Little Bethlehem
One Year Bible: Dec. 16
Micah 5:1-7:20
Little Bethlehem
Yesterday, we looked at the “Back Story.”
Jonah sinned by running away from Sovereign God. He hated the Gentiles and was not about to see them be given a second chance or grace. When he was in the big fish “for three days and three nights,” he prayed for God to rescue him, which he did.
We looked at how Jesus compared Jonah as a foretelling of his “three days and nights” deep in the depths of the ground. But what did Jesus pray when representing His Father by going to the cross to give salvation to all people… Jew, Gentile, Male, Female, “Whosoever will may come.”
He prayed quite a different prayer than Jonah, “Not my will, but yours be done.”. (Luke 22:42)
While the book of Jonah gives us the “back story,” Micah gives us “The future”...
Micah begins with the words, “He has laid siege against us.” (5:1)
God’s people are about to be humbled, captured, and all may seem lost. But it is not!
Look at what Matthew 2:5 tells us, “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written.”
You see, they knew the words of Micah quite well, as you have heard them at every Christmas Eve service.
“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village in Judah. Yet, a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past. The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies until the time when the woman in labor gives birth to her son. Then, at last, his fellow countrymen will return from exile to their own land. 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 all around the world. And he will be the source of our peace…” (5:2-5)
Isn’t it interesting that God used a prophet shepherd, Micah, to proclaim to the people in the darkness that a prophet shepherd would be the one to bring them freedom from their captivity and peace instead of sorrow?
“O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie, Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by. Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.” (O Little Town of Bethlehem, Redner, and Brooks)
Micah’s prophecy told them of a place where Messiah would be born. Darkness would break into glorious light, and this child would be their long-awaited source of peace. Little Bethlehem.
But what does God want from us? Micah 6:8 was a song that I sang many years ago. It is easy to learn all the words when you sing them. The words are taken directly from scripture, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what the Lord requires of you. But to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
That is what God has always desired from His people, and it is what He still desires of us.
To Do Justly… Means to do what is right.
To Love Mercy… This means looking for every opportunity to respond to others with genuine concern, caring, and help.
To Walk Humbly…Means to walk in a way where “you are less”, and God and others are MORE.
And so, in the very same book, we catch a glimpse of the foretelling of prophecy in the word Bethlehem.
How will Messiah come?
He will come as a child born in a lowly manger in the most humble setting known to man. His entire life will be of humble means. He will wash his disciple's feet, point them to his father, and lay down all of His rights to serve His father’s plan for us.
What will Messiah do during his short earthly ministry?
Even as a young boy, he is found missing by his mother to be discovered teaching rabbis in the temple. His words will be, “Don’t you know I must be about my Father’s business.”
From this humble beginning and then to his temptations in the desert by the devil, He will always defer to His Father’s will. He will always choose to live Justly… to do what is right.
Why is the son of man known for hanging out with the outcasts, sick, demon-possessed, and other sinners?
He loved mercy. To the paralytic, sick, lame, demon-possessed woman at the well and to the thief on the cross, he will “speak life” to them. The outcasts of society.
You see, Micah has a lot to teach us about WHO God is… He is Just, Merciful, and humble. He is long-suffering and faithful.
And so he sent us a word picture…O Little Town of Bethlehem.
Humble but Hope Filled. Just but Gentle. Merciful and Mild.
"Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight."
(O Little Town of Bethlehem, Christmas Carol)
