On Day 3 of this week, we marveled at how God, in His Providence, guided all the events of history to come together for the birth of His Son Jesus, the Messiah.

Today, we see how God arranged all of nature to announce the birth of His son.
Here is Matthew’s account:

2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, ² saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” ³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; ⁴ and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. ⁵ They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

⁶ “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

⁷ Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” ⁹ After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹ And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

(Matthew 2:1-12, English Standard Version)

These wise men from the east, most scholars agree, were from somewhere in Persia, possibly the former Babylonian or Chaldean empires. These men were scholars and scientists, and knew the ancient writings and prophesies about a coming King. They likely had the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament) along with Daniel’s writings when Daniel was a Babylonian captive.

These wise men knew something special was going on, as they referred to the sign in the sky not as “a star”, but as “His star” (referring to the Messiah, the king). God had arranged this sign in the sky to capture their attention, an desire so deep within them that they disrupted their lives to journey hundreds of miles at great expense and personal risk to meet this new king and worship Him.

Notice that these wise men did not try to explain the star, or worship the star (the creation), but reserved their praise and worship and gifts for the King Himself, the Creator of the universe.

And what was their reaction when they arrived? Exceedingly great joy, followed by falling down in worship before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus.

What will our reaction be when we meet Jesus face-to-face?

I can only imagine, but I look forward to that day.

For God to arrange all of nature to create a star that shines around the world, and draws wise men from afar to worship His Son is amazing. And to align these events of nature with the course of human history is incredible and breathtaking.

This is another example of God’s love for His Son bursting out into all creation and history.

And why did God do all this? Because He loves us and provides a way of redemption for us.

That, my friends, is unconditional love.

Humbled, in awe, and experiencing God’s immeasurable love,
~kevin