“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.
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,
the skulls of all the people of Sheth.” Numbers 24:17
A star will come out of Jacob;
a scepter will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,
the skulls of all the people of Sheth.” Numbers 24:17
A
prophecy spoken by an unlikely source, Balaam, 1,800 years before Jesus arrived
on earth tells of a star rising out of Jacob.
This star would represent a scepter, a sort of staff for royalty.
These
wise men apparently poured over scripture and connected many dots, waiting to
follow this star rising above Israel, which for them would be in the east. When the phenomenon occurred, they knew
exactly what it signified and went to King Herod to meet this king they
believed Israel was waiting for. The
Jewish leaders knew nothing of it.
Obviously
God’s spirit was working on the wise men’s hearts and pushing them in this
direction and helping them discover Jesus along the way, but it started with
this verse.