They were not there when Yeshua was born but around two years later they found him and his parents living in a house. In this case, I believe the road map supports my position that Jesus was actually born at a place called Migdal Edar (Heb. It was prophesied that he would be a descendant of David, the shepherd king who was also born in Bethlehem around a thousand years prior to Yeshua (for more information see THE BIRTH OF YESHUA ) Edersheims book was the result of a seven year effort. They were not to leave the meat over past the conclusion of the night (Exodus 12:10). Rachel and Jacob would one dayweep no more, as both would share eternal life in the presence of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Gospels of both Matthew and Luke place the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. It would have to be a Spring Festival as everything would have to be in order. On that night, the Israelites were ordered to eat the paschal lamb, and several restrictive rules were added to this feast. This part of the sign was not enough on its own because any new-born baby would be wrapped in swaddling cloths. Cooper P. Abrams III states in his article regarding Migdal Edar in Jerusalem: This watch tower from ancient times was used by the shepherds for protection from their enemies and wild beasts. But Deborah, Rebekahs nurse, died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allon-bachuth. The rabbis did not ban shepherds. In fact, any livestock found in a 6.8 mile radius of Jerusalem could be used for whole burnt offerings or peace offerings, depending on the sex of the animal for which offering. Again, it is the day that everything becomes new and everything else becomes old. The Renewed Covenant is the Covenant of newness, it never gets old. . God is holy and He cannot have sin in His presence. From the description of the swaddling clothes and the manger, the shepherds knew right where to go to find the babe. Yeshua, who was the fulfilment of the foreshadowing of the sacrificial lambs, was also sacrificed during the Passover so it follows that he would have been born around the same season in springtime. Learn how your comment data is processed. 6 How old did sheep have to be to be used for sacrifices? Gestation period for a ewe is about 5 months. As far as shepherds keeping sheep in the fields as Luke 2 mentions, sheep can stay outdoors all year due to their heavy wool coats, so this piece of info the Luke records isnt strange to me. Sheq 7:4, nor anything about priests. He was born in the very birthplace of tens of thousands of lambs, which had been sacrificed to prefigure Him. There is a teaching in the modern church that shepherds were outcasts, sinners, untrustworthy, banned from the Temple because they smelled and were unclean. The shepherds of Bethlehem were in charge of raising sheep for the temple sacrifices. Passover again assumed its prime function as a religious festival. Thankfully, on our farm, we only raised biblically kosher animals, so there were no pigs. Then came the Feast of Unleavened bread (leaven symbolises sin). And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. Gods ultimate plan of redemption is further seenin the account of Abrahams willingness to offer his son, Isaac, on an altar at Gods command (Genesis 22). How do I choose between my boyfriend and my best friend? But he did understand that God was all-powerful and that He was good, holy, and righteous. 170-235, [This date varies from year to year as the Hebrew months are based on the moon. The Levites and priests are also described as having praised God day by day [Hallel], singing with loud instruments to God (11 Chronicles 30:21). The daily Temple sacrifice required two unblemished sheep from Bethlehem. One sacrificed in the morning and one in the evening as a continual sacrifice before the Eternal. One year old lambs were also needed during Passover and other festivals. The shepherds in charge of these special lambs were from the tribe of Levi. And finally, the feast was to be held in one house, and no part of the meat was to be taken outside the house (Exodus 12:46). Some of you here know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem-Ephrathah not Bethlehem (there were two). Suppose each family brought one or two animals (which, down through history, was the norm). Once the lambs were of age, the shepherds would take them to Jerusalem for the temple sacrifices. I am going to be focusing mainly on the knowledge that we gained about the biblical period from our experiences today. 170-235 after Yeshua), we find that he mentions the date of the birth of Yeshua as the 25th of December. In the area of the camp, a sign proclaimed that "George II is Chief of the Chilkoots and a friends [sic] It was a place fit for the Lamb of the Eternal to be born. The Rest of the Story: Shepherds Abiding in the Field Leviticus 22:27 is pretty clear: When an ox, sheep or goat is born, it must stay with its mother for seven days; from day eight and on, it will be accepted as a burned sacrifice to God. Yeshua is the Lamb of the Eternal so, who better than the shepherds to welcome him at birth. . John the Baptist was the only son of Zacharias, and he was also of the priestly line. Pronounced: nee-SAHN, Origin: Hebrew, Jewish month, usually coinciding with March-April. Location: Canada. We dont tell people that Christ was born on THIS actual day, but rather that, we celebrate the fact that He WAS born. In summary, we can state with some certainty that the flocks which were pastured around Migdal Edar were sheep destined for Temple sacrifices, and the shepherds who tended them were special shepherds, trained to take care of these sheep from birth until the time they were delivered to the Temple. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. It should be noted that Ephrath (or Ephratah) was the ancient name for the area which later was called Bethlehem. But why would Moses record that Jacob pitched his tent at Migdal Edar at Bethlehem? [8] The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Book II, Chapter 6 (This 1883 book by Alfred Edersheim is available online, but that makes referencing a page number difficult.). The newborn lambs would be wrapped tightly swaddled in specially designated temple cloths, and they would be laid in a manger to keep them contained while they were being examined for blemishes. John the Baptist exclaimed, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29, KJV). Hag HaPesach (the festival of the paschal lamb)the sacrificial rite of the paschal lamb and its consumptionwas the main feature of the ancient Passover ceremony that ushered in the holiday. Ewes were brought there to give birth to the lambs. When Habib was explaining the many intricate steps of the sheeps life I was astounded by the parallelism to Jesus Christ. He died on Passover when the sacrificial lambs were sacrificed. Gender: Male. Many of Bethlehem's sheep were raised for sacrifice at the Temple. a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger? To be a sign, it would have to be distinctive, understandable, and unique. He was born in the very birthplace where tens of thousands of lambs, which had been sacrificed to prefigure Him, the Lamb of the Eternal. The priests stood in rows, and in their hands were basins of silver and basins of gold. Equally so was the belief, that He was to be revealed from Migdal Eder, the tower of the flock. It seems (?) Such sheep were kept in the environs of Jerusalem including Bethlehem which lies just five miles south of that city. . Once the other group left the cave Habib informed us that there is much more to the story of the shepherds. Joseph belonged to the family of David, which is why they were in Bethlehem that night. there were shepherds living out in the fields. Press ESC to cancel. A sacrificial lamb is a metaphorical reference to a person or animal sacrificed for the common good. This sacrifice was meant to be sufficient to atone for the sin-debt of all mankind. John the Baptist likened Jesus to those lambs carefully chosen for sacrifice in the Temple. Of the deep symbolic significance of such a coincidence, it is needless to speak. Note: In my next Post I will discuss the significance of Migdal Edar. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty, be fruitful and multiply: a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee will I give the land. In his work, Edersheim referenced the Jewish Mishnah (The Mishnah was the first recording of the oral law and Rabbinic Judaism. Scholars interpret Micah 4:8 as a prophecy indicating that the Messiah would be revealed from the tower of the flock (Migdal Eder) which is connected with the town of Bethlehem, southeast of Jerusalem. We headed to the Shepherds Fields within Bethlehem that was specifically dedicated to the shepherds depicted within the nativity story. I think shepherds could have been out in December with their flocks as far as that aspect of the nativity story. Here they kept a place that was ceremonially clean for the ewes to lamb. The hills around Bethlehem were home to the hundreds of lambs used in ritual worship at the Temple. Jacob loved Rachel more than all his other wives, from the time he first laid eyes on her (Genesis 29:1718, 30). The Tower of the Flock | The Plan of Time 2 This month is the beginning of months for you, it is the first month of the year for you. Is there a logical place where God would choose to have His Son born, one which would be described by the angel to the shepherds in the country as being . He was born on the beginning of the Hebrew year. I am currently researching the shepherds from Luke and shepherds/shepherding throughout the Bible. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar. A Talmudic passage (dating from the period of the Second Temple [515 BCE 70 CE]) describes the Temple ritual on the 14th of Nisan. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. When they were ready, they were taken to Jerusalem to According to the laws of the time the sheep that were used for the offerings had to be a one-year-old male sheep that had been outside for 365 days (one-year). The Eternal. But how do you get a descendant of King David to be delivered among the Passover lambs of Bethlehem? The Sadducees, in charge of Temple sacrifices, also owned the Bethlehem fields and the lambs raised there. Dont know. After we were finished taking pictures of the incredible Franciscan church we made our way to a natural cave close by. There are several biblical references indicating that this procedure was also followed in Solomons Temple. Being Christmas season now, mid December, I keep hearing the old saying that December could not have been Christs birthday because the shepherds were out tending their flock in the Bible, implying it was too cold to be around December 25. During this time, Passover played little or no role in the national life of the people. There also were many spaces within the ceiling to allow the natural light to illuminate the room representing the star light and also the light of the heavenly host. We know that these things occurred somewhere in the city of Bethlehem. On that day, God came down and tabernacled with man. And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also. Migdal Eder was a tower used from ancient times by the Levitical shepherds to protect their sheep and lambs from enemies and from wild beasts. WebThe reason of their bringing oxen, and sheep, and doves into the temple, was to supply those that came afar off, and could not bring their sacrifices with them, with such sacrifices as The place these special Temple sheep used for delivery of their lambs was the tower of the flock, located close to the road between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. The first month, on the first day of the month. At that elevation there is usually a mild snow if any. The Magi, who were astronomers from the east saw a special star in the sky. Luke 2:8,Shepherds living out in the fields. Every firstborn male lamb from the area around Bethlehem was considered holy, set aside for sacrifice in Jerusalem. When the ewes would come into heat, the rams would sense this, and mate. The beginning of the Hebrew year is in springtime on the first day of the month of Nissan. Why Swaddling Clothes of Jesus are Mentioned Three Times in the Nativity Story. On the ground floor, a room was designated for the delivery and protection of these special lambs. Ill take sheep smell any day over that of chickens, for example. WebSacrifices were stopped after the Temple's destruction because the Torah specifically commands Jews not to offer sacrifices just anywhere; An olah could be made from cattle, sheep, goats, or even birds, depending on the offerer's means. The Talmud (Pesachim 64b) similarly records: King Agrippa once wished to take a census of the hosts of Israel. And Jacob set up a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon. Following the rededication of the Temple by King Hezekiah, the priests are described as tossing the blood of the paschal lamb upon the altar (II Chronicles 30:16). But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, 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 goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.[1].
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