Here is another prophecy to educate Israel about the Messiah and her need of him. They, as we do, got confused. Sometimes we try to make things more intricate than they are. That’s how Satan works. He tries to confuse things. God, however, is not the author of confusion. Everything involved in the Christmas story is in such an order that anyone can understand. The Bible says that a wayfaring (homeless) man wouldn’t err in it. If a person misses heaven, it won’t be because he failed to understand but because he got things turned around.
The place of Jesus’ birth was determined long before it happened.
Micah 5: 1Now 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. 2But thou, Bethlehem 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.
Due to the fault of man, the first Christmas was a surprise to many. It brought jealously on Herod’s part. Largely it was just unnoticed. I’m so thankful for the record of his birth that we have in the gospels. Only a few received him that night. That’s the way it is.
The real meaning of Christmas is played down leaving the holiday itself in the spotlight. The success is measured by sales, and the emphasis is on shopping. That’s all right in its place I suppose, but don’t you let anything take the Lord’s place in Christmas. He thought so much of you that he came to earth. You and I are the reasons he came.
Bethlehem was a small, insignificant town among the thousands of towns in Israel. Ruth met Boaz there. Their great grandson was King David, and the line of the Messiah would come through him. Little was mentioned of Bethlehem in the Bible, much of it in passing. Even now it’s still considered a small town eight miles south of Jerusalem. God said BUT YOU BETHLEHEM. 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. It was Bethlehem that would play an important role in the salvation of the world. A little nobody town of poor people was chosen by God.
Do you feel that way sometimes? Do you feel like you’re a little nobody who means nothing to anyone? Do you think God doesn’t consider you? The opposite is true. God didn’t choose the larger, more famous towns. He chose Bethlehem. It was significant to him. You are significant to God. Yes, you are! The story of the Messiah and Christmas becoming a reality is the story of Jesus. It’s the story of the others involved. It is our story too. But you Bethlehem—small, but God saw it. He’s saying the same to us. Don’t underrate yourself as a person. You do matter. You are important. You are part of the Christmas story. The news was for all people as a whole but for everyone individually.
God put Bethlehem on the map as far as its significance. It couldn’t help it that it was a little town with little to offer. You may feel that way about yourself. It’s not how you appear to others that matters. A person can be known by everyone, but without Jesus he won’t be happy. He won’t have purpose. We can have material things, but without Jesus we really have nothing. There is not much to any of us, but we have a soul that’s important, a soul that God loves.
God chose Bethlehem. He chose us. Through Jesus Christ, we are on the map. We may live and die down here and not much be made of it. Don’t sell yourself short. Jesus knows who you are, and he loves you. God was motivated by love to send his only begotten son to save you. Life is worth living. You are an eternal somebody so thought of by the highest power there is that he was willing to be born in a remote little town and be your Savior.
We could have been a citizen of Bethlehem whose house had a stable that was chosen by God for his son to be born in. Most people had stables for their animals, and one poor person’s was chosen, because they were thoughtful and willing. We are that somebody. When Christmas is long over and we think about it, we remember Jesus was born in Bethlehem in someone’s stable. We remember he was wrapped in someone’s swaddling clothes and laid in someone’s manger. If he allowed himself to be born in such lowly circumstances, he thinks a great deal of the place it happened. In God’s eyes Bethlehem was already on the map.
You’re on the map. We’re all on the map. Christmas is for us. Christmas is us—God’s Son and us. He chose to visit us with his Son. Will you offer him your stable and your manger, what swaddling clothes you have? He’ll be at home. Be like the nameless someone in Bethlehem who made room in his stable for the Son of God. And you too will forever be remembered.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 