I bet you didn’t know the following about the manger that Yeshua was laid in. Mangers are animal feeding troughs but in ancient Israel they were made of stone - not what you would see in a modern day nativity scene. Not comfortable, but great for protection. That’s why those who were experts in this matter, the priests, would put their newborn lambs in them for protection. But not just any lamb, the unblemished perfect lambs that were used in the sacrifice for sins. Bethlehem, the area where the sacrificial lambs were raised by priests from the temple, where Yeshua was born was FAMOUS for their UNBLEMISHED LAMBS used for the sacrifice. These lambs had to be perfect so they would wrap them tightly in cloth and lie them in the manger to keep them safe. This is exactly why the only time mangers are mentioned in Yeshua’ birth story it is being told to the shepherds in charge of the temple lamb herd. In Luke 2 it says “This will be a sign for you, you will find a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger.” The shepherds would have understood this powerful parallel! THEY KNEW what the cloth and the manger meant! This baby would be THE PERFECT LAMB OF GOD! The Messiah who would sacrifice His life for the sins of the whole world. He wasn’t just a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger, He was GOD: perfect, sinless and holy, humbling Himself to become the perfect sacrifice to reconcile us back to Himself.
That was great....Here is some additional information on swaddling clothes.
Covenant of salt… swaddling cloths”
What is this covenant of salt? In the East, the taking of salt is a pledge, a promise of fidelity. If I come to your house and eat food with you which has been seasoned with salt, I can never betray you or do you harm. Even if you commit a crime and I am asked to testify, I cannot do it because I have eaten salt with you. Perhaps I may come to you and try to persuade you to do the right thing, but I would die before I would break the covenant of salt. In fact, the penalty for so doing, is death.
Luke records the birth of the Lord Jesus; “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in
swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger…” (Luke 2:7). We know that that Mary was told by the angel that her son would be called the Son of God; therefore, she rightly treated him as royalty and used swaddling clothes. Some of the wealthiest people in India who send to Paris for fabulous layettes for their babies, still use swaddling clothes in order to carry out this ancient tradition.
The child is left in this position from fifteen minutes to two hours, while the parents meditate and make their vows to God concerning their sacred trust which was given them when they received the child.
In Ezekiel 16:4 we find another reference to the covenant of salt concerning a childbirth custom. This verse says: “... thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.” After reading about the covenant of salt and its meaning, you can doubtless surmise that these phrases indicate that the person to whom they are directed is not reliable or truthful.
The sons of kings and princes in the East today are still “
salted and swaddled.” A tiny bit of salt is rubbed on the baby to indicate that the parents intend to teach the child to be truthful. The baby is then wrapped in swaddling clothes. These are fine linen or silk strips two or two and one half inches wide which are wrapped round and round the baby's body to straighten him out; arms and legs and all are made straight as a ramrod. This is a sign to God that the parents will rear the child to be straightforward before the Lord, and free from crookedness.
