Why are swaddling clothes a sign to the shepherds? These shepherds raised sheep for the sole purpose of producing lambs without blemish for sacrificial offerings in nearby Jerusalem.
What were swaddling clothes? When a ewe was about to birth a lamb, it was taken inside. The lamb was examined to make sure it was perfect. To protect it from injury, they wrapped it in swaddling clothes and placed it in a manger.
When Jesus was born, He was the perfect lamb of God - the future sacrificial lamb. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a manger. This was a sign to the shepherds that He was the Messiah.
Many Christians look for signs of their own:
1. How smoothly things go.
2. The problems that pop up.
3. How dramatically something came to be.
These are usually signs we've created rather than ones God has pointed out to us.
Signs in the Bible -
1. Moses - the burning bush. He was not where God wanted him, and it took a burning bush to get his attention.
2. Pharaoh - the Red Sea. His soldiers died going after the Israelites.
3. Gideon - put out a fleece, wanting a sign from God that the instructions God gave were indeed true.
Signs of our own appointment -
When Moses goes up into Mt. Sinai and doesn't return for an extended period of time, the Israelites decided it was a sign that this was all a mistake. They urged Aaron to build a golden calf and worshiped it.
God wasn't happy with them and told Moses to get down there and deal with the situation.
Our sign -
1. What signs have spoken to you?
2. Prayers answered or unanswered?
3. Trouble and hardship?
4. Need and urgency?
5. Can you be moved off the course God put you on by signs around you?
6. Can you be kept from the course God wants you on by the same?
7. Matthew 12:39-41
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Zoe Christian Fellowship is located at 1111 Easton Rd. (Route 611), in Warrington, PA. If you're visiting in the area or looking for a church home, we invite you to our Sunday Morning Service at 10:00 AM. We look forward to meeting you!
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