Prophetic Words of Direction

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After being hired by Balak, the king of Moab, to curse the Israelites, Balaam took a journey to evaluate what should be done. He warned Balak: "I must speak only what God puts in my mouth." (Numbers 22:38) Four times Balaam prophesied, and every time a blessing was pronounced over Israel. On the fourth time God used him to bring forth a message about the coming Messiah. "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 sons of Sheth." (Numbers 24:17) Balaam was unable to deliver a message of cursing and had to forfeit the reward he had been promised. However, God used this man to speak a prophetic word that probably convinced the astrologers or kings to travel to Jerusalem to search for Jesus.
 
Scholars surmise that the wise men were from near the site of ancient Babylon. Perhaps those Jews who remained in exile in Babylon could have told them the prophecies of Messiah’s coming. Perhaps the wise men had copies of an Old Testament. Or, perhaps they received a message from God directing them toward the Messiah. We do not know the nature of the star that appeared to guide the wise men, but they were determined to follow the light and traveled thousands of miles to worship King Jesus.
 
God used another prophetic message to reveal the place where the Messiah would be born. It comes from Micah 5:2. "But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel." This message was quoted to King Herod by the chief priests when he asked where The Christ was to be born. We can also read it in Matthew 2:6
 
The star the wise men saw in the east guided them to Bethlehem, and when they saw Jesus with His mother, "they bowed down and worshiped Him." (Matthew 2:11) It is thought that Jesus was about one or two years old when the wise men gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Each gift is thought to be a symbol of Christ's identity and what He would accomplish. Gold was given to royalty, frankincense was a gift for deity, and myrrh was the spice used to anoint a body for burial.
 
There may have been another use for the gifts of the wise men. After they returned to their own country without stopping by to report to Herod, he became furious and gave orders for all the boys in Bethlehem two years old and under to be killed. Another prophetic word from Jeremiah 31:15 was fulfilled here. "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more." Joseph had been warned in a dream to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt so that they could escape the wrath of Herod. Perhaps the gifts of the wise men provided the financial resources this family needed for their trip. The prophetic word from Hosea 11:1, "Out of Egypt I called my son." was fulfilled when Herod died and an angel directed Joseph to return to the Israel. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus finally settled in Nazareth so that the word of the prophet from Isaiah 11:1 which called Him a "Branch" was fulfilled. The Hebrew word for "Branch" is similar to the word for "Nazarene."
 
The word of God is our divine guide. Jesus fulfilled the prophetic words about Himself. Likewise, the Bible now speaks to us so that we can be successful in our quest to follow God's directions for our lives. As we stand on the threshold of a new year, why not pursue His guidance on how to live so we fulfill His divine purpose for our lives.