The Stars Are Not Indifferent

The stars are not indifferent. From NT Wright’s The Kingdom New Testament. Then Herod called the wise men to him in secret. He found out from them precisely when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem. “Off you go,” he said” and make a thorough search for the child. When you find him, report back to me, so that I can come and worship him too.” When they heard what the king said, they set off. There was the star, the one they had seen rising in the east, going ahead of them! It went and stood still over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were beside themselves with joy and excitement. They went into the house and saw the child, with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. They opened their treasure-chests and gave him presents: gold frankincense and myrrh. The stars, the כוכבים cocovim, fought from heaven. From their courses they fought against Sizer. From heaven they fought, the stars from their courses fought with Sisera (meaning against) Contra In Creation and Fall, p.30 Collier Books MacMillan Publishing Company New York, 1959 In accordance with eternal, unchangeable law the days, yeas and seasons come into being in the firmament. Here number rules and its inflexible law. What does it have to do with our existence? Nothing—the stars go their way, whether man is suffering, guilty or happy. And in their fixedness they praise the Creator. The stars do not look down upon man, they do not accuse, nor do they comfort. They are totally themselves in unapproachable remoteness. They shine by day and by night, but they do it without concern for us. The stars do not take part in man’s existence