BETHLEHEM

Micah 5:2 (KJV)

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Of those Old Testament passages that are Christmas related, Micah 5:2 is undoubtedly the most incontrovertibly a Messianic passage.

It takes:

·   No imagination,

·   No special understanding of prophetic terminology

· No deep comparisons between Scriptures

to catch onto this one.

So clear a Messianic prophecy is this that when Herod asked the where Christ should be born, the chief priests and scribes, without hesitation answered,

Matthew 2:5-6 (KJV)

And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

Bethlehem, also known as Ephratah and Ephrath, was a small town – still is comparatively.

But God puts little stock in size and how impressed people may be in a thing.

He does His greatest works among those who are not:

·   Wise,

·   Mighty or

·   Noble

in the sight of the world.

Bethlehem means “House of Bread.”

I think it is a fitting name for the city where Christ, who is the bread of life, should be born.

Ephratah means “fruitfulness.”

Long before the Jews ever lived there, God had already determined that out of this place would come the most pleasing gift man would ever know.

I would like to use the city of Bethlehem to picture Jesus Christ, Who was born there, and ask you to consider three things with me today.

Notice:

I. IT IS A PLACE OF HISTORY

Genesis 35:16-19 (KJV)

And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.

And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.

And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.

And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.

A. The first mention of the city of Ephratah or Ephrath, is here in Genesis 35.

It’s the place where Rachel gave birth to Benjamin and where she died.

I do not believe it was ever considered holy place until the days of the Ottoman Empire, when the Muslims invaded the Israel, but since then it is a place of interest to:

·   Jews,

·   Christians and

·   Muslims

B. The whole story of the book of Ruth is centered around Bethlehem

Elimelech and Naomi were both from there and, when Naomi returned with her widowed daughter in law, Ruth, it was to the city of Bethlehem.

·   When Boaz married Ruth it was in the city of Bethlehem and

·   When Ruth gave birth to Obed, David’s grandfather, it was in Bethlehem.

I am reminded that

C. Jesus has a history far older than Christmas

Micah 5:2 (KJV)

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

The study of genealogies has become a huge past time in America hasn’t it?

Almost everybody would like to find some connection to their past by connecting with relatives who have come and gone before us.

I was listening to a podcast on the study of genealogies a few days ago.

The historian that was being interviewed said that, unless your family has some royal blood, you are probably not going to be able to research your family much past the 1600’s.

In some parts of the country research past the 1860’s is impossible because those records were destroyed in the Civil War.

For families like mine, who are Native American, we can only trace our lineage back probably four generations. No records at all were kept before then.

In every case we are saying that our connection to history is through those who lived before we were born.

Not so Jesus.

Though He was born in Bethlehem some 2000 years ago, Micah 5:2 makes it clear that His goings forth were everlastingly before that.

There is a pastor of a huge church outside of Atlanta.

Andy, the son of the well-known Southern Baptist pastor, Charles Stanley, is, to say the least, a bit controversial.

Not too long ago he preached a series of messages telling those who had quit coming to church that they did not have to believe the Bible in order to return to the Christian faith.

He has been in a bit of hot water this Christmas season for preaching that the details of Christ’s birth don’t matter; what matters is the resurrection.

To paraphrase the message, it was something like this,

“When a man can die, be buried for three days and rise again by His own power, who cares if His mother was a virgin.”

May I just say that the matter of His birth and of His death, burial and resurrection are so integrally interwoven that it would be impossible to have the one without the other?

He could rise from the grave because the baby born in that manger was no ordinary man.

His birth was the introduction of Eternal God into human flesh.

The One who was born in that manger

·   Spoke the world into existence

·   Answered the prayer of Jacob

·   Gave Joshua his battle plans for Jericho and

·   Called Gideon to deliver Israel from their enemy

He is God.

·   Fully,

·   Completely,

·   Absolutely

God.

Bethlehem is a place of history.

