church

INI
Epiphany
January 6, 2013
Ascension Lutheran Church, Tacoma WA
Paul Naumann, Pastor

THE MULTIPURPOSE STAR OF JACOB
Numbers 24:17

Grace and Epiphany peace be multiplied unto you in the name of our Savior
Jesus Christ, Amen. Our brief text this morning is a prophecy from the Old
Testament book of Numbers, chapter 24, verse 17, as follows:

"I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of
Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel." This is the Word of God.

In the Name of Jesus Christ, the Name which is above every Name, Dear
Fellow Redeemed,

Stars are interesting. None more so than the star that powers our solar system,
the sun. Did you know that about half of Americans aren't aware that the sun is
a star? Did you know that the temperature of the sun is about 10,000 degrees
Fahrenheit, but that a lightning bolt is three times hotter than that? Did you
know that the next nearest star to our sun, Proxima Centauri, is about 25 trillion
miles away? To put that in perspective, if our sun were the size of the dot over
the letter "i", then the closest star would be another, similarly-sized dot ten
miles away, say at the Tacoma Narrows bridge!

It’s fascinating! Ever since God created them, people have looked up at the
stars and been fascinated. And for good reason. Like so much of God's creation,
the stars are beautiful. And their orderliness and predictability reinforce our
faith that God truly is in control, not just of my life, but in control of the whole
universe. God truly has a plan for the universe, and a plan for your life, as well.
And from eternity, the biggest part of that plan was to provide you with a
Savior from sin. Maybe that's the reason that the Bible, in the Book of
Numbers, speaks of Jesus as a Star. On this Day of Epiphany, when we hear the
account of the Wise Men being led to Jesus by a star, we also remember that
Jesus Himself is a star. And He’s a star that serves several important purposes
in the lives of His people. Our theme today:

THE MULTIPURPOSE STAR OF JACOB
I. A Star to guide you.
II. A Star to govern you.
III. A Star to save you.

Some years ago we had a midweek Lenten series with the unusual theme,
"Sermons Preached by Jesus' Enemies." It focused on texts where people who
were enemies of Christ said things about Him that were profoundly true. Like
the time that the High Priest Caiaphas said, It is expedient that one Man should
die for the people." Or when Pilate's wife said, Have thou nothing to do with
that just man." Well, today's text is similar. In it, one of the bitterest enemies of
God's people - in fact a man who was hired to curse God's people - instead
involuntarily pronounces a wonderful blessing upon them. He promises them a
Savior!

The man's name was Balaam, the son of Beor. He was a Gentile seer, or
prophet. It all happened when Israel had just about come to the end of their
forty years' wandering in the wilderness. The events of our text take place
shortly before the death of Moses and the crossing of the Jordan. Israel was
encamped in the plains of Moab, east of the Jordan River. Their army had
recently conquered two powerful kings east of the Jordan: Sihon, king of the
Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan. King Balak of the Moabites was next in line,
and he was understandably nervous. So he sent for Balaam to curse Israel.
Balaam didn't want to do it, but King Balak insisted. A funny thing happened,
though, when Balaam tried to curse Israel - out of his mouth came blessing
instead. For of course, God was in control, as always. To the king’s horror, he
heard Balaam prophesy victory for Israel and defeat for her enemies (including
Moab). It was an important prophesy, and heralded Israel’s successful conquest
of the promised land. But then, abruptly, in the middle of this short-term
prophesy about Israel, God allowed Balaam to look out far into the future, to
view the arrival of the most important Person in the history of the world.
Balaam said, "I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall
come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel."

I see Him, but not now. Balaam uttered this prophesy around 1400 B.C. Can
you imagine that? Fourteen hundred years before the star appeared over
Bethlehem, this heathen prophet saw the Savior. But the vision was dim. I see
Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near. Much time would pass before
the Star of Jacob was manifested. But already at this ancient date, in fact from
the beginning of time, God had set the planets and stars in motion. Everything
in the universe was ordered with but one object in mind: the coming of the
promised Savior. Then, all those centuries later, when everything was just right,
when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a
woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we
might receive the adoption as sons. -- Gal 4:4-5.

A Star shall come out of Jacob. Why is the coming Christ called the "Star of
Jacob"? Well, Jesus was a descendant of Jacob, or Israel, of course. But why a
star? Why did God use that specific term? Think for a moment about what stars
do. One of the most important things they do is guide people. Since ancient
times, mariners have navigated according to the stars, using the stars to guide
them unerringly to distant destinations. Same thing with Jesus! The Star of
Jacob is a Star to guide you.

You think astrology is big today? You should have seen the ancient near east!
Many ancient cultures bowed down and worshiped the stars as idols, so much
so that Isaiah mocks them in chapter 47 when he says, You are wearied in the
multitude of your counsels; Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, And the
monthly prognosticators Stand up and save you From what shall come upon
you Israel was specifically forbidden to rely upon the stars to guide them. With
this one exception - God promised, through Balaam, to send the Star of Jacob.
This Star they were to pay attention to. They were to watch carefully for the
coming of this Star, for this Star would guide them.

