BETHLEHEM PROPHECY
Since October 7th, most
of the World has been focused on a small strip of land called Gaza due to the
war between Israel & Hamas. Gaza is tucked among Israel, Egypt, and the
Mediterranean Sea. The strip is 25 miles long and 7 miles wide. It has 2.3
million people living in an area of 139 square miles. It is approximately twice
the size of Washington, D.C. It shares a border with Israel to the north and East
and Egypt to the south.
Compared with other areas, Gaza has a vast young population. In contrast, only 22% of the U.S. population is under 18. Two-thirds of the
Palestinians living in Gaza are refugees. Most of the population is Muslim.
There is also a tiny native Palestinian Christian population.
Many innocent
people have been killed and wounded, and many more have been displaced on both
sides of the conflict. What is happening in Gaza is heart-wrenching.
We pray for God's intervention in the provision and protection of Gaza's
innocent civilians. While the rest of the World focused on Gaza, many Christians
during the Christmas season either think about or even make a pilgrimage to
another tiny place in the Holy Land.
What might that place be? By lighting one candle each week of Advent, we help
ourselves prepare for Jesus's birth. Last week, we lit a candle that signified
our hope and waiting for our Messiah. Today, we light the second candle, the
Bethlehem candle (Love). It represents the journey of Joesph and Mary to their
hometown, Bethlehem. We will look at the significance of Bethlehem. And the
prophecy about Bethlehem and its impact on us as we live and wait between the
two Advents of Christ's first and second coming. Luke 2:1-7
I. The Ancient Town of Bethlehem.
Bethlehem is a little
town with a rich biblical history. In Hebrew, it is pronounced "Beit-lehem."
"Beit" means house, and "Lechem" means bread. Together, it
is the "House of Bread."
The Bible
first mentions Bethlehem as the town nearest to where Jacob's
wife Rachel died and was buried (Gen 35:19; 48:7). Bethlehem
was where the romantic love story between a foreigner(Moabite) named Ruth, and
an influential man Boaz a relative of Naomi's husband flourished and ended in
their wedding. Bethlehem is where they also had their son, Obed, who was the
grandfather of King David (Ruth 4:13,17).
David was
anointed to be the King of Israel in Bethlehem. (I Sam 16). There is something
to be said about the waters of Bethlehem. While David camped at the cave of
Adullam, three of his war heroes risked their lives breaking through a
Philistine garrison that occupied Bethlehem to bring David water to drink from
the well at the city's gate (2 Sam23:13–17).
As the City
of David, Bethlehem became a symbol of the king's dynasty. Under Solomon and
later Rehoboam, Bethlehem became a strategic fortress. Much later, after the
murder of Gedaliah in the days of Babylonian occupation, some Jewish refugees
stayed near Bethlehem on their way to Egypt (Jeremiah 41:17). Later,
more than a hundred people from Bethlehem were among those who returned to
their homeland from exile in Babylon (Ezra 2:21; Nehemiah 7:26).
II Bethlehem Prophecy
This little obscured
town played a huge role in changing the history of the World with the prophecies
of two southern prophets. Instead of caring
for God's sheep, some prophets and leaders of Israel have destroyed and
scattered them. Jeremiah prophesied in 586 B.C. how God would raise a righteous
descendant from King David's line who would care for his people.
Jeremiah 23: 4-6 "For the time
is coming," says the Lord, "when I will raise up a righteous
descendant from King David's line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He
will do what is just and right throughout the land. And this will be his name:
'The Lord Is Our Righteousness. 'In that day, Judah will be saved, and Israel
will live in safety."
In 800 B.C, Micah
prophesied where this descendant of David would be born. Micah 5:2-5, "But
you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of
Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come
from you on my behalf.
The people of
Israel will be abandoned to their enemies until the woman in labor gives birth…And
he will stand to lead his flock with the Lord's strength, in the majesty of the
name of the Lord his God. Then his people will live there undisturbed, for he
will be highly honored around the World. And he will be the source of Peace."
How was this prophecy fulfilled?
III. The Journey
of Joseph & Mary to Bethlehem (Luke 2:1-7)
Several hundred years after
Micah's prophecy, as per the decree of the Roman emperor, Augustus, Joseph, and
Mary traveled to Bethlehem to be registered in the census. The distance
they traveled is not specified in the Bible, but it is estimated to be
approximately 70-90 miles. The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem would
have been a challenging one. The terrain was hilly, and the journey likely
would have taken several days, perhaps up to a week. Joseph and Mary would have
had to navigate rugged terrain, find food and water, and face other challenges,
such as bandits or wild animals. And while
they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her
firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a
manger because there was no lodging available for them."
This little town of Bethlehem drew
the attention of the wise men of the East. They went straight to the palace of
King Herod, asking, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his
star as it rose, and we came to worship him." Herod was deeply disturbed
and asked his wise men where the Messiah would be born. They referred to
Micah's prophecy. He told the wise men to go to Bethlehem, carefully search for
the child, and report back to him. But the wise men, after worshiping the
newborn king, went back to their country in another way, as warned by God.
IV. A Baby became
the Bread and the Water of Spiritual Life.
The
prophecy of Bethlehem was not just about Mary's baby but about a ruler of
Israel. How does Bethlehem Prophecy impact us today? Bethlehem means "House
of Bread," probably suggesting a broader context of "food"
because of its nearness to bountiful fields within the Judean desert. The town
of Bethlehem is about five miles southwest of Jerusalem in the hill country of
Judah, about 2,500 feet above sea level. The climate is mild, and rainfall is
plentiful. Fertile fields, orchards, and vineyards surround the city.
Bethlehem's food satisfied many
people's hunger, and its waters quenched their thirst. But the spiritual hunger
and thirst can not be filled and quenched by just physical food and water. How
could we meet those insatiable needs of the human soul? God chose Bethlehem as
the strategic place to meet those needs. Out of His great love, God sent his
only Son, Jesus Christ, to be born of the virgin Mary. Mary's baby became the
bread and the water of spiritual life.
The crowds said our ancestors ate
Manna; the Scriptures say, "Moses gave them bread from heaven." What
can you do that we might believe in you? Jesus replied, "Moses did not
give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now He offers you the true bread
from heaven.
The true bread of God is the one who
comes down from heaven and gives life to the World. Sir, they said, "Give
us that bread every day. Jesus replied, "I am the bread of life."
Whoever comes to me will never go hungry again. Whoever believes in me will
never be thirsty. But you haven't believed in me even though you have seen me.
However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject
them." (John 6: 28-37)
On this second Sunday of Advent,
perhaps like the people in Jesus's time, you have seen many miracles in your
life yet remain unbelieving. Are you spiritually hungry and thirsty? Come to
Jesus, the bread of life, and let Him satisfy your spiritual hunger and thirst.
