Introduction to The Sheep's Gate

I have written a book. The following is the introduction to the book. The chapters to follow are written, but only this part has been cleaned up and edited. I hope you like it.

The Sheep’s Gate is my retelling of just a tiny portion of Our God’s magnificent story.  It is dedicated to the clues our wise and wondrous God left for us to discover as we set out to seek His face.  I believe it is important for us as Christians to consider what we know about The Lord then compare this to what we may not know.  When placing these things side by side, we  discover a huge disparity.  When we see this lop sided view, it is incumbent upon us to then stop and ask the obvious: ‘Why?’.  

What is it which causes our view of God to become skewed and narrowed down to something much less than what He most certainly intended for us?  Why, with all of the evidence to the contrary, do we actually seem to prefer understanding God in a more pared down version?  You may find it uncanny, I certainly do, to discover how some of the most poignant attributes of The Creator have been sidelined throughout history.  

When examining all we know and understand, you too may notice how a great deal of what we know about Him has been discarded and left by the wayside across many millennium.  Why?  What causes us to strip away the most eye opening and appealing characteristics of Our God?  Why have we completely missed these details?

The answer, I believe, is that it simply isn’t about us.  There are many themes to our Bible.  One of these themes shows us how God allows time to “delete” very important information from the minds and hearts of generations of believers.  Why would He do this?  What possible motive would He have to allow for the hiding away of that which is of the utmost importance?  I believe, and many others believe this as well, that He, The God Most High, has authorized certain pieces of His story to become lost, forgotten and even removed so we will do what He wishes and seek Him out.  There seems to be no other answer.

Only when we roll up our sleeves and search for His face will we find those marks of distinction which fit only Him and His divine plan.  If we already know these things, we may become complacent.  Based upon our nature, we will become complacent and begin to take His extreme Majesty for granted.  We serve a God who actually needs for us to seek Him out.  In doing so, we learn the nature of who He really is.  We learn about Him through the bits of truth He has placed in our path.  These bits of truth, these clues, are placed there so we might discover Him in new and exciting ways as we conduct our search.

I am about to bring up an ancient setting.  It is a special place of which many will have never before heard the name.  When you see the name, written out, it will sound foreign and other worldly, like something from a science fiction tale.  But I can assure you it is Biblical.  It is Biblical, but it has become lost, forgotten and even disregarded over time.  When you see it, you may feel as though I have taken a left turn here at the very beginning of my story and am now about to turn this all into some kind of side show.  I promise you that I am not.  One of the keys to understanding the way God has allowed much to become forgotten is our own question when we stumble upon the missing parts in His great story.  The question we ask is, “Why didn’t I know this?”

The name of the place we will be discussing here is Midgal Eder (pronounced MIG dahl Ader).  No science fiction here.  No space ships or creatures from some Tolkien literature are about to creep their way into the magnificent story of The Great I Am.  I wouldn’t do that to you.  Midgal Eder is a much easier pill to swallow when you understand what this place is (was) and the way God used it to show the world that His Son, Jesus, was none other than The Promised One, the Messiah.  Migdal Eder is just one more cog in the wheel which is The Father revealing Himself to all.

If you know nothing about Migdal Eder, there are a number of ways I could use to try and explain it.  Most of these methods would lead to sideline stories and rabbit trails taking us in many different directions.  I don’t want to do that.  I want the story of Migdal Eder to have real impact for you, the way it did for me when I first learned of it.  I have decided upon what I believe to be the very best method for unveiling the glory of this place for any who have missed it along the way.  I will do as God asks of us and bring in at least two witnesses to testify before you.  

My plan is to use make-believe in a way which will lead us to some extremely valuable truth.  I will do my best to insure the make-believe part doesn’t interfere with the actual story.  My objective is to get you, my reader, to the truth about Migdal Eder and the role it plays in understanding The Father in Heaven much better and much more completely.  I ask for your grace on this.  I ask that you see my method as nothing more than a conduit for getting us to the point.  That point is solely the Glory of God.

I’m not much of a Sci-Fi buff, but I do enjoy a good time travel story here and there.  I like to allow my imagination to run wild with all of the possibilities of going back, or forward, in time.  In most of the movies which include time travel, there is generally the big twist, the dilemma: “What if I get there and I come into contact with myself?”  I like that dilemma.  I like the way many storytellers have handled it as their time travel fantasy unwinds into utter chaos.  

