O Little Town of Bethlehem

Good morning and Merry Christmas! Yes it is Christmas morning here in the panhandle and we are celebrating the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Christ Jesus. I pray you too can celebrate His presence in your life.

Micah 5:2
2 "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."

 

The angels rushed around it was only hours away now. In just a few short hours the Messiah would be born. They cleaned the little stable until it shined. “Why here?” Some asked. “Why not kick Herod out of that big place up on the hill over looking Bethlehem?” or “Why not in Jerusalem, the religious center of Israel? Surly this should be the place where the Son of God should be born.”

Now to place new straw in the manger and the softest cloth, and then a nice new warm top cover. Yes if it had to be in a stable this was the best, the cleanest, well a stable fit for the creator of the universe, if a stable could ever be fit.

The angels stood back wiped the sweat off their brows and admired their handy work. “Yes this would do.” It was about that time when Gabriel showed up and said, “we got it wrong put it all back the way it was.” “What!” the said others. “That’s right, the Father wants it just like it was. He says our Lord is coming as a man to save mankind. A humble servant from humble beginnings.”

And so it was that there in Bethlehem in a humble stable the Lord God Creator was born in a lowly stable.

Bethlehem – Bethlehem of Judea – For such a small town it has a big history. It is here that tradition points to the site of Rachel's tomb. It is near where the road to Bethlehem leaves the main road. Ruth, famous chiefly as the ancestress of David, and of the Messiah, settled in Bethlehem with her second husband Boaz.

David himself "was the son of that Ephrathite (ef-rawth-ee') of Bethlehem-judah, whose name was Jesse" (1 Sam 17:12). It was in Bethlehem that Samuel came to anoint a successor to unworthy Saul (1 Sam 16:4): "David went to and fro from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem" (1 Sam 17:15). Millenniums ago God’s Word, through the prophet Micah, shined its light upon Bethlehem, small Bethlehem, declaring that though small in Judea, an awesome event would occur there (Micah 5:2-3).

Over two thousand years ago, a celestial light – a –star – shined over it. It was in the surrounding fields that the angels appeared to frighten and then joyful shepherds. It was in her streets and inns that Israelites gathered in answer to the census that Caesar had issued.

Bethlehem, was overwhelmed with life. This unexpected census meant that this tiny village was suddenly packed to the gills, unprepared for the extra guests. The demands for food, water, and lodging must have stretched the townspeople to the max.

A year or so later the light led the wise men to the Christ child. They came to see the Light of the world. After their visit these wise men had an angel visit them in a dream, a dream that told them to avoid Herod.

After the birth of the Christ child and the visit of the wise men, Bethlehem was overwhelmed with grief. There was a darker side of Bethlehem’s Christmas, when a paranoid king ordered the slaughter of innocent children, a crime of unimaginable proportions (Matthew 1:13-18). When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under. He ordered this in accordance with the time of the new kings birth that he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

"A voice is heard in Ramah (raw-maw')
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,

because they are no more." Jeremiah 31:15

But before this happened and after the visit from the wise men, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son." And so, the child – who is the Light of the world escaped the sad fate of so many other baby boys of Bethlehem. The small family fled to Egypt and escaped the sword.

In time, those who believe that Christ Jesus is the Messiah would all understand that the announcement of heaven overwhelmed all other circumstances in little Bethlehem, even great grief.

So Little Bethlehem what lessons have we learned from you:

1. God is always at work: Worship Him!

In the midst of our circumstances, whether they good or bad, God is worthy of our praise. God never changes, while your circumstances change constantly. Therefore, God is worthy of your best song of love, right now.

And God’s favor is on you, even if your circumstances would argue to the contrary. Whether you can see it or not, God is always at work in your life.

2. God is always in control: Trust Him.

Mary and Joseph were making great changes in their lives, and they must have wondered several times if they were on the right path. Mary’s instructions had come in a mysterious vision. Joseph’s instructions had come in a dream. As the months passed since those incidents, there was, apparently, silence from God. How many times had she wondered if she’d heard properly? How many times had Joseph seen the doubtful looks from those who did not know about his dream, or why he decided to stay with Mary?

It must have meant the world to Mary and Joseph when the shepherds arrived, breathless with excitement, and filled with the wonder of a miraculous message. In the eyes of the shepherds, Mary and Joseph reconnected them with their own encounter with the Father. Later on, international travelers would visit, their eyes also filled with wonder. There would be conversations at the Temple with an old man and an old woman, both of them ecstatic with the joy of seeing a child whose arrival – they said – had been told to them by God Himself.

Trusting God is the challenge of life. It is the essence of faith. The entire Bible is woven around this principle. Moses had to trust that God was in control, even as Pharaoh turned the people against Moses. Noah had to trust God even though he’d never seen a flood. Ruth trusted as she walked toward Bethlehem with bitter Naomi. David had to trust as he waited to become king. Jeremiah had to trust as he followed a trail of tears out of Jerusalem.

When Mary and Joseph were asked to trust God on the backside of Bethlehem, they weren’t in a unique position. Instead, they were simply two more individuals in a very long line of God’s people who had been asked to believe that God was in control. Even if they couldn’t see the evidence of that control right at that moment. You’re in that line, too. God will ask you to trust Him, to let Him come into your life. To trust that He is in control, and believe He will do what is best for you always.

Little Bethlehem you teach us to worship Christ Jesus and you teach us to trust Him. What else do you have to teach us?

3. God loves us more than we’ll ever know: This is the gift of Christmas.

In our culture, it seems that Christmas is all about the gifts. We spend billions of dollars on gifts every holiday season. And yes, much of the joy of the holiday is in seeing the pleasure of a gift that has been chosen with care, and received with delight.

Christmas was God’s ultimate gift to you and all mankind. Christ Jesus would later say that it was God’s love for us that served as the motivation of Christmas. “For God so loved the world,” Jesus said in John 3:16, “that he gave his only begotten Son...”

The shepherds heard the song of Christmas, and returned to their fields with a different outlook on life. The magi were impacted with the Christ child they found, literally changing their path home as a result. Mary and Joseph – already convinced that God had led them to Bethlehem – left Bethlehem with a deeper conviction than ever that God could be trusted, and that the child they carried with them was the greatest gift the world had ever known.

Matt 1:21, 23 ~ And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins...Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 

Luke 2:9-11 ~ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Conclusion: Through the ages, millions more have found this gift, realizing that the God who is so worthy of worship, the God who tells us to trust Him, is also the God who first of all gave us a gift, motivated by unspeakable love, so that we could know Him personally. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8