John Kitto Evening Bible Devotions: July 14

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John Kitto Evening Bible Devotions: July 14


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Bethlehem

Luk_2:4

As Jerusalem lay on the road southward to Bethlehem, there can be no doubt that Joseph and Mary passed through the metropolis, and perhaps rested there overnight in their way, unless they arrived there so early in the day as to make it worth their while to hasten on to the city of David, which was but six miles farther off. It is in fact the first village south of Jerusalem, at present, if not formerly, nor is there any other village near it; and one scarcely loses sight of Jerusalem over the long hill before he comes in view of Bethlehem.

The first appearance of the town is very striking from whatever direction it is viewed. It is built upon a ridge of considerable elevation, and has a rapid descent on the north and east. The white stone of which the hill is composed, and of which also the town is built, gives it a hot and dusty appearance—but adds to its imposing character and apparent extent.

As viewed from without, the town exhibits an appearance of beauty and stateliness; and although, like other eastern towns; it somewhat disappoints, when fairly entered, the expectations which the exterior view awakens, the streets are found to be, although narrow and steep, more regular than is usual in the towns of Palestine, and remarkable for their cleanliness. The houses, even the meanest, are well roofed; and those small domes abound, which give to the towns of the Holy Land an air of comfort, and even of importance, in strong and agreeable contrast with the mud walls and flat roofs of Egypt. These domes, however, imply scarcity of timber suited for the beams of flat roofs; and it is likely—indeed it may be gathered from Scripture, that when the land was better wooded, or timber more easily obtained, flat roofs were common in Palestine.

It is to be understood that the town consists mainly of one street. From the gate at the western extremity, to the convent which occupies the eastern, the distance may be about half-a-mile. This convent is that of the Nativity, and is by far the most conspicuous and imposing building in the place. It covers the spot where it is believed that our blessed Lord was born; and is a very extensive stone edifice, irregular in its plan, from having been constructed, a portion at a time, at different and distinct eras. The church, and perhaps some other parts of the immense pile, was built by the empress Helena; and the whole has the appearance of a strong fortress. Of this place, and of its claim to be the spot of the nativity, we shall presently have occasion to write. Whatever doubts may be entertained on this point, there can be none as to the site of Bethlehem itself. “This was certainly Bethlehem-Ephratah—the birth-place of David; and of David’s greater son—the Christ—the Lord from heaven. In yonder fields, so conspicuous from these hills, the shepherds undoubtedly kept their watch by night, and heard the angels sing, ‘Glory to God in the highest—on earth peace—good will toward men!’ and to this very spot were they led to pay their homage to the new-born Saviour.” Note: Beldam, Italy and the East, ii. 59. “But its celebrity extends far beyond the Christian era; a thousand years before it gave the world the thorn-crowned King—the King of the realm of truth, it bestowed upon the house of Israel its royal psalmist and divine hero. Both David and Christ sprung from Bethlehem. It was this landscape which their eyes surveyed when they first opened beneath the canopy of heaven.” Note: Tischendorf, Travels in the East, p. 191. Still further back than this do the memories of the place extend. It was the scene of the events so touchingly relate in the book of Ruth. It was here that the good Boaz abode and here the foreign damsel—destined to become, through him, the foremother of David and of Jesus—gleaned his field. Still earlier, it was here that the beloved wife for whom Jacob had served fourteen years, “which seemed to him but a few days, for the love that he had to her”—was taken away from him, leaving with the mourning father the infant Benjamin as the dear pledge of her last hour. It is singular indeed to observe how generally the memories of this place connect themselves with women, whose presence impart to these memories a tenderness and a pathos which are not at any other Biblical site so fully awakened. Rachel, Naomi, Ruth, Mary: what a cluster of lovely names connected with Bethlehem, in incidents on which the heart loves to dwell! For other places one such name is enough—but here are four: and because of them joy, which our own share in the “glad tidings” here proclaimed awakens, is followed by a softening emotion, perhaps by a tear, as we look up to these white walls, and gaze around upon these hills and valleys.

The inhabitants of Bethlehem are about 1,500 in number, and are almost all of them of Christian denominations—chiefly Greeks and Roman Catholics, in nearly equal numbers, and a few Armenians. There are no Jews, and the Moslems are very few. This is the result of the severe measures of Ibrahim Pasha, who drove out the Moslem inhabitants and demolished their houses during the insurrection of 1834. Hence many of the houses are seen in runs, and the streets in parts encumbered with rubbish.

The Bethlehemites are said to be remarkable for their ferocity and rapacity—which are indeed the common characteristics of the inhabitants of places accounted holy in the East; and the females enjoy a high reputation for virtue, ascribed to the favor of the Virgin. However this may be, their dress is singularly graceful and becoming—probably but little varied from that worn by Naomi and Ruth. The young women wear a light veil, or rather hood; not covering the face like the frightful Turkish cimaur, but descending on each side the face, and closed across the bosom, and showing the front of a low but handsome head-dress, usually composed of strings of silver coins, plated in among the hair, and hanging down below the chin as a sort of necklace. The mothers and aged women wear a longer and darker robe.

The environs of Bethlehem are very beautiful; but they cannot be said to be well cultivated. There is indeed no good tillage in the country, though the best perhaps is about this ancient town. The soil is fertile, but is encumbered with rocks, and the hills and valleys are covered to a considerable extent with figs, olives, pomegranates, and vineyards. The deep valley on the north side of the town, which is overlooked by the road leading to Jerusalem, presents a scene of beauty and luxuriance rarely equaled in Palestine. The steep hill-sides by which it is bounded are terraced with great care and labor, and covered with fine fruit trees. It is pleasant to regard this favored spot as a specimen of what may have been the general aspect of the hill-country in the prosperous days of the Jewish state, and of what it might perhaps once more become under the fostering care of a good government, and of an industrious and civilized population. But at present it is only under the walls of considerable towns that any agriculture is practicable. Within not more than two miles of Bethlehem, fields are permitted to lie waste, which once employed and abundantly rewarded the labors of a numerous and prosperous peasantry. Now it would be insanity to till those fields. The Bedouins, who are always at hand, seize the fruit and corn even before they come to maturity; and the incursion of a single night is often sufficient to destroy the entire product of a year’s industry. Even in broad day these barbarians do not hesitate to drive their beasts through fields of wheat under the owner’s eye, and graze their animals upon them without scruple. Under such discouragements but limited attention is given to agriculture, and the inhabitants rather seek employments attended with less precarious advantage. This they find abundantly in an active and lucrative manufacture of sundry holy trinkets and toys, which are eagerly purchased at a price much beyond their value by the pilgrims, as memorial relics of their visit to the place. These articles consist of models of the cave of the nativity, figures of Christ, of the Virgin Mary, of the Apostles, and of various saints, with crucifixes, crosses, rosaries, spoons, cups, platters, with portions of Scripture inscribed upon them in Arabic letters. Some of the articles are wrought and carved in mother-of-pearl, with more skill and taste than one would expect to find in a place so remote; and in some cases the workmanship is so fine, as would not discredit the artists of Britain. The mother-of-pearl is obtained from the Red Sea; and the other materials used for these manufactures are the wood and kernels of the olives that grow in and about the garden of Gethsemane—agate, jasper, and bituminous limestone from the rocks to the west of Bethlehem. They supply the bazaars of Jerusalem with these wares, and press them upon strangers with an importunity that is very annoying.