Luke 2:8-14
“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.
Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. AND THIS WILL BE THE SIGN TO YOU: You will find a Babe WRAPPED IN SWADLING CLOTHES, LYING IN A MANGER.”
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill to men on whom God’s favor rests!””
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What wonderful and blessed news those shepherds heard from the angel! After 400 years of silence, of no word from God at all, at last He was speaking to His people again! Whereas in times past He spoke through the prophets however, this time He was coming in Person. 🙌🏻
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But…..based upon the information the angel gave them in the opening passage, how in the world did the shepherds know where to find Jesus/Y’Shua? 🤷♀️ I mean, Joseph and Mary weren’t exactly from town. Their home was in Nazareth, some 70 miles to the North, so it’s not like anybody in Bethlehem knew them. Yet, in the next two verses, it’s clear they had no problem at all finding Jesus/Y/Shua.
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Bear in mind, these men knew their Hebrew Scriptures practically by heart. What you may not know is that these were not your average, ordinary, run of the mill keepers of sheep. God had a specific purpose in sending his angel to seek out and speak to them specifically. For now, let’s just say…..they weren’t exactly your average, ordinary shepherds. 🤔
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They Came With Haste.
Luke 2:16-18
“So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.” 💖
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See? It says, “They came with haste,” as if somehow they knew exactly where He was. 🤔 hmmm…………..
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Overcrowded City.
Pinpointing Jesus’ location wasn’t the only problem locating where Jesus was born. First of all, the city was OVERcrowded because Caesar Augustus mandated that the whole Roman Empire be registered in their home towns, based on their family and lineage, so he could tax everybody to get even more money for himself. 🤨
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BUT…..God used his big tax grab to orchestrate events so that His Son would be born in Bethlehem. That is why Joseph made the long journey to the place of his family’s heritage. He brought Miriam (Mary) as she would not be safe back home since no one could adequately explain her pregnancy. She would have been in danger of stoning!
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Secondly, this tax grab coincided with Sukkot: The Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus was almost certainly born during this time. Remember in John chapter 1 where the Holy Spirit recorded that Jesus “Tabernacled” among us? He was trying to give us one of many clues as to the actual timing of Jesus’ birth, ’cause it certainly wasn’t in December. 😳
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Of course, if it were really of great importance, the Father would have told us plainly. But He didn’t. He has hidden clues here and there for us to find. In so doing, we will be warmed and blessed! 💖
Learning about Jewish law and culture is going to yield even more as you will see.
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Three Signs.
There were three signs in the angelic announcement which would confirm and assurances to the shepherds exactly Who they would find in Bethlehem: None other than their long-awaited Messiah!
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First the Angel said:
#1 This we be THE SIGN to you.” Notice He didn’t say “A SIGN,” he said, “THE SIGN.” He was referring to THE SIGN of Jonah. More on this later.
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Secondly he said that a “Savior” would be born, who was Christ the Lord. This was not just any baby: He was the promised, long-awaited Messiah of Israel. When they heard the baby would be: #2 “Wrapped in swaddling clothes; and #3: ” Lying in a manger,” that was all they needed to hear! Like GPS, they knew EXACTLY where He was! 😁
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(In part 3, we discussed some very interesting history about THE Inn and why there was no room. You may follow the link below if you missed that part:
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Messianic Prophecies.
They knew all the messianic prophecies on top of that. In the Israel of Jesus’ day, there were two Bethlehems: Ephratha and Zebulun. Bethlehem Ephratha was David’s city in the southern part of Israel, near Jerusalem. The other was way up north in the greater Galilee region.
Jewish children were taught the scriptures practically from birth, especially boys. You could say they cut their teeth on Torah. The shepherds, especially these particular men, would have been very familiar with the verse below:
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Micah 5:2
“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 are from of old, From everlasting.”
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So they knew it was their Bethlehem that was the right one.
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Stone Manger.
In Jesus’ day, they were not made of wood as you see in modern nativity scenes. They were carved out of stone, kind of a scooped affair, as pictured below. Place the stone manger pictured below next to the garden tomb and the similarities would be immediately apparent.
To the shepherds this was THE SIGN OF JONAH. Just as he was in the belly of the great fish for three days, so Jesus would be in “Heart of the earth” for three days when He died. Jonah’s story is actually a typology of His death. From the Virgin womb to the virgin tomb, this child was born to die for all of us. 💖
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Swaddling Clothes.
Mary wrapped her newborn son in “SWADDLING CLOTHES.” It was a common practice in those days to swaddle babies. The new arrival would feel snug and secure, calming the baby. A person prepared for burial would be likewise wrapped in linen cloths and placed in a stone tomb. This entire scene is the picture of the little baby Who was born to die; because He was, like no child before or since. But wait: There’s more!
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(Stone Manger of Bible Times.)
Bread Of Life.
A manger is a feeding trough for animals. The Holy Spirit is drawing pictures here for us, portraying Jesus as the Bread of Life. We eat bread, of course, for nourishment. Even the town in which he was born, “Bethlehem,” means, “HOUSE OF BREAD!” Beautiful Holy Spirit word pictures.❤️
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Eder Migdol: Workplace.
As you know, the Shepherds out in the fields watching over their flocks to protect them from predators, stayed awake all night for the sake of their flocks. They were extremely dedicated, and for good reason.
This night particularly night was very dark…..until suddenly, a bright light shone all around them. (where God is, there can be NO darkness!🙌🏻) The Glory of the LORD shone all around them. Then an Angel of the LORD, (probably Gabriel), appeared before them and spoke to them the words of the opening scripture.
