Does the fact that the wise men followed a star mean that astrology is acceptable?
Question:
The wise men saw the star and came to Bethlehem. My Hindu friend said that he believes in astrology. He says because the wise men saw the star. He concludes that Christianity depends on the stars. But in the Bible you should not go to astrologers, so why did the wise men watch the stars? Kindly explain the above with biblical words.
Answer:
Astronomy is the study of the stars. Astrology is "The study of the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies and their supposed influence on human affairs." It is a belief that where stars and planets are positioned impacts people's lives. It is astrology that is condemned in the Bible. (Isaiah 47:13). That is different from God placing a sign in the heavenly bodies to announce a fact, which those who studied the stars saw.
For example, to prove to Hezekiah that his prayer was heard, God moved the sun. "Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward." So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down" (Isaiah 38:8). The moving of the sun did not influence Hezekiah's life. God used the heavens to given Hezekiah a sign.
The wise men stated, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him" (Matthew 2:2). They saw a sign that they had been looking for which announced the fact that the King of the Jews was born. We don't have a record of how they came to that belief. We do know that God was behind it in some way and it provided evidence that Jesus' birth was not an ordinary one. There is a hint of this sign in "I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult" (Numbers 24:17). That Gentiles would help announce the birth of the Messiah was also hinted in the Bible. "The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising" (Isaiah 60:3). It is possible that this information was passed down from the time of Daniel and the Israelites' captivity. The last part of it was lived under the rule of the Medes, where these wise men apparently came.
Nor was the star that the wise men were following an ordinary star. As the wise men left Jerusalem, they noticed something strange. The star appeared to be going before them (Matthew 2:9). Stars are relatively fixed objects. They don’t generally appear to move. Yet this one did and as they entered Bethlehem it appeared above one particular house. Again, think of the stars you see at night. Can you sight one that appears to be directly over your house and not your neighbors? Obviously, the Lord’s hand was behind this wandering star. Again this doesn't support the concept of predicting a person's future based on the positions of stars. It is talking about people observing a sign that appeared in the heavens.
