We have Seen His Star - The Birth of the African King

From Distant times, African men living in distant lands have been using the stars in an attempt to find that which they did not know. The stars guided them across the oceans of time, to new lands, where new cultures were discovered. Empires grew up under their influence, Greece, The Aztec Empire, and others testify to the coming of men from the distant lands of Africa, guided by the stars.

Astronomy was well developed in the Empire of Egypt and Nubia, and Babylonia. The Egyptians, Sudanese, Chaldean Soothers and Astrologers were men who understood the illuminated gaseous substance that stood fixed as a way mark by which they could set their compass and find their way home, from their long journeys.

For centuries they had studied these stars, and knew all the ones in our galaxy by names. In many lands, some of these stars had become their Gods, because the came to understand the seasons, and times based on the movement and atitude of the stars, and soon they came to believe that the main star, the sun, must be in control of things on earth.

With eagerness many magicians looked forward to the new star that would one day arise, signaling the birth of the child king.. Balaam a magician of the East had prophesied in Numbers 24:17:

Num 24:17-18
17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.
(KJV)

This prophecy had made its way across the world into the universities of the Magicians, and they all looked for the star to come.

Then suddenly one day it appeared. For out of nowhere they could see what was really a ball of angels traversing the sky with a message from the celestial throne room of God. it was a telegram sent to the various magicians of the world saying “Unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord”

With Eager expectancy Noble men of Eastern African, And Arabia began to study the Tora h of the Jews, seeking to find the truth concerning this star. They were the philosophers, counselors of the realm, men learned in all the wisdom of the east. E. G. White says in the Book Desire of Ages, they were not idolaters, but upright men of integrity. Withe excitement they discovered that the Torah did indeed tell of a Savior to come, so with Eager expectancy the started they started on their journey to find the God of the star.

Across hills valleys, dale and plains, these noble men traveled for weeks to discover the truth concerning the star, and when the Angels finally disappear over the Town of Jerusalem, the hurried thinking they would find all the people in the town preparing a great festival for the new king, but they are disappointed. There is no celebration in Jerusalem, the people of God are not even aware, of the truth of the message of the Angels. that had also come to some uneducated shepherds “ You shall find the babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in a manger”

These wise men who traveled from afar to find the infant Jesus are the perpetual symbol of that spirit of moral and spiritual adventure which believes in the future. They are always finding shinning stars of expectation where other men with eyes cast down see only the dull, brown earth beneath their feet.

These are the men who lead us forward. For when expectation dies progress is unknown, and when hope has entered the tomb creative and noble activity soon follows.

As we face the prospect of 1995, I encourage find your star. Get your bearing by Gods diving line, be driven by some purpose, some goal, live your live with meaning, and allow the power of God to work in you lives.

Dont live you life to destroy the dreams of others but the make success of your.
Matt 2:1-11
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Herod had a right to be troubled. He was an Edomite and Edom was to fall under Israels Possession.

Numbers 24:17
18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.
Matthew 2:4.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
Scribes:
These men are often spoken of as lawyers. Or doctors of the lay. They were learned men whose duty it was to study, preserve, copy and interpret and expound the law, or sacred writing..

The Priest apparently evaded a direct answer. The wise men had probably referred to their study of the Hebrew scriptures, and if so, Herod could rightly have surmised that the doctors of the law must have know more that they appeared to. They were by no means as ignorant as they pretended to be, either of the prophecies themselves or of recent events that pointed to their fulfillment. They no doubt know of the vision of Zacharia of the report of the shepherds and of he prophecy of Simeon. But pride and envy closed the door of their hearts to light for obviously God had passed them by in favor of uncouth shepherds and uncircumcised heathen, as thy thought. The branded the reports as fanaticism and unworthy of attention..

Matthew 2:5-10.

5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
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.

The Epiphany story is the story of a quest, a journey, a discovery. There are those who would wave it aside contempt as a fairy tale. But the man who sees neither history nor poetry in it, and nothing else but fantasy, is stone blind.

This story brims over with scriptural meaning, and its message gleams on St. Matthew’s page. This is not mere legend, but divine truth. A preface to an extraordinary life that would bring joy to the world.

Christians everywhere has always loved the Epiphany and has poured out all the wealth of devotion of genius in depicting it. In the age of persecution we find it frequently in the Catacombs, where no symbolic picture is more popular that the Adoration of the Infant Jesus by the Three Kings.

In medieval times the great Masters vied with one another in their treatment of it.

Miracle plays and carols makes it one of their chief themes.

And we today, whose sense of reality is increasingly alive to the fact that all truth does not begin and end with scientific inquiry into physical facts, can see in it as much as those who have gone before us. For it is one of those Christian things that come right home to our senses of the need of God, and to the quest for God which is going on within and around us. Where is he that is born King of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him.?
Mat 2:11
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

The saw, the Searched, they found they worshiped, the gave

Men are brought to Christ in many ways. Sometimes by stars, other time by flowers, sometimes by a friend. Men have used the stars to light their path to dark and evil place. By the shadows of night, men have gone to centers of darkness, prostitution and evil.

But these were not wise men. Wise men has used the stars to come to Jesus, to open their hearts and invite him in.

Their Gifts:
The Gold of Ethiopia
Gold. A tribute to a King. There is in us all a response to royalty and a delight in it.
Like the Queen of Sheba, brought 4 million dollars in Gold to the African King name Solomon who sat upon the Israeli throne, son the wise men from Africa brings the Gold to the king of the Universe.

The Gold signifies the best this African had to give. He thought God worthy of all he had, and this gold would provide for the young child and his mother when forced to flee to Africa to protect his life from the tyrant Edomite who now sat upon the Israeli throne.

Gold I bring to crown him again
King forever, ceasing never, over us all to reign.

From Arabia

Frankincense an offering to God. This was a fragrant resting, exuded from the bark of a certain tree, which formed an ingredient of incense in the Ancient East. Incense was offered as a sweet odor ot the Deity and it became the symbol of prayers and vows, of aspirations and all the sweetness of man’s worship. This is the complement of the gold, and there are some who are peculiarly rich in it. people who are born with a genius for religion. It is an element in the life of all children. The tender conscience and spiritual longings of childhood are not only normal but characteristic gifts of the early days.

From Arabia and East African
Myrth for Burial spices. Myrth dropping in reddish brown drops like tears was praised for its sweet scent- a far Eastern kind of scent, that would sweeten the air of the stable while the little child lay there. But the chief use of myrrh was for very precious ointment with which they embalmed the dead. Long afterward when the scent rose from the gift of Mary, Jesus at once said it was for his burial. And this odor of burial spice was about the cradle in the inn of Bethlehem..

There are some who know it well, they are acquainted with grief, with loneliness, anxieties, and bereavements, they themselves have sorrowed much and felt the harrow of pain, and the death around them in their world. Their hearts are full of a great compassion and their loving eyes are tearful.