“Now muster your
troops, O daughter of troops; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike
the judge of Israel on the cheek. But
you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me One who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming
forth is from of old, from ancient days.
Therefore He shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor
has given birth; then the rest of His brothers shall return to the people of
Israel. And he shall stand and shepherd
his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord
His God, And they shall dwell secure, for now He shall be great to the ends of
the earth. And He shall be their peace.
–Micah 5:1-5
(ESV).
When we hear the prophecy of Jesus’
birth from Micah 5 read at Christmastime, the reader usually begins with verse
two to get immediately to the part about where the Savior was born. But Micah opens in verse one with a call to
arms. This summons to war was during a
time of great distress for Israel, believed to be at the time when King
Sennacherib of Assyria lay siege to the nation about 701 B. C. It was ironic that the prophet called for a
“daughter” to muster her troops. The
question has been asked: Was Israel so
weak it was necessary for women to gather an army and defend the land? It was amidst this time of great unrest and
impending warfare that the prophet announced the coming of a deliverer of
David’s line. Here and in other
Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament, the Messiah is anticipated as a
military and political deliverer of the nation.
He will have great strength, His greatness will extend to the ends of
the earth, and He will bring peace.
But let’s take a look at the chosen
place of birth of the Messiah, the successor of King David. Why not Samaria in the northern kingdom? Or the noted Jerusalem of the southern
kingdom? Why not Jericho where Gideon
led the blowing trumpets brigade and the walls came tumbling down? Why not Bethany or Nazareth or any number of
other well-known cities? When time for
the Messiah’s birth would come, Bethlehem must be the place of His birth
because that was where David was born and reared. David the king had left his
significant mark on Bethlehem It would
consequently house one greater than David. “And
Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the
city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and
lineage of David” (Luke 2:4). Joseph,
charged with the earthly guardianship of eternal Messiah, did his part to
ensure that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
It was not easy to make the journey with Mary about ready to
deliver. Neither was it comfortable or
seemly to relegate the Son of God to a manager. But Bethlehem was providing not only a place for
the Messiah’s birth but a fulfillment of prophecy. Like David hundreds of years before Him,
Jesus would also leave his significant mark on that town. And down the corridors of time would be the
story to inspire and acclaim: “born in
Bethlehem a Savior who is Christ the Lord!”
For meditation: The words from Tom Colvin set to a
traditional Malawi Melody is one of our newer Christmas carols. Here are some
of the words: “That Boy Child of Mary
was born in a stable, a manger His cradle in Bethlehem. What shall we call Him, child of the
manger? What name is given in
Bethlehem? His name is Jesus, God ever
with us, God given for us, in Bethlehem.”
Amen!
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