Greetings, dear ILJ and peace to you! I tried to comment on your thread but for some reason it appears "stuck" and unable to take on additional posts. So, I've started this thread because I believe your questions deserve a response. You asked:
If God allowed Daniel to be chief of the Magoi, why would the Magi be considered bad in the eyes of Jah, according to the Jehovah's Witnesses?
I am very glad you included the phrase, "according to the Jehovah's Witnesses" because the TRUTH is that the Magi were NOT considered bad in the eyes of the MOST Holy One of Israel, JAH of Armies... not at ALL! Nor were they pagan astrologers as most believe - they weren't pagan nor were they simply astrologers. Nor were they dabblers in the occult!
Your next questions actually give us some insight into who they were: men SENT by JAH to receive and give obeisance to the Christ child:
If that were true then why did God move the Star after the Magi talked to Herod?
Indeed, He DID! This was one of the most difficult topics for me to keep silent on when a JW (Judas "not" being at the last mean was another - he was!). The WTBTS teaches that these men all but worked for Herod; yet, the account states that they were told by an angel of JAH to NOT return to Herod once they found the child! The term "astrologers", even "magi" is not truly accurate as to who these men were. The etymology of the word "magi" (related to "magic") is this:
"c.1200, "skilled magicians, astrologers," from L. magi , plural of magus "magician, learned magician," from Gk. magos , a word used for the Persian learned and priestly class as portrayed in the Bible (said by ancient historians to have been originally the name of a Median tribe), from O.Pers. magush "magician" (see magic). Related: Magian .
late 14c., "art of influencing events and producing marvels using hidden natural forces," from O.Fr. magique "magic, magical," from L.L. magice "sorcery, magic," from Gk. magike (presumably with tekhne "art"), fem. of magikos "magical," from magos "one of the members of the learned and priestly class," from O.Pers. magush , possibly from PIE *magh- (1) "to be able, to have power"."
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=magi
It wasn't until the 13th-15th centuries that the term came to have a bad connotation, due to the events related to the contest between Moses and the priests of Egypt, as well as the burning of books of certain "sorcerors" (conjurers, diviners, psychics, mediums, etc.) during the early conversion of Jews to christians.
Why didn't God just get rid of the Magi somehow if they were considered pratitioners of an occult art which is automatically deemded wicked in God's eyes?
Because not only were these men NOT practitioners of an occult art... but were actually ABRAHAM'S seed... descendants of Abraham's sons by Keturah, sent east BY Abraham... to await this very event: the coming of the Seed of Abraham by means of which ALL the nations of the earth, (including theirs!) would bless themselves! (Genesis 15:5; 17:5, 6; 22:17, 18; Galatians 3:16).
For millenia the ancestors of these "from the East" watched the skies for that sign. That is how they became experts at "astrology" - it was their personal vocation:
"Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. Butto the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still livinghe sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the land of the East."Genesis 25:1-6
Why did Abraham send these sons east? Because that is where Abraham was FROM! (Genesis 11:2, 31; 12:1) The land that where he was now, that he possessed at the time he had children by Keturah... belonged to Isaac, however, as his true heir (by his free wife, Sarah). Unlike Sarah, however, Keturah was considered a concubine and so her sons were sent BACK to the land from which Abraham came... in the East. Which is where they were when they saw my Lord's star:
"Now after [Jesus] was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the Eastcame to Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his starwhen it rosein the Eastand have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:1, 2
Now, how did these men from the EAST know that it was CHRIST'S star had risen, that they had seen? Indeed, why did they even CARE? The Medanites and Midianites had been enemies of Israel, right? Well, not entirely. There was certainly warring between the two nations, Israel and Midian/Medan (Judges 6:1-6). But prior to that Midian actually proved not only to be a refuge for Moses but the nation of his wife, Zipporah, daughter of Reuel (Jethro), a Midianite priest, who eventually became Moses' confident and a advisor (Exodus 2:15-21; 3:1; 18:1-27). And even though the Midianite believed in and worshipped many gods, they were also well aware of and acquainted with the God of Israel, JAH of Armies. (Exodus 18:11, 12) Because, again, they were Abraham's seed and the God of Israel, the MOST Holy One, JAH of Armies, was... and is... "the God of Abraham," their forefather.
It was for this reason, then, being the seed of Abraham ALSO, that they, TOO, "searched the Writings":
"When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” Matthew 2:5, 6; Micah 5:2
So although these served other gods, as did their ancestors, they never gave up their expectation of the "shepherd" that was to be sent by JAH to lead Israel. Although sometimes enemies, they knew that this One, the King of Israel/Jews, would come through Judah... and where his arrival would take place... because along with the worship of their other gods... they ALSO worshipped the God of Israel: JAH of Armies. And it was that One Himself, the Most Holy One of Israel... who told them to NOT go back to Herod and report the child's location:
"Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way."
As you can see, these were not "friends" of Herod's or even in cahoots with him. To the contrary, they knew who this child was (as did Herod, but who feared having his rulershipped usurped)... and did what they had come to do: worship him and accept him as THEIR king, these who weren't even Israelites! Yet, again, they were Abraham's seed and so knew that this WAS the King of the Jews (and Israel). And so they paid attention to what they were told in their dream. Because, as Abraham's seed, they also knew that dreams were sometimes the meanse used BY the God of Abraham, JAH of Armies... to warn man. And so, the prophecy about that was fulfilled as to THEM:
"For God speaks in one way,
and in two, though man does not perceive it.
In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on men,
while they slumber on their beds,then he opens the ears of men and exhorts them with warnings,that he may turn man aside from his deed and conceal pride from a man;
he keeps back his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword." Job 33:15-18
Did JAH warn these men to not return to Herod because He would exact vengeance upon them if they did? No. Herod summoned these men to him IN SECRECY for a reason: so that no one would know what he had sent them to do OR that they were to report back to him. Once they did... he was going to kill THEM... so that his plot would not get out! This is what these men were told... and why they didn't return to Herod: to save themselves from being slayed by Herod, too!
So, back to the very erroneous teaching of the WTBTS... as to these men... AND the star itself: it was NOT a star of Satan's purposed to show where the child was so that Herod could find him and kill him. It was purposed by JAH Himself... to fulfill the prophecy as to the arrival of that "shepherd" and where... as well as to notify Abraham's seed... those who put FAITH in Him and in His prophesies (which wasn't necessarily Israel, whether Jew or Samaritan)... that the Seed by means of which ALL the nations of the earth, and particularly those descending from Abraham... would bless themselves!
That one is the HOLY One of Israel, JAHESHUA, the Chosen One of JAH (MischaJah)... the Son and glorified [Holy] Spirit of the MOST Holy One of Israel, JAH of Armies (who is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob... indeed, the God of the LIVING)... and the KING that One appointed over Israel!
I hope this helps, dear one!
Again, peace to you!
A slave of Christ,
SA