I do like that, but I will not be using irony and twists in the time travel I have planned for you.  Our time travel is going to be the minor part of the story.  We don’t need fantastic and made-up stories when searching for truth.  Truth is truth.  It stands squarely on its own.  Tales of time travel require the imagination to become involved.  Truth need make no apology for things like seeing one’s younger self in back in 1969.  

Let’s do this in a Godly way.  A way which needs no directors, actors, sound effects or Hollywood glam.  Let’s just plow through all of that and assume, for whatever reason, we have been given the opportunity to travel back in time to any date.  How we got this opportunity and the back story of the time machine itself is inconsequential to our story.  It is all minor.  What is major is our quest.  That quest is for one thing and one thing only; the truth about God’s awe-inspiring plan, period.  We will only be using this time travel function as a means to an end.  We are here to learn about Migdal Eder.  Mel Gibson is not required as the leading man in getting us to this hidden gem from ancient times.

The stage we need to set up is simple.  There is a box, a big box, in the middle of the room.  We step into the box and close the lid.  As soon as we close it, we open it again.  When we lift the lid, we are in a large field.  We are in the time of the final decade B.C.; the year 4 B.C. to be precise.

We step out of the box and look around.  It is a beautiful day.  It is about 75 degrees and there isn’t a cloud in the sky.  The field we are in is actually a vast pasture.  The grass is lush and is extremely green.  There are sounds all around us.  Even if some of you are from the city and have never heard it live and in-person, the sounds are unmistakeable.  These are the bleats of sheep.  The bleating is coming from all directions.

As we look around, we see small bands of sheep, everywhere.  There are hillsides, meadows and rocky outcroppings, all with sheep and all with one or two presumed shepherds close by each small flock.  One such flock is very near our box, our time machine.  We move in that direction.  

In our story, communication will be key.  Again, we are in the time period of 4 B.C., but this is a distant land.  This is the land of Judea and the people we encounter do not speak English.  They most likely speak Hebrew, or Aramaic. Aramaic is the language of Jesus, or Yeshua, His name as it is spoken in that tongue.  For the purpose of our mission, we need to assume some things regarding the obvious communication barrier.  When we speak, the natives will hear their spoken tongue.  When the natives speak, we will hear English.  We are also dressed as ordinary citizens of Judea.  All modern-day conveniences were left by the big box before we climbed in.  Assume none of us wears glasses or hearing aids because they haven’t been invented yet.  We’ll fit in nicely.  

In our story we are on the road between Bethlehem and Jerusalem; just five short miles separate the two cities.  We approach the nearby herdsmen.  There are two of them.  Perfect.

“Hello!”

The shepherd closest to us, who appears to be the eldest, pipes up.  

“Hello to you.  How may I be of service to you on your journey?” 

We approach and meet our new friends.  The two shepherds introduce themselves, they are Amos and his cohort, Levi.  We explain to them that we are travelers from a distant land. We have come to this place to speak with someone local to the area about the customs and history regarding some stories we’d been told.  Amos appears to be very friendly and ready to accommodate.  He leads us to a shady spot under a group of trees and we sit on the many stones arranged there.

Amos speaks first.  “So what can we tell you?  What questions do you have for me and my friend of many years, Levi?”

“We are here to learn all we can about your customs and about this great land, but first, we’d like to know about you, and your jobs.  You are full time shepherds?”

“Yes,” Amos replies, “we watch over the herds in our care all day and all night.  We move them to the greenest pastures to graze and we protect them from harm and predators that may be looking for an easy meal.  Sheep have no means for defending themselves and they aren’t able to outrun a wolf or a mountain lion.  I am useful with my sling and Levi is very accurate with his bow.”

“Have you done this your whole life, both of you?”

Amos and Levi both nod in the affirmative.

“Please tell us about the sheep.  First, do you own them?”

“No, we do not.  The owners are very wealthy land and livestock owners.  They live on huge properties over there.”  Amos points.  “They hire us to watch after their herds.  All of the sheep you see are owned by them, the wealthy livestock operators.”

