Journey on the Ancient Path – The Way of the Shepherd

Chapter 1 – The Tower of the Flock

In the first chapter of this book, the reader is introduced to Samuel and Josiah; shepherds who lived in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago. Samuel is a Levitical shepherd and he is teaching his young son, Josiah, about the proper way to certify a Passover lamb. During the time of Jesus, only the Levitical shepherds in Bethlehem could certify that a lamb was worthy to be used for the Passover sacrifice. According to tradition, when a Passover lamb was selected, it was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a stone manger, to ‘certify’ that the lamb was spotless and perfect. The Levitical shepherds were the only ones who could perform this certification of the Passover lamb. The shepherds in Bethlehem had a watch tower called The Tower of the Flock which had been built on a hill near the road leading to Jerusalem. The shepherds could watch their sheep from this tower in the spring time. The prophet Micah prophesied that the birth of the Jewish Messiah would take place near this watch tower. (Micah 4:8)

After reading this chapter, your journey continues with the comments below.

Thought Provoking Journey:

• The Messiah had to be born in Bethlehem to fulfill a very specific prophecy, spoken centuries earlier. Would the Messiah be born in Bethlehem so he could also be certified (as the Lamb of God) by the Levitical shepherds?
• Was there a prophetic reason for a torch to be displayed at night, on the rooftop of the tower, when a Passover lamb was born? Did it foreshadow something that would happen when the Messiah would be born?
• There was a span of about 400 years between the last prophet Malachi, of the Tanakh (Old Testament), until Yeshua was born. These are sometimes called the ‘silent years’. But was God truly silent? Are there any ancient accounts, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, which might provide a historical record for those 400 years?
• The Hebrew word for water is ‘mayim’ and its form is plural. Why is this a plural word? Maybe it is because water has different forms? Also, when the flood occurred, the Scriptures mention the ‘waters above and the waters below’. www.ngcarraway.com