It is Christmas Eve and Christmas celebrations are muted again this year. Just as the tourists were beginning to come back to Israel, omicron arrived uninvited, and our borders were slammed shut yet again. Omicron is spreading fast and the government is tightening up restrictions once more. We are all tired of this seemingly never-ending pandemic, but we still have much to be thankful for. The reason for Christmas, the incarnation of God – Immanu-el (‘God with us’)- remains and is reason enough to greatly rejoice. He came to earth as a little baby, shared our humanity, died for our sins so that all who will can be saved and live for all eternity.
Of course we know that Jesus was not born in December since no shepherds in their right mind would be out with their flocks at night at this time of year, with night time temperatures close to zero. Nor was he born in the year 0AD. Jesus was born before Herod the Great died, and we know from many sources that Herod died in the year 4 BC. However we do know that Jesus was born in or near Bethlehem.
Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem? Of course it was because of the Caesar’s requirement that all would register in their home towns for the census. Imagine how Joseph and Mary must have felt having to make the 5-7 day trip on foot, or donkey, to Bethlehem when Mary was so very pregnant, and then to find no room in the inn. This was all, however, to fulfill the prophecies concerning the Messiah, and to confirm his legal right as King of Israel. For example in Micah 5:1 it says,
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting.”
This passage well known to most believers, but there is something I have recently discovered that goes even deeper. We first read of Bethlehem (also known as Ephrath or Ephrata – which means ‘fruitful) in Genesis 35.
After Jacob returned to the land of Canaan with Rachel and Leah, and was reconciled with Esau, he first settled in Shechem, but the son of the King of Shechem raped his daughter Dinah, and the LORD told Jacob to move his family to Bethel. God appeared again to him there, changed Jacob’s name to Israel, and said “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body…” – another Messianic prophecy. Later, Jacob and his family travelled on from Bethel towards Bethlehem, but just outside of the town, Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin.
Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor. Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, “Do not fear; you will have this son also.” And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin. So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.
Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the Tower of Eder.
Genesis 35: 16-20
And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.
Genesis 48:7
Names in the Bible are often significant. Rachel – means ‘ewe’ (mother sheep), Ben-Oni means ‘son of my sorrow’ – the name given by his mother, but his father changed his name to Benjamin, which means ‘son of the right hand’. In these names we can see a prophetic foreshadowing of Jesus, who was born of a woman, a son that would bring deep sorrow to his mother when he was crucified, and who is now risen and sitting at the right hand of God in Heaven.
Rachel died on the outskirts of Bethlehem at a place called Migdal Eder – traditionally about a Roman mile (1.6km) east of Bethlehem, at or near the Shepherd’s Field. ‘Migdal’ means tower or watchtower. ‘Eder’ means flock or herd. Thus ‘migdal eder’ could be any watchtower built to protect a flock or herd, but apparently in this case it is a proper noun, the name of a specific place. We see another reference to it in Micah 4:8
And you, O tower of the flock,
The stronghold of the daughter of Zion,
To you shall it come,
Even the former dominion shall come,
The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”
This passage indicates that the Messiah will come to the Tower of the Flock, Migdal Eder, the very place where Rachel died and gave birth to Benjamin.
Thus it seems very likely that Jesus was born at Migdal Eder, perhaps even in it, on the outskirts of Bethlehem, somewhere near the Shepherd’s Field. According to the Mishna, the area around Bethlehem was set aside, from the time of David until the destruction of the Second Temple, for the raising of sacrificial lambs which had to be without blemish. These special lambs were born inside the towers and before being taken up to the Temple were laid in a manger for inspection. If they were found to be without blemish, they would be wrapped in special swaddling cloths to keep them warm, clean and uninjured as they were carried up to Jerusalem for sacrifice. The shepherds who cared for these lambs were specially trained Levitical priests.
Perhaps we can see now why the angels came to the shepherds to announce the Messiah. These were not ordinary shepherds – they were the Levitical priests charged with the raising and care of the sacrificial lambs. Yeshua was likely born in a watch tower, or even in Migdal Eder itself, where Rachel had died giving birth to Benjamin, and where the Levitical shepherds tended the lambs intended for sacrifice.
