The Messiah Has Come

Eli stared up at the heavens, imagining Yahweh somewhere up there. He thought back to the Torah lessons he had when he was younger, thought back to the amazing things he had learned about this God who had made his ancestors into a nation. He often pondered these things late at night while he was out in the wilderness, where it was so easy to look up and see the countless stars Yahweh had hung in the sky. Bending down, he stroked the heads of the sheep that were bumping into his legs. Sheep were such innocent, foolish creatures and needed the guidance of shepherds to watch over them, even while they slept at night. Which was what Eli and his brothers, Oren and Caleb, were doing. The three brothers loved their jobs and treasured each of their lambs; they took pride in the fact that they had never lost a sheep. Oh yes, there had been times when lambs had wandered astray, but the brothers always made sure that they returned to the flocks. He wouldn’t trade his job for anything, even if it meant that he and his brothers were often deemed unclean by Jewish standards due to their line of work. 

“Eli! Stop dreaming and come aid us in the counting!” called Oren, his eldest brother. Breaking into a slight jog, Eli went over to join his brothers. Although, collectively, Eli, Oren, and Caleb watched over three hundred sheep, the three brothers were really in charge of their own individual herds. Each brother had one hundred sheep under his care. 

Once Eli and his sheep rejoined the other flocks, he and his two brothers began the painstaking task of counting each and every sheep. The three brothers, while always remaining close, disagreed on the best way to count their sheep. Oren thought it best to stand on a high rock that would allow him to see all his sheep at once and count them from there. Caleb thought the best way to do it was to call the sheep to him one by one, calling them by name, and keep track of them that way. Eli’s method was a bit different from them both. He would count the sheep in groups of ten; after he reached ten, he would drop a pebble in his pocket. If by the end of it, he had ten pebbles in his pocket, he knew that he had all one hundred of his sheep. After he finished counting his sheep, Eli signaled to Oren and asked him to keep an eye on his sheep while he went and made a camp for the night. 

Soon the camp was set up and his brothers came over to join him. Sitting down on a rock, Oren opened his bag and began to rummage about for food. Retrieving a bit of dried, salted meat, he broke off a piece and began to eat. Sitting down, Oren positioned himself where he could enjoy his meal while still keeping an eye on the sheep as they settled down for the night. Craning his neck, Eli stared up at the sky, once again imagining what it must be like up there, up where Yahweh was. 

For nearly four hundred years, Yahweh had not spoken to the Israelites, yet Eli remembered many stories of the powerful and kind God from ages past. Staring up at the sky, Eli couldn’t help but wonder if that was all they were, simply stories. He wanted to believe in Yahweh, just like his brothers did, just like his father did, just like everyone in his family had for generations, but it was hard to believe when no one had heard from Him in centuries.  Closing his eyes, and bowing his head, Eli did something that he hadn’t done in a long time: he prayed. Not some practiced prayer he recited every night but a prayer that was simply from his heart.

“Adonai, my God, I wish to believe in you, to have the strong faith I have seen in my  brothers and father. The faith I have seen in my family, in my people for generations. I am no  prophet, I am no rabbi, but Adonai, I wish to see you, to hear you, like they did in the old days.  Let these silent years be over, Adonai. Amen.”  

*** 

A few hours passed with Eli alternating between praying, gazing at the stars, and counting his flock. He could see his brothers in the distance. Oren was lying on his mat, sleeping, while Caleb was watching over both of their flocks. Yawning, Eli stood up from where he was sitting near the dying coals of the fire, and dusted off his tunic and worn, brown trousers. Walking several yards, Eli returned to his fold and began to wander idly amongst his sleeping sheep, stopping every now and then to make sure that the sheep didn’t wake up. Reaching down by his waist, Eli fumbled with the knot that held his water skin in place. Finally he untied it and was about to open the lid when a sleepy bleat from a nearby sheep surprised him. Eli started in surprise and dropped his water skin. Grumbling, he bent down and began to search the dusty ground for the fallen flask. 

Squinting his eyes in the sudden light, Eli waited for his eyes to adjust, when all of a sudden his thoughts came to a screeching halt. 

Light?! Why is there light? It is the middle of the night!  

Eli looked at the sky, and then stumbled back in fear, scrambling to get away from the strange sight he was seeing. The sky, which moments ago was dark as midnight, was lit with a brilliant kaleidoscope of colors. But it wasn’t the light that frightened him. What  frightened Eli was the being who stood, seemingly suspended in the air. But looking closer, Eli  saw that no, the angelic being was not standing, he was flying, with two majestic wings that  were illuminated by the heavenly light. 

