Verses: Micah 5:2-5
2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are too small to be among the army groups from Judah,
from you will come one who will rule Israel for me.
He comes from very old times,
from days long ago.”
3 The Lord will give up his people
until the one who is having a baby gives birth;
then the rest of his relatives will return
to the people of Israel.
4 At that time the ruler of Israel will stand
and take care of his people
with the Lord’s strength
and with the power of the name of the Lord his God.
The Israelites will live in safety,
because his greatness will reach all over the earth.
5 He will bring peace.
- In Micah, God has clearly told his people that the savior would be born in Bethlehem hundreds of years before Jesus was born, and that is how the wise men were instructed to find baby Jesus there.
- Of all the cities in Israel or Judah, Bethlemen is one of the smallest and insignificant cities at the time of Jesus’ birth. Yet it is the city that gives birth to King David and Jesus. God sure doesn’t overlook small cities, just like how he doesn’t overlook what the world considers as weak and insignificant among us!
- Have you ever listened to the Christmas carol “Little town of Bethlehem”? Find it on YouTube and listen to it, while imagining the magical atmosphere around this little city on the night Jesus was born, and this world has a brand new hope.