WFT- cynosure

27 January 2009

Unless you are already familiar with the term you might be upset if you heard someone use Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 24th to describe Messiah.

The word is cynosure and M-W provides the following definition:

1 : the northern constellation Ursa Minor; also : North Star
2 : one that serves to direct or guide
3 : a center of attraction or attention
This additional material was also provided:
Ancient mariners noted that all the stars in the heavens seem to revolve around  a particular star, and they relied on it to guide their navigation. The  constellation that this bright star appears in is known to English speakers  today as Ursa Minor, or the Little Dipper, but the Ancient Greeks called it  Kynosoura, a term that comes from a phrase meaning "dog's tail." "Kynosoura"  passed into Latin and Middle French, becoming "cynosure." When English speakers  adopted the term in the mid-16th century, they used it as a name for the  constellation and the star (which is also known as the North Star) and also to  identify a guide of any kind. By the early 17th century, "cynosure" was also  being used figuratively for anything or anyone that, like the North Star, was  the focus of attention or observation.
While we are definitely not referring to Messiah as Ursa Minor, we do see in Scripture that Messiah is our guide and was the center of attention wherever He went.
We find this note at the close of Scripture in Revelation 22:16-
"I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."
Although the morning star is actually Venus and not the north star, we do get the picture of the Messiah as something that is visible in the sky... leading us to a new dawn.

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Yom Rivi'i, 16 Nisan, 5784 - Chag Hamatzah

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