where were the sheep raised for temple sacrifices
A statue of Hippolytus in Rome today still mentions April as the month of Yehsuas birth [This date varies from year to year as the Hebrew months are based on the moon. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. The name , I am the living bread which came down out of the heaven, (Painting by Simon Dewey with Fotosketcher Filter), Bethlehem most probably had a population of fewer than a thousand people, perhaps only a few hundred in Yeshuas day. Ill take sheep smell any day over that of chickens, for example. On that day, God came down and tabernacled with man. And the power of Messiahs presence is to make everything new. In his address to the priests and Levites he said, Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the God of Israel (II Chronicles 29:10). In fact the shepherds may have been on the same land that Boaz redeemed for Naomi and passed on to his son Jesse, Davids father. Ewes were brought there to give birth to the lambs. Where did the sacrificial lamb come from? The church was led astray in the 4th Century AD and has since steadfastly supported the traditional site of the cave under the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem as the birthplace of Jesus. An analysis of bones found in an ancient Edersheims book was the result of a seven year effort. I believe that God intended that from the place of Jacobs greatest sorrow, where his beloved Rachel died, would later come the Messiah, who would bring eternal life and joy for all those who trust in Him. Pronounced: ah-doe-NYE, Origin: Hebrew, a name for God. Luke has the most complete account of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, as recorded in Chapter 2: And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and linage of David) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. An earlier verse in the book of Micah tells us exactly where to expect His birth: And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom [the Messiah shall bring the Kingdom] shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem [Mary the mother of Jesus]. (Micah 4:8, KJV). According to the laws of the time the sheep that were used for the offerings had to be a one-year-old male sheep that had been outside for 365 days (one-year). When the Magi from Persia came to Jerusalem in search of the Jewish Messiah, they called upon King Herod as a courtesy and inquired of him where the Messiah was to be born. In the year 720 BCE, King Hezekiah set out to restore the ancient covenant. Jacob loved Rachel more than all his other wives, from the time he first laid eyes on her (Genesis 29:1718, 30). The Rest of the Story: Shepherds Abiding in the Field. The Scriptures tell us that the shepherds were outside watching the sheep at night, The following are clues that will help us pinpoint when Yeshua was born. Bethlehem most probably had a population of fewer than a thousand people, perhaps only a few hundred in Yeshuas day. Sources: So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel [Heb. Abrahams hand was stayed, and God provided a substitute sacrifice, just as He would provide in His Son, Jesus. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here. [4] When the ewes were ready to deliver, the shepherds moved them inside a manger. My position is that they went to where the newborn lambs were typically wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manger in the Tower of the Flock (Migdal Edar), not far from where they were tending the sheep which birthed the lambs used for sacrifice in the Temple. Nativity scenes displayed at Christmas depict the birth of Jesus in a stable surrounded by donkeys, sheep, and cows. He sent the Set-Apart Spirit to his disciples on, In the writings of Hippolytus, early church father (ca. The same Mishnaic passage also leads us to infer, that these flocks lay out all the year-round since they are spoken of as in the fields thirty days before Passoverthat is, in the month of February, when in Palestine [Israel] the average rainfall is nearly greatest. 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. The Greek word which is translated manger in our English Bibles is Yatnh phat-ne. The caves were specially cared for to keep them clean and prepared for the birthing process. In fact, any livestock found in a 6.8 mile radius of Jerusalem could be used for whole burnt offerings or peace offerings, depending on the sex of the animal for which offering. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. We dont tell people that Christ was born on THIS actual day, but rather that, we celebrate the fact that He WAS born. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. He died on Passover when the sacrificial lambs were sacrificed. Your email address will not be published. It seems (?) There tour guide was explained to them how shepherds used caves to live in because when it is warm outside it is cool within in the cave and vice-versa with cold weather. It was a place fit for the Lamb of the Eternal to be born. . The father of John the Baptist was Zacharias, a priest who served in the Temple in Jerusalem. This reference to Passover stresses the classical message of the festivalthe humble origin of the Jewish people, the covenant with Abraham, Gods intervention in Egypt, the fulfillment of Gods promises, and the reaffirmation of faith. