The Story of Migdal Eder

700 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Michah wrote these words:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” - Micah 5:2

This was the promise of The Messiah that would come, saying that He would be born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem is located just 1,000 paces south of Jerusalem. Also, Bethlehem is the place where the sacrificial lambs were raised for the temple sacrifices in Jerusalem. The sacrifices were used to take away the sins of the people. Remember these words from John the Baptist, when he saw Jesus coming?

"The next day he (John The Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" - John 1:29

Let’s go back to the Book of Micah.

"And you, O tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, the former dominion shall come, kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem." - Micah 4:8

The Hebrew words Migdal Eder translate to “watch tower of the flock”. The shepherds used the old abandoned military watch tower to “keep watch over their flocks by night” (Luke 2:8).

It gets even more interesting. The bottom of the watch tower was used for birthing lambs. Because the lambs were to be used for sacrifice, the shepherds had to take special precautions to keep them spotless. The shepherds (are you ready for this?) wrapped the spotless lambs in swaddling cloth.

Was the basement of Migdal Eder also the birthplace of Jesus? The Bible doesn’t really say that, straight out, but it sure makes sense. It does say that Jesus was born in a manger (Luke 2:7) and there were mangers at Migdal Eder . . . in the basement . . . where the special shepherds were, keeping watch over their sacrificial lambs.

You know, all of this stuff is really cool to me. The more I study the Bible and dig into its rich content like this, it just literally comes to life for me. But the really important thing to remember, whether you are a Bible geek like me of just prefer to keep things simple, Jesus was born a human. He was born, to die. A sacrificial lamb.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will - 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment - to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ." - Ephesians 1:3-10

Merry Christmas. May God bless you during this advent season as we celebrate His birth and await His second advent – His glorious return. Amen.

Lamb of God

Did you ever wonder why the angels appeared to the shepherds when Jesus was born? I mean, why not appear to somebody else more important? Somebody more powerful. Why not a king or a religious leader or the three wise men? Well, there IS a reason.

Shepherding was a pretty lowly job back when Jesus was born, but not all shepherds were created equal. What was significant about these particular shepherds?

Well, where was Jesus born? That's where the shepherds were. Jesus was born in Bethlehem and the shepherds were nearby.

"8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” - Luke 2:8-12

"Has been born to you?" Born to the shepherds? Hmm.

What is so significant about these shepherds, that "the Lamb of God" would be born to them?

The shepherds in Bethlehem were not just any shepherds. They were responsible for watching over a very special flock. The lambs born to their particular flock were used as temple sacrifices in Jerusalem. The lambs had to be spotless in order to be acceptable to God as a sacrifice for sin.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem because that is where ALL sacrificial lambs were born. And Jesus was born to live a sinless, spotless life before He was sacrificed for our sins.

Here's a thought to ponder. According to the National Sheep Association, lambing season runs from February to April. Since God is perfect and amazing and everything He does is right on time and according to His plan, why on earth would we think that Jesus was born in December? Hmm.

And how about this? All of the major events in Jesus' life - His amazing sacrificial life - occurred on major Jewish holidays.

The Passover - Jesus and His disciples ate the Last Supper. They had lamb.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread - Jesus, the Bread of Life, was crucified.
The Festival of First Fruits - Jesus rose from the dead. The first fruit of God's resurrection plan.

The first day of the Jewish New Year is Nisan 1. This year Nisan 1 falls on March 17th. Events that occurred on Nisan 1 include the dedication of the tabernacle (Exodus 40:17) and the cleansing of the defiled temple (2 Chronicles 29).

If Jesus made all things new, "the old has passed away, behold, the new has come" (Isaiah 42:9, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Revelation 21:5) - wouldn't it make sense that Jesus was born on Nisan 1, the day the old year passed away and the new year has come, in the spring, with the sacrificial lambs?

Just a theory. What do YOU think?

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" - John 1:29

When Was Jesus Really Born? - Jonathan Cahn

A Different Kind of Christmas

My wife and I sat in the sun room Christmas morning, opening our presents - all by ourselves. It occurred to us that we hadn't done that (opening our presents alone) since before our kids were born. That's over thirty years folks.

There were a lot of things that were different this Christmas than from Christmases past. For example, usually we get snow this time of year. Last night it rained. Global warming? No. Wisconsin weather. The week before it was fourteen below.

I watched a video of a young couple, two kids from my youth group days, announce that  they were having a baby. That should make for a wonderful Christmas celebration!

My personal favorite gift this year was the restored relationship with a family member. Estranged for a year and a half, God chose this Christmas to restore it. What a gift!

On Facebook I've seen pictures of engagement rings, family reunion pictures, and pregnancy reveals. All these new "gifts" to appreciate and enjoy. Still, the one gift that still amazes me each and every year is the gift of Jesus to all of us here on earth.

The story of His "reveal" STILL amazes. God? Born in a manger? Yeah, okay. That makes sense. But this Christmas story actually does make sense once you understand the reason behind it.

I am reading through the Bible right now, the book of Leviticus. That book is always a tough read until you get to chapter five and you suddenly realize why Jesus was born in a barn among the animals.

^"5 when anyone becomes aware that they are guilty in any of these matters (sins), they must confess in what way they have sinned. ⁶ As a penalty for the sin they have committed, they must bring to the Lord a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for them for their sin." -Leviticus 5:5-6

The sacrifice for sins, established long before Jesus was born, was to be a spotless lamb. Every time someone sinned there was to be a sacrifice. This went on daily! It's a wonder there are still sheep on the planet!!

That's when God gave us Jesus, to be born, a spotless lamb, to live a sinless, spotless life, and then to be sacrificed, as that spotless human lamb for the sins of the rest of us sheep, once and for all. One sacrifice for all mankind. Jesus was born to die.

^"5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - ⁷ because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. ¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

¹¹ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³ Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace." - Romans 6:5-14

What a gift!

May this Christmas bring to you a new commitment to Christ. May you hear of God's plan of redemption in your heart and may you embrace the birth of Christ for what it was - a gift for everyone of us. A gift to take the place on the judgement seat in OUR place! The best gift anyone who loves life and loves Jesus could ever receive - the gift of eternal life with our sacrifice, in heaven!

May each of us have a different kind of Christmas this year. Different from "the world" and they way it thinks Christmas should be like. May WE be the barn. May WE be the manger. And may Jesus be born in us.

Above All - Michael W. Smith
Born In Me - Francesca Battistelli

Chapter

How long ago was it? Hmm. Well, let's see. My wife and I had a water bed . . . It must have been in the late 80's or early 90's. The bed had these little lamps in the headboard and we had our clock radio/alarm clock right between them. And we listened. We listened as someone read us . . . a book.

I was working at an architectural firm in downtown Appleton. The owner of the firm loved to play Public Radio and the cavernous office building was always filled with classical music throughout the day. That was okay for this then 30-something guy but a little rock and roll once in a while would have been nice.

At lunch time though I got a break from the strings and operatic voices. WPNE, the local Public Radio station, had a news program at noon and then after that they had a half-hour long program called Chapter A Day. Someone at the radio station would read a chapter out of a current novel each day. No sound effects, no musical score, just the spoken word. I began to look forward to hearing the next chapter each and every day as I ate my lunch. I enjoyed hearing the readers voice as his or her words filled my ears . . . and my heart.

Then they announced that each days chapter would be replayed at 10 o'clock each night. Sweet! So I got my wife to listen and me and my wife would lay in bed, our little reading lamps on, waiting in anticipation of the next chapter. We only listened to the reading of one book but we both remember that book, Michael Crichton's Sphere, and we both remember that program, fondly, and the joy we both received through doing something together.

Since those golden days of radio my wife and I have continued the "Chapter a Day" practice in our own way. My wife likes to take hot baths during the winter months. At least once a year one of us purchases a novel and I read a chapter or two to my wife every time she takes a bath.

We just finished a murder mystery featuring one of her favorite TV characters. We've also finished an entire truck load of water softener salt! (not really . . . but close!). Now it's MY turn to pick a book. I was thinking about the Book of Romans. She probably wouldn't go for that but I think that would be an awesome thing for a married couple, or ANY couple, to do. Take turns reading a chapter a day out of the Bible to someone you love.

So, my challenge for you and for me during the month of March is to pick someone in your life and ask them if they would like to read a book of the Bible to one another. Do it over coffee at your favorite cafe. Discuss what God is trying to tell us. Examine your lives to see if the lessons God teaches us through His Word can have an impact our lives. My guess is that they certainly can.

So find someone that God has placed in your life this week. Someone out of the ordinary perhaps and ask them. The worse they can do is say no and you will have to find someone else. But the person you asked will know that YOU cared enough to ask THEM. Let God's Holy Spirit use that thought in their heads for God's Glory.

Here's something I discovered this week. It actually came to me this morning while lying in bed. Check these verses out. See if you can find the hidden connection.

"18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth." - Deuteronomy 11:18-21

And now read this one . . .

"7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door frames of the houses where they eat the lambs.

12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt." - Exodus 12:7,12-13

So we are to take God's Word and the blood of The Lamb and place it on our doorposts (the sides of our doors) and we will be passed over . . . we will be saved.

Now check out these verses from the first chapter of John

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" - John 1:1-5, 14, 29

Jesus was the Word and the Word became flesh. We are you place The Blood of the Lamb (Jesus) on our door frames - the door we walk in and out of on our way to work or school, the door we walk through into the world. By walking through Jesus everyday and as we walk through the world, we will be a sign to the world who we are and WHOSE we are. And our lives will be a sign unto God. He will pass over us and we will be saved (Exodus 12:13.

Any questions? :)

Jefferson Bethke: Why Don't We Read the Bible More?