The Details of a Prophecy

Although consumerism and materialism have become prevalent in western society, there are people that still give Christmas its true meaning: the fact that it is the celebration of the birth of Christ. This event is so important that we need to remind ourselves, year after year, that this time is not about the temporal gifts that we give and receive, or the beautiful holiday music and the glimmering lights that hang on our trees and embellish our homes. It is not even about great food and the wonderful company of friends and family. These are all good. But the real truth is this time is about the gift of God to the world of His Son and what he did and continues to do to us.

Prophets, or, in other words, people that saw the reality of Jesus being the Messiah, received glimpses of the event of the birth of Christ many years prior to that sacred occurrence. One particular prophet, who is often mentioned as the most important witness of the Saviour in old times, Isaiah, wrote of the blessing of the birth of Jesus 720 years prior to the actual birth.

The elements of the prophecy are all very simple and common. Jesus was born in the city of Bethlehem. His earthly parents, Joseph and Mary, lived in Nazareth but the Roman emperor Augustus had ordered a census and they had to travel all the way to their family city of Bethlehem to comply with the order of the imperial edict. They were both descendants of David the King who was from Bethlehem.

All know that Mary was in her last stage of pregnancy and when she and her husband arrived in Bethlehem, all inns were taken by those who had travelled to comply with the emperor’s order. Luke, one of the writers of the gospels, wrote these very simple words: “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7)

I recently discovered more about the place where Jesus was born with the help of a group of Jewish Christians who operate in the state of Israel and have discovered Jesus (or Yeshua as they call Him) and are spreading the word in modern Israel through the One for Israel Ministry.

My discovery is about a simple prophecy by what Christians would define a minor prophet (although, is there such a thing at all?) by the name of Micah. In his writings, there are two verses of prophecy that oftentimes we may give for granted or brush aside altogether.

In Micah 5:2, this prophet declares: “But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

Why did Micah have to be so specific about the location of Jesus’ birth? Why did he say he would be born in Bethlehem Ephratah? Some say he did it to distinguish it from another town called Bethlehem. But there is only one Bethlehem where King David was born. Then why? Why did Mary and Joseph had to travel more than 90 miles on foot to give birth to Jesus in Bethlehem Ephratah? After all, this was not a simple journey and it was filled with danger and complications. What was the message in all this? And why is it important to us today?

In the previous chapter of his writings, Micah provides another hint that has not come unnoticed by the One for Israel Ministry. In Micah 4:8 we read: “And thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.”

The Messiah, the future king of Israel, would be not just from the town of Bethlehem but more specifically Bethlehem Ephratah, the agricultural zone in Migdal Edel, which is the Tower of the Flock described in Micah 4:8. Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea during the 4th century wrote in his book: “Migdal Edel was located one Roman mile east of Bethlehem.”

The ruins of the Migdal Edel, the Tower of the Flock, still exist today in the location indicated by Eusebius. But why is this Tower of the Flock so important and why did the Messiah need to be born in this area just outside of Bethlehem?

Let me tell the story through the words of the senior pastor of the One for Israel Ministry Dr. Erez Soref: “This was the field of David, but much deeper than being David’s stomping ground was what David set up here as the king of Israel. As David set his heart to bring the tabernacle to Jerusalem and later make preparations for the temple, he set in order this field to raise the sacrificial flock for the priests. He gave his ancestral land to be dedicated to this special flock – the most looked after field in all of Israel… here the shepherds were not raising your average sheep. If a bone was broken or any blemish at all was found, the lamb was considered unkosher for sacrifice. They had to perfectly guard these sheep.

The shepherds who received the announcement from heaven were the very same ones in charge of the Passover lamb. How amazing that it was these very shepherds that looked after Yeshua that holy night. Our Passover lamb Yeshua the Messiah was placed in a manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes not just in any random site, not just to show the humble entry of the Messiah to the earth, but to foreshadow the work he was sent to do.

Those words in Luke’s gospel spoken to the shepherds were bursting forth with deep meaning. According to rabbinic tradition, the priest would come every high holy day from Jerusalem to Migdal Eder, the priestly tower of the flock, to inspect the lamb before the big day. They would place the lamb in a manger and after inspection, the lamb would be wrapped in swaddling cloth and brought to Jerusalem for the sacrifice. They wrapped the lamb instead of leading it along to ensure that nothing would happen to the lamb in transit to the temple. If the lamb wriggled out of the priest’s hand that Passover would be ruined, so there was no room for chance.

So Yeshua was born in the agricultural center foretold by Micah because he was to be the lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. He was wrapped in the same swaddle and laid in the manger looked after by the same shepherds that raised and cared for the Passover and Atonement sacrifices. We can see this beautiful tapestry of prophecy fulfilled in our time, but i’m sure that in the moment Mary and Joseph were just trying to make the best of an extremely difficult trial…God was waving through their trials a story of redemption and salvation of the lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.”

So, as I share the beautiful details of a simple prophecy uttered many years before the birth of our Saviour and Redeemer, I hope you catch a glimpse of what a faithful Heavenly Father is doing for you and that you may reflect on how wonderful would be for each one of us to make room for His Son in the inn of our hearts.

Merry Christmas.

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