EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/6/2026
8:07 PM
My
Worship Time Focus:
PT-1 “The
Picture of the Good News”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference:
Luke
2:15-21
Message of the verses: “15 When the angels
had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying
to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem, then, and see this thing that
has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And
they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He
lay in the [manger. 17 When they had
seen Him, they made known the statement which had been told them
about this Child. 18 And all who heard it were amazed
about the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But
Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And
the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had
heard and seen, just as had been told them.21 And
when eight days were completed [so that it was time for
His circumcision, He was also named Jesus, the name given
by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.” (NASB)
It looks like to me that the commentary
on these verses will take a more than one SD in order to get through it. These are wonderful verses to take a look at
as we continue looking at the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and how Luke
describes the things surrounding it. One
of the things that is not in the gospel of Luke is telling the story of how His
parents take Him to Egypt because Herod is trying to kill him.
MacArthur begins his commentary on
these verses by writing: “How long the
angels lingered is not known, but eventually they returned to heaven to resume
their praise and worship before the throne of God (cf. Rev. 5:11-14).”
(cf. Rev. 5:11-14)
“11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne
and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering
myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb
who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and
glory and blessing!” 13 And I heard
every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and
all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be
blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!”
and the elders fell down and worshiped.”
“After the
angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds immediately
started discussing the amazing event they had just witnessed, and what they
should do next. Although the angel had
not specifically commanded them to do so, they excitedly began saying to one
another, ‘Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has
happened which the Lord has made known to us.’ Understandably, they wanted
to get to Bethlehem as soon as possible.
But since they were responsible for the sheep under their care, they
could not just drop everything and leave.
Either some of them had to remain with the sheep, or they had to find
outer shepherds to watch over them. As
soon as those details were worked out, the shepherds went at once to Bethlehem.
“The shepherds’ response illustrates
the first two involved in a person’s coming to Christ: they heard the
revelation. In Romans 10:14 Paul
described those same two steps (in reverse order): “How then will they call on Him in whom
they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?’ As noted earlier, these shepherds were
most likely devout worshipers of the true God, who were looking for the
redemption of Israel. Their hearts were
prepared so that when they heard the revelation of the Savior’s birth they
believed it.
“After making provision for their
sheep to be cared for, the shepherds came in a hurry and found their way to
Mary and Joseph, and the baby. The
traditional site of the field were the shepherds watching their sheep is about
two miles from Bethlehem. Luke does not describe how the shepherds found Mary,
Joseph, and the baby Jesus. However,
there would not have many babies born in a small village like Bethlehem on any
given night. Certainly news of any birth
have spread rapidly by word of mouth, especially since Mary gave birth in a semipublic
place…When the shepherds saw the Child as He lay in the manger, the
angel’s prophecy was confirmed and their faith verified.”
I continue to talk about what I
posted on one of my Christmas Spiritual Diaries that perhaps I will use again
by putting it onto this Spiritual Diary.
To me this makes the most sense to do this again, and so I will use this
quote to end this SD. I hope you will
enjoy reading it!
Now as far as the place where Jesus was born and who
was there when He was born, it is not like the nativity scenes we see in
people’s yards or in their houses. I read a historic novel a few
years ago and the author incorporated into the birth of Jesus a place called
Midgal Eder and this place is mentioned in the book of Micah 4:8 where we read “8 "As for you, tower of the flock,
Hill of the daughter of Zion, To you it will come-Even the former dominion will
come, The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.” The words
“tower of the flock” in the Hebrew is Midgal Eder, and this place was near
Bethlehem on the way to Jerusalem and is where the lambs were born who would go
to the temple and used for sacrifices. There was a cave there and
many believe that Jesus was born in that cave where these sacrificial lambs
were born. When you think about this it all makes perfect
sense. Now as far as who was there we know that Joseph, Mary, Jesus
and later on the shepherds came, but as far as the wise men they did not come
and see Jesus until he was near two years old. They probably came
from what was once Babylon and they probably got their information from Daniel
who prophesied in his book of the time when the Messiah would die and so they
would know when it would be near time for Him to be born and looked for Him
following a star. They first came to see Herod and asked him where
the Messiah would be born and then went to find Him, giving gifts to Him and
were then told in a dream not to go back to tell Herod. Herod then
had all male boys from the age of two years old and younger killed as was
prophesied by Jeremiah.
