The light showed the way to the Promised Land and the way to Emmanuel.
Numbers 12:17 I see him, but not here and now. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel.
We saw in the previous post that God is always in control, it is difficult
to understand this idea, but somehow this is true even when he is allowing
us to have free will. We saw this truth in action in the life of Balaam, we
learned that God let him have his way so that he could use this unwilling false prophet.
God shows us in his word that he is sovereign at all times and he will use
anyone to work out his divine plans and his purpose despite our free will.
We saw that Balaam had no desire to bless God's people and he certainly had
no desire to announce the ultimate blessing.
Balaam's prophecies concluded with one of the earliest predictions of the Messiah:
- A Savior that would be the redeemer of God's people, the Star that would bring light to our darkness.
- A Ruler that would be the Lord of God's people, the Scepter would establish an eternal kingdom.
Each time that God came to Balaam there wasn't anything spectacular about
it, God spoke to him like he had done so many times before in scripture, it
was just a normal conversation. There are plenty of times when this was true like when God spoke to Adam and Eve,
or to Abraham, or Hagar or Jacob. (Genesis 3:8-9, 6:13, 12:1, 16:7-12,
28:12)
But that was not always the case, as we will see, sometimes God's presence
was very visible.
The Light To The Chosen
1 John 1:5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.
Sometimes when God interacted with people, his presence was an impressive
display of light so spectacular that it is amazing that he interacted with
some people without his glory being on display.
Abraham was the first to directly experience God's glorious light, not the
first time when God called him from his homeland but later when God showed
himself in a ceremony to confirm the covenant to bless Abraham's
descendants. (Genesis 15)
Moses saw the light as it got his attention when God's glory caused a bush
to light up as if it were on fire yet it was not consumed. The voice from
withing the bush makes it clear that the source of the light was not
natural. (Exodus 3:1-5)
God's people saw the light as it led them away from the darkness of Egypt to
the land that was promised. But first the light led them to Mount Sinai
where they saw the light as a sign of God's presence.
And now we will see the same Light that was revealed to God's chosen people
throughout the Torah will also guide the nations to the new Promised Land.
(Isaiah 9:2; 60:1–3).
The Light Of Christmas
Matthew 2:2,9-10 "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him."9 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!
The same God that occupied the mountain in the wilderness came without the
grand entrance that he deserved to occupy a lowly manger in Bethlehem. It
seems that the Light was revealed only to a very select group of people that
God chose.
The men that saw the star were not part of God's original chosen people, none of the
Jews, including the religious leaders in Jerusalem seem to know anything
about the star even after the Magi asked about it. Even if they looked
outside for it, they may have missed it because the star did not always
appear or maybe the star wasn't for them.
The special star that led them to Bethlehem reminds me of the Old
Testament pillar of fire that gave direction to a specific people to go to
a specific place. Think about the unique characteristics of the pillar, it
appeared and disappeared, it moved in various directions and it started
and stopped at various times and locations.
It is very unlikely that either of these lights were natural, it seems to
me that God's glorious presence that led his people in the Old Testament
is the same source of light that led the Magi. It makes more sense that
God was personally guiding these men in a similar manner instead of trying
to explain the source of light as a natural star or astronomical
event.
The understated entrance didn't confuse the Magi, they knew this was divine
revelation that the King of the Jews was here, they had anticipated this event because they knew
God's word, they knew that this wasn't an ordinary star and this was no
ordinary baby.
Once again, God chose to guide men on the right path as he did for his
people in the wilderness, but this time he is lighting the way for the
nations to come to him. (Psalms 119:105, Isaiah 60:3, Matthew 28:19)
The Light Of The World
John 3:19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God's light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil."
2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness," has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
The light showed the way to the Promised Land and it showed the way to
Emmanuel. The same God that said "Let there be light" was now with us in our
world as the Light that dispels the darkness of sin and death for anyone who
follows Him.
Jesus ministry to everyone was an invitation to leave the darkness and come to the light to become children of the light that would then also become the light of the world that would show God's glory to others. (Matthew 5:14-16, Ephesians 5:8)
The Light Of Eternity
Revelation 22:5 And there will be no night there-no need for lamps or sun-for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.
Our Savior proved that the light cannot be extinguished, even in death, he defeated death in his own life and he will defeat it again in each of our lives as well. He will take us to our Promised Land to dwell with him in light that is unending.
The end of the story is bright for those that have seen the Light, miss the light and you will spend eternity in darkness.
