Matthew 2:9 Holman Christian Standard Bible
9 After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it
was—the star they had seen in the east. It led them until it came and stopped
above the place where the child was.
In the year 04 BC, electronic GPS was non-existent. It
appears that many of the people never gave any thought to the shape of the
earth they walked upon. Approximately 240 years previously, an African-Greek by
the name of Eratosthenes, believing the earth to be round, set out to find its circumference.
He knew that on summer solstice the sun was directly overhead in a deep well in
what is now Aswan, Egypt. In other words, it cast no shadow there. By measuring
the length of the shadow of a vertical pole in Alexandria and hiring some
skilled surveyors to accurately measure the distance between Aswan and
Alexandria, some simple mathematical proportions enabled him to calculate the
circumference of the earth.
The U.S. has placed 31 Global Positioning Satellites in
exact orbits around the earth so that each remains above a fixed spot on the
equator of the earth. This way there are always at least 5 satellites within view
of any point on earth—except the poles. Each satellite emits a distinct radio
signal. Then a GPS device calculates the exact angle of four or five of these
satellites. It then performs a series of very exact calculations and can tell
the exact altitude, latitude, and longitude of the device. By pinpointing these
“’tudes” on a map data base, we can see exactly where we are.
Think about the amount of knowledge and technology that is
needed to perform this feat. Now imagine going back in time and trying to explain
all of this to Eratosthenes! Undoubtedly, he would think that either you knew a
bunch of magic, or you were stark raving insane.
If you have used a GPS to guide you to a place you were
going, you know how it can occasionally actually mislead. One time, in the arid
country northeast of Denver, Colorado, I asked the GPS to take me to the
nearest Walmart. It got me off the freeway and led me along a dirt trail to a
spot with no buildings in sight—just extremely dry grass and a few cottonwood
trees. Another time, I was driving across a miles-long bridge in Louisiana when
it demanded that I make a right turn off the bridge and into the bayou. A third
time, while I was driving east across the Yukon in Canada, the GPS positioned
me 50 miles north of the highway I was driving on. And I could go on and on.
The wisemen, or magi, were following a star—precursor to the
GPS—to find the infant Christ. It led them directly to Herod’s office. They
must have felt like I did on the occasions mentioned in the previous paragraph.
It probably took them several days before the word came from King Herod that he
blessed them on their way to Bethlehem and asked to be informed so he could
come and worship the Christ, too. This showed God’s divine purpose to alert the
Jewish equivalent of Washington DC to the birth of the Messiah. That evening,
when they left the city, they rejoiced to see the star back in its place.
Again, they followed it until it actually led them to the exact place where the
Joseph of Nazareth family was living.
Father in Heaven, we are relying on you to lead us
accurately into your kingdom.
[1]
https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/eco-catholic/seeking-synchronicity-star-bethlehem-story
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