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. He is, indeed, the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.. The impression given is that they were able to go with haste because they knew from the description of the wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger exactly where to go to the Tower of the Flock, Migdal Edar. This unique ritual included the slaughtering of the lamb on the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan (Leviticus 23:5). But Deborah, Rebekahs nurse, died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allon-bachuth. This phenomenon took place during the springtime, around the time of the Passover. New-born lambs were put in a manger after swaddling them to keep them from being trampled and to keep them calm. Such sheep were kept in the environs of Jerusalem including Bethlehem which lies just five miles south of that city. Surrounding the town of Bethlehem grazed flocks of sheep tended by shepherds trained by the Levitical priesthood to provide the lambs for temple sacrifices. And yet Jewish tradition may here prove both illustrative and helpful. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Which is correct poinsettia or poinsettia? The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. They were not to break any of the bones of the lamb (Exodus 12:46). Is there a logical place where God would choose to have His Son born, one which would be described by the angel to the shepherds in the country as being . Press ESC to cancel. And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. This THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT THE OLD TESTAMENT BEING A FORESHADOWING OF JESUS LIFE AND MINISTRY WHILE UPON EARTH.THE LORD IS SO WISE AND KIND AND LOVING. With the destruction of the Temple, the offering of the paschal came to an end. Comprised of the Mishnah and the Gemara, it contains the opinions of thousands of rabbis from different periods in Jewish history. Once the sheep were of age the shepherds would bring them to the city of Jerusalem to be sacrificed for the Sabbath (Friday). The appearance of Samuel in the 11th century BCE at the end of the period of the Judges brought about a religious revival. HE KNOWS THOSE WHO ARE HIS.JESUS BLESS YOU WITH MUCH FAVOUR,AND GRACE TO CONTINUE DOING HIS WILL. Ewes were brought there to give birth to the lambs. The description reflects the procedure in the time of the First Temple: The paschal lamb was slaughtered in three groups when the first group entered and the Temple court was filled, the gates of the Temple were closed. Yeshua the Living Bread was born in the House of Bread. This part of the sign was not enough on its own because any new-born baby would be wrapped in swaddling cloths. God commands that burnt offerings (animal sacrifices) must be a permanent statute for the Jewish people to perform in order to receive forgiveness of sins (iniquity). But you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. I suspect that shepherds and other lower class peasant type people might have been outcasts to the super-Pharisaical types who, like the Brahmam class in Hinduism, considered anyone belonging to a lower social-religious class to be vitally an untouchable. Both goats and sheep are acceptable for sacrifice, according to Jewish law. 3 What does it mean that baby Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes? These bands helped to provide comfort to the child, the tight bands replicating the feeling of the womb. According to theMishnah(a rabbinic Jewish legal-historical document from the end of the second century AD), these were no ordinary sheep or shepherds, but were shepherds who watched over sheep that were destined to become burnt offerings, peace offerings and the Passover offering for the temple service in Jerusalem (Mishnah Sheq7:4;The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, by Alfred Edersheim, pp. The Hag HaPesach reenacts the events of the 14th of Nisan (the pre-exodus period), and the Hag HaMatzot marks the actual departure from Egypt of the Israelites, which was concluded with the crossing of the Red Sea (exodus period). You never know, a seed that was planted in someones heart on December 25 may just yield fruit for the kingdom of Elohim! What's special about Bethlehem-Ephrathah, is that it was a very small village where its sole purpose was to raise the sacrificial lambs that would be used in the Equally so, was the belief that He was to be revealed from Migdal Eder, the tower of the flock. ThisMigdal Eder was not the watchtower for the ordinary flockswhich pastured on the barren sheep ground beyond Bethlehem, but lay close to the town, on the road to Jerusalem. I rejoice anytime the name and Truth of Yeshua is lifted up and proclaimed, even if it is on December 25. They knew where they had to go, the place where the temple lambs were born, the place where Scripture said the Messiah would be born, The Scriptures tell us that the shepherds were outside. In the Bible we find several other names for Bethlehem, includingEphratah (Micah 5:2) andEphrath (Genesis 35:16, 19; 48:7). I am taking for granted that Edersheim, who was a rabbinic Jew and expert scholar turned Christian scholar, knew what he was talking about when I quoted him for my article. Actually, scientists now know that these ancient astronomers saw a series of