Journey To Bethlehem

Scripture

Micah 5:1–2 KJV 1900

1 Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: He hath laid siege against us: They shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. 2 But thou, Beth-lehem 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.

[ILLUSTRATION – LAMBERT’S CAFÉ]

When I was preparing for this lesson I thought “I’d love to walk the church through the journey to Bethlehem… but I really don’t want it to feel like a boring history lecture.”

Then I started tracing every place Bethlehem appears in the Old Testament… and a picture started to form in my mind.

Not of a dusty ancient town……but of a restaurant in America.

How many of you have heard of Lambert’s?

How many have never heard of it?

Lambert’s is known as “The Home of the Throwed Rolls.”

They literally throw hot rolls to you across the restaurant.

If you’re sitting 20 yards away and you raise your hand… that roll is coming for your head in Jesus’ name.

You don’t go to Lambert’s if you’re afraid of carbs or bad at catching.

You might walk out with supper and a concussion.

But it’s not just the rolls.

It’s the portions.

They have what they call “pass-arounds” – complimentary sides they just keep bringing:

Fried okra

Fried potatoes and onions

Black-eyed peas

Macaroni and tomatoes

And everything comes in big helpings. Lambert’s is famous not because it’s in a great city, but because it serves a big plate in a small town.

Now here’s the key:

The original Lambert’s is in a place most people would never dream of visiting on purpose.

A little town called Sikeston, Missouri.

Nobody’s booking their dream vacation to Sikeston.

But Lambert’s put Sikeston on the map.

Bethlehem is the Sikeston of the Bible.

Let’s think for a moment about Bethlehem’s “stats”:

The name Bethlehem means “House of Bread.”

And It lies just a few miles outside Jerusalem – close to the big city, but not the big city.

In Bible times, it was a small, agricultural village.

Population? A few hundred, maybe a couple thousand at most.

If you blinked on the road out of Jerusalem, you could miss it.

A little place.

But in Scripture, it’s a little place serving a big plate.

Every year around this season you will begin to see a transformation take place all over the world

SHops will be decorated with tinsel and light

Candy Canes Hot Cocoa,

Hustle Bustle, going here there and everywhere

Everybody fighting over the latest and greatest gadgets

I was looking at a video, I believe it was from Sam’s, maybe Walmart, but somebody was buying a 90 something inch screen TV

But what I love that happens to coincide with that madness is that inevitably you will begin to hear and to see people reminding you to remember the reason for the season

Does anybody like Christmas Songs??

My favorite song is Christmas shoes, one because I am a sucker for a good sappy story and 2 because it is a reminder of whats important about this season

So here’s the question that frames the message:

Why should you and I journey to Bethlehem?

And I want to say it two ways really

Bethlehem is a little place serving a big plate.

Bethlehem is a little place with a lot of promise.

If you’re hungry for something real…

If your soul is starving for meaning, comfort, direction…

Bethlehem may look small, but what God serves there is more than enough.

Today I want to walk you through Old Testament mentions of Bethlehem,

and show you that Bethlehem serves up a four-course bread meal for your soul.

COURSE 1 – THE BREAD OF COMFORT, PEACE, & PERSPECTIVE

(Genesis 35 – Jacob, Rachel & Benjamin)

[TRANSITION]

The first time Bethlehem shows up in the Bible is in Genesis 35.

Jacob – grandson of Abraham – is on a journey. God has already transformed his life. The heel-grabber, the deceiver, has wrestled with God in Genesis 32 and come out with a limp and a new name: Israel – “one who strives with God.”

Now we pick up the story:

“Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty… As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni (‘son of my sorrow’). But his father named him Benjamin (‘son of my right hand’). So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar…”

— Genesis 35:16–20

Genesis 35:16–20 KJV 1900

16 And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. 17 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. 18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called him Benjamin. 19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem. 20 And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.

Rachel was Jacob’s great love.

He had worked fourteen years to marry her.

And here, just outside Bethlehem, he loses her in childbirth.

In her pain, with her last breaths, she names the baby “Ben-Oni” – son of my sorrow.

That name came out of her experience of grief.

But Jacob, standing in the same heartbreak, speaks a different word over the same child.

He renames him Benjamin – son of my right hand, son of strength, honor, and future.

[TEACHING CUE]

Bethlehem becomes, in that moment, a place where pain is reframed.

Where God’s comfort, peace, and perspective start to rewrite our story.

Rachel says: “This is the son of my sorrow.”

Jacob says: “This will be the son of my strength.”

Same boy.

Same loss.

Different perspective — born in Bethlehem.