“For what purpose are these sheep being raised?  Meat?  Wool?” we ask.

“Oh yes, both of those reasons and more.  There are even more useful things we get from these animals.”  Amos pulls out a small leather pouch and opens it up.  He sticks a finger in the pouch and pulls out a gooey glob.  “Lanolin,”  Amos says and begins to rub the oily ointment on his elbows and knees.  “The owners harvest much from these sheep.  There is wool, lanolin and other emollients, juicy and tender mutton and more, such as hides and ram’s horn.  But the most important and most lucrative in the sheep business are the lambs.”

“Interesting, Amos.  Tell us more about the lambs.  There appear to be no lambs with your herd or with any of the herds around us.  Why is that?”

“Lambs are born in the late winter and early spring.  It is fall now and the lambs are much bigger than they were.  The smaller sheep that you see are the lambs born last spring.  They are called yearlings, but they are only about six months old right now.  Lambs grow very fast,” Amos explains.

“Those yearling lambs are one of the biggest reasons it takes two of us for a herd of this size,” says Levi.  “Until a lamb has made it past his first year, he will try to wander away from the herd and get off on his own.  He does not yet understand the danger this poses for him.  It takes many months of keeping them gathered and an occasional attack by a big cat that gets them used to remaining closely knit as a herd.  Eventually they become accustomed to the idea of keeping close, but during their yearling period, they will wander.  Right now they are all a little tired and are resting.  In the next hour or so, the yearlings will try and separate and our work will begin again.  It is the same each and every year with these yearlings.”

“Do the owners sell these lambs, the yearlings?  Or do they keep them to increase the herd size?”  I ask.

Levi continues, “A little bit of both.  Most all of the owners keep a few of the females back as replacements for those who have died or can no longer produce lambs.  The rest are sold to other owners looking to increase their own herds.  Others are taken to the Levites at Migdal Eder.”

“Migdal Eder?” I ask in a confused tone, “what or where is that?”

Amos and Levi both turn their attention to the south then raise their arms to point.  Amos begins speaking again.

“Of course, that is Bethlehem,”  he said, “and just on the north edge of town there is a stone tower, right there, do you see it?”  Amos is pointing to a very crudely built stone building of sorts.  It appears to be an ancient ruin.

“Yes, we see it.  What is it?”

“That is Migdal Eder, the Tower of the Flock.  There are towers just like that one all around the countryside, but only that one is Migdal Eder,” he explained.  “Since you aren’t from around here, I suppose we could tell you a little about this area.  You are standing in the best grazing and sheep ranching country Our God has created.  It is the best from here to Egypt or from here to Caesars grand palace all the way over in Rome.  Our people have grazed sheep here for centuries.  The lambs raised in this area are the most sought after by all who travel the great distances to come and buy them.  Many are sold to these traveling buyers from places like Jordan, Persia and Anatolia (Turkey).”

“Before any are sold off, they are gleaned through very carefully by the owners.  The choicest ewe lambs, those which have been bred, are taken over to Migdal Eder where the Levites gather.  They don’t buy the ewe lambs, but they take them in during a certain month each year.”

“I think we’re following you, Amos, but we have a few questions.  First, you mentioned that there were towers all around the area, but only that one is special.  Why?  We can see one in the distance over there and another over there.  What are all of these towers used for?  Also, you told us about ewe lambs and how the Levites take them in but don’t actually purchase them.  Tell us what you mean by “ewe lambs” and why it is that the Levites are only interested in them.”

“The towers are everywhere because the land has lots of hills and rocky areas.  We take shifts manning the towers at night.  There are many wild animals that prey on these helpless sheep.  We stay out here with them all night, every night, but the men in the towers are the ones who can warn of any danger headed toward us which we cannot see from our vantage point.  The towers are used during the daytime also, but most of the predators attack our herds at night.  From the towers, they can only see these predators by the light of the moon.  When they spot a wolf or a lion, they sound a loud blast, then a series of blasts telling all within earshot in what direction the animal has been spotted and what direction he is moving.  The towers are the only way we can keep our herds in this area without them being ripped to shreds and eaten by wild beasts.”

“Understood, Amos.  Please, continue.”

