How did they know so much?
I've seen some sweet looking stuff in the sky, but nothing that ever convinced me that a worship-deserving baby was being born or that I should set out for Israel. How did this celestial event prompt such a well-informed response? There are, at least, a few possible answers to that question.
First, there's always the possibility that God simply and specially revealed this information to them (in addition to the star), rewarding them for their quest for truth. But it seems more likely to me that they had also figured out this information by some means (they were 'wise men' after all).
A second possibility seems quite reasonable to me and that is that they had access to some ancient Jewish literature. This is far from far fetched (in other words, its likely) since the wise men were either Persian or Babylonians who had formerly possessed Daniel and his friends. Perhaps they knew and studied passages like Numbers 24:17, Isaiah 60:3+14, or Daniel's own 9:24-27. Whatever the case, their gifts suggest they knew quite about about the baby Jesus.
A third option places more emphasis on the Christmas 'star' itself. Ancient wise men were, after all, students of the stars. Is it possible that more details can be learned from the stars than modern evangelicals would like to believe? In their explanation of their arrival, the 'star' is all they mention. We'll save that question/topic for tomorrow.
4 comments:
I favour option 2 as most likely. Probably through the writings of Daniel. But would it even have to be Jewish prophesies? In his book, Eternity in Their Hearts, Don Richardson tells the story of several peoples (mostly in South East Asia) that had legends of white strangers bringing them God's book. And then there are stories in the OT of gentiles, such as Laban and Balaam, who used "divination" (not to diminish the sinfulness of the practice) to learn what God was doing/going to do.
hey, i'm glad you brought that up. i wanted to include a thought toward that end, but i fear the wrath of my readers if my posts are more than 2 minutes worth of reading!
I certainly believe God has found ways to reveal truth to people who weren't reached by Israel and the Church.
God bless
I like the look of your blog, matthew. :)
well thank-you miss jessica :)
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