Why a Star?

Isaiah 14 and the Hidden Meaning of the Star of Bethlehem

The star the wise men followed to Jesus remains a mystery. It’s been studied and debated for centuries, puzzling everyone from mere Bible enthusiasts to the most read scholars.

Most theories focus on aligning the star with predictable real-world events known in history. But that the star continues to defy those explanations suggests it was a onetime sign, used to direct the wise men from Persia to the land of Israel.

Considering Matthew tied the story of Jesus’s birth into Exodus and Matthew’s penchant for seeing Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in the life of Christ, the star has been linked to Numbers 24:17 (“A star will rise from Jacob”) and the pillar of fire that led the Israelites out of Egypt.

But there’s another part of the Old Testament never addressed in connection with Jesus’s birth, as far as I’m aware, which sheds important light on Matthew’s gospel account. That would be Isaiah 14.

Stars in the ancient world were seen as spirit beings. Especially the gods. And in Isaiah 14, one is condemned who fell from the heavens and became a beacon of immense evil.

Obviously, the Isaiah 14 star doesn’t equate to Jesus. But it provides an important context for evaluating the star of Bethlehem, the iconic symbol of the nativity story.

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Battle With Babylon

Isaiah 14 is a continuation of a prophecy against Babylon begun in chapter 13. There, Isaiah receives word from God describing a cosmic battle, apocalyptic in nature, from which the most precious city of the Chaldeans becomes a total ruin.

The battle is called the “day of the Lord,” the very same day of the Lord during which all humanity is judged for their sins. Babylon is the beginning of that day. Their judgment (and that of their Assyrian brothers) comes first because of their oppression of the people of God, Israel.

But also because of their immense sins.

Babylon is compared to Sodom and Gomorrah. Wiped out because their evils were so perverse that righteousness was but a minuscule blip. The innocent within Babylon, like Sodom and Gomorrah, will flee to their homelands like Lot and his family (13:14), but Babylon will be laid waste because of their blatant denial of the Lord and his commands.

“No nomads will pitch their tents”

“No shepherds will rest their flocks”

“Desert creatures with lie there”

“Hyenas will inhabit her strongholds”

“Jackals her luxurious palaces” (13:20b-21a; 22a)

No one except the righteous will escape. All of this as a prelude to “the stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.”

That’s actually verse 13:10, but the way the passage is structured, Isaiah moves from general to specific, highlighting Babylon’s demise as the beginning of God’s judgment against humanity. And their defeat will come by the hand of the Medes (13:17), who lived in the land of Persia.

Though the brunt of the passage addresses the people of Babylon, mention of stars of heaven indicated in the minds of the ancient world that the confrontation is much much more. Cosmic.

It illustrated God’s power over the universe, and Babylon’s helplessness, much like his encounter with Israel’s first oppressor, Egypt. Every plague was an attack on the Egyptian gods. God used his own power and their own gods to defeat their gods, showing his ultimate sovereignty.

The pattern would repeat with Babylon. Israel’s new oppressor, the one who also happened to be the birthplace of post-flood humankind, the erector of Babel.

“The jewel of kingdoms” and site of the third rebellion, where everything fell apart, was to be destroyed and our curse reversed.

The destruction of Babylon dawned the promised salvation for humanity.

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Son of the Dawn

At the start of chapter 14, God promises to have mercy on Jacob and return him to his homeland. That moment marks the start of redemption. Nations will join them and become part of their ranks. Children of God Most High.