BETHLEHEM – TINY TOWN!

Monday, December 16, 2019

BETHLEHEM – TINY TOWN!

Matt 2:6

6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

           There are actually two towns named Bethlehem in the Bible. One is Bethlehem in the land of Zebulon. It is a ruined village about 6 miles west-north-west of Nazareth and is mentioned only once in Joshua 19:15. The Bethlehem that we know about is about 5 miles south of Jerusalem but a weary 90 miles from Nazareth.

           Bethlehem, or Beit-Lahm, means “house of flesh or bread.” It was the birthplace of another king named David (1 Samuel 16:4-13). There is a church still existing, built by Constantine the Great (A.D. 330 AD), called the "Church of the Nativity," over a grotto or cave called the "holy crypt," and said to be the "stable" in which Jesus was born. This is perhaps the oldest existing Christian church in the world. (From Easton's Bible Dictionary.) Tourists today gain access through a “needle’s eye” door which forces them to bend down to enter.

           In the margin of my old red-backed Bible there is an explanation that the word “rule” used in Matthew 2:6 is the Greek word poimanei which actually means “to tend as a shepherd; to feed.” This is the work of the shepherd king. Well-fed was well led and it reminds us of the benefits mentioned in Psalm 23.

           God favors the insignificant. He loves to pit David against Goliath. He prefers Gideon and his handful of soldiers with pitchers and lamps. He loved Bethlehem and honored it as the birthplace of His own Son.

Mic 5:2

2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

O Little Town Of Bethlehem

Words: Phillips Brooks

Music: "St. Louis" by Lewis H. Redner

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 holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;

Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today.

We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;

O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!

Dear Lord, favor we small and insignificant servants today. AMEN