Advent Day 23 – characters of the nativity – Star
If lighting an advent Log – Light candles 1-23.
Advent 23, for the short season of 2007
Advent days 19-22 dealt with Mary, Joseph, Jesus and Bethlehem.
Part 2 deals with The Star, Angels, Shepherds and Magi. That actually takes us to Advent day 26.
25 days in December until Christmas, but Advent usually starts before December. I explained that in part 1, linked above.
When I first started to celebrate Christmas, the first ornaments I made were stars.
Christmas 1987
We wrote the story of Christmas, divided up, on the three stars.
Those were a part of our Advent for many years!
The stars in the upper left corner
Star
Why the star before the Angels?
Well, since the Magi were coming from the East, or was it the west…
(if the star is in the east, do you walk east or west to Bethlehem?)
(westward leading still proceeding…as well as the appropriate verse: Matt 2:2 & 9),
(See how I figured that out?)
and it took them(Magi) some time to get there – it may have been seen by the magi BEFORE the birth. Maybe it was lit for them at just the moment of his birth – and since their journey was not ended at the stable, right after the birth(spoiler!) – they may have started then. Either way, the Star proclaiming Christ’s birth was at least at the same time, if not before the Angels and the shepherds. It’s my Advent study. If you don’t like it…you can change it up for yourself! LOL!
Star
The Star.
Do you every stand outside and just look at the stars?
I have lived in Big cities like Dallas and Columbus, and I have lived in little cities like Mulberry, Indiana, So. Charleston, Ohio and Gladewater, Tx. The one thing I have learned is that in order to see stars, you have to be in a place where there is no light pollution.
The stars are most visible in the darkest of nights.
Light Pollution isn’t the Sun during the day, or the full moon at night. It is the false lights of the city that blind your eye to all but the brightest lights. The things of the world can dim your sight of the true light!
God created the stars on the fourth day:
Genesis 1:14-18
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years,
15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so.
16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.
17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth,
18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
Before He created stars, moon and sun, He had to create light!
Genesis 1:1-3
1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
When God created – He started with nothing.
First He had to create the material with which to create!
It started out chaotic!
and dark.
And with His hand and His words (Let there be…), He brought order to disorder, light to darkness, and eventually life – in the form of creatures and man.
It’s not too unlike a pregnancy!
The Discover Channel does a beautiful job of showing how 2 cells meet – and out of the chaos of intercourse and finding each other, the cells connect and bring order – in the darkness of the womb. Then, birth – from darkness into light.
God created the world so that He could give birth to His son – and enter in a beautiful relationship between God and Man, whom he also created!
But I’m supposed to be focusing upon Stars!
The Star of Bethlehem, to be specific.
This star is the symbol of the Light of God coming into the Darkness of the World!
Isaiah 9:2
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
This verse is repeated in Matthew 4:16.
Zecharias referred to it in Luke 1:78-79.
Light from darkness is used to describe salvation in Ephesians 5:8, and 1 Peter 2:9.
The Star is a symbol of deliverance.
The Light of this star is a symbol of Christ.
In 2015, I did some research on this star, since just this year ‘they’ were saying that we could see a repeat of Christ’s star!
With my naked eye I could see that it was three different stars…so, I don’t buy that explanation. On the other hand, this article was quite interesting. It was neat to actually be able to experience one of the possibilities.
One thing I found out was that there is some very interesting scientific research going on, to prove or disprove this star. Sort of like that sun standing still miracle, but that’s another story.
Ray Pritchard, on www.jesus.org, describes four possibilities in this post.
Dr. Henry Morris, from Institute in Creation Research has an indepth discussion about the Star of Jesus within his article about the Star and the Magi.
Whatever the star was – it was important enough to the Magi, wise men, potentially astronomers, to know that something important had happened. Just as Dr. Morris did in his post, Edersheim speaks a little bit about the magi and why they might know of the coming King.
That’s coming!
The important piece to me, in this part of the story, is that God created the stars(creation) then used His creation to guide His people to His Son. How do I look upon nature?
Job talks about the morning stars singing.
Jesus talks about the rocks crying out.
Isaiah talks about the mountains and the hills will burst into song, and the trees will clap their hand.
Nature declares the glory of GOD!
Psalm 19:1-6
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
Nature is the evidence to God’s Glory!
Romans 1:19-20
19For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.
People have looked to the stars for guidance for thousands of years.
I look to the One Who created them.
Why not declare the coming of His son by the beauty of the star?
Light from heaven! Come to earth!
Now we celebrate, Jesus’ birth!
More Advent Devotions
Merry Christmas!
Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest
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