Welcome to my blog, ROLLED SCROLL, where I follow cultural and literary images found in the Bible to unearth God’s meaning in His pattern of usage.
STAR
Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight . . .
Why is it that, since antiquity, mankind has wistfully looked upwards for answers to the human dilemma? Take the Greeks, who sought wisdom in the skies and assigned the fate of mortals to the whimsy of the gods and goddesses of Olympus.
Unlike ancient mythologies that invented astrological systems to predict and explain our destiny, the biblical record honours human longings for the divine by introducing us to the Starmaker Himself. An overview of the Bible’s use of star imagery can be arranged under the categories of creation, covenant, and the coming of God to man.
Creation: In the beginning, God set in place the stars that to this day flash forth His transcendent glory (Gen. 1:16; Ps. 8:3; Ps. 148:3; Job 22:12). He alone stretched out the heavens, for
He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south (Job 9:9 ESV).
The Hebrew patriarchs saw God mirrored in His celestial handiwork. Joseph, for example, dreamed prophetically of the stars, and David praised God’s enduring love displayed in the brilliant night sky (Gen. 37:9; Ps. 136:5-9). Job spoke of the morning stars singing as angels shouted for joy at God’s laying of the earth’s foundations (Job 38:7). The Creator and Maker is radically different from lifeless idols fashioned by the pagans after the star-gods; through prophets He warned His people against the idolatry of “stargazing” (Amos 5:26; Deut. 18:10-11; Dan. 4:7; Isa. 47:12-13). After all, Jehovah was the One who created the stars and called them each by name (Isa. 40:26; Ps. 136:5-9; Ps. 147:4).
Covenant: After displaying His existence in the firmament through creation, God further revealed Himself to the Jewish people with two special covenants. In the first, He promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars (Gen. 15:5). In a second covenant, God came down from above and met Moses on Mount Sinai to promise that Israel would be His treasured possession (Exod. 19:5-6). Yet even as the finger of God etched the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone for Moses on the mountain, the sons of Jacob on the plain below were worshipping the Golden Calf—believed by some to represent a god of the skies or an astrological figure (Deut. 9:9-11; Acts 7:43). Again and again God’s chosen people broke relationship with Him, but a third covenant was on its way—a new day was dawning (Mal. 3:7; Mal. 4:2).
Coming of God to man: An interruption occurred in the writing of Scripture; for four hundred years, no prophet was sent by God to the Jews. Then God’s revelation of Himself took a drastic turn when He sent us His Son—Someone from beyond the heavens to walk upon the earth! No longer was God satisfied to reveal Himself only in creation and covenantal Word. This coming of God to man in judgment and mercy is illustrated again through star imagery, beginning with prophecies early in the Bible that bear eschatological overtones (regarding the “Day of the Lord”).
The biblical Day of the Lord (or Yahweh) refers to a time of judgment with a temporal aspect (wars or natural disasters taking place at the time of writing) as well as a future fulfillment to culminate at the return of Jesus Christ, when the entire world will quake and great disturbances in the sky will attend God’s execution of His divine wrath (Amos 5:18-20; Joel 2:31; Rev. 6:13; Rev. 8:10-12). For an example of this judgment, the Israelites facing the military aggression of the mighty Moabites were assured victory in a prophetic statement that had a two-part implementation: “A star shall come forth from Jacob” spoke of victory in their current war as well as final victory in Christ over the confusion and turmoil of spiritual death (Num. 24:17; Matt. 2:2). This already-but-not-yet tone is echoed in Isaiah, who employed the picture of the star in several of his oracles (used again in the New Testament), forecasting the fall of God’s enemies in that day, as well as in a future-to-us day when stars will dissolve during catastrophic events as God judges or delivers the people of the earth (Isa. 13:10; Isa. 34:2-4; Matt. 24:29). The Lord, who “fixed the order of the moon and stars,” promised Jeremiah that someday His law would no longer be relegated to Moses’ stone tablets but would be written on human hearts and minds—a prophecy fulfilled through Christ in the New Covenant (Jer. 31:33-37; Luke 22:20). Ezekiel lamented the darkness of the ninth plague against Pharaoh, when God covered the heavens and darkened the stars, in a description that sounds, again, like the cataclysmic signs to accompany the Day of the Lord (Ezek. 32:7; Luke 21:25). Daniel, too, used star-lit imagery in speaking of this future day of purification, resurrection, and restoration (Dan. 12:3).
The star is used to symbolize people, as well. Paul wrote that believers will shine like the stars forever and ever, each a “star differing in glory” (1 Cor. 15:41). Apostate teachers in the church are “wandering stars” for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved forever (Jude 1:13). The seven stars Christ now holds in His hand are leaders of churches under His care (Rev. 1:16; Rev. 1:20; Rev. 2:1; Rev. 2:28; Rev. 3:1). Lucifer, who planned to rise above the stars, became himself a star fallen from Heaven, and twelve stars represent the twelve sons of Jacob (Isa. 14:12-13; Rev. 9:1; Rev. 12:1).
One of the most recognized New Testament icons, the star appears yearly to us today as we decorate our Christmas trees. The original Star of Bethlehem brought the Magi from the East to worship the King of the Jews (Matt. 2:7-10; foretold in Num. 24:17and Isa. 60:2-3). This baby Jesus, born in a stable two millennia ago, is the Lord of glory, the root and descendant of David, the bright morning star (Rev. 22:16). In the coming of Christ we find all covenants fulfilled; in Him we find ourselves a new creation. We need no longer gaze at the stars above in wishful thinking, for now
we have the prophetic Word made more sure . . . a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in [our] hearts (2 Pet. 1:19 NASB).
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These short literary articles tied to the Bible explore what God might have been saying in His pattern of usage for each symbol. English rendition of the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek varies with translations (e.g., “scroll” is sometimes interchangeable with “book”); however, the quality and underlying meaning of the selected emblem remain consistent across versions. Sketches are by Lorenda Harder. I recommend the website of Dr. Grant C. Richison for thorough expository Bible study: www.versebyversecommentary.com.