A Lamp Unto My Feet Bible Study Website
Matthew 2:1-12
Lesson #03
THE VIRGIN BIRTH AND GOD’S HEAVENLY MESSAGE
- Memory verse: Psalms 33:4
- There are actually Christians that claim to be Christians but do not believe in the virgin birth of Jesus. In reality it is impossible to be a born-again Christian and not believe in the virgin birth. Because of that we will examine the importance of the virgin birth.
- The reason why the virgin birth of Jesus is important.
- =1=If Jesus was born just as we are with a human father and a human mother, He would not have been without sin.
- Eve was deceived by Satan in the garden, but Adam knew better. Even though they were both sinners, Adam is held responsible.
- The sin nature is therefore passed down from Adam. The original fall into sin is never attributed to Eve.
- =2=If Jesus had been just like other men, he could not have died for our sins but would have died for his own. He would have been just like any other martyr.
- =3= To be God’s only beloved Son, He must have had to be conceived by God.
- =1=If Jesus was born just as we are with a human father and a human mother, He would not have been without sin.
- Read Mat 2:1-12 The visit of the wise men
- Who were the wise men and how did they know to follow the star?
- The Bible does not tell us how many there were. We assume 3 by the number of gifts mentioned in Mat 2:11.
- They were called “magi“, which is difficult to translate.
- An ancient historian says they were originally a tribe of the Medes (part of the Persian Empire).
- They became the spiritual leaders and teachers in the Persian Empire.
- They also interpreted dreams.
- They were holy men who sought for truth.
- They were skilled in philosophy, medicine, natural science, and astrology.
- How did they know what to look for in the stars?
- Who were the wise men and how did they know to follow the star?
Remember that the prophet Daniel spent his life in Babylon.
His power and influence was widely known.
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- During that time in history, everyone believed in astrology, including the Jews. However the astrology of the Jews was completely different from that of heathen peoples.
- The Jews and their astrology
- The original Hebrew zodiac was called “mazzaroth“. (Job 38:32 2Kin 23:5 Rom 1:20).
- During that time in history, everyone believed in astrology, including the Jews. However the astrology of the Jews was completely different from that of heathen peoples.
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It declared God’s plan in the heavens. (Psa 19:1 Psa 147:4).
The English word “zodiac” comes from the Hebrew word “sodi” which means “the way”. (The path of the sun in the sky).
The original 12 signs of the Hebrew zodiac were divisions of the path of the sun in the sky. Associated with each of the 12 signs were 4 constellations. That gives a total of 48 constellations. The stars and constellations had Hebrew names familiar to Adam, Seth and Enoch.
For this reason Rom 1:20 tells us that man can know there is a God because of creation. He put an eternal message in the heavens.
However the Hebrew zodiac was corrupted at the tower of Babel in Gen 11 and became a tool of Satan to disguise God’s witness in the heavens. As a result, because of the wide- spread nature of the corruption of the Hebrew zodiac, God commanded that no one become involved in astrology. The penalty for being involved in astrology was death. (Deu 18:9-14 Isa 47:10-14)
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- The Hebrew zodiac:
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The names of the stars in Hebrew demonstrated the pictures of the constellations and therefore present God’s eternal plan of his Son, Jesus Christ.
The constellation “Bethulah” means virgin.
The zodiac picture was a woman with a branch in her right hand and ears of corn in the left.
Gen 3:15 the promise of the seed of the woman who will die as corn in the ground. (Joh 12:24)
The brightest star is “Tsemech” = branch.
There are 20 Hebrew words for “branch”.
However, this is the only word used for Messiah (Isa 7:14 Isa 11:1 Jer 23:5-6).
The second brightest star is “Zavijeaveh” which means “gloriously beautiful” Isa 4:2).
Another star named “Al mureddin” means= who shall have dominion. (Psa 72:8)
This was probably the star of Bethlehem that the wise men followed.
That’s how they knew the baby that was born would be a King.
An associated constellation is “Bootes” which pictures a man walking with a spear in one hand and a sickle in the other.
