Best story of the day.....

I can't end today's posts without telling this story.  And we all know that I get worked up and passionate about what scripture says....even when the conversation is less than complementary to my closest friends and family.  I have to get some things off my chest but it just seems that Sabbath, beginning this evening, would be less than honoring and serving my Father if I end on such a sad note.

Today, we went to Jericho, Bethany, Bethlehem and all the sites.  I will post tomorrow but you will be less than inspired.  The Catholic church has managed to get their stained hands on everything here.  They built shrines (gaudy churches) on every single significant place.  It's another disgusting realization.

We did go antiquing and I'm not going to spoil who we met and what happened but it is amazing and I'll share it later.  No, that's not the story.  Here is the story.

We visited the shepherd's fields in Bethlehem today.  These are the fields where the lambs were kept for sacrificing at the temple.  These weren't the bad lambs, or the spotted lambs or the disfigured lambs.  These fields contained the best of the best lambs.  These shepherds were the best of the best shepherds for they had the most important shepherding job.  Their sole responsibility was to raise and take care of the lambs without spot or blemish to ensure their safety, their comfort, their very survival until the day when they would be taken to Jerusalem and sacrificed on the altar at the Temple.  

These lambs were special.  These lambs were as perfect as they could be.  They were only 1 year old, a baby really, nurtured and lovingly cared for.  Even when it was time for the trip to the Temple, they were prepared for the trip.  These lambs were wrapped carefully in cloth, strips of linen, swaddling clothes to protect them while they traveled.  Remember, no spot, no blemish, not a cut, not a wound, nothing that would make them unqualified could happen even on this trip.  They were prepared meticulously and these shepherds had a monumentous job.

So imagine the night the angels appeared to these shepherds.  Imagine the instructions given to them of how they would identify the Savior of the world.  Imagine hearing, "you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger".  These words would only mean something significant to a shepherd and only these shepherds could understand the meaning of those words.  This baby was destined to be sacrificed.