The Church of the Nativity is the oldest major church in the Holy Land & is still used regularly as a place of worship. The church was originally commissioned by Constantine after his mother's visit to Bethlehem in 325-326 AD. The original basilica was build in the 330's, destroyed by the Samaritan revolts in the 6th century & rebuilt by Byzantine Emperor Justinian.
To enter the church, you have to pass through the "Door of Humility." The door there is so short, that all must bow to enter it.
The original Roman floor of the basilica has been covered with flagstones, but there is a trap door in the floor which opens up to reveal a portion of the original mosaic pavement from the Constantine basilica.
The grotto of the Nativity is a cave located directly below the alter of the basilica. This is the cave that Jesus was supposedly born in.
In this cave stands the Altar of the Nativity & underneath this alter is a 14 pointed silver star with the Latin inscription Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus Natus - "Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary." This star represents the exact place Mary gave birth to Jesus. The 14 points in the star represents the three sets of 14 generations in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. (14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 generations from David to the Babylonian captivity, & 14 generations from the captivity to Jesus Christ.)
Luke 2:6-7
"And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, & wrapped him in swaddling clothes, & laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn."
The Grotto of the Manger is just across from the Altar of the Nativity & is the supposed location of where the baby was laid in the manger. The marble stone there is not the original manger, but a marker of where the manger would have been. Something not many know is that a manger in biblical times would not have been made out of wood. Wood was scarce & there was no need for hay to feed animals with an abundance of wild grass year round in Israel. A manger was a limestone trough that would be filled with water for animals to drink. There is WAY more symbolism to this manger than people realize.
Migdal Eder (the tower of the flock) is mentioned in
Micah 4:8
"And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem."
Migdal Eder is part of Bethlehem & is where the lambs set aside for temple sacrifices were raised. Every firstborn lamb was considered holy & set aside for sacrifice in Jerusalem. Generations of shepherds were trained to care & protect these special lambs. The newborn lambs would be swaddled in specially designated temple cloths & they would be laid in a manger to keep them contained while they were inspected for blemishes & imperfections. These perfect firstborn lambs would then be sent to Jerusalem to be sacrificed to atone for the sins of those who purchased them for sacrifice. When Jesus was born, the shepherds were told they would find their newborn king "wrapped in swaddling clothes & lying in a manger." They knew exactly where he would be found because swaddling clothes would only be used in one location & for one particular purpose.
Our Savior, was our perfect firstborn lamb of God, wrapped in swaddling clothes & laid in a manger, come to this world to atone for our sins. I will never look at a manger the same way again.
The cave/stable Jesus was born into is a simple cave, but not a wood stable as many stories tell. In biblical times, homes usually consisted of a main level, then a lower level where the animals were kept. This is where Mary would have delivered her baby. Since the homes were made of stone during that time, the "stable" would have been one of these animal areas in the basement of a stone home making it more like a cave than a wooden stable we'd know today.
I love that we ended our Israel trip with Bethlehem & seeing where our Lord & Savior was born. It was the perfect ending to an amazing week. We will never forget our trip to Israel. It will stay in our hearts & memories forever.
We made our way back to our hotel for our final night in Israel. We had some shekels left so we we found a little vendor inside our hotel lobby & bought a bunch of fun little things to remind us of our trip. We bought some scarves for family members, a Jerusalem plate, 2 bedouin hats (for nativity plays), a bunch of bookmarks, & some magnets. We stayed up & played some board games & celebrated another night of Hanukkah with the other hotel guests, & then headed to bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment