Getting to Know Jesus by Name #91: Star and Scepter

 Numbers 24:17 I see him, but not now;
    I behold him, but not near:
a star shall come out of Jacob,
    and a scepter shall rise out of Israel;

Sprinkled among the earlier books of the Old Testament one finds several referrals to the coming Messiah centuries in advance. This one was made by Balaam as God used him to pronounce Israel's triumph over her enemies of that time.  As he said, this one was "not near," but far into the future.  He would be both a Star and a Scepter.  A star is "a natural luminous body visible in the sky especially at night," and a Scepter is "a staff or a baton borne by a sovereign as an emblem of authority; a long decorated stick that is carried by a king or queen."* These represent distinct but complimentary roles of Christ as the One Chosen by God for our salvation.  As the Star He shines brightly with God's glory to show the way to God and as the Scepter He is the One given authority to rule and to reign. Both aspects of the Person of Christ are shown throughout prophesies of his coming, but only in a few instances do we find them both pictured together like here.  What a glorious picture of our glorious Savior and King. 

*(Diann Cotton: 100  Days with Jesus)