Troublesome TopicWHAT ABOUT THE TOWER OF THE FLOCK?

Lesson 7 of 15
Could Jesus have been born in such a tower? This theory is based on Micah 4:8 which says, “And you, tower of the flock, stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to you it shall come, shall come the dominion, even the former kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.” I doubt Jesus was born in the Tower of the flock for the following reasons: 1) The context points to Jerusalem being the intended meaning, not Bethlehem. The first part of the Micah chapter 4 is about the mountain of the Lord (the kingdom of the Messiah), then in verse six it starts talking about the restoration of Israel after the captivity in Babylon, however, there are Messianic overtones there too. Micah 4:8 is simply saying that the rule and authority of the Davidic line will be restored, and Israel’s center or power was Jerusalem. While there was such a tower near Bethlehem, there was also a tower of the flock in Jerusalem, I believe someone has to take this clause out of its context in order to interpret the tower of the flock as the birthplace of Jesus. The phrase “tower of the flock” is used in Micah 4:8 either because Jerusalem was seen as the protection of Israel, or because David was the Shepherd of Israel, or because there was once a tower on the Southeast corner of the city which was used at first to watch over flocks of sheep, then used by guards to watch for various threats to the city. 2) What shall come? His dominion, His authority, His rule. 3) If Jesus had been born in the tower of the flock, the shepherds would not have gone looking for the baby in Bethlehem (see Luke 2:15) . They would have known right where to find him. 4) This theory suffers from the same problem of other options, though not as severely. While they would not have suffered rejection from the shepherds, there would have been the same set of questions, and Joseph wanted to avoid those questions. 5) If Jesus were born in a shepherd’s watch tower, it is highly unlikely that a tradition would have arisen among the early church fathers saying Jesus was born in a cave. We must remember that the early church fathers were much, much closer to the situation than we are, so we cannot easily discount their words. The mention of a cave is prevalent and persistent among the early church fathers, but no early mention of a tower. The next lesson is Why Are Some Details of the Story Left Out?