More About Magi

MORE ABOUT MAGI

Genesis 1:14
“And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years.’”

Matthew 2:9
“After they [Magi] heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.”

Star Followers devotion showed how the Magi might well have been descendants from Daniel and fellow Hebrews exiled to Babylon from Judah around 600-500 B.C. The Babylonians could easily have learned about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob from these dislocated Jews. The promised Messiah might have been the Magi’s hope to see fulfilled by following a new star that suddenly appeared.

Light pollution never obstructed the night sky’s glory of stars thousands of years ago. And, people in the Middle East frequently slept on the roofs of houses to escape the summer’s heat in the desert. Looking up at the sky displayed God’s glorious creation spread out like a blanket. It’s easy to see how the stars entertained and delighted them. Each night was a study of stars and constellations. Astrology and astronomy were born from those nightly studies. Surely, some would notice something new.

The Magi discovered a new “star.” They followed where it led, and found Jesus where it stopped. Astronomy details stars in retrograde, which seem to change course, as seen from earth. And during such starry dances, retrograde motions of stars in reverse directions can seem to make stars stop. F.A. Larson researched this “starry dance,” date specific to Christ’s birth, and shares his work in http://www.BethlehemStar.net.

The Magi’s journey following this star from Babylon to Jerusalem took roughly seven months. The first opening Scripture tells that God made lights, as signs to men. The second Scripture tells how the Magi found Jesus. While this may seem incredulous, a star leading and then stopping, God can do all things! Why should it surprise us how God announced the birth of His Son in the sky?

Curious Magi focused on exalting this new king of the Jews.

Take Home Nugget
The Magi’s gifts were appropriate for a king, high priest, and redeemer. Gold was given to show honor and high esteem—befitting a king. The fragrant smoke of frankincense raised to heaven carrying prayers of priests, is appropriate for our High Priest, Jesus (1Timothy 2:5).
Myrrh was an expensive perfume, used mainly in wrapping dead bodies in linen cloth. Nicodemus fulfilled prophesy in John 19:38-40, by wrapping Jesus body using myrrh and aloes.


God’s gift of His Son to the world is life-saving Savior as priest, redeemer, and king.

J.D. Griffith

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