Lambs have played a major role in the lives of God's people ever since the fall. When Adam and Eve sinned, their guilt and shame drove them to cover themselves with fig leaves. But fig leaves couldn't cover sin, so instead God clothes them with garments of skin. I'm sure you've all seen the pictures of Adam and Eve leaving the Garden clothed in their cute little matching outfits specially tailored by God. But more than likely, they were covered with lambskins still wet with blood from freshly slain lambs. God wasn't making a fashion statement here; he was making a promise -- to cover them in the blood of the true Lamb. This is why Abel became a shepherd -- so he could make the requisite sacrifices for sin.
Throughout the Old Testament we see allusions to the ultimate Lamb of God -- particularly in the Passover Feast. Many lambs were required for this feast and by the time of Jesus' ministry, it is estimated that 250,000 lambs would be needed for up to 5 million people. Isaiah also prophesied that one day a Savior would come who would be led like a lamb to the slaughter, and those who cherished the word of God were looking for this.
How does a lamb fit into the Christmas story? What was the first Christmas really like? Was the manger really a dirty, smelly place with livestock milling around? Were the shepherds a bunch of lowlifes throwing back a few beers around a campfire? Was there a grumpy old innkeeper? Luke's rendition of the first Christmas is really sketchy, giving few details and creating more questions than answers. But let's look at the first Christmas as it was recorded by the historians of that day, starting with the importance of Bethlehem.
Did you know that the lambs that were slaughtered at Passover were all born in Bethlehem? The fields outside of Bethlehem, particularly the area known as Bethlehem Ephrathah were used by the temple priests and Levitical shepherd for keeping the flocks to be used as Passover sacrifices. Levitical shepherds were highly educated men who were trained by the priests in the law of Moses and in the prophets so they would understand exactly what was required for the yearly sacrifices. It was their job to inspect the lambs when they were born and to protect those lambs until the time of slaughter. If a lamb was without defect, it was put in a special flock designated for slaughter after one year. David was one of these shepherd and it explains his level of education, the fact that he meditated on the law of God day and night, and the fact that he was willing to risk his own life to save the lives of these special sheep.
There was a tower in these fields called Migdal Eder which is Hebrew for "tower of the flock" where shepherds could go to get a bird's eye view over a large area to watch for predators. Beneath this tower was a cave which was kept very clean because it was used when a ewe was ready to give birth. Cleanliness was essential to keep these lambs from getting infected or injured. Inside the cave was a manger carved out of limestone, and around the manger were posts that held swaddling strips from the temple, so that when the lambs were born, they could be immediately swaddled and laid in the stone manger until they were calm enough to be thoroughly examined by these specialized shepherds.
Micah 4:8 mentions this tower: "And you, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to you it shall come, even the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem." Based on that prophecy, prominent Jewish writers and historians concluded in the Midrash (ancient Jewish commentaries) that from all the places in Israel, it would be Migdal Eder where the arrival of the Messiah would be declared first.
How does Micah's prophecy square with what we read in Luke 2?
Mary was probably near the end of her pregnancy when they arrived in Bethlehem. They more than likely stayed with relatives while they awaited the birth of the baby. They knew that when the time came to deliver, they would have to leave the comfort of the guest room because it would have been a disgrace to bring uncleanness into the home of a host. There are indications that Joseph knew in advance where he would take his bride to deliver the child. It was the cave under the tower of the flock. It was clean, it was protected, and they would have everything they needed for a safe delivery. When Jesus was born, he was swaddled in the temple cloths and laid in the very manger used for all the lambs that were designated for slaughter.
When the angels appeared to the shepherd in the field, they announced this holy birth saying, "Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." The shepherds were aware that this was the birth they had been waiting for. Then the angel said, "This shall be a sign: you will find the bay wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." The shepherds did not miss the significance of this. There was only one place this could have happened: in the tower of the flock -- Migdal Eder -- just like Micah had prophesied. This is why they ran with such haste: they knew exactly where they were going and who they would find. God chose to reveal his greatest treasure to those who had sacrificed so much. This select group of godly shepherds, because of their profession, would not have been allowed to participate in any ceremony or worship at the temple. Yet they were the first to behold and worship the Lamb of God.
These shepherds, whose testimony would never be accepted in a court of law were the first to proclaim the good news, according to Luke. Those who paid attention to the shepherds remembered their words and three decades lated John the Baptist announced, "Look! The Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world!"
So this Christmas, as you go through advent, as you ponder these things, as you explain to your children the meaning of the first Christmas, be sure to tell them that before Jesus ever took his first breath and made his first cry, he was already marked for slaughter. He was born in the place where all sacrificial lambs were born, and he died in the place where all sacrificial lambs were slaughtered. This Christmas, behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.
