Anticipation-Day 7

However, back at the Tower, Yuval stayed awake all night musing and watching over the young couple. When the newborn stirred and made a little mewling sound that was hardly a real cry, he picked him up and cradled him in the crook of his arm like he had done with many a baby lamb. He whispered, “So, little prince, what do you think of this world?” He quieted the baby to allow his mother a little more rest before being called upon to nurse him, and in those moments he pondered all the shepherds had related to him.

As he held the babe, the words of the prophets began flooding his mind. They kept coming

and coming; one after the other.

Verses like Micah 5:2:

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth

is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who

is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel.

And he shall stand and shepherd his flock ^yin the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of

the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great

to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace.

He had always loved that passage and felt personally connected to it because he lived and

served in the area mentioned in the scripture. He had memorized it and had often

wondered about the mystery of it. Holding this baby seemed to bring tangible hope that

the Promised Land would receive a ruler who would make the impossible, possible. That

ruler would come from Bethlehem Ephrathah; this very place. What was it the shepherds

had told him? Something about a sign? A baby born in a manger? A Saviour? Could it be

that this tiny thing would grow up to be that ruler? He lifted the child and held him close

to his cheek. Yuval could hear the gentle breathing and smell the sweet fragrance of his

breath. He was lost in wonder, dreaming about the fulfillment of the promise: a day

when every Jew would be free of Roman oppression and every tyrant who had kept

them subservient. No longer would they have to look over their shoulders, being careful

of what they said and did. No longer would they have to pay taxes to a regime which lorded

it over them and harassed them and even persecuted them. What a day that would be when

they would dwell secure and in peace!

Yuval closed his eyes and absentmindedly kissed the baby on his little, soft cheek. He was content holding this little one who represented all that was new and fresh and possible, until he remembered another portion of scripture from Isaiah 53. This one was full of anguish and imagery he knew only too well, not only as a shepherd, but as one of the priestly line of shepherds who helped in the selection of the lambs suitable for sacrifice. He thought of the words:

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

yet he opened not his mouth; ^tlike a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that

before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief;

when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see⁹ and be satisfied; by his knowledge

shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

The phrases “laid on him the iniquity of us all… a lamb to the slaughter…when his soul makes an offering for guilt…poured out his soul to death…yet bore the sin of many”… seemed to pass before his eyes, one after another. They pierced his heart and he was stunned with the thought that the scriptures were talking about a person, one like him; a flesh and blood person! He had never thought it through concretely before. He knew the scriptires, but in many ways, they had just been words.

Yuval wanted to protect this tiny thing from suffering. He wished he could save him from pain, but he understood that from the time of the Patriarch Moses, there had been a lamb slain yearly to atone for the sin of the nation. It was required. And, remembering his earlier pronouncement that this child was perfect, made him shudder. He shifted the baby to his shoulder while tears formed in his eyes and he did what grandfathers have done to comfort babies for centuries. He patted the little back of this tiny one and paced the floor, only it was Yuval that needed comfort. His priestly role and his father heart were in conflict as he came face to face with the utter impossibility of his intervening. He could only trust that what the prophets foretold had to be. He knew many of the prophesies had already taken place just as predicted with a miraculous outcome, so understanding everything was not required of him. What he did understand was his job as priest and the part it played in the big picture for his nation and his people. And so he paced and meditated, while the baby slept on his shoulder.