“But thou,
Bethlehem Ephrathah, 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.” –Micah 5:2 (KJV).
Bethlehem in the district of Ephrathah
was the birthplace of David, the shepherd boy who became king of Israel. The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem of
Ephratah, a place small and insignificant as places were concerned, but which
would be the birthplace of Jesus, Immanuel, God with us. The name Bethlehem means “House of Bread,”
and in that place was born the one who would be the “Bread of Life,” from the stem of Jesse, David’s father. In the fullness of time, God sent His Son,
and His birthplace was Bethlehem, as Micah had prophesied. God put into the world stage the events that
would make the fulfillment of that prophecy a natural flow in history. The Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, had
decreed that all citizens should go, each to his own town, to be registered. And that is why Joseph, with his betrothed
wife, Mary, went from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be registered. While they were there, the time came for the
birth. And the Savior of the world was
born in a manger, “because there was no room for them in the inn” (see Luke
2:1-7).
Bethlehem comes from near-obscurity to
center stage with the birth of Jesus.
How beloved has become the Christmas carol that we sing every year. Phillips Brooks, a noted American minister,
penned the words to the carol that we sing out with gladness:
“O
little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie!
Above
thy deep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by;
Yet
in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting light;
The
hopes and fears of all the years Are born in thee tonight.”
In 1978 my husband Rev. Grover Jones and
I had the privilege of spending a month in the Holy Land on a mission project,
visiting with and assisting his sister Estelle who was a missionary there. In the course of that time, we were
privileged to go to many of the significant landmarks of biblical history. We spent hours in Bethlehem. Estelle had a friend there, Mr. Tabish, a
Christian Jew, whose family owned and operated a jewelry store in Bethlehem
Square. On our visit to Bethlehem, we
went first to meet Mr. Tabish who could leave his store in the capable hands of
his employees and he became our personal tour guide through the Church of the
Nativity. We came to the site,
elaborately festooned, which was said to be the place where Jesus was born. Mr Tabish invited us to follow him. He knew the tunnels. He came to a very humble-looking cave in the
wall. “At a place like this, where
animals were kept from the elements, and to rest, in a cave-stable, Jesus was
born.” He told us with such conviction
that tears came to his eyes. “It may
have been right here that my Lord was born!”
We stood at the spot, emotions welling, quietly contemplating the
miracle of the ages and the long-ago birth of the Savior. After our tour of the
church of the Nativity, Mr. Tabish then told us he wanted to take us to
Shepherd’s Field. Riding with us.
Estelle driving, he directed us through the narrow streets of Bethlehem to a
road outside the city. It was still a
shepherd’s field, for sheep were grazing there on that bright sunny day. He walked to one of the feeding places for
sheep, and said, “On a hillside like this, angels appeared to the shepherds and
announced the holy birth.” We stood
quietly, picturing that long-ago night when God became man to dwell among us. It was a high moment of worship and reflection
there on that Bethlehem hillside. I
heard the angels’ song: “Glory to God on
the highest, and on earth, peace, good will to men.” Jesus came to earth at a place…a place called
Bethlehem.
Prayer.
Lord, thank You for Bethlehem, ‘House of Bread,’ birthplace of the Bread
of Life. Amen.
