12/1/11 Day 5 of Advent- The Messiah a Star of Jacob

12/1/11 Day 5- Light the first candle- Jesus was prophesied to be Of Jacob’s Line

¹⁷ “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the people of Sheth.  (Numbers 24:17)

³⁴ Jesus…the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, (Luke 3:34)

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” (Revelation 22:16)

(Morning Star)

Thoughts: Jacob, the crooked supplanter, was also the ancestor of Jesus.  The Jewish Targum Onkelos commenting on Numbers 24:17 says. “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh.  When a king shall arise out of Jacob , and the Messiah be anointed from Israel.”  This targum (also Targum Jonathan), shows that the Jewish people believed Balaam’s prophecy referred to the Messiah coming to earth through the people of Jacob.  When The Jews revolted in AD 132 it was under Barkochba- “son of the star”- whom they thought was the Messiah.  Jesus is the morning star, rising in our hearts (2 Pt. 1:9). Let him rise in your hearts like the star of Bethlehem- scattering the darkness- pointing the way to hope and truth.

Prayer: Rise in my heart, O morning star.  Thank you that in the darkest night- you bring hope of a bright morning.