A Ruler From Bethlehem

(See Micah 5:2-5)

Traveling to Bethlehem today might give you the wrong idea. Today the town holds over 20,000 people--not big by Jersey standards, but not small either. At the time when Mary and Joseph were plodding along the roads to take part in the census, it was a town of little consequence and less social impact, quietly settled in the large shadow of Jerusalem.

Reading this prophetic passage in Micah, it could almost feel as though a reference to this little town was tossed in at the last minute for no grand reason--like the long-winded storyteller who gives you the names, ages, and occupations of all the people in his story who you've never met.

But our God is never long winded, and he always has a purpose.

So, why Bethlehem and why the specific mention of it in Micah? There are likely many reason, but for now let's consider just this one.

Perhaps God chose Bethlehem because any other city would have seemed too predictable, too glamorous, too glitzy. A religious and national leader born and raised in Jerusalem would have been about as surprising as a banker coming from New York. You see, this way, the town gets out of the way and God gets the attention. Extraordinary things were going to come through Bethlehem and God doesn’t want the glory to be given to the place of origin. The glory goes to the Originator.

It seems that our Father has an affinity for taking the little things and making big deals of them. David was a boy shepherd and he was made king. The small stones that he found in the creek bed were used to bring down a giant. Mary, a middle school aged peasant, was made to be the mother of God. Joseph, a rough handed carpenter, was given the task of raising the Messiah. Fishermen were transformed to be the foundation layers of the church. A widow's two mites were made much of. Jesus gathered children to himself saying that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them. And Bethlehem was the birthplace of the King.

Not many wise, not many powerful, not many noble. “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Cor 1:27-29).

God uses humble tools. Then, he honors the tools and gives them a place in the legacy of his rescue plan for the world. The city of Bethlehem didn’t choose to be used--it didn’t win a national elective process for “Birthplace of the Messiah” honors. But it was chosen and it was used. And God gets the glory.

Why the mention of Bethlehem in Micah? To show, once again, that God makes something from nothing.

Tim W. Shorey