Australia’s Largest Christian News Site

The history of the Shepherd’s Field, from its Old Testament origins with Ruth and Boaz to its visitation by angels at the birth of Jesus, is a reminder of God’s sovereign plans for our lives.

The little town of Bethlehem was destined for greatness long before Jesus our Saviour was born there.

More than 1,000 years before Jesus’ birth, as told in the book of Ruth, the family of Elimelech and Naomi left Bethlehem in the middle of a devastating famine, with their two sons Mahlon and Kilion. The family travelled to the distant country of Moab in hope of surviving. Some time later, Elimelech died. Mahlon and Kilion took Moabite wives, but subsequently, they both died also.

Naomi, now widowed and without financial support, told her two daughters-in-law she was returning to Bethlehem. On the way, Naomi realised the girls would be foreigners in Israel and urged them to return to their family and friends in Moab. Ruth famously refused to leave Naomi and said:

“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. My the Lord deal with me, be it every so severely, if even death separates you and me.” (Ruth 1:16-17)

In Bethlehem, Jewish custom ensured the poor could survive because labourers left small quantities of grain behind as they harvested. With great courage, Ruth went to gather this grain to provide for Naomi and herself. The field in which she gleaned turned out to be owned by a male relative of Naomi’s, whose name was Boaz.

A Romance of Biblical Proportions

The endearing story of Ruth and Boaz is one of gratitude, grace and divine providence. They ultimately marry and have a child named Obed. Naomi no longer needs to call herself Mara (“Bitter”), but rejoices that she can hold a grandchild of her own.

When Obed is grown, he has a child named Jesse. Jesse goes on to father many sons, the youngest of whom is anointed as king — King David. Of course, in his earthly genealogy, Jesus is a direct descendant of King David, and thus Ruth joins four other unlikely female forbears of the Saviour. The others are Tamar, a deceiver; Rahab, a prostitute; Bathsheba, who was forced to marry the king after he arranged the murder of her husband; and Mary, a teenager who became pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

David Tithes a Field

King David was a worshipper, and while he lived in a palace, he worried that the worship of his God took place in a tent. He longed to build a suitable temple for worship of the True God.

While God instructed David on how the temple was to be built, the task was allotted to his son, Solomon. Although not always faithfully practiced, the sacrifice of a lamb for the atonement of sin, as instituted during the Passover in Egypt, was a vital part of Israel’s worship.

David dedicated the field where the sacrificial lambs were to be born. This field was the same one his ancestor Ruth had gleaned in, and where she met David’s great, great grandfather, Boaz.

On the edge of the field was a tower. The High Priest would select a lamb, without spot or blemish, to be prepared for the sacrifice. As Bethlehem was five miles from Jerusalem, the little lamb could not walk there. Instead it was wrapped in cloths and laid in a manger until the time of its journey to the Temple.

Our Saviour, Our Passover Lamb

When an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds, watching their flocks for the birth of the sacrificial lamb, in this very same field, he declared:

Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David [Bethlehem] a saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

No wonder there was such rejoicing. No longer was a little lamb to be sacrificed endlessly for the forgiveness of sin. Sin would be dealt with once and for all. The Messiah was born to take the place of the Passover lamb and, once and for all, atone for the sins of the whole world, by sacrificing his own body on our behalf.

What a Saviour

As I stood in the Shepherd’s Field, listening to our guide explain this wonderful story, I could only marvel at the infinite detail of God’s plan. Before Ruth was even conceived, God knew her (Psalm 139: 15-16). Ruth’s days were written in His book before one of them came to be. God knew about the gracious and generous nature of Boaz. He planned for Obed, Jesse and Jesse’s sons. He saw the heart of David, who longed to honour God.

When it was time in God’s divine plan for Jesus to be born and salvation to be enacted for the whole world, the announcement had to be made in this special field — with its history of connections to God’s plan.

Time for Reflection

As we come to the beginning of another year, it is appropriate to look back over our lives and recognise how God has orchestrated divine connections in our lives. Who has prayed for you? Who has mentored you? Who has been there for you when you needed them? Have you felt the tug of the Holy Spirit to follow God’s leading in your life?

Sometimes we fail to see God’s plan. It’s easy to focus on what we’ve lost, or on what might have been. I wonder if this New Year, with grateful hearts, we can delve deep to uncover the ways God has guided us in fulfilment of His plan for our lives.

As we look forward to the year ahead, may the words of the song resonate:

Day by day, dear Lord,
these three things I pray;
to see you more clearly,
to love you more dearly,
to follow you more nearly,
day by day.