[152]"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:1,2) Be it noted that these wise men went directly to Herod, a representative of Satan.  If the star guiding them was sent by the Lord Jehovah, why would he guide them to Herod, a representative of Satan, and a mortal enemy of the babe Jesus?  If the sole purpose of the star was to guide these men to the place of Jesus’ birth there was no need for them to go to Herod at all.  The reasonable answer, then, is that Satan had prepared a great conspiracy with the object of destroying the babe.  A conspiracy is a design to commit a wrongful act in which two or more join in committing the act or some part of it.  Sometimes persons are involved in a conspiracy and participate without knowing the real purpose of the one who forms the conspiracy.  Such may have been the case with these wise men; but without doubt Satan had formed and directed it.

[153]When these wise men came into the presence of Herod, he was troubled, because he feared the new king would interfere with his reign; and he “gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people [the seed of Satan and also his representatives—­John 8:44] together and demanded of them where Christ should be born”—­in other words he demanded to know where the babe Jesus could be found.  Then Herod, in furtherance of the conspiracy, privately consulted with these wise men.  We now see Herod manifesting one of the characteristics of Satan, viz., deception, in this, that he pretended to desire himself to find the babe Jesus, that he might go and worship him; whereas all the facts and circumstances show that his real purpose was that he might find the babe in order to destroy him.  “Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.  When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.”

[154]We cannot for a moment believe that the heavenly Father would use a wicked one like Herod and aid him in carrying out his wicked purpose by having a star to direct these three wise men to the place of Jesus’ birth, in view of the fact that the king had demanded that they should return and report to him, and when it was King Herod’s purpose to destroy the babe.  The fact is that the devil and his instruments, Herod and others, would have succeeded in this wicked conspiracy and have caused the death of the babe Jesus had not God intervened to save the child.