The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-12-18


a word signifying THE House of the
Shepherds" 1t is surprising at first
sight that shepherds should be watch
ing their focks in open air at the time
of the year set for the nativity, for the
cold must have been intense. 1t was
no doubt to the end of December that
the account in Holy Writ refers, but
the pastures were not vast grazing
grounds, where the sheep were gath
cred together in thousands from every
direction, but mere local fields, where
each shepherd tended his own little
group of animals; and there is nothing
in this to surprise anyone familiar with
the customs Of the east.
After the December rains are over,
the grass begins to grow again, and the
flowers re-appear. The severity of the
winter varies very much, and some
especially fine days occur, even in the
very heart of the cold season, when the
shepherds of Bethlehem would go down
into the plain with their fiocks, as the
Arabs do now in good season.
The gospels tell us that when the
shepherds We're surprised by the an
gels, they were abiding in the fields,
keeping watch over their f1ocks by
night" The night was always divided
into three so-called watches. The
shepherds changed guards every three
hours during the short night Of the
summer, and every four hours during
the longer nights of the winter. In the
I last case the first watch ended at 10 and
the second at ?, while the third lasted
till daybreak. The shepherds on guard
gathered round the campfire while
waiting their turn to rest, and it must
have been to those thus waiting that
the angels appeared. They no doubt
Weakened their comrades to tell them
the wonderful news and afterward all
went together to Bethlehem, where
they found and Wol SHIPPED the Holy
Child.
The other personages mentioned in
Scripture in connection with the birth
! of Jesus are the Magi. Magi, or sooth-
savers, are mentioned in the book of
Daniel as being in the service of King
Nebuchadnezzar. They studied astron-
clny and interpreted creams. Those re-
ferred to in the gospels seem to have
been not only wise men, but kings, or
sheiks of Chaldea, and its neighbor-
hood. They, too, engaged in the study
of the heavenly bodies and perhaps also
Worshiped them, a fact which explains
the immediate attention accorded to a
sign appearing in the heavens at the
moment of the birth of the Messiah.
The color of their undergarments, yell
low, indicated their profession.
THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM.
What was the star referred to in the
sacred record? There is absolutely no
positive evidence on this point Some
think it was a comet or some other
similar body; others are of the opinion
that it was a meteor, resembling more
or less shooting star, which trailed
slowly along at a little distance from
the ground, so as actually to guide the
steps Of the Magi The gospel seemed
to sanction the latter Interpretation
when it says: The star came and
stood over where the young child was -
A star, properly so-called would not
have indicated the spot with such pre-
cision. Nevertheless, it is clear that the
significance of the sign was revealed
in some way to the Magi
Had the travellers exchanged ideas
previous to their arrival? 1t is very
probable that they had. No doubt their
caravans, though they started from
different points, met beyond the Jordan
on the side of the mountains of Moab.
whence they entered the promised land.
still preceded by the star.
The word house" used by the
evangelists to indicate the place where
the Magi found the Messiah seems to
| point to the conclusion that during the
journey of their visitors from the east
Joseph and Mary had left the cave of
the nativity for a more comfortable
dwelling.
1t is impossible to convey the ideas
aroused in the breast of the devout
Christian by the sight of Bethlehem
and its sanctified spots any better OF
mere clearly than in the pictures in
which have tried to express my inter
probation of those stirring scenes as
they must have taken place.
IF, by my pictures and books, I have
been able to bring the Christ nearer tc
the minds and hearts of Christians OIL
all lands, am more than repaid for al
my labor. J. j. TISSOT.