[APPLICATION CUE – ASK QUESTIONS SLOWLY]

Do you have struggles?Bethlehem says: Your struggle doesn’t have to become your stuck place.

Do you have losses?Bethlehem says: You can lose something precious without becoming a loser.

Do you have grief?Bethlehem says: Your grief does not have to become your grave.

Do you live with pain?Bethlehem says: Your pain can be reframed — it doesn’t have to paralyze you.

Do you know disappointment?Bethlehem says: Your disappointment doesn’t have to end in despair.

Bethlehem is the place where God gives you comfort, peace, and a new perspective even in the middle of sorrow.

[PAUSE – LET IT SIT]

COURSE 2 – THE BREAD OF PROVISION, REDEMPTION, & ACCEPTANCE

(Ruth 1–4 – Naomi, Ruth & Boaz)

[TRANSITION]

The second time we see Bethlehem is in the book of Ruth.

If course one was like a warm cinnamon roll for the hurting heart…

Course two is like plain white bread when you’re starving. Nothing fancy — just provision.

Ruth chapter 1 introduces us to:

Elimelech and his wife Naomi,

and their sons: Mahlon and Kilion – whose names in Hebrew basically mean “sick” and “failing.”

A famine comes to the land of Judah. Instead of trusting God in the promised land, Elimelech moves his family to Moab – enemy territory.

While in Moab:

Elimelech dies.

The two sons marry Moabite women – Orpah and Ruth.

Then both sons die too.

Naomi is left with nothing. Three widows. No husbands, no sons, no income, no security.

Naomi hears that in her hometown – Bethlehem – God has “visited His people” and given them bread again. So she decides to go home.

Orpah returns to her own family.

Ruth clings to Naomi and says, “Where you go, I will go.”

They arrive back in Bethlehem empty:

Ruth 1:21 KJV 1900

21 I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?

[TEACHING CUE]

They come back at the beginning of barley harvest. Barley was the cheap bread of Israel — the poor man’s bread.

If you’re starving, you’re not picky.

White bread with bologna tastes like a feast when your stomach is empty.

God had given Israel gleaning laws:

Landowners were forbidden to harvest the corners of their fields. They had to leave grain for the poor, the widows, the foreigners.

Ruth goes out to glean in a field that “just happens” to belong to a man named Boaz.

(We know nothing “just happens” with God.)

Boaz:

Notices this foreign, vulnerable woman,

Extends protection,

Shows generosity,

And quietly covers her shame.

When Ruth tells Naomi whose field she was in, Naomi lights up:

“Girl, that man is our kinsman-redeemer.”

In Israel’s law, a close male relative could:

Redeem the family land,

Marry the widow,

And raise up a name for the dead.

That’s exactly what Boaz does.

Boaz becomes a living preview of the Redeemer who was to come.

He finds Ruth gathering scraps at the edge of a field — and before she ever asks, he covers her with protection.

Before she earns anything, he provides in abundance.

Before she belongs, he welcomes her fully.

And when she is powerless to save herself, he steps forward as her kinsman-redeemer — paying the price, taking her hand in covenant, lifting her out of poverty, restoring her dignity, and giving her a future she never could have built on her own.

That is Christ in Bethlehem.

Jesus is the greater Boaz.

He sees us in our need, covers us with His grace, invites us to His table, redeems us by His blood, calls us His bride, and folds us into a story bigger than our broken past.

What Boaz did for Ruth in a field of barley,

Jesus does for us in the fields of mercy.

He marries Ruth.

Their baby boy Obed becomes the grandfather of David, Israel’s greatest king.

[APPLICATION CUE – QUESTIONS]

Bethlehem becomes a place of provision, redemption, and acceptance.

Where do you need provision?Where are you empty? Where do you need God to put bread in your hands?

Where do you need redeeming?A situation you can’t fix, a pit you can’t climb out of on your own?

Where do you feel unwanted, foreign, on the outside?Bethlehem says: There’s a place at the table for you.

If you make it to Bethlehem, you find a God who feeds you, rescues you, and welcomes you in.

COURSE 3 – THE BREAD OF ANOINTING, CALLING, & POWER

(1 Samuel 16 – David Anointed in Bethlehem)

[TRANSITION]

Course three is like multigrain bread — healthy, hearty, full of what you need to move and work.

This is where Bethlehem becomes the place of calling.

In 1 Samuel 16, Israel’s first king, Saul, has been rejected by God for disobedience. God sends the prophet Samuel to Bethlehem, to the house of Jesse, to anoint the next king.

1 Samuel 16:1 KJV 1900

1 And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.

Jesse lines up seven sons.

Samuel sees the oldest – tall, impressive, kingly – and thinks, “This must be the one.”