“You also asked about the ewe lambs.  A ewe is a female sheep.  A ewe lamb is a young female sheep which has never been bred or is carrying her first lamb.  These are the ones the Levites are most interested in.”

“Why ewe lambs, why not all ewes?”  I asked him.

“The ewe lambs which have been bred and are carrying babies are what fulfill the need at the Temple in Jerusalem.  They don’t require the baby lambs in order to eat them, they need them as gifts offered up to The God of Israel.  The priests and Levites do eat many of these lambs, but their main purpose is for the sacrifices themselves.  These sacrifices are carried out on the Temple Mount each day and many, many more are done throughout the year. Then, an even greater number of lambs are required for the special feast days.”  

“The lambs needed may be any male lamb, but the more special sacrifices require a very specific type of lamb.  This lamb must be male, he must be a yearling, but he must also be the firstborn of that ewe momma.  It is important to the Levites that they have access to all lambs being born to ewe lambs so they can take these under their care the very moment they are born.  Those lambs, the firstborn males, are the ones the Temple actually purchases.  They take in many of the better bred ewe lambs from the many owners and care for them while waiting for them to deliver.  Once these ewe lambs have given birth, the Levites keep them for a period, but they eventually hand them back over to their owners, along with any female lambs which have been born.”

“This is starting to make sense, Amos, the Levites actually have set up a special place to do this, and that special place is the watch tower you are referring to as Migdal Eder, correct?”

“Yes!”  Amos says with a smile, “you have it exactly right.”

“We have a question about the Levites.  In our understanding, Levites help perform all that is involved in Temple sacrifices and the necessary ancillary duties performed at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, but they aren’t sheep herders like the two of you, are they?  We were unaware that Levites were involved in raising the sheep as well.”

“You are correct in your thinking, Levites are not shepherds, but they are highly skilled in just one aspect concerning the raising of sheep.  They are masterful at the birthing process.  When the Levites take control of a pregnant ewe lamb, very few babies die and nearly all are raised with nary a blemish or mark.  Some are actually perfect which is the goal of the Levites; to raise these firstborn lambs without blemish.”  

“The care provided by the Levites is the best in all the known world.  Only a Levite can do this special work and only a Levite is authorized by God to do it.  Moses told us so.  God told him and he told all of us.  None of our people question the word of Moses.  If Moses says this is the way it is to be done, we do it that way, without argument.”

“We have heard how Moses was a great leader of your people.  The stories of  how he worked with God to free your people are known in every corner of the world.  You mentioned how the Levites were the only ones authorized by God to do it.  Do what exactly?  What can you tell us about whatever it is they do with the lambs?”

Amos appears eager to continue. “All lambs under the tender care of the Levites receive only the best.  The best care after birth, the best feed and the best grooming.  The moment male lambs are born, they are treated as though they are royalty at Migdal Eder.  They are attended to every moment of every day.  Out here in the fields, all of us who are shepherds help with the birthing process of the ewes.  Once a lamb is born out in the open, then stands and feeds on his own, he is free to roam just as the others in the herd.  That is not how things happen at Migdal Eder.”

“At the Tower of the Flock, a Levite takes the lambs directly into his arms after birth.  They do not touch the ground.  They are not even allowed to touch their mother.  At the moment they are born, the Levite takes the lamb and washes it, thoroughly, in a Godly and ritualistic way. They then pray over the lamb and wrap it, so he cannot thrash about and injure himself.  Once the lamb has been tightly wrapped in a swaddling cloth, he is taken to his mother where he is held under her while he takes suck of her precious milk.  Those babies in that tower,”  Amos points to Migdal Eder, “they are the most special lambs in all of Judea.  Those are destined for holy sacrifice and they are made ready, as free of defects as is utterly possible, for this purpose.”

“During our first Holy Feast Day in the spring, Passover, the most perfect of these lambs will be taken from Migdal Eder to The Temple Mount.  After they have been inspected throughly, one of them will be chosen as the Passover Lamb for all of Israel.  That lamb will be responsible for the forgiveness of the sins of our entire nation.  Our God desires only our very best.  When we offer this up to Him, He forgives us our trespasses for the previous year.  We are then able to shake off the sin which has weighed us down allowing us to be happy and to prosper as He intended for us.”

