Join us in a journey through biblical prophecy as we delve into the story of the mysterious Magi and the significant star they followed. This episode enlightens the remarkable prophecy of Balaam, connecting historical events that lead to the birth of Jesus, recognized by the wise men from the East. Explore the intertwining of cultures and faiths, where the Jews, Babylonians, Persians, and Romans play pivotal roles in this divinely orchestrated encounter.
00:00:06 Introduction and the Story of Balaam’s Star
00:21:45 Significance of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh
SPEAKER 01 :
Greetings, friends and new listeners, and welcome to The Sound of Faith. I’m Sharon Knotts, thanking you for joining us today because we know faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. And today’s Word is rich with intrigue. Get ready to be blessed as we examine the nuances in the boomerang story of Balaam’s prophetic star. So let’s get back to our Magi. At the time of Jesus’ birth, it was only the Magi who recognized the significant star. Now we need to go to Matthew chapter 2 for that story. How many are following? Verse 1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. The word here for wise men in the Greek is magos, M-A-G-O-S. And this referred to the Babylonians, the Medes, and the Persians, modern day Iran and Iraq. It referred to wise men, astrologers, teachers, pagan priests, and those who interpreted dreams. It is very probable that a lot of these were mixed in with the Jews. Because remember, the Jews were sent in exile. First, the ten tribes, and then the other two tribes were sent in exile here to Babylon in these areas. And you know, if they got sent to exile for being sinful, disobedient, and rebellious against God’s word, we can pretty well figure when they got there, they were going to marry pagans. Amen. How many understand what I’m saying? So it’s very probable that now these hundreds of years later you have where the Jews mixed in with the Arabs, the Persians, the Medes, et cetera. They may not have all been Arabs, but anyway, mixed in with them. And so during the time, remember when Daniel and the three Hebrew boys had to go to Babylon, they went in that one exile and Daniel, You know, the king had the dreams and he couldn’t find anybody to interpret them. And finally they figured out that Daniel could tell him everything. And Daniel could tell the dreams, interpret the dreams and everything. And so the scripture says that Daniel and the three Hebrew boys were ten times wiser than Then all of Nebuchadnezzar’s and all the other Kings, their wise men, all those that were in their court that were in their cabinet, their advisors, Daniel and the three Hebrew boys were 10 times wiser than all of them. Amen. And so I would say that no doubt during that time, well, you know, it was so much so that the king made Daniel over all of them, over all of his wise men and all of his astrologers, et cetera. And I have to know that Daniel would have shared with them the scriptures. And I believe that they knew what we just read about Jacob telling his son Judah and knew what Balaam said about the star of Israel, the star of Jacob and the scepter of Israel. They would have had that information. And that’s who these wise men were. And so they came. They came to find this baby Jesus, this king. They said, there’s a king, amen, king of the Jews, and we’ve come, we’ve followed a star in the east, and we have come to worship him. So they go to Herod. Now, Herod technically was not even Jewish. And I’ll have time to develop that. It doesn’t really matter. But he was put on the throne by Rome. And even though technically the emperor in Rome was really the one that was over everyone, But to keep the Jewish people sort of happy, he put this King Herod on the throne. He was a puppet. That’s what he was, a puppet of Rome. And by the way, when you’re reading your New Testament, you will read Herod through many of the stories in the Gospels. And even when you get in the book of Acts, you will read about Herod. Let me tell you this. There are six Herods in the New Testament. Six Herods. And the first was the worst. And this is the first. He’s called Herod the Great. He was an evil man. He ruled by fear and intimidation. When Rome made him a king and he came into a power, he slew 300 of the men in his court. He slew his wife, his mother-in-law, and three of his sons. Why did he kill these 305 people? Because he was paranoid and he was worried that one of them was going to try to usurp the kingdom and become king. He had that paranoia. He was plagued with that thought. It tormented him so much that if he saw anybody that he thought was a threat, he killed them. Including his mother-in-law. Amen. And his own three sons. So when the wise men come to him and say, where is he that is born king of the Jews? Oh, you talk about Herod’s antennae going up. Amen. Oh boy, this got his attention. And he was troubled. Let’s read on to verse 4. Oh, we saw verse 3. I want to tell you what the meaning of verse 4, what troubled is before we go forward. It means to be agitated, to be disturbed, to strike with fear. Verse 4. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together and demanded where Christ or Messiah should be born, they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea for thus is written by the prophet. And you Bethlehem in the land of Judah. Are not the least among the princes of Judah. For out of you shall come a governor. Shall rule my people Israel. So when he asked. You know where is this king to be born? The people in his court. Said, oh, well, there’s a prophecy in Micah. We preached on this last week when we preached on Messiah’s land. Micah 5 to it may appear on your screen, but it’s a prophecy and it’s a very specific prophecy because it says in Bethlehem of Judea. And we mentioned that this was important that he specified because there was more than one Bethlehem. How many remember that? And I said, what if I said to you, I’m going to visit my family in Columbus? You don’t know if I meant Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, Georgia. In fact, there are over 20 cities in America named Columbus. So you would have to be specific and give the state. And that’s why it says Bethlehem of Judea to be very specific. Amen. And here’s the thing about it, though. When they told Herod this prophecy from Micah 2, and it may be on your screen, they left out the last part. Because the last part of the scripture says, whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting. There it is. See, they didn’t tell him that last part, did they? They stopped before they got to that part. They didn’t quote the last part of the verse. They only quoted the part in Bethlehem of Judea. But no, it says, whose goings forth is from everlasting. Well, what is significant about that? Who is from everlasting? Everybody should get this one right. Who is from everlasting? God, Jesus, amen. God is from everlasting. In other words, only those who have deity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are from everlasting. They didn’t know about Jesus yet, so that’s why I want to say God. Okay? They don’t know yet who Jesus is. So from everlasting is God. And for them to quote this prophecy, they left that last part off. Why would they leave that part of the prophecy off? Amen. Maybe because they thought there’s something wrong with that part of the prophecy because we don’t understand how God could come in the flesh and be the king. Maybe they didn’t understand that. I mean, Paul said in 1 Timothy 3, 16, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh. Amen. So anyway, they left that part out. So they told Herod. it’s going to be in bethlehem verse 7. then herod when he had privily or privately now he takes the wise men separately and he he says to them he called them and he inquired of them diligently what time when did that star appear and he sent them to bethlehem and said go and search diligently for the young child and when you have found him Bring me word again that I may come and worship him also. Somebody say liar, liar, pants on fire. He killed 305 people including his own family. So they couldn’t become king. Amen. And so he brought the wise men in private. Now, you know, we all say we three kings and we all say it’s three. We don’t know for sure whether or not it’s three. It could be more than three. scripture doesn’t tell you how many people assume because it said they brought gold frankincense and myrrh it was three people but maybe a bunch of them got together and gave gold etc so we don’t know it could be more than three not that it really matters but i just want you to think about that and we’ll we’re going to keep singing the song we three kings in the play okay it’s hard enough finding three people to play kings if we had more just saying So he says, you know, go to Bethlehem, find the baby. Come back and tell me because I want to worship him. And we know that he had murder on his mind. Murder on his mind, not worship. Let’s look at verse 9. When they had heard the king, they departed and lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was. And when they saw the star… They rejoiced with exceeding great joy. Okay, I want to show you something here. The star had led them all the way to Jerusalem. And it must have disappeared. Because otherwise, why would they go to Herod and say, we’ve heard there’s a king born, where is he? Amen? Amen. And then we see that after they left, the star appeared again. And when they saw it, they rejoiced. So for God’s reasons, he let the star only take them to Jerusalem. Amen. And then for whatever reason, it wasn’t there anymore. This is what I’m reading and seeing in here. You can look at it when you go home and see if you agree with me or disagree with me. I just think that’s interesting. Amen. And apparently it had led them from the east. Now, when that says we saw the star in the east, it does not mean that the star was in the east. When they were in the east. Amen. They saw the star. That’s why we three kings says westward leading still proceeding. Guide us to thy perfect light. All right. So they saw that star took them to Jerusalem. And now they’ve been following it. And now it’s reappeared. Because otherwise they didn’t know where to go next. And that’s why they asked for an audience with King Herod. Amen. And when they saw it appear again, no wonder they rejoiced. Look, the star is back. Amen. So while Israel was sleeping, covered in darkness. Balaam’s prophetic star. Arose in the night sky. Over the fields of Bethlehem. Where the lowly shepherds. And we taught on the shepherds last week. The Levitical shepherds. Who raised sheep that were used for the temple. Amen. And that whole thing. I can’t go through it again now. But if you were here last week. If you weren’t. Unfortunately I would tell you to watch it on YouTube. We lost parts of the sound because we’re having problems with our live streaming. So anyway, that star appeared over Bethlehem. And there they found the baby. Because wise men seek after him. Amen. Unlike the priest, the rabbis, the scribes, the religious leaders at the temple. They were not blind to that star. Let’s look at Isaiah chapter 60. We’ll come back here in a minute to Matthew. We’re winding down. But I want you to see Isaiah chapter 60. Here’s a prophecy by Isaiah. Verse 1. Arise, shine, for your light is come. And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth. And gross darkness the people. But the Lord shall arise upon you. And his glory shall be seen upon you. And the Gentiles shall come to your light. And king to the brightness of your rising. Do you see even the prophetic significance of this? God said arise and shine Israel. Your light has come. But they didn’t see it. The Israelites did not see it. It took the Gentiles. The pagan kings. That came from Persia. And that entire area of the east. It took them to see the star. And to follow it. And saints it’s the same way today. People are blind with gross darkness. