Birth of Christ Through Their Eyes- The Shepherds

Luke 2:8-16 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a (the) manger.” 

13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 

14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, 
    and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” 

15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 

16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. 

All my life I’ve been taught that the shepherds to whom the angels announced the birth of Jesus we just common, lowly shepherds. I was also taught that the stable where Jesus was born was a common, dirty stable where animals were housed. I’ve always envisioned Joseph having to make room and clean up before Jesus was born. Over the last few years and during my research for this blog, I have discovered that this might not be accurate. What I’m going to share here has my spirit jumping and my heart racing! Our Heavenly Father, who does nothing by chance, had a specific, amazing plan in place for the birth of His Son.

 

In Bethlehem there was a tower called Migdal Edar. It is referred to in Genesis 35:21 as the place Jacob camped after the birth of Benjamin and death and burial of Rachel. (This could be another study in itself!) This same tower, called in Micah 4:8, The Tower of the Flock, was used by the Rabbinical Shepherds (yes, I said Rabbinical Shepherds!) to watch over the flocks that were pasturing around Bethlehem that were destined for temple sacrifice.

 

These were the same fields that Boaz had redeemed as the kinsman redeemer for Naomi and Ruth. This is the Ruth and Boaz who are listed in the genealogy of Christ. Matthew 1:5-6, “Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.” These are likely the same fields where the shepherd boy David watched over the flocks and wrote his Psalms.  WOW!! 

   Back to the Tower of Migdal Edar. This tower had two levels. The upper level was the watch tower like you would have found on any military tower of that day. This was a high location from which the shepherds could view the flocks in the field. From here they could see danger and predators from a long way off. In the lower level were the birthing (lambing) stalls/rooms. Because these were Rabbinical Shepherds, they would have maintained ceremonially clean birthing stall. This was not a dirty stable, but a holy site where the sacrificial lambs were kept. 

 

“The shepherds who kept them were men who were specifically trained for this royal task. They were educated in what an animal that was to be sacrificed had to be and it was their job to make sure that none of the animals were hurt, damaged or blemished.”i 

These lambs had to be protected from blemish or harm. Deuteronomy 17:1 states: “You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God a bull or sheep which has any blemish or defect, for that is an abomination to the Lord your God.” (NKJV) To protect them, they were swaddled, wrapped in strips of cloth, after birth and placed in manger, a hollowed-out depression in a limestone rock. They were kept there to keep them calm and safe until they could be inspected as being without spot or blemish and certified for sacrifice.  

On the night of Jesus birth, Joseph and Mary were in a birthing stall in Migdol Edar. There is much debate about how they came to be in the Tower of the Flock, and for the sake of time and the length of this blog I will not delve into that here. What really matters is that they were there. They were in the birthplace of the sacrificial lambs. They were in stalls maintained by the Rabbinical shepherds.

When the angels made their announcement on that night, they were speaking to the very shepherds who were responsible for the care and certification of the sacrificial lambs for the temple in Jerusalem.

 

Have you ever wondered how after hearing the announcement from the angels the shepherds knew where to go? Luke 2:11-12, “The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a (the) manger.” (Emphasis mine) 

Two key clues were given by the angels. First, wrapped in strips of cloth (swaddling clothes). These shepherds knew all about using swaddling clothes. They were a part of their ritual care of newborn lambs. Second, lying in a (the) manger. There is only one place where these shepherds knew that they would find both swaddling clothes and the manger. Migdal Edar.  

“Where would they have known to go – since there were no directions provided?  They knew exactly where to go to find Jesus.  They went to the location where the Temple lambs were birthed!  These shepherds were the only people on earth who could certify the birth of the true Passover Lamb.  And they did.”ii 

Imagine, God sent His Son, the sinless, spotless lamb to be born in the very location where the birth of the sacrificial lambs took place. Jesus was not only born in this holy place, but he was also visited and certified (testified about) by the Rabbinical shepherds who were specially trained to raise and certify the sacrificial lambs for the Temple in Jerusalem. Who better to receive the news of the Messiah’s birth than the ones who understood the importance of the spotless sacrifice?  

“This is so amazing – that only God could have prepared the birth of Jesus with this exact precision.  Jesus was wrapped in cloth strips specifically meant for this purpose.  Then God sent the shepherds of the Temple flock to certify that the Messiah was born.... He announced to the world when His Son was born to the only people on earth who could truly identify Him.  This glorious day was ordained in full detail by the Father.”iii 

I am aware that there is much debate about the information I’ve just related. I have researched, read books, watched videos, and conferred with others on this topic and the strongest argument I can make for the validity of this information is the quickening I have in my spirit every time I read, think, pray, and discuss the birth of Christ.  

If you are interested in doing some reading on this topic for yourself, I highly recommend the book, The Tower of the Flock: The Christmas Story by Dr. Christine Van Horn. In her book she cites many other sources and writings that you might also find helpful. 

Works Cited:

i http://hethathasanear.com/Birth.html 

ii https://drchris.co/who-were-the-shepherds/ 

iii https://drchris.co/who-were-the-shepherds/