Bethlehem

I’ve been a nerd for most of my life. As such, I’ve grown accustomed to the blank stares I receive as I talk about computers, video games, superheroes, etc. When I get into one of my nerdy rants, it’s not uncommon for my wife to tell me, “You know I have no idea what you’re talking about, right?”

When I followed God’s call to become a pastor, I hoped that it would curb some of my nerdiness. Certainly, pastors don’t get the same blank stares reserved for computer nerds, right? However, to my dismay, I found that nerdiness is just something in my DNA. Regardless of the topic, my passion for knowledge and understanding will always set me apart. As such, in addition to the title of computer nerd, I have happily accepted my newly earned title of “theology nerd.”

Being a pastor, however, does come with its perks. As a computer nerd people are free to tune me out and ignore everything I have to say. However, as a pastor and theology nerd, I have a captive audience each week, and in my experience, only about half of them will fall asleep. Out of those remaining, half will ignore me by checking their cell phones during the message. That means I have about 25% of the people each week that will at least hear what I have to say. That’s a way bigger audience than most computer nerds will ever get.

With Christmas around the corner, my theological guilty pleasure has been the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah. We see many of them referenced within the nativity stories and throughout the gospels, but since I’m a stickler for context, I wanted to go back to the Old Testament prophecy in order to see what exactly was said. How were these statements that are seen as messianic prophecies by the early church understood by the ancient Jews looking forward to their messiah?

Recently I’ve been asking these questions about one passage in particular. The prophecy, written by one of the minor prophets, can be found in a book that you’ve likely never intentionally turned to. Found in Micah 5:1-5, this prophecy tells of more than just the messiah.         

Micah was a prophet in southern Judah roughly around 735 and 700 B.C. Throughout his writings we see him alternating between oracles of doom and oracles of hope, and this passage is no different. He first tells of a time in which Israel, or more likely Judah, will be overcome by their enemy. Unfortunately for Israel, this was not an uncommon occurrence. Throughout its history, Israel and Judah were conquered on multiple occasions. However, this one is particularly bad.

Notice in the prophecy that it is said, “They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod.” While this could be taken literally, it has a deeper meaning as well. I’m sure you’re familiar with the old adage “a slap in the face.” When someone uses this phrase they’re referring to a humiliating event or action. If your parents fly across the country to see you and you blow them off and ignore them, they’d say it was a slap in the face. You didn’t literally slap them but the insult is equal to a slap in the face.

Likewise, a ruler is to either die in their bed surrounded by their family or die gloriously in battle with their army. For a ruler to be slapped in the face with a rod means that enemy has completely overpowered them, and to add insult to injury, doesn’t outright kill the them but instead publicly humiliates them.

Scholars debate what event he’s alluding to in these verses, but it’s most likely referring to King Nebuchadnezzar’s capture of Jerusalem during the reign of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, around 586 B.C. His story comes to an end in 2 Kings 25. It tells of his rebellion against King Nebuchadnezzar and his ultimate capture. He was taken back to capture where he faced the greatest humiliation a king could endure. Each of his sons were murdered before his eyes right before his own eyes were gouged out. He then spent the rest of his life in a Babylonian prison.

However, much like the rest of his prophecies, Micah swings from the doom and gloom to an oracle of hope. Amidst the darkness a ruler would be born that would unite the people once again. “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.”

Bethlehem is often referred to as the City of David. We see in 1 Samuel 16:1 that Samuel is told to go to Jesse of Bethlehem, David’s father. Here in this prophecy it is distinguished even further by indicating Bethlehem Ephrathah. Ephrathah is likely the district in which Bethlehem is located. 1 Samuel 17:12 tells us, “Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem.” It’d be like saying, “Derrick, son of Alvin, an Iowan from Montpelier.” It’s also referred to in many instances as Bethlehem Judah because, much like Ephrathah, it is located within the territory of Judah.

The one that would come out of Bethlehem would be “one who will be ruler of Israel.” During this time the nation of Israel was split in two, Israel and Judah. Yet this prophecy speaks of one that will rule over a united kingdom. All of Israel will be abandoned (Micah 5:3), but in their time of need a great ruler will rise up to unite the people.

The ruler that would come from Bethlehem is said to be “whose origins are from old, from ancient times.” In our Christian worldview, the first name to come to mind when we think of someone “whose origins are from old, from ancient times” is Jesus. One may think that we’re trying to impart our modern worldview onto an ancient text in an attempt to understand it in a way that was never intended. However, this is exactly how the ancient Israelites understood this text as well. They knew full well that the words of the prophet Micah told of a coming messiah that would unite Israel in its time of need.

In Matthew 2:3-6, when the chief priests were asked of King Herod where the messiah was to be born, they quote this passage from Micah. They understood that this ruler to come, the one whose origins are from old, the one that would stand and shepherd his flock, whose greatness will reach the ends of the earth, and who will bring peace, was first to be born in the small town of Bethlehem.

As the old Christmas song says, Bethlehem was “little.” Even in the prophecy it’s described as small. This likely indicates not only its physical size and population but also its significance. Yet, in spite of its obscurity, Bethlehem was the birthplace of the great King David and was to be the birthplace of his heir, the messiah.

With two great rulers coming from this place, you’d think that it’d be a huge tourist attraction. You’d think the people of Bethlehem would be capitalizing on this. They could convert David’s childhood home into a historic landmark. They could sell t-shirts that say, “I walked where King David slept,” or “Bethlehem, I was there before the messiah.” If nothing else, you’d expect the people of Bethlehem to take great pride in their heritage and their future. Everyone would have a bumper sticker on the back of their mule that says, “The Best Kings Come From Bethlehem.”

Yet, despite its history and its future, Bethlehem remained a small, insignificant town. Jerusalem, however, knew grandeur. Captured by King David around 1010 B.C., it was also known as the City of David. The place of the palace and the temple, Jerusalem was a big deal in Israel. Why couldn’t the messiah be born there?

The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth telling them, “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” (1 Corinthians 1:27). Bethlehem, despite being the birthplace of Israel’s greatest king and the future birthplace of the messiah, remained just a little town while Jerusalem, David’s conquest for the Lord, was a city of great standing.

But it was the small, insignificant town that God chose to use. Jesus Christ, the Lord of all creation, deserved to be born in the most glorious accommodations this world had to offer. He deserved to be born in Jerusalem, the City of David. Yet God chose to be born in the most humble of conditions. Just like David before him, God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose Bethlehem, small, insignificant Bethlehem, to be the birthplace of not one, but two great kings.

God chooses the foolish to shame the wise and the weak to shame the strong. That’s the way it was back then, and it’s the way he still works today. You may see wealthy celebrities, businessmen, or politicians giving thousands of dollars to help this charity or that, but the truth is that the majority of the good done in this world comes from people just like you and me. We don’t need to be wise, rich, or strong for God to use us. We need only be willing.

Within the Church of the Nazarene, December is designated as Compassion Month. It is a month when we remember our call to love and serve other as Christ. For more information on how you can become involved, please visit http://www.ncm.org/compassion.