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4 and 3. If our gospel be hid. It is hid to them that are lost. In whom the God of this world, Satan, has blinded. The minds of them that believe not. Lest the glorious light of the image of Christ should shine unto them. Their minds are blind. Amen. Gross darkness has covered people. But today, God has some that are wise men and wise women who are still seeking after him. Amen. Back in Matthew chapter 2 and looking at verse 11. Finishing our story. And when they were coming to the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshipped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. So they came into the house. Now I’ll just take a second to tell this or maybe two seconds, but it says house, not a stable. So by this point, they were no longer in the stable. Here’s the thing about it. Jesus had to be circumcised on the eighth day. I don’t see them circumcising him in that stable. Mary had to go one day 40 to Jerusalem to offer the sacrifice so that she could be cleansed from having given birth. And to present Jesus in the temple. So I can’t see them going all the way back home to Nazareth. And have to turn around and come all the way back there. But neither do I see them staying in a stable for 40 days. So you know the reason why they had to go in the stable. Is because everything was packed. Why? Because of the census. Because everybody had to go there to sign the census. But once they signed the census they went home. So now the city’s not packed with people that just came temporarily for the census. So now there would be available other places to stay. So it would appear that that’s what happened. They were somewhere in a house when the wise men showed up. So I know that technically putting them in the stable is not technically accurate. But there’s such an integral part of the story here. In the very early part of it when Jesus was born. And fulfilling the prophecy about the star. That we have to bring them in the story. And we’re not going to tear down the stable and build a house in the middle of the play. Amen. So you know sometimes you have to take a little stretch so you can get the story across. But how many understand that? That’s what it means when they came into the house. And now they brought their gifts. Gold. Gold symbolizes Jesus’ identity as the king. Then they gave him incense and this symbolizes his identity as God because the priest offered incense up to God. We offer incense up to God by the raising of our hands and the speaking of our lips. Is giving God incense. Unlike some religions. That do it still today literally. And they do the incense everywhere. No. David said let the lifting up of my hands. And my praise be like incense. Lifted up at the evening sacrifice. Amen. So that’s what the incense was. The gold. He’s a king. The incense. He’s God. And last but not least. The myrrh. The myrrh was used to anoint dead bodies. They anointed the dead with myrrh. And it signified his ultimate mission to go to the cross. The angel said, behold, I give you great tidings of great joy. Unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior. But in order to be our savior, he had to go to the cross and be the lamb of God. Amen. And that’s what the myrrh signified. There was one other gift besides that one. I’m not going to ask you to guess. I’m going to tell you what was the other gift. They fell down. And worshipped him. See we don’t see where they went in to see King Herod falling down and worshipping him. They didn’t bow down to Herod. And say oh great king. No. But they went and they bowed down and worshipped that baby because they understood that he was Messiah, Shiloh, the king of Israel, the star of Jacob, the scepter of Israel. They understood who he was. And so the very first gift they gave him was not gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but it was worship because worship is more precious than all of these. Amen. They bow down and worship him. And so I love Christmas. Amen. Amen. I trust you’re being inspired by the remarkable account of Balaam’s prophetic star. We have all heard about Balaam and his talking mule, but were you aware of the stunning messianic prophecy Balaam spoke over the Israelite camp in the wilderness? He was hired to curse them, but every time he opened his mouth, blessings came out. And the third time he pronounced a prophetic parable of a kingly star that would rise out of Jacob. And 1,500 years later, wise men from the East followed that very star to the infant King of Kings. Balaam’s prophetic star is available on CD and MP3s. To purchase the CD by mail, send a minimal love gift of $10. Mail to Sound of Faith, P.O. Box 1744, Baltimore, Maryland, 21203. Request SK225. Or go online to soundoffaith.org to order on CD or MP3s. But to order by mail, send your love gift of $10 or more to Sound of Faith, P.O. Box 1744, Baltimore, Maryland, 21203. Request SK-225. Till next time, this is Sharon Knott saying, Maranatha.
