Bethlehem, though small, plays an outsized role in the Bible.
In the Old Testament, we first come across Bethlehem in the book of Genesis. Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob, died in giving birth to her second son, Benjamin. Jacob buried her at the site of Bethlehem and erected a memorial stone for her (Genesis 35:19-20).
We next encounter Bethlehem in the story of Ruth. It is the hometown of Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law. Naomi’s story is complicated, but Ruth, a non-Israelite woman from Moab, eventually comes to Bethlehem with Naomi and marries Boaz, a leading man in the town. This story is significant because Ruth and Boaz are in the family line of David, the future king of Israel (Ruth 4).
A third incident that involves Bethlehem involves Samuel, the prophet and judge of Israel. Samuel anoints Saul as the first king, but his reign is a disappointment to God. The Lord asks Samuel to designate a new king and directs him to go to the house of Jesse, a descendant of Boaz and an equally leading man in the town of Bethlehem. Here, the Lord shows Samuel that David is to be the next king and Samuel anoints him appropriately (1 Samuel 16). After this, Bethlehem becomes known as the town/city of David (1 Samuel 20:6, Luke 2:4).
The fourth significant biblical role for Bethlehem comes at the birth of Jesus. The two accounts we have of Jesus’ birth locate the event in this town, the city of David, because Joseph, his supposed father, was from David’s line. At the time of Jesus, the Jews of Palestine believed that Bethlehem would be the birthplace of God’s Messiah, their Savior, because it was David’s hometown. Jesus’ critics doubt his credentials because they think he was born in Nazareth, a city in the Galilee about 90 miles to the north of Bethlehem (see John 7:42).
The scriptural basis for this was a prediction from the prophet Micah, an eighth-century contemporary of Isaiah. Micah said:
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. (Micah 5:2)
The famous nineteenth-century preacher, Phillips Brooks, immortalized Bethlehem in our imagination when he wrote:
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.
“Are met in thee tonight.” This is the promise of Christmas that we celebrate on this fourth Sunday of Advent. The long, long night is past. The morning breaks at last. Our Savior is born. God has taken on human form so that he might bring us reconciliation, redemption, forgiveness, justification, salvation, sanctification, and free us from the slavery of sin. May we all rejoice!
Mark Krause
Wildewood Christian Church
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