All of us are making connections in our minds about the things Amos has told us.  Though our mission back in time has rules, we conference together and decide to bend them a bit.  We don’t want to give away the fact that we are from the distant future, but we do want to learn all we can from these incredibly forthcoming shepherds.  Time to ask about the Name which is above all names.

“Amos, this is all so interesting.  We are sure you both can see how engrossed we are in your explanation, your story.  We know the two of you have work to do and we don’t want to keep you from it.  Before we move on, tell us, have you ever heard the name Yeshua of Nazareth?” 

Amos and Levi appear stunned.  There is a look on their faces is as if we had just shouted a name which was only allowed to be spoken in a soft whisper.  They look at one another.  They look back at us.  Then each other again, then us, back and forth many times.  Finally, Amos speaks to Levi.

“Shall we tell them?”

“It is up to you,” Levi replies, “I believe we are free to tell whomever we wish, but they are gentiles and probably will not understand...”

“Yes,” Amos interrupts, “but remember what Joseph told us.  We are encouraged to tell the world about what we witnessed.”

Levi nods.  He then nods toward us in a way to indicate to Amos that he should continue.

Amos focuses his attention on our group.  He takes a deep breath.  Then he asks us, “Before I say anything further, I must know, are you angels sent from God?”

That is quite a question.  We do not know where he is going with this, but our cover doesn’t appear to have been blown.   We answer, “No, we are not angels.”

“Are you from the spiritual world in some other, negative way perhaps?  Do you come to find this Yeshua of Nazareth in order to do him harm?”

“No, we do not.  We are not of the spirit world in any way.  We are friends, Amos, please tell us anything you know about Him.”

Amos relaxes.  “If the story I’m about to tell you had not happened, Levi and I would have nothing to say about the name Yeshua of Nazareth.  Neither of us would know anything about him.  But it did happen.  It is all so fresh in my mind.  It was only about ten days ago.”

Amos takes a deep breath.  He exhales and looks long, up to the sky, then to us.

“Levi and I had the evening watch.  We pushed the herd to a clearing and were settling them in for the night.  We take turns throughout the night staying awake and watching for killers.  We were discussing who would take the first watch when two shepherd friends of ours arrived with their herd.  We had just said hello to them when yet another herd came in.  We knew those two shepherds as well.  We laughed among ourselves about how odd it was that with the great expanse of grazing land, we all somehow decided to make camp in the same spot.  This never happens.  We are used to coming into contact with no one all day and all night as we travel with our sheep.  It never happens, yet, here we were.  It was now not just two shepherds at our camp, but six!”

“We knew the task ahead would be easy with this many to watch the herds through the night.  We all sat back for a moment and began to talk.  What happened next was something none of us could have seen coming.  I still cannot believe it to this day.  Levi?”

“It is something I know I will never experience again,” Levi said.  “Impossible.  What occurred that night happens only once, just one time in all of history.  It was so unexpected, I almost fainted when it began.  It took my breath away.”

Amos then said,  “We were talking, when, all at once, it was as if the sky opened up.  From our point of view it appeared that through this hole in the sky, a bright light, brighter than the sun, shown down upon us.  The circle of light was only around our small group.  Everywhere else was still very dark.  

Then we heard it from behind us.  A voice.  Someone began speaking and it was as if whomever it was actually knew us.  He said our names and asked us not to fear him.”

“He had our attention.  He moved into the light shining down from above.  He had a warm glow all around him.  We knew he was an angel from God.  The angel spoke to us again and said this, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.‘ “

“Our hearts were filled with joy the moment he said this!  Before we could take it all in, many more angels appeared and began singing songs of praise to God right there in front of us.  It was heavenly.  When we spoke later, we agreed this was the most beautiful thing any of us had ever witnessed.  As soon as the angels were finished singing, they disappeared just as suddenly as they had appeared before us.”

“The night was quiet again, and dark.  We had a fire and could see each other’s faces.  We all had    the looks of bewilderment.   Our mouths were open wide, our eyes were like large saucers.  We were stunned by the miracle which had just taken place.  Immediately we rose to our feet.  There was no doubt.  All knew we must go at once.  We decided to leave one at the camp to watch over the flocks.  We quickly drew straws to determine which of us would stay behind.  The rest then set our faces for Migdal Eder.”

