Nathaniel gripped his staff, while he steadied his heavy shoulder bags with his free hand. His steep climb up the hillside ended at the edge of a field.
When he approached the sheep camp, he was greeted by a familiar shout.
“Ho, Nathaniel, what good things do you tempt us with this evening?”
Nathaniel spied Eliezer who overlooked the tending of the flocks. He sat beside the wizened shepherd. “Oh, nothing special, Uncle,” he grinned. He lowered the food bags to his lap and opened them.
The other shepherds gathered around the young man who visited often and brought baked goods from Eliezer’s sister.
“What news from the city?” asked Daniel, always eager to hear anything from the streets of Jerusalem.
“Much stirring over the taxation edict,” answered Nathaniel. “The city bulges with travelers, while the roads groan beneath them.” He leaned back and let the shepherds rummage for crumbs. His mother’s cakes never lasted long among these lowly men who encamped around the hills of Bethlehem.
Eliezer pointed to the indigo canopy overhead, sprinkled with starshine, “There is a stirring in the heavens as well.”
Nathaniel tilted his head and scanned the clear sky. “I see only stars.”
“The star of the Coming One has entered the sign of the Virgin.” Eliezer lifted his gnarled hand and pointed out the constellation, “For some time now, I have watched it approach The Maiden without hesitation. Look, see how brightly she cradles him within her womb.”
A shepherd named Yaakov wiped the remnants of one of the honey cakes from his mouth and spoke in a soft voice that seemed uncommon for the burly man, “My grandfather read in the holy prophets that a virgin would bring forth a son and call him Immanuel, and that he would come out of Bethlehem of Ephratah.” *
Nathaniel shook the empty bags. “I think your imaginations have played tricks on your minds,” he laughed. He stood to his feet and looked up. “It’s nothing more than a night sky...”
At that moment, the constellation overhead blazed with a blinding light.
Nathaniel fell to the ground and hid his face until a warm touch on his shoulder made him open his eyes. He looked up at an angelic being whose voice filled the night with a glorious sense of majesty.
The trembling men were told not to be afraid, that the long awaited Savior, Christ the Lord, had been born that day in the City of David. As he spoke, a light exploded around the shepherds when a host of angels joined the Messenger and gave praise to God in the highest. Just as suddenly, they were gone.
Eliezer grabbed Nathaniel’s arm and spoke to the other shepherds, “God has favored us with these tidings for a reason. Hurry, we must see this promise with our own eyes.”
Wonder followed the shepherds as they went in search of the manger, described to them by the angel of the Lord. They scanned the hillside when they approached the village of Bethlehem. The old shepherd pointed to a cave, where an unmistakable glow permeated the darkness. What they found inside the stable filled their hearts with amazement, and they fell to their knees as Eliezer explained to the surprised couple all that had happened in the field.
Nathaniel moved past his companions as one walking in a dream. He stood before the young mother. She lifted her swaddled baby from the manger and eyed him with gentle concern when he reached out a hesitant hand. Then, as if something spoke to her heart, she held up her son so that the back of the stranger’s fingers softly brushed against the babe’s face.
Understanding flashed in Nathaniel’s eyes. Without a word, he fled the cave.
Eliezer was right behind him. “Wait, my son. Why do you leave in such a hurry? This was written in the stars and proclaimed by angels; the prophecies have been fulfilled. We have been chosen for this moment, entrusted with an eyewitness account of the birth of the Messiah!”
Nathaniel whirled to face his uncle. “I know, and I know what we must do.”
He searched the faces of the shepherds who had followed, and he saw in their eyes the same burning desire.
~~~~~~~~~~
Based on Luke 2:8-22 “And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.”
*Isaiah 7:14 and Micah 5:2 KJV
Mid Stutsman
Goshen, IN
Mid Stutsman resides in Indiana with her husband, Fred, of 31 years. She is the mother of 12 living children and Nana to seven beautiful grandchildren. Blessed with artistic gifts, it is her desire to write to bring glory to the Lord.
Blog: http://theisraelconnection.blogspot.com
Personal: http://midspointofview.blogspot.com
Website: http://midspoint.com