An Often Overlooked Prophecy

As we move into the Christmas season, I am reminded of a question I’ve had about Jesus’s birth since I was a little girl.  It always bothered me that Jesus was born among a bunch of smelly animals and laid in a feed trough.  The standard answer I received when I asked why Jesus wasn’t better provided for was that  God chose a humble place to be born, showing he could empathize with the poor and downtrodden.  Maybe that made some sense, but it just wasn’t a very satisfying answer.  I had this nagging irritation that I kept shoved down, unwilling to openly criticize God’s plan. It just wasn’t nice.  If I were Mary, I might have a bone to pick with the travel planner.  Yes, Jesus needed to be born in Bethlehem to fulfill prophecy, but couldn’t the Creator of the Universe have provided His Son with nicer accommodations?  For poor Mary’s sake, if nothing else. The girl had gone along with His plans without hesitation, after all. Had he forgotten to make a reservation at the Holiday Inn?

So I stuffed those scandalous thoughts and never admitted them to anyone, especially myself, till a dear friend  shared the significance of an often overlooked prophecy.

We’re all familiar with the Bethlehem prophecy:

But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

Too little to be among the clans of Judah,

From you One will come forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.

His times of coming forth are from long ago,

From the days of eternity. – Micah 5:2

But take a look at Micah 4:8

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. – Micah 4:8

 

The Jews had been waiting for their Messiah a long time.  And they knew that He would be revealed at Migdal-Eder, the tower of the the flock, on the hill of the Daughter of Zion in Bethlehem.  But I don’t think anyone expected the Messiah to be revealed as a baby instead of a conquering king. You can’t blame them. Dominion? Kingdom?  I suspect they thought Messiah would use the tower as a fortified stronghold as He triumphed over His enemies, not as His nursery. Then again, considering the multitude of the heavenly army that attended His birth, I suppose it was a fortified stronghold,, after all.

Joseph, for one, didn’t see this twist coming. If he had understood how being born in this stable fulfilled Micah’s prophecy, I think he would have headed straight for the tower when it came time for Mary to deliver.  There was no room for Jesus anywhere else in town because He had to be born in Migdal-Eder. That was the Father’s plan all along.

This was such a sweet, unexpected answer to a question I wouldn’t even admit I had.  And it got me thinking about that night when the angels and shepherds attended Jesus’s birth in the stable. As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, I’m going to share a story about the Tower of the Flock.