Eder Migdol--The Tower Of The Flock: Christmas Series Part 3

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!””

How The Shepherds Knew Where Jesus Was.

Based upon the information the angel gave them in this passage, how in the world did the shepherds know exactly where to find Jesus?  I mean, Joseph and Mary weren't exactly from town.  Their home was in Nazareth, 70 miles to the North, so it's not like anybody in Bethlehem knew them. 

The city itself was not only crowded;  it was OVERcrowded for a couple of good reasons.  #1 was that Caesar Augustus had decided to decree that everyone in the Roman Empire should be registered based on their family and lineage so he could tax "the whole world."  He wanted to get more money for himself.  So everyone returned to their ancestral homes.   

#2 was the fact that it was the feast of Sukkot: Tabernacles.  Jesus was most likely born during this feast.  Remember in John chapter 1 where the Holy Spirit recorded that Jesus "Tabernacled" among us?  That's Him trying to give us a big clue as to the actual timing of Jesus' birth 'cause it sure wasn't in December. There naturally would have been a big influx of people celebrating the feast.

(For more on the topic of Jesus' actual birthday, please refer to this article on the Real Story in the Stars:  https://emmausroadministries.wordpress.com/2016/03/03/the-real-story-in-the-stars/

and follow this link to the article about "The Star Of Bethlehem."

https://emmausroadministries.wordpress.com/2016/03/03/the-star-of-bethlehem/

Two Signs.
There are two signs in the opening scripture which told the shepherds that the babe who was born in Bethlehem was their promised Messiah.  The first was the "wrapped in swaddling clothes" part.  That little piece of information, believe it or not, told the shepherds EXACTLY where in town to look, as you'll read in a moment.  

But the Angel also told them that a Savior would be born.  He said that the baby would be "lying in a manger."  That was the second sign that this was their Messiah.  

The stone manger was a portent of the garden tomb.  If you saw a picture of the mangers of Jesus' day and a Jewish tomb, it would be clear that they look almost identical.  We'll discuss this a bit later.

The City of David was Bethlehem Ephratha which, of course, the shepherds would have known.  But it was a big place.  Amidst all those out-of-towners, how could they possibly zero in on His location?  It was the "wrapped in swaddling clothes" part which gave it away. That phrase pointed the way like GPS:  God's Positioning System that is.  

For a look at some very interesting history about the Inn and why there was no room, please follow this link:   http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2015/12/chimham-inn.html)

Messianic Prophecies.

Let's take a little trip through Bible prophesies about our Messiah to help us understand so we, too, can know what the Shepherds knew.

In the Israel of Jesus' day, there were two Bethlehems: Bethlehem Ephratha and Bethlehem Zebulun.  Bethlehem Ephratha was David's city near Jerusalem.  The other was up north in the greater Galilee region.  

All Jewish children practically cut their teeth on the Torah.  They were taught the scriptures from a very young age, so the shepherds would have been quite familiar with this verse:

““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.”  Micah 5:2  

They knew which Bethlehem.

Stone Manger.

As for the garden tomb, mangers back in Jesus' day were carved of stone, kind of a scooped affair.  If you saw a picture of it next to the garden tomb the similarities would be immediately apparent. The baby was wrapped in "SWADDLING CLOTHES," just like someone being wrapped for burial.  It's a picture of a little baby Who was born to die; because He was.  

This was the sign of Jonah who, as you know, was in the belly of the great fish for three days as Jesus was in the "heart of the earth" for three days.  From the Virgin womb to the virgin tomb, this child was born to die for all of us.

(Stone Manger of Bible a Times.)

A manger is a feeding trough, of course.  The Holy Spirit is drawing pictures for us again!  He tells us Jesus is the Bread of Life.  And what is the purpose of bread?  To eat for nourishment!

Eder Migdol.

The Shepherds were watching over their flocks guarding them in case a predator might threaten them.  They would stay awake all night for their sakes.  This particular night was a very dark one until suddenly a bright light shone all around them!  Where God is, there can be NO darkness!...and the Glory of the LORD shone all around them.  The Angel of the LORD, probably Gabriel, appeared before them and spoke the words in the opening passage.

Let's look at these two passages from Genesis and Micah:
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, the Tower of  the Flock}
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} 

Did you notice the name change from "deceiver-JACOB," to ISRAEL-Prince of God?

Swaddling Clothes Was A BIG Clue.

Here is why the "WRAPPED IN SWADDLING CLOTHES" part was like G.P.S.

Under the Old Covenant, sacrifices offered at the temple had to be "without spot or blemish."
At this place, called "the tower of the flock, Eder Migdol in Hebrew, there was a watch tower where shepherds could "watch over their flocks by night" and have a good view of the surrounding landscape.  But it also was where certain ewes were brought 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 MANGER where the above, newly-born lambs were placed.  They were then securely "SWADDLED."  Why? Because when lambs are first born, they are quite playful, like all baby animals, and very rambunctious.  Since sacrificial lambs had to be perfect, they were swaddled and laid in the manger to prevent them from jumping around and injuring themselves, thus becoming unfit to be sacrificed.

This manger would have been well-known to every shepherd.  They were also well aware, no doubt, of the two references above about Rachael's burial and the passage in Micah.  God couldn't have made a neon sign that more clearly pointed to the place where Jesus was born!

So now you know how the shepherds knew to EXACTLY which manger the Angel was referring because long ago, in the scriptures, God had written clues for the Shepherds to follow.  He knew they'd be very familiar with Eder Migdol:  The Tower of the Flock.