“Why Migdal Eder, Amos?  The angel had said Bethlehem, the city of David.  What, in the words of the angel, prompted you to believe he was actually directing you to the tower?”

“There is but one place where swaddling cloths are used,” Amos answered, “and that place is Migdal Eder.”

“But the angel could have meant anything by that statement, correct?  Aren’t swaddling cloths used by mothers when wrapping newborn babies?  We are confused.”

Amos looked at us and smiled, “Maybe where you come from people use the holy garments of Temple priests for wrapping infants, but here, in Judea, these sacred garments are used for the precious lambs only.  The priests at the Temple Mount do not discard their worn priestly robes and garments, instead, they clean them thoroughly and give them to the Levites at Migdal Eder.  These holy cloths are then used for the lambs in their care.  Priestly garments, when used to wrap a new born lamb, are called swaddling cloths.  If a human mother wraps her child similarly, what she uses is referred to as a birthing cloth, not a swaddling cloth.  When the angel said we would find the Savior in a manger and wrapped in swaddling cloths, there was but one place he could have been directing us to go.  That place is Migdal Eder, located just on the outskirts of Bethlehem.”

“It seemed odd to us.  This time of year, all of the Holy Feast Days had been completed and there were no lambs needed in great number at the Temple.  During the fall and early winter months, no lambs were being born so none were in need of the special care of Levites.  It was the time of The Feast of Tabernacles.  We knew Migdal Eder would be closed up tight.  No Levites were even there this time of year.  We wondered about this as we made our way to the tower.  We knew all of this, but we held high hopes based on what was spoken by the prophet Micah.”

“What do you mean?  What did Micah say which gave you cause to assume anything?”

“The prophet Micah lived about 750 years before today,” said Amos.  “In his writings, he clearly indicated The Tower of the Flock, Migdal Eder.  Micah prophesied the coming Messiah.  All of us in the business of shepherding know the special part of Micah’s prophecy by heart.  Micah said, ‘And thou, Migdal-eder, the hill of the daughter of Zion, Unto thee shall it come; Yea, the former dominion shall come, The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.‘  Though many from the city know little about the prophecy or even about Migdal Eder; we knew.  We have always known the Messiah would somehow come from that place, but none of us could comprehend what lay ahead as we drew close to the tower.”  

“The Levites have never allowed anyone inside the tower.  Migdal Eder is consecrated ground; very holy.  Even the area surrounding the tower was not to be breached by anyone other than a Levite, and only a Levite who has been ritually cleaned.  The closest any of us had ever come to the entrance is a spot outside the fence they have around the tower.  Each of us has brought ewe lambs to the Levites many times.  We have always waited outside the fence until one of them eventually came out to meet with us.”

“As we arrived at the fence, we saw the gate was open.  This was highly unusual.  We peered through before stepping inside.  We knew about the laws of sanctification and that it was forbidden to desecrate holy ground.  We were not Levites.  We were not even ritually clean, but we stepped through the gate in spite of that.  The entry door to the lower level of the tower was open as well.  We slowly and cautiously moved forward.  We were fearful, yet consumed with great anticipation.  We didn’t want to desecrate the ground, but the angel had inspired us.  We decided we were going in no matter the penalty.”  

“Seven hundred and fifty years had passed since Micah prophesied about the coming Messiah.  His prophecy clearly tells us He would come from Migdal Eder.  Here we were.  Five of us.  God Himself had sent His angel to our camp, summoning us to be here. We knew The Lord wanted us to witness whatever wonderful thing we would find inside.”

“We made our way to the door.  Once inside we saw only two people, a man and a woman.  And there were also two others.  We recognized the familiar glow around these two; they were angels.  Then we saw another glow.  This glow coming from what appeared to be a manger. The man and woman were standing along each side of it.  As we stood at the entry area, the man noticed us, then looked to the angels.  The angels nodded as if to say we were welcome to be there and posed no threat.  The man then motioned us over.  With great anticipation, we moved to a spot in front of the manger.” 