For more on this I recommend the following:
The Tower of the Flock revealed! The Trial of Messiah’s birth and the Glory
https://www.facebook.com/oneforIsrael/videos/416127696431811/ 7:37 mins
Away in a Manger at Migdal Ederhttps://donnagawell.com/2020/12/17/away-in-a-manger-at-migdal-eder/
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Luke 2: 13-14
OMICRON IN ISRAEL
About two weeks ago Israel slammed its borders shut in an effort to keep the Omicron variant of the corona virus out. Too late. It got in and now we are experiencing a fifth wave of the virus, and at present around 50% of cases tested are the omicron variant. According to the Jerusalem Post today (27/12) about 90,500 people, 1% of the population, are already in quarantine and this is likely to rise dramatically over the next two weeks, causing considerable disruption to schools and the economy.
I just got notification from the pastor of my congregation that one of the women at the meeting on Saturday has tested positive and therefore we all need to get tested. I think that also means that we all need to go into quarantine too, at least until we get a negative test. I have already self-quarantined because I have been having mild cold/flu-like symptoms since yesterday morning. I am praying that it is not Covid. ( Update: I tested negative)
BIRD FLU
As if it is not enough to have the corona pandemic progressing into its 5th wave here in Israel, we have another flu epidemic breaking out, the H5N1 bird flu virus. This virus, which is fatal to birds, first broke out in a moshav near the Lebanese border in a battery chicken farm and was not reported to the authorities until it had already spread from there to a turkey farm in the Golan Heights, and into the wild bird population. Over 70 farms have already been infected and many thousands of chickens and turkeys have either died or been culled (1). This will result in a scarcity of chicken and eggs – both staples in the Israeli diet. Eggs are now being imported to keep us supplied. Humans can catch this bird flu virus by close contact with infected birds, and it can be deadly, but it is not easily transmissible from human to human.
To my great sorrow this flu is also decimating the wild Eurasian cranes in the Hula Valley. It is estimated that one in five birds there are already infected and many have died. A video clip on the news last night (24th Dec) showed the ground and the shallow waters of Lake Hula littered with dead and dying cranes. This is terrible since around 100,000 cranes representing about 1/7th of the world’s Eurasian crane population, pass through the Hula Valley on their spring and autumn migrations, and this species is already declining. Some 40,000 of these cranes usually overwinter in the Hula Valley where they are given supplemental food. This may prove to be their undoing, sadly. Many years I have made the pilgrimage to see the thousands of cranes gathering in the winter. It is a spectacular and wonderous sight.
IRAN
The talks in Vienna are stumbling on. Israel would like to see an agreement that stops the development both of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles in Iran. This seems unlikely to happen. Iran is continuing ‘business as usual’ and using the talks merely to stall for time so that their nuclear program can continue unabated. Their propaganda war and threats against Israel continue. On the 15th of December the English language version of Teheran Times published a map of targets in Israel (the red tags), including nearly all Israeli towns and cities, and even a number of Arab towns in the Palestinian Territories and in Lebanon. The article was titled “Just One Wrong Move,” and it said “the Zionist regime has forgotten that Iran is more than capable of hitting them from anywhere”.
This kind of rhetoric is almost a daily occurrence and intended to warn the authorities and frighten the people. We all know they are capable of doing us a great deal of harm, and vice versa, should a full scale war break out between us.
Meanwhile a proxy war is being fought on the ground, with Israel attacking weapons caches and shipments from Iran intended for Hezbollah, and Iran targeting Israeli interests in the region. A cyber war is also being waged.
Just a few days ago there was an alleged Israeli attack, the second this month, on a container storage facility at the port of Latakia in Syria. The containers are thought to have contained weapons shipments intended for Hezbollah. The attack caused massive fires and much damage but there were no reports of casualties.