Furthermore,

II. IT IS A PLACE OF COMFORT

2 Samuel 23:13-17 (KJV)

And three of the thirty chief went down, and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam: and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim.

And David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.

And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!

And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD.

And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.

A. Bethlehem was the place where Naomi married Boaz and they had a child named Obed

·   To Obed was born a child named Jesse

·   To Jesse was born a child named David

David grew up there.

I can imagine him as a child – in some of the more carefree moments of youth,

·   Playing with friends

·   Roaming the hills and once in a while

·   Refreshing themselves with a cool drink from the well at the gate of Bethlehem

Years have past now.

·   The circumstances of the day and

·   The providence of God

have placed David in much different circumstances than his youth.

He has moved on from:

·   A playful child to

·   A responsible young shepherd to

·   A musician and warrior for the king and now

The God ordained King of Israel.

A person might think that promotion to authority and leadership is a privilege and blessing, but it carries with it a lot of pressure.

At the time of this writing, Israel was under attack by the Philistines and

They have taken control of David’s own hometown.

What place would you want to protect more than that?

David and his men are in a hold; they are hidden out somewhere.

I imagine he is somewhere he can look down upon the city of Bethlehem, and maybe even see that well he had so often sat beside in his youth.

Just musing to himself, not realizing he had men who could hear him, David whispered, “Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate.”

And three of his men risked their lives to go get him a cup of that water!

It was a place of comfort.

B. Jesus too, is a place of comfort.

John the Baptist spoke of Jesus and said,

John 1:29 (KJV)

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

1. Weary with our sins, we come to the foot of the Cross and call upon the name of the Lord, believing that He died for our sins and rose again victorious over our sins.

And we find eternal peace with God.

2. Needy for direction we sit at His feet to hear the Word of God

It will be through our own personal quiet time with God and also through the preaching of the Word of God in our church.

And our soul is fed and light is shed upon our path in this world.

3. Anxious over our failures, we kneel to pray before the throne of grace.

There we obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

In Jesus Christ there is comfort.

Bethlehem is:

·   A place of history

·   A place of comfort

Lastly

III. IT IS A PLACE OF PAIN

Matthew 2:16-18 (KJV)

Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,

In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

A. This little town just outside of Jerusalem was small and insignificant.

They say they raised the lambs for sacrifices there.

·   It seems peaceful

·   It seems quiet

·   It seems like the perfect place for the birth of this humble baby

But it’s role in the plan of God stirred up the anger of the devil.

When Herod realized that the wise men who had inquired about the birthplace of Jesus, had left without pointing out the boy –

The Bible says he had all of the children 2 years old and under slain.

The Bible says Rachel, as a symbolic name for Bethlehem wept for her children and could not be comforted.

It was a:

·   Vicious

·   Unjustifiable and

·   Senseless

act.

Why?

·   What had Bethlehem done?

·   What had these children done?

·   What had their parents done?

to deserve this?

I tend to think attempts to answer those sorts of questions only add to the pain.

But I can say,

B. What happened in Bethlehem does foreshadow what would happen to Jesus

You can say want you want to about the terrible things that have happened in the name of Christianity

·   The Crusades

·   The Inquisition

·   The persecutions

·   The Executions

·   The wars in the name of religion

The fact of the matter is Jesus endorsed none of it and was grieved by it.

·   When they captured Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane

·   When they tried Him, before the High Priest, before Herod and before Pontius Pilate

·   When they beat Him and mocked Him and nailed Him on the Cross to die

It was:

·   Vicious

·   Unjustified and

·   Senseless

But it was also effectual.

Jesus did not die for His sins.

·   He died for the sins of the very people who wished Him to die

·   He died for the sins of those people who sentenced Him to die

·   He did for the sins of those people who caused Him to die

He died for the sins of every man, woman, boy and girl, who has or ever will live.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (KJV)

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

And because He died in our place and for our sins the Bible promises,

Romans 10:9 (KJV)

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.