The Christmas Shepherds, Levitical Priests for Their Bethlehem Flocks

Shepherds and sheep hold a prominent place in the Bible. The most famous are the Christmas shepherds!  Is it possible that Mary birthed Jesus in a shepherd’s hospital near Bethlehem instead of an “inn with no room?” In Hebrew, Migdal Eder (Migdal-tower and Eder-flock) the Tower of the Flock stood on the road between Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

 Migdal Eder no longer stands. However, the bible mentions Migdal Eder (or Edar) in two passages, Genesis 35:21 and Micah 4:8. Jewish sages writing in the Mishnah (Jewish Oral Tradition), confirm the existence of the Tower of the Flock. Also reinforced due to shepherds retelling stories around campfires for hundreds of years, a Byzantine monastery was built over Migdal Eder in the fourth century.

For millennia, shepherds were familiar with The Tower of the Flock. The Sadducees, in charge of Temple sacrifices, chose the Bethlehem shepherds who were experts in animal husbandry.  They considered them as Levitical Priests because the lambs they tended on the birthing floor of Migdal Eder were destined for Temple sacrifices. Exodus 12:5 mentions, “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year:” 

Migdal Eder was a two-level stone structure, allowing the Chief Shepherd to look out over the flock for predators.  (Photo-only an example.) At birthing time, shepherds led the ewes from the fields into the tower. The ancient veterinarians reached into the ewe’s womb to pull out the newborns, then snugly wrapped the lambs in swaddling cloths. If the lamb harmed its limbs at all, it would be rejected as a Temple sacrifice. Shepherds laid the lamb in a stone manger until it calmed down. Then they unwrapped the swaddling and let the lamb return to its mother for feeding.

When angels appeared to the shepherds in the Bethlehem fields, they immediately understood the directions in the glorious angelic birth announcement! “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."  Shepherds knew that  Bethlehem was the “town of David,” King David’s birthplace. As a shepherd boy, he was likely familiar with Migdal Eder too. We don’t know how far the shepherds ran to see the promised Messiah, but no GPS was needed. The Tower of the Flock was their ancient office.

The shepherds excitedly shared the magnificent news of Messiah’s birth to everyone in the vicinity. Imagine the astounding privilege they experienced seeing the angels and the Messiah in one night!

When lambs reached a year old, the shepherds herded thousands of them into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, called The Day of Lambs in ancient Jewish culture. The Temple Priests examined each lamb allowing only the perfect ones for sacrifices. Jesus Christ, Emanu-El, God with us, is the Perfect Passover Lamb and our Good Shepherd! How fitting that Jesus, possibly born in or near the Tower of the Flock, entered Jerusalem for His last Passover, this time with the parade of lambs destined for Temple sacrifices. Maybe the Bethlehem shepherds who beheld Jesus at His birth, marveled once again as He rode a donkey among the lambs. And He shall reign forever and ever!   Arlene Bridges Samuels

 

 

 

 

 

A True Story for a Sheep and for us. Unburdened!

 

Sheep walk along many word paths in books of the Bible; grazing, resting, sacrificed, or lost. Sheep are mentioned five-hundred times in scripture, more than any other animal. We ourselves are described as sheep. Psalm 23 is my favorite where the first verse proclaims, “The Lord is my Shepherd.”

I recently ran across an inspiring true story about Baarack, a lost sheep in Australia. Baarack was near death. He carried a heavy burden, a burden of wool. Barely walking, he foraged for bits of grass made even worse because the wool almost covered his eyes rendering him practically blind. And in the wildness of the woods, predators lurked.

Found by someone walking in the woods, he was in dreadful condition. Fortunately for Baarack, he was transported by pick-up truck to Edgar’s Mission Farm Sanctuary near Melbourne, Australia. Their wonderful work is a rescue operation for neglected or abandoned farm animals. Like kind shepherds to animals in need, the staff gently unloaded Baarack when he arrived.

After removing insects, leaves, and twigs from his matted fleece, they pulled out the shearing tool and began to cut away Baarack’s burden. When they finished shearing, they weighed the fleece. The scales registered seventy pounds! And the staff name for their rescued sheep is so clever, Baa-Rack! His before and after photos are an astonishing display of redemption.

Baarack’s story is our story. We carry burdens too heavy. Sometimes we are lost in the challenges of life that often render us hopeless. Then, we encounter Jesus, the Perfect sacrificial Lamb, the Eternal Rescuer, the One Whom God the Father sent two thousand years ago to redeem us. The One who chose to shed His blood on the cross, making way for the Holy Spirit to shear off the burdens that beset us.

Baarack’s new life began with the kind hands of the farm’s staff. When Jesus rescues us, Matthew 11:28-30 describes our new life: “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and MY BURDEN IS LIGHT.”

The Perfect Lamb’s blood covers us not with cumbersome burdens but with spiritual life abundant. Our world-blinded eyes are opened to another world, a world of hope. We feed at a table of love provided and guided by Jesus, our Good Shepherd Who rescues us from ourselves and from the predator of our souls.

Here are ways to follow and learn about Edgar’s Mission Farm Sanctuary www.edgarsmission.org.au @edgarsmission and on Facebook. With thanks to Edgar's Mission Farm Sanctuary in Australia for allowing me to tell Baarack's story and post his transformation!