Day 2
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel...
Numbers 24:17
The stories from the earliest books of the Bible were familiar not only to the Jewish people, but also to those living beyond their borders. In Numbers chapter 24, the non-Israelite prophet Balaam is recorded sharing a vision of a coming ruler that gave a clue to the Magi and others that a star would precede the coming Messiah.
The Magi would have likely also known stories passed down from the Jewish prophet Daniel. Six hundred years earlier, while in captivity in Persia, Daniel shared prophecies about the birth of the Messiah with groups of Magi from his time.
Generations later, a new group of Magi would discover the star, which was a sign to them the prophecies about the coming of a savior
were beginning to be fulfilled. They assembled a caravan loaded
with provisions and gifts for the long journey through deserts and mountains to Jerusalem, where they believed they would find the prophesied Messiah.
Consider
- The Magi were able to recognize the importance of the star they discovered because they were familiar with the prophesies in which it played a role. If you are a follower of Christ, how can you grow your knowledge of the Bible?