Transcript:
It was in this field the shepherds received news of the greatest gift ever given to mankind.
Most of you know the story of our Messiah’s birth over 2,000 years ago. How our savior the king of kings took on flesh, born of Mary, and laid in a manger. I’m sure this holiday season feels unlike any other we’ve ever experienced. This year has been full of unexpected challenges and disappointments uncertainty, and loss. And as the world remembers and celebrates the birth of our Messiah, I can’t help but think of what Mary and Joseph were experiencing in this time imagine the stress they faced as the time of Yeshua’s birth drew near.
Already facing social stigma at home, then to get news that they were required by roman law to travel over 90 miles on foot over mountains and treacherous terrain from the north of israel to Bethlehem. This was not a simple journey. They were faced with threats of raiders flash floods and unpredictable weather. I know how nervous i was when the time came for our first son to be born. Before birth, every mom works tirelessly to prepare way for the baby to have an easy and comfortable entry. Try to imagine bearing the promised Messiah, and being thrown into such a devastating turn of events as a pregnant woman.
But from our vantage point in history what seemed to be a disastrous turn for Mary and Joseph worked out to fulfill prophecy and give glory to God. I know there’s been times in my life where i couldn’t understand why things were happening the way they were only to look back years later to see God’s plan in the midst of my trial.
So let’s ask ourselves if the decree from Caesar never occurred, would Mary and Joseph have traveled to Bethlehem? So clearly, this trial turned out to perfectly fulfill prophecy. But why did the messiah need to be born in Bethlehem?
Let’s turn to Micah 5:2 which reads, “But you bethlehem ephrata though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to me the one to be ruler in Israel whose going forth are from the old from everlasting. Also in Micah 4:8, we read in you o tower of the flock the stronghold of the daughter of Zion to you shall it come even the former dominion shall come the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem. So the future king, the Messiah, will be from not just the town of Bethlehem, but much more specifically, Bethlehem efrata, the agricultural zone in migdal edel the tower of the flock. Eusebius, the Bishop of Caesarea during the 4th century wrote in his book and I quote, “Migdal Edel was located one roman mile east of Bethlehem and it’s here due east across from the valley of Bethlehem that we find the ruins of the tower of the flock mentioned by Micah.
But what was this tower of the flock about and why did the Messiah need to be born in an agricultural zone of Bethlehem this was the field of David, but much deeper than being david’s stomping ground was what david set up here as the King of Israel as David set his heart to bring the tabernacle to Jerusalem, and later make preparations for the temple he set in order this field to raise the sacrificial flock for the priests.
He gave his ancestral land to be dedicated to this special flock the most looked after field in all of Israel. You can see more of these shepherds tower here than anywhere else in the world. But why so many towers?
Because the shepherds were not raising your average sheep. If a bone was broken or any blemish at all was found, the lamb was considered unkosher for sacrifice. They had to perfectly guard these sheep. The shepherds who received the announcement from heaven were the very same ones in charge of the Passover lamb.
How amazing that it was these very shepherds that looked after Yeshua that holy night our passover lamb. Yeshua the Messiah was placed in a manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes, not just in any random site. Not just to show the humble entry of the Messiah to the earth, but to foreshadow the work he was sent to do those words in Luke’s gospel spoken to the shepherds were bursting forth with deep meaning. According to Rabbinic tradition, the priest would come every high holy day from Jerusalem to Migdal Eder, the priestly tower of the flock, to inspect the lamb before the big day.
They would place the lamb in a manger, and after inspection, the lamb would be wrapped in swaddling cloth and brought to Jerusalem for the sacrifice. They wrapped the lamb instead of leading it along as to ensure that nothing would happen to the lamb in transit to the temple. If the lamb wriggled out of the priest’s hand, that Passover would be ruined, so there was no room for chance. So Yeshua, born in the agricultural center foretold by Micah, because he was to be the lamb of God to take away the sins of the world, he was wrapped in the same swaddle and laid in the manger, looked after by the same shepherd that raised, and cared for the Passover and atonement sacrifices.
We can see this beautiful tapestry of prophecy fulfilled in our time, but I’m sure that in the moment, Mary and Joseph were just trying to make the best of an extremely difficult trial. They probably were struggling with doubt and fear, but God was waving through their trials a story of redemption and salvation of the lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
So my prayer for you is that you see the faithfulness of God in this season. That in this difficult time, God may be writing a beautiful story of redemption through your trials, and I pray you are encouraged with this beautiful story of God’s amazing love.