Eli could hear his brothers calling to him, and he knew he should answer, but fear stole  his voice. He stared at the angel, mouth hanging open. Seconds later, Oren and Caleb stood beside him, both clearly scared out of their minds and just as overcome by the appearance of the angel as he.  

The angel spoke in a booming voice, declaring, 

  “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you shall find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and living in a manger.”  

As the three brothers stared at the sky in wonder, a multitude of angels joined the first  messenger from God and began to sing and glorify Yahweh.  

“Glory to God in the highest, and earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!”  

The angels’ song was a simple, praise filled refrain, but despite its simplicity it was so very beautiful. A cool breeze blew through the pasture, and Eli was surprised to feel tears drying on his cheeks. He hadn’t even noticed that he was crying, he was so enraptured by the angels’ praise.  

Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the angels’ praise stopped. The three shepherds  looked up at the sky through their blurred vision from where they were kneeling in the damp grass, awestruck by the angels’ song. But what they saw surprised them: the angels were gone. They hadn’t gradually disappeared from view, and the brothers couldn’t see them flying away either. They were, to put it simply, gone. 

Looking back, Eli didn’t know who first proposed the plan; maybe the idea was put into their heads by the angel’s message, or maybe it was because each of the brothers had been so deeply affected by the events of the night that they knew in the deepest essence of themselves that they had to act.  

Within seconds after the angels’ departure the three brothers were off like a shot, running towards the town in the distance, running towards their Messiah. Eli and his brothers didn’t spare a second glance for their flocks or their campsite.  

It didn’t matter that abandoning everything in search of the little baby meant abandoning their livelihoods, their very means to go on. It didn’t matter that they were sacrificing their jobs and their reputations as shepherds. All that mattered was finding this tiny baby, the Messiah.  

On the journey towards the little town of Bethlehem, none of the brothers spoke, each overcome with the magnitude of the nights’ events. They were awestruck by the arrival of the angels, overcome by the thought of the foretold Messiah being here at last. To think that after centuries of waiting, centuries of being oppressed by one government after another, centuries of begging Yahweh to deliver them, He finally fulfilled His promise that He gave to Adam at the Garden. It was… it was amazing, wonderful, and completely indescribable. 

Eli couldn’t begin to explain what he was feeling  or thinking. He was so filled with an incredible joy, and an overwhelming reverence. For years he had heard stories of the patriarchs of his faith, stories of these amazing men, men like  Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and so many others. Several of these men had direct encounters with angels, had God speak to them. To think that he, Eli, this little shepherd boy from the tiny town of Bethlehem, had seen and heard the voices of angels? What an amazing  thought. He knew deep down in the bottom of his heart that he was not worthy to behold such a thing, to experience such a wonder. He was a shepherd. Didn’t Yahweh know what that meant? That they were looked down upon because of their work? That most of the time, they weren’t even clean?  

But as soon as the thoughts entered his head, Eli dismissed them. Of course Yahweh knew. He knew everything.  

What seemed like hours later, Eli, Caleb, and Oren arrived in Bethlehem. They went from inn to inn, not asking for a place to stay, but asking if there was anyone staying in the stables. Finally, they came to an inn where the innkeeper did not give them an odd look and turn them away. Instead, the innkeeper replied that there was a family staying in the stables and that from the sounds of it, the mother had just given birth. 

Not caring that they were tired from the long journey to Bethlehem, not caring that their muscles burned from running, the three shepherds hurried to the stables and there, just as the angel foretold, they found a baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. 

Eli approached the manger reverently. When he reached it, he fell down to his knees,  overcome by the sight of the babe.  

“Messiah, You have come!” He whispered, bowing his head in submission. 

*** 

The three brothers spent the rest of the night in the stable, praying and praising Yahweh, paying homage to this little babe, whom they knew in their hearts as being the foretold Savior. 

In the morning, the three brothers went all throughout the town of Bethlehem, glorifying Yahweh and declaring the Messiah, the Son of God, had finally come.

Sources:  

Vamosh, Miriam Feinberg. Haaretz, https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-what-people-in-ancient-israel-really wore-1.5304235, Dec 26, 2013, Accessed Nov 1, 2021 

Adebowale, Temitope. Kidadl,  https://kidadl.com/articles/top-hebrew-names-for-boys-that-youll-love#traditional-hebrew boy-names, 14, Sep, 2021, Accessed Nov, 1, 2021. 

Köstenberger and Stewart, “The First Days of Jesus: The Story of Incarnation.”, pages 145-155,  2015, Penguin 

Keller, Timothy. “Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ.”, pages  100-116, 2016, Penguin. 

English Standard Version, Bible: Luke 2: 8-20, Rev. 21: 23, Ezek. 1:28, Psalms 139:2