So, for centuries, wise men watched and waited for the Star to be revealed. The
Star that would guide them and save them. By the time 1400 years had passed,
they were still waiting. Many false messiahs arose, the most famous of whom
was Simon bar Kochba, which (not coincidentally) means "Son of the Star."
These people all knew that ancient prophesy of Balaam - it was common
knowledge. They were all looking for the Star. This morning we heard what
happened after the birth of Christ, when the wise men showed up in Jerusalem.
They said "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen
His star in the East and have come to worship Him." 3 When Herod the king
heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. -- Mt 2:2-3. The whole
country was stirred up, and no wonder! Because they all knew Balaam's
prophesy about the Star. And they knew it meant the coming of the Messiah.
They departed; and behold, the star which they had seen 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 exceedingly great joy. -- Mt 2:9-10.

What about you? Are you guided by the Star of Jacob? Does it make you
rejoice with exceedingly great joy? Which seems more real to you, Jesus Christ
or the stars you see when you look up into the night sky? In fact, they're both
equally real. But even Christians often act as if that weren't true. A while back I
listened to a fellow named Aaron McDowell giving a presentation on the radio.
He said something interesting. He said that a lot of people - even Christians -
act as if religion is a different kind of truth than science. Like it belongs in a
different category, the category of feelings and opinions. They say things like,
"Oh, you have your religious beliefs and they're valid for you, but I have
different beliefs and they're equally valid. Maybe we're both right!" Have you
heard people say things like that? Have you noticed that no one ever says that
about physics or geometry or math? ("Oh you have your math, it's true for you,
but my math is different!") The Bible says Jesus Christ, the same yesterday,
today and forever! Jesus is our pole star.. He guides us; He's the criterion by
which we judge everything else in our lives. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth
and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me." It's time we Christians
started being guided by the Star of Jacob. It's time we realized that the Word of
our Savior is more profoundly true than the Law of gravity, or two plus two
equals four. Speaking of the Bible Peter says, we have the prophetic word
confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until
the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. -- 2 Pet 1:19. Follow
the Star of Jacob! It is a Star to guide you.

Secondly, the Star of Jacob is a Star to govern you. The text says, A Star shall
come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel. The word "scepter" is
interesting. It also means "staff" or "rod." You remember the 23rd Psalm? "Thy
rod and Thy staff, they comfort me"? Same word. When it is used of a king, it
means the mighty scepter that the king holds in his hand, and it's significant in
two ways.

First, of course, it's a symbol of authority. The possessor of the scepter has the
right and authority to govern. And of no one was this more true than the
coming Christ. In Genesis 49, the dying Jacob referred to the coming Christ as
Shiloh, "the One who brings peace," when he prophesied: The scepter shall not
depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people. -- Gen 49:10. When Jesus
arrived that prophesy was fulfilled. Jesus said, All authority has been given unto
Me in heaven and on earth. -- Mt 28:18.

But the scepter was also symbolic of something else - of the power to crush
and defeat the enemies of the king. That's why the word scepter is related to the
words "smite" and "strike." Psalm 2 says of the enemies of the Lord, You will
rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery." -- Psa
2:9 NIV. Do you think of your Lord Jesus this way? You should! For he is your
King, and one duty of a king is to fight for his people and defeat the enemies of
His people. All the difficulties you encounter in life, every hostile force that is
arrayed against you, must contend not just with you, but with you and your
King: the Star of Jacob, the Scepter of Israel! Think about that. That balances
the fight out a little bit, doesn't it? In fact it makes you indestructible. If God be
for us, Paul asks, who can be against us? The Star of Jacob is governing us!

Which brings us to the final point. The Star of Jacob is a Star to save you. I
read a rather gripping account of a man who was hunting elk in a wilderness
area in Idaho and got lost. He was miles from anywhere. He had a compass, but
it had been broken in a fall. He knew the rudiments of navigation, but the
problem was that the weather was overcast, so he couldn't see the sun or the
stars. After several days he was out of food and nearly at the point of
exhaustion, when finally, one evening, the cloud cover lifted and there before
him was the bright North Star. He knew immediately what it meant: he was
saved. For to the north lay the road he needed to reach. This man was literally
saved by a star.

In a very real sense, you've been saved by a star, too! By the Star of Jacob. That
Star that was predicted untold centuries ago, that star that shone over the fields
of Bethlehem, the Star of Jacob, has guided you too to the cradle of your Savior.
You were baptized into His name. You heard His good news, the news that,
though you are a sinner, yet through faith in Christ your sins are forgiven. You
saw the promise of the Messiah fulfilled when Jesus suffered and died on the
cross outside Jerusalem. By doing so He atoned once and for all for the sins of
the whole world, as John reminds us in comforting terms, If anyone sins, we
have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He
Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the
whole world. - 1 Joh 2 :1-2.

Are there sins on your conscience? Misdeeds you've committed that return to
trouble your mind and disturb your thoughts? Banish those thoughts! For you
have a Savior. Let every twinkling star in the sky remind you that your Star of
Jacob has come. He has come to save you. He has come with His atoning
sacrifice to cover all your sins and to deliver you, holy and righteous, to your
eternal home in heaven! Because of Christ, you too can confidently say with the
Apostle Paul, The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve
me unto his heavenly kingdom." -- 2 Tim 4:18.

I was browsing the internet yesterday and I saw that old saying again - a slogan
we've heard so often that by now that it’s become rather trite and cliché: Wise
men still seek Him. But like a lot of clichés, it nevertheless contains a kernel of
profound truth. Jesus is the multi-purpose Star of Jacob. He is the Star that
guides us, the Star that governs us, and the Star that saves us. And it's true:
wise men still seek Him. May God grant to each of us the wisdom to seek him,
to find Him in His holy Word, to trust in Him, and to worship Him all our lives
long. AMEN.