As far as Midgal Eder is concerned, there is no
universal identification of the site. But I do believe it was a real site. The
best thing I’ve read on the subject is from Alfred Edersheim’s The Life and
Times of Jesus the Messiah. (You can find his complete work online at Google
Books.) I’ll include his quotation here, and then I’ll follow it with a few
observations. (I’ll also highlight the key point he makes in the quote.)
But as we pass from the sacred gloom of the cave [i.e., he
was just talking about the birth of Jesus in a cave] out into the night, its
sky all aglow with starry brightness, its loneliness is peopled, and its
silence made vocal from heaven. There is nothing now to conceal, but much to
reveal, though the manner of it would seem strangely incongruous to Jewish
thinking. And yet Jewish tradition may here prove both illustrative and
helpful. That the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, was a settled conviction.
Equally so was the belief, that He was to be revealed from Midgal Eder,
“the tower of the flock.” This Midgal Eder was not the watchtower for
the ordinary flocks which pastured on the barren sheep ground beyond
Bethlehem, but lay close to the town, on the road to Jerusalem. A passage in
the Mishnah leads to the conclusion, that the flocks, which pastured there,
were destined for Temple-sacrifices, and, accordingly, that the shepherds, who
watched over them, were not ordinary shepherds. The latter were under the ban
of Rabbinism, on account of their necessary isolation from religious
ordinances, and their manner of life, which rendered strict legal observance
unlikely, if not absolutely impossible. 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 the Passover—that is, in the month of
February, when in Palestine the average rainfall is nearly greatest. Thus,
Jewish tradition in some dim manner apprehended the first revelation of the
Messiah from that Migdal Eder, where shepherds watched the Temple-flocks
all the year round. Of the deep symbolic significance of such a coincidence, it
is needless to speak.
—Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the
Messiah, pp. 186-87
If Edersheim is correct (and I believe he is), the
location for Midgal Eder would be north of Bethlehem and near the old
road from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. (That road is the old “Hebron road” one
drives on between Jerusalem and Bethlehem today!) I believe this puts the
location somewhere between the Jewish kibbutz of Ramat Rachel and
Bethlehem, probably just to the west of Har Homa. There used to be an
actual sheepfold in this area where I would take our groups but, sadly, it has
been covered over by the modern road that now goes to Har Homa.
A key point here. Edersheim indicates that Migdal Eder
was an actual spot, but he is not saying it was a town or village. Rather, the
name means “watchtower of the flock” which seems to identify it as a specific
pasture area for sheep. And the sheep that grazed here were those specifically
destined for Temple sacrifice. In that sense the shepherds keeping watch over
the temple sacrifices were the ones to whom God announced the birth of the
ultimate “sacrificial lamb.”
I’m attaching a screen shot from Google Earth that might be
of help in identifying the location for Midgal Eder. Note that
Ramat Rachel is at the top of the picture and Bethlehem is at the bottom.
The road running along the left side of the picture is the old Hebron Road, and
Homat Shemu’el/Har Homa is just to the right of center in the
picture. Based on Edersheim’s description, I would place
Migdal Eder almost in the center of the picture…north of Bethlehem,
just to the west of Har Homa, and east of the road from Bethlehem to
Jerusalem. Since the word means “tower of the flock” it is likely a high spot
in this area where sheep would graze. The hills right around (or right at)
Har Homa are probably the best possible location.
I hope this is helpful!
4/6/2026 9:32 PM
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