She… wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger
Take a moment and pray that the Lord will speak to you in this time of study.
Read Luke 2: 1-7
In our reading today we see in , Luke 2:6-7 (KJV) these words: v.6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. v.7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
Now we have heard this Christmas story many times and we have seen the depictions of the Nativity scene. In all likelihood there weren’t any animals around the cradle of Jesus. They would have been out in the fields.
We are told however that He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. A manger was a feeding trough that was used to feed the cattle. Now, this doesn’t mean that Joseph, Mary and the baby stayed in the barn. In all probability, at least in terms of the earliest references we have today in church history to traditions of the birth narrative of Jesus, He was born in a cave, right outside the home or the inn It would have been a cave where sometimes animals were kept for shelter from the elements. So we can picture now Joseph and Mary seeking shelter in this small cave because they can’t get into the inn, there is no room available for them and the promised king of Israel is born not only in this small village of Bethlehem Ephrathah but in a cave and wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.
People sometimes ask, “What are swaddling clothes?” Swaddling is the practice of wrapping babies firmly in strips of cloth or blankets. Archeologist say that it may date back as early as 4000 BC. It was thought that by doing this a child would develop better posture and stronger limbs. Swaddling clothes described in the Bible consisted of a cloth tied together by bandage-like strips. After an infant was born, the umbilical cord was cut and tied, and then the baby was washed, rubbed with salt and oil, and wrapped with strips of cloth. These strips kept the newborn child warm and also ensured that the child’s limbs would grow straight. (Ezekiel 16:4 describes Israel as unswaddled, a metaphor for abandonment.) The practice fell out of favor in the seventeenth centenary when care givers would leave the children unattended for long periods of time. The practice has become popular again as modern medical studies indicate that swaddling assists babies to sleep, and to remain asleep; and that it lowers the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.
Even though Jesus’ birth is in very humble surroundings, there is one of those episodes where God’s glory breaks into time and space. It takes place, not in the cave, but out in the fields. We remember from our studies of the Good Shepherd that this one who is born is going to feed his flock like a shepherd. He is to be the Shepherd King. It is fitting that the divine announcement of the birth of the Messiah would come first to the lowliest people in the social order of Israel – the shepherds.
Tomorrow – “Good tidings of Great Joy”
As you pray consider the humble estate into which Christ was born. He who had every thing with the Father humbled himself and gave up everything so that we who have nothing might gain everything.
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