Prophecies of Christmas (2)

Intro:

Last week we started this mini series entitled “Prophecies of Christmas”… and we saw the very first mention of the Birth of Jesus in the book of Genesis.

Peter tells us in 1 Peter 1:20 that Jesus was “Chosen before the creation of the world...”

Which tells us that, God in His omniscience, knew that we would have a need of a Savior… and even knowing that we as human beings would fall into Sin, He still chose to create us in order that we might partake in His love for us and give us an opportunity, through Jesus, to spend an eternity with Him.

But God doesn’t just tell us He is going to send a Savior, born of a virgin… He tells us exactly where He will be born…

I am going to do something a little different this morning… Our main text is just one verse… and so, I would like to put that verse on the screen, have everyone stand (if you are able) and we can read this verse together…

Micah 5:2 NKJV

2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”

Meat:

I want to spend a few minutes talking about this verse specifically, and then we will look at some other passages as well…

But here in Micah 5:2 we are given a prophecy of the specific location in which the Savior would be born…

Bethlehem… and more specifically, Bethlehem Ephrathah.

“Ephrathah” is the ancient name of a district of Bethlehem and was used to distinguish it from other towns of the same name.

I grew up in Fremont, most of you know where that is, as it is only about 40-45 minutes west of here… But if I am out of town and I tell someone “Yeah, I grew up in Fremont”… that could mean, Fremont Indiana, Fremont California, Fremont Illinois, Fremont Nebraska…

I found 17 different states that have a city named “Fremont”… So naturally, I would say “Fremont, Michigan.”

It is the same here with Bethlehem… There are two different ones mentioned in the Bible, and Jesus would be born at “Bethlehem Ephrathah”.

We are also given a little bit of information regarding Bethlehem Ephrathah…

Micah 5:2 “2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah… ”

Some versions might say something like “You are Too little to be among the clans of Judah”

You see, Each tribe was divided into its thousands (it’s clans)… but if a community was too small to get a thousand people together they were blended into other tribes.

Bethlehem was so lowly that it was not able to even be counted as a “clan”… It was a village that was despised because it was so small and insignificant to most people… … But, that is just how God works… He takes the most unlikely people or places and uses them to accomplish His Divine Will…

Lets talk about…

This Little Town of Bethlehem…

If you were going to put together a site selection for where you would want a king to be born, Bethlehem would not be on the radar.

It was a place of no political significance.

It created no commercial interest.

It was not known for its culture or education.

In fact, Bethlehem was barely known.

At that time, we might have chosen Jerusalem, Rome, Athens, or Alexandria, but certainly not this little town…

But the Old Testament does give us some clues of why Bethlehem would be an important place… and as we look at each one of these points, they not only talk about this Little town, but they also give us a picture of who Jesus is and what He will endure as our Savior and Messiah…

In Genesis, our first introduction to Bethlehem, we discover, first of all… It was…

1. A Place of Suffering

Turn in your Bibles to Genesis 35…

A quick background here… Jacob was the one who worked 7 years to marry a gal named Rachel, but was tricked by his father in-law into marry Rachel’s older sister, Leah.

So, Jacob worked another 7 years for his Father in-law, in order to marry the girl he truly loved, Rachel.

For quite some time Rachel was unable to have children and so, not to be out done by her older sister, Rachel gave her maid to Jacob so that they could have children together.

Eventually, God did allow Rachel to become pregnant with a son, whom they named Joseph… Because Joseph was the only child from the true love of his life, Jacob favored him over his 10 other sons who sold Joseph as a slave and made up a story about how he was killed by a wild animal…

And after that, God opened Rachel’s womb once again and she conceived for a 2nd time…

Now Genesis 35… (Read vv. 16-20)

So here, just on the outskirts of Bethlehem, we have a the account of a wonderful birth, which ultimately resulted in a death.

It would seem with her dying breath, Rachel named this son Ben-Oni, which means “son of my sorrow”… sounds like a great name for someone to carry around for the rest of their life doesn’t it? …

Well, Jacob was on it… he promptly named the baby, Benjamin, which means “son of my right hand”… every time Jacob would utter the name of Benjamin, he was basically saying “my beloved son”.

About 1700 years later, there was another birth in Bethlehem… A birth that also ultimately resulted in a death… and in-between that time of birth and death, as Jesus was baptized, the Heavens opened and God said “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”…

And so, Bethlehem was a place of Suffering…

It is also a…

2. Place of Redemption

This we find in Ruth 4… turn there if you will…

If you remember from our series through the book of Ruth, Redemption is a central theme of the book and it primarily revolves around the need to restore and preserve the family lineage of Elimelech, Naomi, and their deceased sons.

In ancient Israelite society, the idea of redemption was closely tied to the responsibility of a kinsman-redeemer, a relative who had the duty to protect the interests and welfare of his extended family.