conjunctions involving Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Regulus (the brightest star in the constellation of Leo), Mercury and Mars. The Hebrew Bible says that God commanded the Israelites to offer offerings and sacrifices on various altars. Tower of the Flock) in Bethlehem. Noah broke open the Ark on Nisan 1, and new life came upon the earth. The Magi, who were astronomers from the east saw a special star in the sky. They were not there when Yeshua was born but around two years later they found him and his parents living in a house. A passage in the Mishnah leads to the conclusion, that the flocks, which pastured there, were destined for Temple-sacrifices, and, accordingly, thatthe shepherds, who watched over them, were not ordinary shepherds. He resurrected on the Feast of First-fruits when Israel offered the first fruits of the land to the Eternal. And why are these items a sign, given to the shepherds by the angel as they tended their flocks in the field? All of this thanks to THE LAMB BORN IN BETHLEHEM! But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. Unlike humans, the lambs, in Israel, are born at the same time, each and every year, and always between the end of March, and the first of April. WebOfferings are mentioned in the Book of Genesis, but further outlined in the later four books of the Torah, including aspects of their origins and history.. A tekiah, teruah, and again a tekiah were then blown on the shofar. The historian Josephus records contemporary Passover celebrations in which he estimates that the participants who gathered in Jerusalem to perform the sacrifice in the year 65 CE were not less than three million (Josephus, Wars, 2:280). Location: Canada. I thought it was quite intriguing that all of the fixtures within the church served purposes, which are absolutely amazing tour guide Habib explained. We do it on December 25th merely because it is a centuries old, entrenched tradition and we use this time to bring the good news and of the Nativity story in Matthew and Luke. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Where did the shepherds get the Lambs for sacrifice? [5] Perhaps there was no room due to the impending holiday, which many traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate. Oh yeah, some circulate that the special shepherds were priests. Probably not. The need for a substitutionary sacrifice and shedding of innocent blood to atone for sin is well established in Scripture, beginning in Genesis 3:21, where God made use of animal skins to cover the nakedness and shame of Adam and Eve following their disobedience. A swaddle helps your baby feel safe and secure as she adjusts to life outside the womb. It was a place fit for the Lamb of the Eternal to be born. Kuehls Temple, Where Was Herods Temple? PROCLAIMING THE MESSAGE OF YESHUA THE MESSIAH. When a baby was born, the umbilical cord was cut and tied; then the baby was washed and rubbed with salt and oil, and wrapped with strips of cloth. For about three centuries after the death of Joshua, anarchical conditions loomed as a result of lack of leadership and constant harassment by hostile neighbors. Why is it that most of us have never heard of Migdal Edar, let alone in referenceto the birth of Jesus? Paganism spread throughout Israel and Judea and reduced the number of Jews who made the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem. King Solomons sacrifice was enormous 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. Unlike humans, sheep have a season for giving birth. Lets see where key statements in the Old and New Testaments lead us in our search to confirm the actual birthplace of Jesus. Once the lambs blood was completely spilled for all of the sins, the priest would turn to the people and proclaim, It is finished or it is accomplished. Here it is said that the Israelites, led by Joshua, successor to Moses, kept the feast at Gilgal. The lambing season in first-century Israel, due to the existing breed of sheep then, occurred from late March to mid-April. 960 BCE]. The church was designed to have only one high point in order to represent a tent that the shepherds would live in. Every important event in Yeshuas life corresponds to a Festival or day commanded by the Eternal. On Sabbath Jesus Christ was crucified and gave up his life. When Habib was explaining the many intricate steps of the sheeps life I was astounded by the parallelism to Jesus Christ. Yeshua, who was the fulfilment of the foreshadowing of the sacrificial lambs, was also sacrificed during the Passover so it follows that he would have been born around the same season in springtime. The first appearance of the Messiah was to be at the tower of the flock. The hill of the daughter of Zion, the daughter of Jerusalem was this a reference to Mary, that long awaited daughter of Eve, whose seed was promised in Genesis 3:15 after the fall of mankind? He was born in the small city of Bethlehem. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. That the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, was a settled conviction. Joseph belonged to the family of David, which is why they were in Bethlehem that night. Edersheim also referenced the Targum (The Targum is an Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible (Tanak), which was written during Israels seventy-year captivity in Babylon.