But You Bethlehem Ephrthah!

Matthew 2

1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

3When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

5So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;

For out of you shall come a Ruler

Who will shepherd My people Israel.’

Micah 5

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.”

3 Therefore He shall give them up,

Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth;

Then the remnant of His brethren

Shall return to the children of Israel.

4 And He shall stand and feed His flock

In the strength of the LORD,

In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God;

And they shall abide,

For now He shall be great

To the ends of the earth;

5 And this One shall be peace.

q Who sent Him?

q Where did He come to?

q Why did He come?

q Was He here before?

Who sent Him?

Micah 5:2 the Father sent Him.

We can forget that at the heart of our salvation, the Father is present, along with the Holy Spirit who impregnated Mary.

There is no distinction in honour; we give it solely to Jesus yet here we see the Trinity in unity bringing Jesus to the earth.

What was that day like in heaven when the Son left?

‘Go’, said the Father, ‘Go’ said the Spirit, ‘I will go’ said the Son.

When Jesus unrobed Himself the angels looked on. He took off His crown, his clothes of glory and clothed Himself with a robe of clay.

How the angels bowed down in wonder that the Eternal God should become lower than they. Did they weep? Did they wonder at the love He had for mortals?

Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. And

Heb 2:7 & Ps8:5

They saw Him leave, they heralded His arrival and they attended Him through to the cross, watching has God gave Himself to redeem sinful humankind at the Father’s command under the anointed Holy Spirit.

They couldn’t bear to leave Him; once you meet Him, you don’t want anything else.

Heb 10:9 He came to do the will of the Father

Every step He took was marked by the approval of the I AM.

Where did He come to?

Bethlehem as spoken by the prophet Micah.

Why not the splendour of Jerusalem? Surely Kings are born here?

The first mention of Bethlehem is when Rachel died in Gen 35

She died in childbirth as she borne Benjamin (the son of my right hand) to Jacob. (Ben-oni child of sorrow)

Another women Naomi who bought back Ruth the gentile.

Jew and Gentile blood unite here through Boaz and Ruth to bring to birth the Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David, who we know is the linage of Jesus.

Bethlehem was the city of Royalty where Kings were born.

Jesus wasn’t born a prince, but a King. No other person has been born King.

Bethlehem has a double meaning;

q House of bread

q House of war

Jesus was born in the house of manna, being the bread from heaven.

John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. & Jn 6:35

Where do we get food and nourishment? The world, careers etc.

He is food to the righteous but causes war to the wicked.

Mat 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

He is either house of bread to you or house of war.

If you don’t eat the bread of heaven and sip the liquor of the Rose of Sharon, then from His mouth shall come a two-edged sword.