12 Hours of Daylight

"Jesus answered, 'Are there not twelve hours in a day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, but he sees the light of the world.'" John 11:9.

For more than forty years I missed the governmental structure Jesus alluded to in this verse. To understand what He hinted at we need to step back in time (or from this position in John, to the left in our bibles).

Genesis 15 finds God and Abram in a serious discussion concerning Abram's heir, or lack of a natural one. Abram's faithful servant Eliezer of Damascus would inherit Abram's estate. That wouldn't do.

"This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from you own body shall be your heir." Gen. 15:4.

Not an indictment against Eliezer or his character, this was a blood-line issue. The Messiah had to come through Abram's descendents. Eliezer was Syrian, not Hebrew. God then instructed Abram:

"'Look now toward heaven and count the stars if you are able to number them.' And He said to him, 'So shall your descendents be.' And he believed in the Lord and He accounted to him for righteousness." Gen. 15:5-6.

'Number' in verse 5 is the Hebrew word caphar which means to calculate, and not to count as in 1-2-3-4. What was Abram to learn and understand from the stars?

Josephus, the Jewish historian called Abraham of the Chaldees the Father of Astronomy. Taught by Shem, Abraham influenced sever major cultures with the truth contained in the Mazzaroth (Zodiac) which depicts God's plan of salvation, from Genesis to Revelation.

The stars were created for, "...signs, festivals, and for days and years." Gen. 1:14 (Tanach). The Father of Astronomy knew the story that the stars told. God would bring to earth what was revealed in heaven. How would He do it?

Abram had only 8 sons, not the requisite 12 needed to match the heavenly pattern. His grandson Jacob, however, did. God confirmed this in the dream of Jacob's favorite son, Joseph.

"Look, I have dreamed another dream, and this time the sun, the moon and the eleven stars bowed down to me." Gen. 37:9.

Although he initially rebuked his son, Jacob took note and kept this matter in mind (verse 11).

Israel was God's chosen vessel to be the avenue of relationship with God. Camped around the tabernacle, the tribes represented a living zodiacal pattern of the story above. One's future no longer depended on what star one was born under, but which tribe you were born into. Just like the original, uncorrupted Zodiac declared God's plan of redemption, Israel and the twelve tribes were the foundation laid to bring the testimony contained in the stars to fruition.

It was no accident that Jesus chose 12 Jewish disciples. Daniel describes them and all future believers as stars:

"Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of heaven, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." Dan. 12:3.

Twelve simple men turned the known world right side up. Through them the story of the coming Redeemer, depicted in the stars, was preached throughout the known world. Jesus, the Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings (Mal 4:2) is the center and the one these stars pointed mankind to. Jesus is the light of the world!

Redemption no longer matters what your star sign or tribal lineage is. Now one can be born from above and this position trumps all others. Still today, the good news preached by the original twelve and visible in the stars points the way to the promised Savior.

How about you? How does this concept of a legitimate zodiac with genuine spiritual implications change your concept of the star signs? What other examples in nature can you find where God has planted the message of the Gospel? Aren't the lengths God goes to in order to ensure we don't miss His plan for our salvation and restoration amazing?