But the Lord tells him:

“Do not consider his appearance or his height… The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

— 1 Samuel 16:7

Finally Samuel asks, “Is this all your sons?”

Jesse almost as an afterthought says, “Well… there’s the youngest. He’s out with the sheep.”

They bring in David – the forgotten shepherd boy.

God says, “That’s him.”

Samuel pours the oil on his head in Bethlehem:

“From that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David.”

— 1 Samuel 16:13

[TEACHING CUE]

Bethlehem becomes the place where:

God sees what others overlook.

God calls what others discount.

God anoints what others ignore.

David walks into Bethlehem a kid watching sheep.

He walks out with a calling to shepherd a nation.

[APPLICATION CUE – SPEAK TO DIFFERENT GROUPS]

Maybe you feel like the last-born, the forgotten one, left in the field while others get paraded in front.

Maybe you’re in a midlife rut, going through motions with no sense of purpose.

Maybe you’re young and have no idea what God has for your future.

Bethlehem is where God:

Puts His hand on a life,

Gives vision,

Gives a calling bigger than you can carry,

And then clothes you with power to fulfill it.

You can’t do what God calls you to do in your own strength.

That’s why, in Bethlehem, the Spirit of the Lord comes powerfully upon David.

If you need fresh vision, fresh calling, fresh power…

You need a fresh trip to Bethlehem.

COURSE 4 – THE BREAD OF HOPE, PROMISE, & FUTURE

(Micah 5 – Prophecy of the Coming Ruler)

[TRANSITION]

Course four is like sourdough – the starter that can pass from generation to generation.

Some sourdough starters have been kept alive for 150–200 years.

It’s bread that goes the distance.

That’s the kind of bread Bethlehem serves in Micah 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…

He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD…

and they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.”

— Micah 5:2,4 (summary)

When Micah wrote those words:

The kingdom had split into Israel (north) and Judah (south).

The Assyrian empire had already conquered the north.

The south was full of corrupt leaders, injustice, moral decay, and spiritual decline.

National identity was collapsing.

It was dark.

But in that darkness God points back to this tiny town:

“You, Bethlehem… out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd My people and whose greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.”

Bethlehem is promised as:

A place of hope when everything feels hopeless.

A place of renewal and restoration.

A place of justice, righteousness, and shalom.

A place where true identity is restored.

[APPLICATION CUE]

In a world of:

Political turmoil

Moral confusion

Spiritual drift

God whispers through Micah:

“Look to Bethlehem. I’m sending someone from there who will set things right.”

THE BIG TURN – BETHLEHEM IS NOT JUST A PLACE

[TRANSITION – SLOW, SOFT]

So… have you journeyed to Bethlehem?

Not just the town on the map…

The Bethlehem behind the Bethlehem.

Have you come to:

The bread of comfort and peace?

The bread of provision and redemption?

The bread of calling and power?

The bread of hope and future?

Here’s the truth:

Bethlehem is not ultimately a place. Bethlehem is a Person.

All through the Old Testament, Bethlehem is like a shadow, a whisper, a pointer.

It’s pointing to Jesus.

JESUS – THE TRUE BETHLEHEM, THE BREAD OF LIFE

(John 6)

Jesus says in John 6:

John 6:32–35 KJV 1900

32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. 35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Bethlehem means “House of Bread.”

Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.”

He is:

The comfort when you grieve.

The provision when you’re empty.

The Redeemer when you’re stuck.

The Caller and Anointer when you’re confused about your purpose.

The Hope and Future in a world that feels like it’s falling apart.

The question is no longer, “Have you been to Bethlehem?”

The question is, “Have you come to Jesus?”

COMMUNION TRANSITION – “COMING TO BETHLEHEM”

[TRANSITION TO LORD’S SUPPER]

We’re going to come to the Lord’s Table together — to bread and cup — and we’re going to do it with Bethlehem in mind.

If you need the communion elements, just lift your hand and our ushers will serve you.

As they come, I want you to quietly thank Jesus:

Thank Him for being your bread of comfort and peace.

Thank Him for being your bread of provision and redemption.

Thank Him for being your bread of calling and power.

Thank Him for being your bread of hope, future, and promise.

Just whisper your gratitude while you wait.

I want to ask you tonight

Where do you need comfort today?

Where do you need provision?

Where do you need calling and direction?

Where do you need hope for the future?

You don’t have to get on a plane to go to Bethlehem.

You just have to open your heart to Jesus.

He is the bread of life.

He is God with us.

If you need Him in a fresh way today, just whisper:

“Jesus, I come to You.

Be my bread.

Be my Bethlehem.”

Amen.