First Christmas
In this post:
Why was Jesus Born in Bethlehem?
Christmas Gift Away Winners
Writer’s Corner
I’m keeping it brief since it’s the Christmas season and everyone is probably beyond busy. I hope you enjoy learning about the significance of why Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It was
eye-opening for me!
I‘ve always loved the Christmas season. The briskness in the air, the smell of fresh pine, Christmas lights that glow brighter in the early twilight, presents wrapped and pristine under the tree, children’s faces bursting with anticipation, the tradition of a midnight Christmas Eve service.
Even more than Christmas, Christmas Eve is my favorite. There’s still mystery on Christmas Eve. For me that disappears in the bright light of Christmas.
WHY WAS JESUS BORN IN BETHLEHEM?
The mystery of Christmas Eve reminds me of the first one. It was probably a cold night outside Bethlehem and spring since sheep were giving birth. The shepherds in the fields Luke wrote about weren't just any shepherds though and the lambs being born weren't ordinary either.
Bethlehem’s shepherds were trained in the law of Moses. They knew how to select and preserve lambs that would be sacrificed at Passover in Jerusalem’s Temple. The lambs had to be male, a year old, so born in the spring since Passover is in the spring, and without blemish or the priests wouldn’t accept them.
In order to preserve lambs without a single spot as Moses commanded, Bethlehem’s shepherds wrapped them in strips of material called swaddling clothes. These cloths signified the lambs were perfect and would be sacrificed a year later for the sins committed by the people of Israel.
So when the angel announced that the Shepherd of Israel, Christ the Lord had been born these earthly shepherds understood the significance of his birth. They knew the scriptures and they knew the sacrifice God required for people’s sin: a perfect male lamb without spot or blemish.
What did the shepherds see when they arrived at the manger? They saw a baby wrapped in sacrificial garments who was to become the perfect, sinless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of everyone in the world.
But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah*, Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.” (Micah 5:2)
One more thing. Shepherds in Israel were considered “unclean.” That means they were not allowed to worship at the Temple. Yet the Lord in his love and mercy announced the birth of the Savior to these lowly men before anyone else.
For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite. (Isaiah 57:15)
How did the these men who were shunned by others react to the angel's news? They knew Who they had seen.
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. (Luke 2:20)
Want to read more?
*Bethlehem Ephrathah is in Judah, 6 miles from the Temple
Bethlehem Zebulun was far to the north in Israel
CHRISTMAS GIFT AWAY WINNERS
Grand prize winner is: Judith Martinez
The eBook winners are:
Robin W. = The King's Feather
Brenda = The 3AM Book
Mark L = Christmas at Sonshine Barn
Jan G = Sacred Fire
Rebecca F = The Light Shines Through
Julianne D = All Men are Liars
Crystal = There Will Your Heart Be
Kim = The Next Christmas
Christa = Dancing in the Silence
WRITER’S CORNER
The amazing Lady Lits writer’s group helped me develop an elevator pitch for the first book in my three-part science fiction series Gates of Telandra: A Choice of Sides.
What’s an elevator pitch? A quick synopsis of what the story is about if someone asks. It doesn’t have to be word for word, but it helps to have a quick sentence or two in mind to share.
Elevator pitch:
An emergency stop on an unexplored planet lands Lieutenant Keely Alliman and three crew members of a star cruiser in the middle of a war.
In order to save the life of the mysterious, insufferable Arik she has fallen in love with, Keely is offered a choice. Save the man she loves -- but only if she compromises her deepest values.
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