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These shepherds actually worked there at Eder Migdol! As I hinted at above, they were not your run of the mill sheep herders. They were elite, highly trained shepherd-priests of the tribe of Levi, basically the veterinarians of their day. They were highly skilled and knew exactly how to care for the sheep. They meticulously kept the mangers clean, could deliver a newborn lamb, and carefully wrap it in the finest of linen wrappings. Kings could barely afford this type of material.
As carefully as a newborn lamb was brought into the world, these elite shepherd priests helped to bring into the world the Lamb of God.
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When they heard the key words, “Wrapped in swaddling clothes” and “lying in a manger,” and they instantly knew where Jesus/Y’Shua was born. As carefully as a newborn lamb was brought into the world, these elite shepherd priests most likely helped to bring into the world the Lamb of God and helped Mary swaddle this special child.
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As you know, in the days leading up to Yom Kippur, (the Day of Atonement), the priests from the temple in Jerusalem came out to inspect the sheep and choose two for the great day. One was for the sacrifice, the other a scape goat. They were swaddled with the finest linen cloth and carried back to the Temple so that they could not be hurt or damaged along the journey and thus be disqualified as a sacrifice. Jesus became both of those.
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The two passages below from Genesis and Micah complete the picture of what the shepherds understood from the angel’s message:
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Rachael’s Tomb.
Genesis 35:20-22
20″ And JACOB set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day. 21 Then ISRAEL journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the TOWER OF EDER. {This is a reference to Eder Migdol, or the Tower of the Flock}
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And…….
Micah 4:8
8″ And you, O tower of the flock, {in Hebrew “Eder Migdol”} 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.” {A reference to the Messiah}
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Did you notice the name change from “JACOB-Deceiver,” to ISRAEL-Prince of God?God uses his given name, “Jacob,” when he operates in the natural. But when he is believing God by faith, he uses his glorified name, “Israel.”😁🙌🏻
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Covenant Sacrifice.
As you know, under the Old Covenant all sacrifices offered at the temple had to be “Without spot or blemish.” Certain ewes were brought there to give birth to their young. These lambs were specially bred to be used as temple sacrifices. As such, they could not have any cuts, scratches, bruises, etc.
Just below Eder Migdol was a STONE MANGERwhere the above, newly-born lambs were placed, securely “SWADDLED in linen cloths.”
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When lambs are first born, they are quite playful and rambunctious, like all baby animals. Since sacrificial lambs had to be perfect, they had to be swaddled and laid in a manger to prevent them from jumping around, injuring themselves, and thus becoming unfit to be used as a sacrifices.
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This manger would have been well-known ESPECIALLY to these shepherds. I’m sure they were also well aware of the two references above about Rachael’s burial and the passage in Micah.
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See what I mean? God couldn’t have erected a flashing neon sign that pointed more precisely to the place where Jesus was born!💖↘️
What really blew my mind is the information below that I learned from Chaim BenTorah’s book, “What The Rabbis Know That I Never Learned In Church.”
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Why Were The Shepherds Summoned?
The angel came to these particular shepherds, not only because of who they were and where they worked. In Jewish custom, the mother of a newborn offers a blessing called a “HaGamel.” Here’s the deal: You had to have either ten relatives or ten men in attendance if relatives were unavailable, to receive the blessing. This is called a “Mynyan:” i.e., a quorum of ten.
These elite shepherds more that likely delivered this precious little boy!
Wise Men.
Here’s even more to ponder. We’ve all read the passage in Matthew 2:11 about the ones who came and fell down and worshipped him, presenting gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. HOWEVER: The actual identity of these men is not certain. Matthew only says they “came from the East.” The literal translation from the Greek says “from the rising of the sun.” Some believe they came from Persia, since they were called, “Magi” from the Persian word, “Magus” (Aramaic – Magusah). Some believe they came from India. But there were also Kings in Yemen that were also Jewish.
A recent discovery, however, points to a religious order devoted to private prayer called “Shir.” They believed that God would be born as a human child and his birth announced by an unusually bright star.
Whoever these men were, they were either Jewish or followed the Jewish God. They would definitely have known all about Jewish worship and the purpose of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The time of their arrival is also uncertain
(In the book below, available at Amazon, is even more about the “Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh” that will shock, amaze, and bless you!)
To study more in depth on the above subject, you may refer to the book by renowned Bible scholar and professor of ancient languages, “Chaim BenTorah” entitled “What The Rabbis Know That I Never Learned In Church.”
(What the Rabbis Know That I Never Learned in Church https://a.co/d/bQwYstH)
Hidden Message.
Why go through all this trouble to hide the message about the Messiah? Because the devil down through history was constantly seeking to either prevent Jesus’ birth or kill Him after He was born. Remember the curse in Genesis 3? The “SEED of the woman” would come and crush satan’s head. He didn’t want his head crushed! He was desperate to stop God’s Champion. Fortunately for us, he isn’t a mind reader and didn’t have a score card to tell the players.
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So, now you know how these elite shepherd-priests knew EXACTLY where Jesus was born and how to find him because God had written clues for those who would come to the birth of the Savior of the world so they would recognize it was really Him…..and He knew just who to tell!
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Epilogue.
Jesus’ parents took him to the Temple when he was a a baby to offer sacrifices according to Mosaic Law. What happened there is more than just a chance meeting of two people who were looking expectantly for their Messiah. More surprises to come!
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You may follow the link below to Part 5. We’ll be discussing that topic:
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Emmaus Road Ministries 
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