Why Swaddling Clothes?

There are lots of people who have a birthday in December. Usually the closer one's birthday comes to the 25th, the more it seems to loose its own significance. My daughter, one of my brothers, some in-laws and friends, all have December birthdays. But none of them were ever wrapped in swaddling clothes.

During a festive Christmas season that is rich in tradition, there is an element of the story that has been misunderstood by some. Christians all over the world remember the birth of Jesus Christ in a variety of ways with nativity scenes, plays and sermons. But just what were the swaddling clothes?

The biblical quote is, "... and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." If you are familiar with the account, then you know that Bethlehem was rather crowded that evening; all the inns were full.

It is important and very significant to note that the savior of the world, the most important human being ever born, had some very humble beginnings. The king of kings was laid in a manger. But, what was the significance of swaddling clothes?

There are some who assume that because he was laid in a lowly manger, instead of a big fancy hotel, fit for a king, that the swaddling clothes must have been some type of rags, or maybe, at best, some cheap clothes to keep him warm.

I remember hearing someone teach that Joseph and Mary were so poor that they could only wrap Jesus in rags to keep him warm. Joseph and Mary couldn't stay in an inn because they were poor; but because there was no room. God did not hand pick the poorest people of Israel to raise His Son.

In the Eastern culture, whenever the son of a king or of a prince was born, the child was always both salted and swaddled. I have read that there are still places today in the East where sons of kings or princes are both salted and swaddled. The salting of a newborn is in reference to the salt covenant.

The newborn baby would be washed with water that contained a small amount of salt. The salt represented truth and honesty. It was symbolic that the child would be raised to grow up and have his words "salted." Salted is to say that he would say what he meant and mean what he said. He would speak truthful words.

Right after washing the newborn in water containing salt, the baby would then be swaddled. The material itself was long strips of cloth, usually linen, perhaps two inches wide. Had Jesus been born in the best lodging available in Bethlehem, he still would have been wrapped in swaddling clothes. They were not rags, and certainly not used by poor people to wrap their babies because they couldn't afford anything else.

They would take the strips of cloth, and wrap the baby from head to foot, leaving his face uncovered so that he could breathe. The baby's arms and legs would be held very straight being wrapped in this manner.

The custom of swaddling represented that the child would be raised to be "straight" before the Lord, meaning that his life would be free from "crookedness." To say that a person of nobility was not salted and swaddled was to say that they were dishonest, crooked and had no integrity.

Swaddling clothes were only left on the baby for a short amount of time; anywhere from fifteen minutes to two hours. During that time, the parents would pray and offer their vows to God concerning the child that God had blessed them with. At the end of that time, the swaddling clothes were removed and the normal baby attire would be put on the child.

You can certainly understand why the shepherds went in haste to see the savior. The angel had told them that Christ had been born in Bethlehem. They were also told that they would find the babe lying in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes. They knew that they needed to get there quickly if they were to find and see the savior of the world.

It is absolutely amazing when you think that God's only begotten Son, the Messiah, the Christ, the savior of all of mankind, the kind of kings and lord of lords, was laid in a manger at his birth. And then God chose to reveal this wonderful occasion not to people of great stature and importance; not to the high priest in Jerusalem, nor to any religious or political leaders.

He sent an angel to announce the birth of His Son to some humble shepherds. They were just living their lives, doing their job, and doing the best that they knew how to do. The Bible is true when it says that God is no respecter of persons.

"And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger."


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Michael A. Verdicchio offers a FREE LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP to, "Enriching Your Life Now!" as well as a FREE NEWSLETTER at http://www.ConfidenceAndJoy.com He also offers a FREE series of articles on success at http://www.ReducingStressAtWork.com
Michael is a husband, father, minister, author, and broadcaster. He has also been the voice on numerous projects and productions including Mike's Pep Talks!