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Numbers 24:17 says,”There shall come forth a Star out of Jacob”; this Star refers to Christ:
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The fulfillment of this type of Christ is found in the word of the magi, learned men from the east, recorded in Matthew 2:2:”Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star at its rising and have come to worship Him”:
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The magi did not say,”We saw a star,” or”We saw the star,” but”We saw His star.”
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This is certainly the fulfillment of Numbers 24:17; the star spoken of in this verse was shown to these learned men; it did not appear to any of the people of Israel.
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Whereas the Jews had the Scriptures concerning Christ and knew where He would be born (Matt. 2:4-6), the magi saw the star of Christ.
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The Jews had the knowledge in letters concerning where Christ was to be born (Micah 5:2), but these learned men from the east received a living vision of Him; eventually, the star led them to the place where Christ was (Matt. 2:9-10).
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Christ is the real Sun (Mal. 4:2), but strictly speaking, He does not appear as the Sun during the age of night; rather, He shines as a star; a star shines at night, but it indicates that day is coming.
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When Christ came the first time, He appeared openly as a star, but when He comes the second time, He will be the morning star (Rev. 2:28; 22:16) to His overcomers, who watch for His coming; to all others Christ will later appear as the sun.
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Matthew 2:1-12 reveals that to find Christ is a living matter; it is not a matter of mere doctrinal knowledge of the Bible:
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The star appeared far away from the genuine religion, far away from the temple in the Holy Land, far away from the Jewish religious center, far away from the priests, the scribes, the Pharisees, and all the religious people; instead, there was a star showing something of Christ in a heathen land.
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Merely to hold the Bible in our hand and read Micah 5:2, saying that Christ will be born in Bethlehem, does not work; we may have the Bible, but we may miss the heavenly star.
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The star is the living revelation, the living vision, not the old and dead doctrinal knowledge of the Scriptures, not the dead knowledge of Micah 5:2; what we need today is not merely Bible knowledge but the heavenly vision, the up-to-date, instant vision, the living vision, the vision that human concepts can never teach.
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Even if we have the knowledge of the Scriptures, we still need the instant, up-to-date, living star to lead us to the very street and the very house where Jesus is.
Morning Nourishment
Matt. 2:1-2 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, Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star at its rising and have come to worship Him.Num. 24:17 …There shall come forth a Star out of Jacob…
Jesus was born in Bethlehem….The strange thing, however, is this: far away from the so-called Holy Land, far away from the genuine religion, far away from the temple, far away from the Jewish religious center, far away from the priests, the scribes, the Pharisees, and all the religious people, was a star showing something of Christ in a heathen land. It did not appear to the Jews, but to the Gentiles, the heathen.
Merely to hold the Bible in our hand and read Micah 5:2, which indicates that Christ will be born in Bethlehem, does not work. We may say after we have read it that we have it, but we may not have seen it. We may have it, but nothing has happened to us. Those chief priests and scribes knew the Bible so well, but the Lord did not go to them. He went far away to a heathen land to reveal this matter to some pagans, not through the Scriptures but through something which human hands cannot touch—a heavenly star. (CWWL, 1970, vol. 1,”New Testament Service,” pp. 276-277)
Today's Reading
We may have the Bible, yet we may miss the star. To hold the book in our hand is easy, but to wait and look unto the star is rather difficult. We simply do not know when and where the star will appear. We may study the Scriptures and obtain a degree in those studies, and we may learn all that the Bible has to say about Christ, but we simply cannot determine when the star will come. The book was with the Jewish people, the religious people, but the star appeared to the heathen. Have you seen this? We may think that the star should have appeared to those priests praying in the temple, but it appeared to some pagans far away from the temple.Oh, we all need to see this star! It is not a matter of holding the Bible but a matter of seeing the star. What is the star? The star is the living revelation, the living vision, not the dead knowledge of the Scriptures in the letter, not the dead knowledge of Micah 5:2. What we need today is not merely Bible knowledge but the heavenly vision, the instant vision, the living vision, the vision that human concepts cannot teach.
What do you have? Do you have the Scripture verses, or do you have the star? Do you have the scriptural knowledge, or do you have the heavenly star? Do you have the teachings concerning an old way, or do you have the up-to-date, instant vision? Today many have the Bible in their hands, but they have not seen the star. Merely to have the Bible in our hands may be a deadening thing, but to see the star is a living experience. To find and serve Christ according to the principle shown to us in Matthew 2 was not according to the Old Testament Scriptures. To know Christ today is something living, not according to the knowledge of the Bible in dead letters but according to the living, heavenly star.
In this case the Lord went away from religion, even from the scriptural religion. Wherever and whenever we set up a religion, the Lord may simply go elsewhere. We cannot circumscribe, confine, or restrict the Lord with our religion. We need to learn in the church life never to set up a religion. We should not insist that this method or that way is right. If we do that, the Lord may say,”It may be right for you, but I do not care for it. If you were not so right, I would be with you; but because you are so right, I will go to those who are wrong.” When we insist that we are right and others are wrong, the Lord may leave us and go to the ones who are wrong.
Numbers 24:17 says,”There shall come forth a Star out of Jacob,” but this star did not appear to any of the people of Jacob. The star out of Jacob appeared to the pagans. (CWWL, 1970, vol. 1,”New Testament Service,” pp. 277-278)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1970, vol. 1,”New Testament Service,” chs. 5-6; Truth Lessons—Level Four, vol. 1, lsn. 3