“I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near:
a star shall come out of Jacob,
and a scepter shall rise out of Israel;
it shall crush the forehead of Moab
and break down all the sons of Sheth.”
–Numbers 24:17
When it comes to the wise men in the story of Jesus’ birth, there’s much more that we don’t know about them than we actually do know. We don’t know how many there were, though tradition tells us three corresponding to the three gifts they brought the baby Jesus. But there may have been two or twenty… we just don’t know.
We also can’t be sure of their nation of origin, though we know they came from the east. It’s quite possible, though, that they represented a priestly caste of Medes or Persians. We know they were learned men, and probably would’ve been seen as authorities in a philosophy called Zoroastrianism.
These men studied the ancient writings of the various peoples around them and surely must’ve known the prophecy in today’s Scripture that out of Israel a powerful king would rise. So whatever they saw in the stars prompted them to take everything and go find this king in Israel.
So what made these “wise men” wise? It was the fact that they didn’t just seek knowledge, but knew when they found it. The truth is true no matter who you are. Find truth… and like those wise men, you’ll end up worshiping at the feet of Jesus.
SEARCH FOR KNOWLEDGE THE WISE WAY BY CLINGING TO TRUTH WHEN YOU FIND IT.