The Latakia area is a stronghold for Russian forces in Syria but when asked why they did not activate the air defense systems, they replied that they did not do so because, at the time, a Russian military transport aircraft was landing at the nearby Nhmeimim Air Base (2).
ISRAEL’S ECONOMY
Israel’s economy grew by seven percent in 2021, beating out a global average of 5.9%, according to a report released by the Multinational business information company Dun & Bradstreet. The report claimed that Israel’s economic improvement was being driven by a strong high-tech sector and booming construction activity, but a number of industries such as tourism, restaurants and entertainment continue to suffer the effects of the pandemic.
The Dun & Bradstreet report noted that although Israel’s economy was showing significant improvement, driven by a strong tech sector and booming real estate activity, a number of industries such as tourism, restaurants, and entertainment continued to suffer in 2021(3).
Although the Israeli economy as a whole is healthy and strong, the pandemic has had a serious impact on the ability of many Israelis to earn a living, particularly those in the tourism and entertainment sector. Many small businesses have been forced to close.
That said, the unemployment rate now stands at 4.5% and is showing a downward trend towards pre-pandemic levels, and the labor force participation rate is 63% and climbing towards pre-pandemic levels (4).
Although the overall economy is recovering a report released this week by Latet, the largest food rescue organization in Israel, shows that nearly a quarter of Israeli households are on the verge of poverty, up 14% from before the coronavirus pandemic. Ynet news goes on to say,
“Currently 27.6% of the population is described as poor including over one million children. Latet describes a new status of “middle class poor”, which has emerged as the result of the pandemic, experiencing difficulties in recovering economically and posing a real danger to the stability of the economy. The non-profit said some 633,000 families (21.8%) suffer food insecurity compared to 513,000 two years ago” (5).
WINTER RAINS
I am very pleased to say that the rainy season has arrived in Israel. Our first real winter storm system arrived last week, and though thankfully it wasn’t as violent as predicted, it lingered for several days bringing rain mainly in the north, the coastal plain and the south, and even snow on Mt Hermon. Here in the Jerusalem area we had a few nice showers but not a lot yet in quantity. This week we have had some light rain and next week more rain is expected. It is lovely to see all the trees washed clean (not to mention my car!) and the bare ground starting to turn green. In the forest wild narcissus and cyclamen are already blooming, as are a few early almond trees. I had hoped this week to visit the burnt areas to photograph what is happening there, but I have been grounded with a winter bug – a cold/flu type virus. I tested negative for Covid but have stayed home just in case, especially as one woman in our congregation tested positive. Our hospitals are full to capacity with people suffering from the ‘regular’ flu, many more than usual, perhaps because last year no one caught the flu due to the lockdowns and we have all lost our immunity.
CONGREGATION MEVASERET
Our congregation continues to go strong and we are meeting now indoors in a room rented from Kibbutz Tzuba, about 5km from Mevaseret. We did however have to cancel the housegroups this week because so many of us were in isolation, and we did not want anyone to get infected. We will also be broadcasting our Saturday service on Zoom this week for those who do not want to risk gathering or who are still in isolation. Our pastor is currently doing his month-long reserve army service in a risky area near Hebron. Please remember him, and his family (wife and 4 kids), and all of us waiting for his safe return.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
It is hard to believe that tomorrow our old year, 2021, will be ended. Most people here do not celebrate the New Year publicly, though for the Russians it is a major festival, celebrated with much food and wine. I wish you all a very happy New Year and I pray that 2022 will see the end of the pandemic. Whatever the new year brings however, we know that God is still in control and Yeshua (Jesus) will return soon. He said,
A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you…. These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
John 16: 21-22, 33
REFERENCES
- https://www.timesofisrael.com/a-fifth-of-wild-cranes-in-israel-thought-to-be-infected-with-fatal-bird-flu/
- https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hky11xgwqk
- https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-economy-grew-by-7-in-2021-beating-global-average-study-finds/
- https://tradingeconomics.com/israel/unemployment-rate
- https://www.gov.il/en/departments/news/leket-israel_2020https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rycm1zksf