“What we saw before us was no ordinary manger.  A manger is a feeding trough.  This was not that.  The Levites had brought in many individual slabs of limestone and carved them out smooth to fashion a type of crib.  There was one of these for each of the lambs they cared over.  We had never seen anything like it.  There were many of these newborn cribs in the huge room, each with its own hand-crafted table supporting it from underneath.”

“As we approached, the glow from this manger became brighter.  We were still fearful, but we looked inside.  There, lying on a bed of straw, was a child.  We instantly knew He was our long-awaited Messiah.  He was beautiful, perfect in every way.  His skin was smooth and was a vibrant color of light brown.  His hair was dark and His face was unlike any we had ever seen.  His beauty was radiant.  We immediately fell to our knees and bowed in reverence.  There was no doubt, we were in the presence of our forever King.  Glory be to God in the Highest!”

“The man stepped over beside the woman and tenderly placed his hand on her shoulder.  He then spoke to us.  ‘Thank you for being with us on this very special night,” he said,  “I am Joseph and this is my wife, Mary.  You are the first to meet the Savior of the World, our Emanuelle.‘ “ 

“He then told the story of how he and his wife had come to Bethlehem for the census ordered by Caesar.  Joseph was of the house of David which is in Bethlehem.  Because of that, the two of them had traveled from their home in Nazareth to be in Bethlehem for the count.  When they arrived, it was the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  Due to the Feast and the census occurring at the same time, the guest house on the family property was filled with other relatives who had also come to Bethlehem.  They knew they could not defile the fully occupied guest house with childbirth.  There are cleanliness laws which forbid such things.  They didn’t know what to do.  Mary was ready to deliver and there was no place for them to go.”

“Joseph went on to tell us that the two angels, now standing in this very room, appeared to them at the house of David.  The angels told them not to worry about where they were to go to deliver their child.  The angels explained that The Lord God had a place, prepared for them many hundreds of years in advance, just for this night.  Joseph said the angels then led them to Migdal Eder.” 

“All of us had been inside lambing sheds before.  As shepherds, we knew the horrific smell, the loud noise, the relentless swarms of insects and the intense heat of the fires being stoked to keep the newborn lambs warm.  Lambing sheds can be very awful places.  This place was different.  It was immaculately clean inside.  There was no foul odor.  No smell of any kind.  And the room was empty other than the baby and His parents so there was no noise; it was completely quiet.  There was a small fire in the furnace, and the vast room was very warm for such a chilly night.”

“Joseph told us the baby would be named Yeshua.  An angel of  The Lord had appeared to them very early on and told them this was to be His name.  We all knew that name and knew what it meant.  Yeshua means The Lord is our Salvation.  This little One, this tiny infant, would forever change all of mankind.  We knew this because we could feel His presence in the room.  We knew He would have a lasting effect on everyone, living or dead.  We did not know how He would accomplish this, but God does not send angels every day to announce the birth of a child.  The gates of Migdal Eder are not slung open, ever, allowing common shepherds like us to simply walk inside.  This child was special.  We knew we were standing in the presence of true heaven-sent Royalty, delivered by God Himself, to save us all from certain death.”

“We couldn’t take our eyes off of this precious babe.  His gaze was all knowing.  Babies do not look upon adults this way, never.  There was great wisdom behind those beautiful eyes.  His look was as if He already knew all that was to be known, yet, He had only been out of His mothers womb a very short while.”

“As we stood in silence, and gazed upon Him, the angels began to call out to God, praising Him and thanking Him for this moment.  Their praise then became songs. Their beautiful sound completely filled the room with a heavenly harmony.  Joy began to well up within all of us and we....we began to weep.  We all stood around that tiny child and wept for Him all the while smiling with complete gladness and joy in our hearts.  We are shepherds.  This is not how we normally behave around each other.  On that night, however, we were unashamed. The pure love that emanated from this small limestone crib was too much for us.  We did not know another way to respond.”

Amos stops talking.  There are tears forming in his eyes.  We look at Levi.  It is the same with him.

Amos then says, ”You asked if we had ever heard of One named Yeshua of Nazareth?  I tell you the truth.  I have looked into His eyes.  I have breathed in the air he exhaled from His tiny lungs.  Just that, just breathing in the air He had discarded was the most spiritually satisfying thing I have ever done or will ever do.  We were all so thankful to God for allowing us to be present for this altogether holy occasion.”