Ruth’s Mother-in-Law, Naomi, was from Bethlehem … then moved to Moab. When Ruth’s husband and Father-in-Law died, they moved back to Bethlehem. There, Ruth met Boaz, and they fell in love. They couldn’t marry, because they weren’t the nearest of kin.

When the near-kinsman wouldn’t purchase her property, Boaz talked with him and was given permission to purchase Ruth, along with her property.

Ruth 4… (Read vv. 7-12)

Boaz redeemed his bride in Bethlehem.

Jesus, born in Bethlehem, came to redeem us, the Church… His bride.

When it comes to being spiritual redemption, everyone is stuck in sin and in Satan's grip, and there is no way for us to free ourselves… We need a Redeemer…

Jesus is that Redeemer! He gave His life to rescue sinners. Trusting in Him is like breaking free from being held captive by sin…

Bethlehem is a place of Redemption…

Thirdly… it is a…

3. Place of Royalty

Look at 1 Samuel 16…

It is here that we are introduced to a man named Jesse, who has a son named, David…

Fun facts… Jesse was the Grandson of Boaz and Ruth, which would make David their great grandson…

and here is what we find in 1 Samuel 16… (Read vv. 1-13)

When Samuel is given the assignment to anoint the next king, the Lord tells him that he is to be found in this little, seemingly insignificant town...

The Lord then leads Samuel to Jesse who brings out his sons for inspection, but none of them are chosen.

Samuel waves each one by – Eliab, Abinadab, Shammah and the rest...

Finally, Samuel asks Jesse if he has any more sons… and he does… – the youngest and the littlest – out in the fields – a boy named: David…

Just a shepherd boy, who was anointed as King from this little town… … and if you work through the Genealogies of Scripture, you will find that this little Shepherd boy, was the 39th Great granddaddy of another little boy, another King, born in the same little town, … and His Name is Jesus.

Boaz and Ruth established their family tree in Bethlehem and that is why Mary and Joseph had to return there for the census and be registered for the tax.

Jesus came into the world as a King. The Wise Men said: “Where is He that is born, the KING of the Jews?”… A few days before His crucifixion, the crowds chanted – “Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord:”…

Unfortunately, the people wanted a King to:

- Free them from the oppression of Rome.

- Perform miracles, feed the poor, heal the sick, raise the dead.

BUT … Jesus came to give them an INNER peace … to be the King of their hearts and lives … NOT to set up an EARTHLY kingdom at that time… and so...

- They crowned Him with THORNS… not a golden crown.

- They clothed Him in scarlet robes as a sign mockery.

- They placed a frail reed in His right hand for a scepter.

They spat on Him … mocked Him … beat Him. YET … He was born in Bethlehem to be the ONLY KING who could rule in the hearts of mankind and bring salvation to our souls.

This little town was a place of Royalty, David was anointed as King of the Jews in Bethlehem… which was a PREVIEW of what would happen 1000 years later in the same little town.

This leads to our final point this morning… This little town was a…

4. Place of Deity

And this brings us back to our original verse that we read together this morning…

Micah 5:2 “2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.””

We already looked at the first half of this verse… “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,”… Next part says…

“Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel,”… Bethlehem was too small to be included among the movers and shakers of Judah, and yet out of her was to come forth one who will be a Divine Ruler.

The phrase “come forth to Me”… could also be translated “come forth of me” which indicates that the coming ruler would come from God himself.

This is similar to what Abraham told Isaac in Genesis 22:8… “God himself will provide the lamb”…

Here in Micah 5:2 we have the promise that God the Father would send God the Son to become a man who was sacrificed as payment for our sins.

We know that this person originates from Deity because of the last phrase of the verse…

“Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” … This phrase literally means, “From the days of eternity.”… In fact, this expression in Hebrew is used only to describe God.

Habakkuk 1:12 “12 Are You not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One?… ”

There is no doubt that the coming Ruler to be born in Bethlehem will be human, yet He is fully divine. He was born humbly but He is Holy and everlasting. He was out of Bethlehem but He’s been around since before time began.

And right here, we see that The Messiah is associated with Bethlehem … 700 years before His birth.

Closing:

I hope the next time that you sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem”, you think of these points…

Yes, it was a place of suffering…

But it was also a place of…

Redemption

Royalty

and Deity…

The lesson of Bethlehem is a profound one. So latch on to this truth today…

GOD USES THE INSIGNIFICANT AND THE UNEXPECTED TO BRING SIGNIFICANCE AND PURPOSE TO OUR LIVES.

You may see yourself as an insignificant cog on the big wheel of life...

You may see yourself as just a speck of dirt in a vast universe…

But know this…

Like Bethlehem, when you are surrendered to God’s will and surrounded by His plan… … you are never a nobody.

He gives each one of us significance…

He gives each one of us purpose…

And He has a plan for each and everyone of us… just as He did, for this little town… of Bethlehem...

Prayer: