews. They are magicians, astrologers, and soothsayers from the East. In this post we show how the wise men came to know about Balaam's prophecy.
Consider for a moment the deportation of the Jews in the southern kingdom. The Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar some 600 years prior to the birth of Yeshua (605 BC) successfully overtook Jerusalem and took captives back to Babylon. Some of the Jews that were deported remained in Babylon long after their initial captivity and eventually came into seats of power and prominence (Brown, 1994, p. 169). Most notable among them was a man of royal birth named Daniel. Daniel was taken captive from Jerusalem when he was probably about 16 years of age. He was a young, good-looking, intelligent man with an uncompromising commitment to God (Daniel 1:1-6). After many trials and tribulations Daniel, originally a captive, came to be a leader in the land and in the royal court of Babylon. Eventually this Daniel was promoted:
⁴⁷ The king answered Daniel, and said,
“Truly your God is the God of gods, the
Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets,
since you could reveal this secret.” ⁴⁸
Then the king promoted Daniel and gave
him many great gifts; and he made him
ruler over the whole province of Babylon,
and chief administrator over all the wise
men of Babylon. (Daniel 2:47-48)
Did you see it? An intelligent Jew with a heart to serve God, originally brought in as a slave, was put in charge of the wise men. In due time God made a Jew who loves God the president of the astrology college. Listen to the words of the queen when her husband King Belshazzar, the son of King Nebuchadnezzar, needed help interpreting a sign:
¹¹ There is a man in your kingdom in
whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And
in the days of your father, light and under-
standing and wisdom, like the wisdom of
the gods, were found in him; and King
Nebuchadnezzar your father—your father
the king—made him chief of the magicians,
astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers.
¹² Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge,
understanding, interpreting dreams, solving
riddles, and explaining enigmas were found
in this Daniel, whom the king named
Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he
will give the interpretation.” (Daniel 5:11)
And thus we have the answer to the questions of (1) how the wise men make the connection and (2) where did they acquired the information? The connection was made for them by a man of God — Daniel. (Balaam was a contributor. But ultimately the record was kept officially by the Jews. Daniel is one of the Jews who would have been familiar with the prophecy of Balaam.) The connection between the star and the advent of Messiah was shared with them by the man of God Daniel. The wise men come from the East because they have Daniel’s book What to Look for When Messiah Comes. What they did not have was the place where Messiah would be born. Not a problem, though. Just go to Jerusalem and ask.
And so they did. That is, the wise men went to Jerusalem to ask the whereabouts of the one born king of the Jews. And they even gave their reason - to worship the one born King of the Jews. But why? That is, why would Gentiles make the trek from the East to come and worship Jesus? We will take on this question in the next post.
Thank you for reading this far. If this post has been of some value, share it.
In His grip by His grace,
Roderick Barnes
P.S. In the picture seen with this post Pastor Sean Azzaro, Dan Gerard, and myself are seen together after lunch. Pastor Sean blessed us with insights on small groups and their importance for the growth and shepherding of the local church. Thank you, Sir.
𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬
Brown, Raymond E., S.S. (1994). 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑖𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑎ℎ: 𝐴 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐼𝑛𝑓𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑁𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐺𝑜𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑎𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑤 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐿𝑢𝑘𝑒 (New York: Doubleday, 1994).