“We remained bowed before Our Messiah for many long moments.  Then Joseph again began to speak.  What he said will stay with me forever.  Joseph said, ‘Dear friends, I have been given the greatest task any man could ever hope to have placed upon his shoulders.  I confess to you that I am not this child’s natural father.  However, it will be my job to teach Him and love Him and care for Him until the day His true Father calls upon Him to begin the work He has been sent to accomplish.  Gentlemen, the One before you, this perfect baby boy we have named Yeshua, is The Son, the only Son, of the Almighty God.‘ “

“I am here to tell you that none of us was prepared for these words.” Amos said this with a crackle in his voice.  “The Son of God?  You are gentiles and you may not understand, but the God we serve, the God of Israel, has no children.  The God who led our people out of Egypt has no children and there is nowhere in the text, as interpreted by our spiritual leaders, that our God ever would have children.”

“All of us present heard Joseph say what he said.  On any other occasion, we would have cried ‘blasphemy‘, then turned and quickly exited the area.  On that night, we stood fast.  When we heard the words spoken by Joseph, we knew at once our promised Messiah was not just of the house of David as foretold.  He was not just a direct descendant of the great King as we knew He would be, but He was also the Son of God.  Not only did we believe it in our hearts, but the two angels standing in the background nodding in agreement with every word from Joseph’s lips confirmed this incredible truth.  With us in the room that night was a Perfect One.  He was our King.  There, in that carved out slab of limestone, lying silently in a warm, soft bed of straw, swaddled tightly in the holy garments of a Temple priest, was a firstborn, and He was The Son of the living God.”

Amos pauses for a long moment.  He then clasps his hands in front of him and bows his head.  “Dearest Father in Heaven,” he begins, “we do not know why you have chosen us to tell your story, a band of simple shepherds.  My prayer is for continued blessing in my life and to have the chance to share your story to all for the remainder of my days.  I may never know the reason I was selected by You, but I am thankful to have been one of the five to meet your beautiful Son on that glorious night.  Thank you for sending your angel to our camp.”

I hope everyone in our time travel adventure sees what has just occurred here.  We are finished.  It is time to return to our rightful place.  We thank Amos and Levi for their time and turn to leave.  Before we go, Amos has some parting words.  

“It was a night of perfection,”  he said, “there was only one thing which made the night difficult for any of us.”

“What was that, Amos?”

“We all knew as we headed back to camp that we would have to tell Jacob what he had missed.  Jacob was the man we left behind.  When we arrived, we found him speaking with the angel we had met at the beginning.  That angel returned and stayed with him, helped him watch the flocks and told him things about The Father none could know.  He was sorry he missed meeting the Son of God, but he had been enlightened and was content with all of what happened on that blessed and Godly night.”

“That is some story, Amos.  May the Lord be with you forever.”

We walk back to our box.  We step in, close the lid and open it back up again.  We are back in the modern age.  It was just as we left it.   I used make believe to tell God’s story regarding the birth of His only begotten Son.  

Somehow, I don’t think He minds.

In the story you are about to read, there will be discussion regarding yet another version of the special lambs of Bethlehem.  In the chapters to follow, no mention will be made of Midgal Eder.  The story which follows alludes to an altogether different account of how lambs were procured for sacrifice by the Temple leaders.  Too much has been lost to know which of these is the way things actually occurred.  Too much has been lost and too much has been forgotten to know for sure.  I am certain, however, that one day, ALL will know the truth.

The Sheep’s Gate is intended to offer an even wider view than the account you have just read.  We will visit this special time again, but will envision it from a completely different perspective.  Both of these stories have sturdy legs and stand up well on their own based upon what we read from our Bibles, what we gather from those who were there and what we know to be true about the Father in Heaven.  It is my hope that many of you will continue the search for accuracy.  It is also my hope you will write an account of your own one day confirming more clearly one telling of God’s story or the other.  I cannot wait for the day when I read all of what you have discovered.

Author's Note

I would really appreciate a review on this story. It is actually the intro to a book I am writing. I feel good about what is here, but could sure use your input. Thank you for taking the time.