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The Star That Still Shines: A Christmas Message for Weary Hearts
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The Light That Crossed Centuries to Find Us
We all know there’s something almost magical about Christmas… the way the world seems to slow down for a day or two, the way families draw close, and the way even the coldest December night feels a bit warmer once candles begin to glow and the scent of evergreen drifts through the air.
But beneath all the familiar lights and the carols lies a much older story… one that has quietly glimmered across thousands of years. It’s the story of a star. Not just any star, but the Star out of Jacob, a sign stitched into Scripture long before shepherds saw angels or wise men started packing for their long journey west.
Today too, that ancient star reminds us of something steady and sure. That even in the darkest ages of human history, God’s light doesn’t go out. This isn’t just a tale of prophecy and power… it’s a message of peace, hope, and divine purpose that still echoes in our own crazy days and weary times.
A Prophet’s Unexpected Blessing
Here’s the Old Testament backstory: Roughly 3,400 years ago, Balaam climbed a ridge overlooking the wilderness and found himself staring at something breathtaking. Below him stretched the entire encampment of Israel… hundreds of tents showing in the sunlight, laid out in careful order, tribe by tribe. The scene should have meant nothing to him; after all, he had been hired to curse them. But as he looked, something unexpected happened.
Instead of reaching for his usual charms and incantations… the tools he leaned on to manipulate unseen powers… Balaam simply turned his face toward the wilderness and let God speak. Scripture says he “did not seek enchantments” this time. He let go of the tricks, the formulas, the attempt to control outcomes. And suddenly, words rose within him that startled even him: words of blessing.
“How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!” he cried.
In that moment, it was as if Balaam were seeing not just tents and tribes, but God’s handiwork… His order, His promise, His people poised for the future. Balaam compared them to lush valleys, gardens flourishing beside rivers, and mighty trees that the Lord Himself had planted. He spoke of strength like a wild ox and confidence like a lion resting after a big meal.
And he didn’t stop there. His prophecy poured out like water from a deep well… declaring that His people would overflow the earth, that their king would rise higher than every rival, and that their enemies would crumble before them. It was a sweeping vision of abundance, vigor, and divine protection, spoken by a man who had arrived to curse but ended up blessing instead.
The Turning Point: When Balaam Finally Let God Be God
Before that hilltop moment, Balaam had been like so many people across history… always trying to bend God’s will to their own end, always reaching for ways to control outcomes. He believed, wrongly, that spiritual power could be manipulated if he just used the right words or sorcerer’s symbols.
But revelation always begins where human pride ends.
When Balaam finally stopped trying to use God and instead surrendered to God, everything changed. His eyes opened. The pretensions of manipulation ceased. The illusions fell away. For the first time, he understood that God… not man or magic… holds dominion over the future.
That same truth confronts us today. In our own age, it’s the same old story… we still see people trying to use God for personal gain… whether through rigid systems, phony religion, or the assumption that human power can ultimately rule the world. But the moment we stop demanding that God serve us, and instead submit ourselves to His wisdom and ways, peace flows in where nonsense used to live.
Now, Balaam’s surrender wasn’t weakness… it was clarity. And his unexpected blessing on the Hebrews still stands as a testament to what happens when we finally let God be God.
A Star in the Ancient Sky: More Than a Pretty Light
From empires to nations, one symbol endures: the star that crowns human power, and points to a greater throne beyond.
Before the story takes us to Bethlehem, it should help us to pause and ask: what did Balaam mean when he spoke of “a Star out of Jacob”?
This is somewhat lost on the world today, even in the so-called scholarly world, but in the ancient world, stars weren’t just distant points of light… they were symbols of authority, power, and kingship. Rulers watched the skies because they believed the rise or fall of a star reflected the rise or fall of earthly power.
To say “a Star will arise” was to declare that a new king… a divinely appointed king… was coming.
Ironically, that symbolism still lingers today. Stars appear on flags and military insignia across the world. The lone star of Texas, the ring of stars on the European Union flag, the scattered stars across the American flag… they all symbolize authority, unity, and sovereign identity. A star stands for ultimacy, for order ruling over chaos.
