DECEMBER 6TH
O Little Town
Micah 5:2-5 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be our peace...
Every year, thousands of people flock to the town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It is known as “Christmas Town” and its residents go all out with decorations, live nativities, and even a 300-year-old Moravian church that hosts Christmas events. Bethlehem’s history and connection to Christmas are historically intertwined. In 1741, on Christmas Eve, a group of Moravians singing a hymn christened the town “Bethlehem,” forever etching the holiday spirit into its identity. This connection extends to the first documented decorated Christmas tree in America and the city’s official nickname, “Christmas City, USA” established in 1937. Today, every December, the town shimmers with festive cheer, with Christmas markets overflowing with handcrafted goods, delectable treats, and local vendors all coming together to bring this Christmas spirit to life.
There is another famous Bethlehem found in the Bible. Bethlehem was well known as the hometown of David, Israel’s greatest king, yet it was never a great or influential city. It was very small among the clans and settlements of Judah, yet God chose this humble town as the birthplace of the Messiah, the ruler of Israel. An ancient prophet named Micah first proclaimed that there was something special about this sleepy little town just outside Jerusalem. It was known as the city of David because that is where he was born and was later anointed king over Israel. By the time Jesus was born, however, this was ancient history, and Israel had been under the rule of others for too long for anyone to care much about the birthplace of a long-ago king. But Micah put Bethlehem back on the map with his prophecy, which is one of the clearest and most direct prophecies of the Messiah in the entire Bible. Keep in mind that it was made more than 700 years before Jesus was born. To put this in perspective, imagine someone asserting in the year 982, 750 years before George Washington was born, that the first president of the United States would come from Mt Vernon, Virginia.
God used Micah to record that the one born in Bethlehem would not only rule over Israel but would be God in the flesh, "whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days." The Hebrew word for ancient days means 'days of eternity.' In other words, the Messiah was going to come from eternity to a specific spot on earth, fully human, with a birthplace just like everyone else. Micah's words prove that God keeps His promises and that His birth in Bethlehem was God's plan for centuries. Micah tells us specifically that Jesus would come from Bethlehem and Ephrathah. In Micah's time, the city had two names, Bethlehem, which means House of Bread, and Ephrathah, which means fields of fruit, referring to vineyards. The fact that Micah uses both names is not a coincidence. God knew the association between bread and wine and Christ's body and blood, and He made sure that even the name of the city the savior would come from would point people toward the new covenant and God's plan for salvation. Bethlehem may have been just a little town, but at the first Christmas, God used it in a very big way, not only as the birthplace of a King but as a signpost pointing the way to salvation.
There is another famous Bethlehem found in the Bible. Bethlehem was well known as the hometown of David, Israel’s greatest king, yet it was never a great or influential city. It was very small among the clans and settlements of Judah, yet God chose this humble town as the birthplace of the Messiah, the ruler of Israel. An ancient prophet named Micah first proclaimed that there was something special about this sleepy little town just outside Jerusalem. It was known as the city of David because that is where he was born and was later anointed king over Israel. By the time Jesus was born, however, this was ancient history, and Israel had been under the rule of others for too long for anyone to care much about the birthplace of a long-ago king. But Micah put Bethlehem back on the map with his prophecy, which is one of the clearest and most direct prophecies of the Messiah in the entire Bible. Keep in mind that it was made more than 700 years before Jesus was born. To put this in perspective, imagine someone asserting in the year 982, 750 years before George Washington was born, that the first president of the United States would come from Mt Vernon, Virginia.
God used Micah to record that the one born in Bethlehem would not only rule over Israel but would be God in the flesh, "whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days." The Hebrew word for ancient days means 'days of eternity.' In other words, the Messiah was going to come from eternity to a specific spot on earth, fully human, with a birthplace just like everyone else. Micah's words prove that God keeps His promises and that His birth in Bethlehem was God's plan for centuries. Micah tells us specifically that Jesus would come from Bethlehem and Ephrathah. In Micah's time, the city had two names, Bethlehem, which means House of Bread, and Ephrathah, which means fields of fruit, referring to vineyards. The fact that Micah uses both names is not a coincidence. God knew the association between bread and wine and Christ's body and blood, and He made sure that even the name of the city the savior would come from would point people toward the new covenant and God's plan for salvation. Bethlehem may have been just a little town, but at the first Christmas, God used it in a very big way, not only as the birthplace of a King but as a signpost pointing the way to salvation.