This is a picture of Jesus Christ in Rev 14:14-16.
Each of the 12 zodiac constellation signs was assigned to each of the 12 tribes of Israel. This zodiac sign was assigned to the tribe of Zebulon.
The land of the tribe of Zebulon is the location of Nazareth, Jesus’ home town.
This Hebrew zodiac sign was corrupted into “Virgo” which we still call it today.
The constellation “Akrab” means =scorpion, war, conflict.
The zodiac picture was a serpent trying to seize a crown. Gen 3:15 indicates He that comes will be wounded.
The brightest star is “Antares” which means = the wounding (Isa 53).
Another constellation association is Hercules whose right heel was wounded.
The brightest star of that constellation is “Al Giscale” which means = the head of him who bruises.
Another star is “Ma’a Syn” which means = sin offering.
The tribe assigned this zodiac sign was the tribe of Dan whose symbol was originally a snake. The symbol was later changed to an eagle.
Today the corrupted zodiac sign is called Scorpio.
The heavenly sign in 7 BC
According to Josephus, King Herod died when there was an eclipse. There was a partial eclipse in 4 BV. Jesus was just over 2 years old when Herod died. Therefore, Jesus was probably born in 6 BC.
In 7 BC, there was an unusual triple conjunction of planets: Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter. This conjunction occurs approximately every 805 years. Jupiter was known as the symbol of a king while Saturn was known as the symbol of a shield for Israel .
- Summary:
- God originally put His plan of the coming of His Son and the plan of salvation in the heavens. Satan corrupted it to cause men to worship creation instead of the creator, to look to the stars for their destiny instead of looking to God.
- The magi knew all of this material: The original Hebrew zodiac as well as the heathen corruptions. They were searches of the truth. God, therefore, marvelously revealed to them the fulfillment of scripture (Gen 3:15) and went to search for the king using God’s plan in the stars.
- Herod the Great
- He was the only ruler in Palestine who ever succeeded in keeping the peace. Jewish groups were always rebelling against Roman authority. Rome called him the king of the Jews because he was half Jewish. However, the people of Israel did not accept him as their king because he was not completely Jewish nor did he come from the tribe of Judah. To keep the peace with the Jewish people he built the temple in Jerusalem. In difficult times he decreased taxes to Rome. In the famine of 25 BC, he melted gold plates to buy corn for starving people.
- However, he was insanely jealous and suspicious of anyone who threatened his position as king. Because of this, he murdered his wife, her mother, his eldest son, and 2 other sons. The common saying of the time was that it was safer to be Herod’s pig than to be Herod’s son.
- During this time in history, there was a pervasive anticipation that a great king was about to be born. The feeling was not only among the Jews but even secular historians and philosophers knew about it.
- Now we can understand why Herod wanted to kill the baby Jesus.
- The magi visit the King (11-12)
- Notice Jesus is no longer in the stable but in a house.
- He may now be between 1 and 2 years old. (2:16)
- However, the Jews counted a person’s age from the time of conception rather than the time of his birth.
- The gifts of the magi.
- Gold = a gift for a king
- Frankincense = a gift for a priest. Frankincense was used on the altar in temple worship.
- Myrrh = a gift for a savior who fulfilled the prophet’s message of his death. It was a substance used for healing and to embalm someone who died.
- The reaction to Jesus Christ: Men divide themselves into three groups in regard to Jesus Christ.
- =1= Those like Herod the Great who hate Jesus and are hostile toward Him and those who love Him.
- =2= Those like the chief priests and scribes (Mat 2:4-5) who are indifferent even though they know of His existence.
- =3= Those like the magi who search for truth, find it, and come bringing gifts to worship Him.
Homework
Matthew 2:13-23
- Application of Mat 2:1-12
- If you have been involved in astrology, you need to repent. Pray and God will pardon you. (1Joh 1:9)
- Preparation for Mat 2:13-23
- Read Mat 2:13-23
- Memory verse: Psalms 45:11
