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| SHORT ARTICLES BY TOM ELSEROAD | |||||
| 2020-12-21 | Shekinah Glory And The Magi's Star | ||||
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Shekinah the word is not in the Bible, but the concept certainly is. The term was introduced by Jewish rabbis in their literature between the Old and New Testaments. Shekinah is a transliteration of the Hebrew word for tabernacle. In Hebrew 'shakan' means 'to live' or 'dwell'. 'Shekinah Glory' refers to the glory of God living among His people. The Shekinah glory is the presence of God in a natural object. Here are a few examples of the shekinah glory presence of the Lord. 1. Pillar of Cloud by day and pillar of fire by night (Ex.13:21-22; Nu.12:5) Exo 13:21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. Exo 13:22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people. 2. The glory of God filling the temple at the dedication of the Temple (2Ch.7:1) 3. Presence of God over the Mercy Seat (Ex.25:22; Lv.16:2; 2Ki.19:15; Ps.80:1; Is.37:16; He.9:5) Why did God choose a cloud and fire to represent Him? God chose a cloud and fire because these elements of nature are an excellent representation of God. Both have a visible form but no solid substance. God has form (Ge.1:27) but as a Spirit He has no substance (Jn.4:24). Form without substance. These were the only visible expressions of God the nation of Israel knew. 4. The star the Magi (wise men) followed (Mt.2:1-12). This “star in the East” is what the Magi followed to arrive in Jerusalem. The star was called “His star” making it Jesus' personal star (Mt.2:2). The “star” brought them first to Jerusalem, not Bethlehem (Mt.2:1). The star the Magi followed was not a typical star. Typical stars do not do the following: It appeared and disappeared (Mt.2:2,7,9,10) It moved East to West (Mt.2:1-2) It moved North to South (Mt.2:9) It hovered over a single house (Mt.2:9). Herod, inquired at what time the star appeared (Mt.2:7). Based at least in part on Magi's answer Herod chose to kill all male children two years old and under (Mt.2:16). This gives us the impression the star appeared for quite a while as the Magi followed it. We do not know when it first appeared. As this is a natural and visible expression of God's presence, it seems appropriate to associate the star as the shekinah glory of God. This helps explain the “star” better than so many suggestions that try to make the star simply a natural and astronomical phenomenon. Also the shekinah in the OT moved as did the star of the Magi. Pastor Tom Elseroad |
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