GOD must always submit to the decisions welded to the hearts of men. His gift of a freewill is as eternal as time. And it is the abuse of that gift that explains every hardship we see in this present world. But not all decisions reek of foolish impulse and self-centered opinions. There are multitudes that no man can number who hunger with fervent petitions for truth. Among them includes a group of shepherds tending their flocks on the night when Christ was born. They have prayed for the Messiah to come and have studied the Scriptures to understand decisively the Event of the Ages. To these lowly shepherds GOD gives a personal invitation to attend the birth of “his only begotten son.”

     The intellectuals are passed by. The wealthy are passed by. The theologians are passed by. How often the ones who are considered least on earth become the most blessed of GOD, as it is written, “The LORD thy GOD turned the curse into a blessing unto thee because the LORD thy GOD loved thee.” The astounding display of heavenly angels singing of the birth of the Saviour of Mankind might have included the whole nation of Judea. But Satan, (the avowed adversary of life) will ever exert every fiber of his being to eclipse the Light from Heaven’s Throne, ushering the human race to its destruction through his deceiving temptations, even to his betraying every noble desire of the human heart.

     Prior to the angels appearance the shepherds’ expectations on the arrival of Christ anticipated the whole nation of Judaea to unite as “one nation under GOD.” And so when the angels appeared in their glory the shepherds thought, ‘Surely the chosen people of GOD will soon be joining in songs of praise in adoration of the Messiah.’ A thought with anticipation of grandeur filled their hearts. They believed that the Messiah will surely be found in the greatest of palaces, and be accepted in the embrace of all the people, adoring Him through loving service in every phase of His ministry on Earth. But GOD does not allow them to continue on this path of deception brought about by their own vulnerable understanding and gullibility to the popular teachings of the day. He commands the angel to tell them plainly that their Saviour is to be found in the most unimaginable of thrones: the feeding trough in a barn. The rejection of Jesus Christ started at His birth and in constant crescendo led right to His death.

     But the beasts of the manger accepted Him. The little healthy baby they witnessed entering the world of breath and conscious awareness was He Who Created all things, including those pondering beasts. It was the power attending His Word, “In the beginning” that inaugurated the creation of life itself. Over 800 verses of the Bible exalt Christ as the Creator of all things: “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.”

     And there is only one Commandment of the Ten that honors Christ as Creator: the Commandment where GOD enters His rest and joy on every seventh day knowing He has provided everything that will meet the needs of His children forever. Sin threatened the removal of the 4th Commandment, robbing from GOD the joy of His Rest. But through the Gospel, Jesus Christ has restored the joy of the Sabbath. “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.” In these words are seen no indication of alteration.

     In the 4th Commandment alone lies “the seal of God.” As the seals of kings through history show the traits of rulership, so likewise the 4th Commandment contains the seal of Christ: His Name, His Title, His Authority, and His Domain. But unlike the other nine Commandments there is nothing tangible about the seventh-day Sabbath: no signs in the heavens, nor in the seasons, nor any physical evidence proving its authenticity. The other Commandments are readily verified through tangible means, but the seventh day Sabbath of the 4th Commandment is a day where the disciple of Christ rests entirely on faith in GOD’S Word to bring to pass what He has said He will do, allowing Him to carry forward the victory in our lives. When the Family of the Redeemed stand in Glory the wonderful words will be fulfilled through Jesus Christ, “He alone shall be exalted in that day.”

     Jesus Christ has ever been and will ever be the Companion of the human race. This is why the ancient prophet Isaiah called Him the “Everlasting Father.” The nation of Israel whom GOD had ordained the privilege of being the ones to herald the Advent of the Messiah, in its true light, the very ones “the LORD” tirelessly cared for, for 1,875 years that they might recognize and embrace Him when He would come to stand among them, forfeit the most precious blessing given to men and passed it to others—the lowly shepherds. Even the beasts of the manger were more blessed than the religious leaders on the day Christ entered our world.