Matthew 2:9-11 KJV
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.
10) When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11) And when they were come into 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.
I've never understood how a star in the sky could stand over a particular house.
Much love!
There is so much assumption about the magi and the star, when it is rather plain that there is more to the story when you examine the details.
Matthew ch 2...
"Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
So here we have the magi (wise men who practiced astrology and possibly other magical arts) from the east (no number is mentioned) saying that they saw "his" star in the east. What made this "his" star?
Who were the magi anyway and why did they come all the way from Babylon to Jerusalem just to bring gifts to a child?
These Babylonian astrologers apparently had the custom of bringing gifts to royal children, so for some astrological reason, there was a star that appeared in the heavens that they interpreted as indicating the birth of a new "King of the Jews". Now since the Jews were under Roman domination, this was significant. The Jews were a small number of people living in an occupied land. So why would pagan astrologers (who practiced what God's law condemned) be given an indication of the birth of a single child in an insignificant nation occupied by Rome?
God had announced Jesus' birth to Jewish shepherds who immediately went to the stable in Bethlehem to see the newborn with his parents.
Now, since the magi had come to honor a new King with expensive gifts, it was apparently not "worship" that they offered as to a god, but obeisance as in honoring royalty. Its the same word, with context determining the rendering. They had no reason to "worship" Jesus.
These Babylonians had a plethora of their own gods.
So how did they end up in Jerusalem?
"3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:"
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For from you will come forth a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”
So getting all the information he needed to track down this threat, Herod prepared to send out his men to make sure that this child became a casualty.
"Then Herod secretly called for the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” 9 After hearing the king, they went on their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on ahead of them until it came to a stop over the place where the Child was to be found. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And after they came into the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary; and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And after being warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way."
Now this same 'star'
moved in the sky until it
came to a stop over the house where Jesus was. It had initially led them, not to Jesus but to Herod, a wicked and jealous King who was not going to tolerate any challenge to his own dynasty. No one was going to usurp his own son as future King of the Jews. So he hatched a plot to destroy this child before he even had a chance to grow up.
This begs the question.....If God had sent the star, then wouldn't that have made him complicit in the deaths of all those babies that Herod sent his men to destroy?
And if God had sent the star, it would have led them straight to Jesus, not to Herod. So who wanted Jesus dead? Who would use a wicked King to do his dirty work? Who would use pagan astrologers who unwittingly played right into his hands?
God warned the magi in a dream not to return to Herod, so they in their ignorance were not held accountable, but Herod was.
Whenever I see nativity scenes with the wise men at the stable and the star overhead, I can feel my anger rising.....this was quite obviously a satanic plot to have Jesus killed. The magi were never at the stable, and the star was from the devil...IMO it is nothing to celebrate....but something to be exposed for the lie that it is.