But the Star out of Jacob wasn’t a national symbol or political emblem. It was a promise… one that wasn’t rooted in conquest but compassion, not in force but righteousness. Balaam’s prophecy looked far beyond his lifetime and announced a kingdom unlike any other, a kingdom where true power would come wrapped in humility instead of pride.
Wise Men on the Move: The Star They Couldn’t Ignore
Centuries later, when wise men living far to the east saw an unusual star rising in the sky, they recognized it instantly. It wasn’t a random twinkle… it was a cosmic sign. “The sign,” in fact. The fulfilment of an ancient promise spoken by a prophet who shouldn’t have been speaking about blessings at all.
So they packed their supplies, left their homeland, and followed that star for month after month… through deserts, over mountains, across long, lonely stretches of unfamiliar terrain. They were searching for a king, but not a king seated on a jeweled throne. They were seeking the one whose reign would redeem.
You know the story… eventually, they found Him… not in a palace, but in a manger.
And as they knelt before the child, they realized something astounding: the greatest power the universe had ever known had arrived in the smallest, softest form imaginable. The ancient emblem of authority was now resting over a newborn whose tiny fingers couldn’t yet grasp His own blanket, let alone a sceptre.
Yet through Him, heaven’s rule had broken into the world.
The Promise Fulfilled: The Star and the Sceptre
Eyes lifted to heaven, Balaam beholds the Star out of Jacob—lion, ox, and king swirling in the glow of divine power.
When Balaam said, “I see Him, but not now… I behold Him, but not nigh,” he glimpsed across centuries to Bethlehem.
“A Sceptre shall rise out of Israel,” he declared. And with those words, he handed the Old Testament a guiding star of its own… a prophecy that would thread its way through Isaiah, Micah, Daniel, and the songs of the psalmists.
The star represented light. The sceptre represented rule.
Together they pointed to a King who would reign with truth, justice, mercy, and might… one who would establish a kingdom not bound to borders or thrones but written on human hearts.
And on that night in Bethlehem, the heavens seemed to bow down in confirmation. A star shone so brightly that even distant nations noticed and began to move. The Star out of Jacob had finally risen.
The Christmas Connection: Why We Still Need That Light
Every December, we still see stars everywhere… on trees, on rooftops, in shop windows, in yards up here in Northern Illinois… shimmering across fields of snow. But whether people know it or not, every one of those stars echoes Balaam’s ancient prophecy: A ruler has risen, and His reign will never end.
Even now, that same star calls us to lift our eyes higher. Even now, it reminds us that Christ’s authority surpasses every government, celebrity, crisis, or cultural storm. Even now, it tells us that darkness does not get the last word.
Christ’s power is unlike anything this world has ever seen. It is the power to heal instead of dominate, to forgive instead of condemn, to restore instead of ruin. It is the kind of authority every human heart longs for but rarely experiences on earth.
Blessing or Cursing: A Choice That Still Remains
Balaam’s prophecy ended with a sobering truth: “Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.”
Sorry, this doesn’t mean blessing the government of Israel today. It simply means this: aligning ourselves with God’s purposes brings life; resisting Him brings loss. History has proven it over and over again… nations rise or fall, cultures flourish or fade, and individuals thrive or wither depending on whom they serve.
Christmas brings that truth back to us, but gently. It invites us to choose the true Light over the false glow of self-reliance or worldly political power. The blessings of Christ come to those willing to walk in His ways, trust His promises, and embrace His kingdom. The star still guides those who look up rather than look horizontally for truth.
The True Meaning of Christmas: Hope That Still Holds
As the year winds down and Christmas lights glow against the long winter nights, remember what the Star out of Jacob really means. It is not just beauty… it is power. Divine power. Healing power. Redeeming power. It’s the power that stepped into the world through a child and shattered the hold of darkness forever.
Every twinkling star across the December sky still whispers that promise. Even when the world feels unsteady, even when fear or uncertainty tries to take center stage, the true Light of heaven still shines.
The baby born under that star is the same One who holds every star in His hand. His kingdom outlasts every empire. His peace rises above every conflict. His hope endures through every hardship.
So this Christmas, when you catch sight of a star… whether on a tree or through a frosted window… let it remind you of the prophecy fulfilled, the King who came, and the Light that still shines.
Because the Star out of Jacob didn’t just rise once. Nope. It still shines. And as long as it does, the hope of Christmas will never fade.
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