The Miracle of Bethlehem
Acknowledgement to Ps Stephen Armstrong, Verse by Verse Ministries
A young boy wanted a new bike for Christmas, but his mother told him they didn’t have enough money that year. So the boy decided to ask Jesus for a bike, but he assumed Jesus would only answer his prayer if he was good enough. So the young boy sat down to write Jesus a letter…
He began the letter, "Dear Jesus, I want a new bike, so I promise I will be good for one year…” but then the boy paused to consider that promise for a moment. Being good for a whole year was a long time and mostly likely impossible anyway.
So he scratched that out and scribbled, "Dear Jesus I will be good for one whole month…" but then he scratched that out too, and he finally decided to go with, "Dear Jesus I will be good for one whole week..."
But on this particular week the boy had already been punished three times for various misdeeds…and it was only Monday! His chances of getting that bike seemed bleak, so in disgust he tore up the paper and went for a walk to clear his head.
As he went he passed by a local church with a traditional Nativity scene on the front lawn. Suddenly, he had an idea. He began running as fast as he could toward the Nativity, and as he passed it by, he scooped up the figure of Mary into his arms and ran home.
When he reached his house, he ran straight into his room and began to write a new letter... "Dear Jesus if you ever want to see your mother again…"
Lucky that little guy was’nt in Bethlehem 2000 years ago!
But what happened in Bethlehem all this time ago and all the events leading to Mary being in this specific town had been foretold centuries before. We know that Isaiah prophesied a long time before this and said that Jesus would be born of a virgin
Isaiah 7:14 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Mary was the chosen one, but she lived in Nazareth.
And not long after Isaiah prophesied this, Micah prophesied that Jesus would be born in the small town of Bethlehem
Micah 5:2 2 “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.”
As a result of this prophesy, at this time everyone assumed that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. But when the time came for the Messiah, Jesus, to be born, He wasn’t born to a family in Bethlehem, He was born to a family that lived over 85 miles away, in another town called Nazareth
But God didn’t want His Son born in Nazareth…He wanted Him to be born in Bethlehem, so God made sure the family moved from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus.
Ephrath or Ephrathah is an alternate name for the region around Bethlehem. This is not the first time we hear about this area, we also read about it in Genesis 35. We read this
Genesis 35:16-21 16 Then they [Jacob and family] moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. 17 And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, “Don’t despair, for you have another son.” 18 As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.
19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel’s tomb.
21 Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder [or the Tower of Eder].
(Eder means flock- so also called Tower of the Flock) So thousands of years before this, Rachel too was on her way to Bethlehem, to this very region to give birth. It is also in this area that King David was born and crowned king of Israel there by Samuel (1 Samuel 16). So we have King David and the King of the Kings being born here.
We also see in this text that even in this time, agriculture particularly the raising of sheep was an important part of life and watch-towers were built to help protect the flocks of sheep and became even more important after King David’s reign. The most notable tower built was Migdal Eder.
Getting back to the birth of Jesus
Luke 2:1-5The Birth of Jesus 2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
Can you imagine just how inconvenient this is? As we husbands know so well this can be a most difficult time! But imagine being forced to travel 85 miles when you’re 9 months pregnant and about to give birth. It’s not like you can call up an Uber-chariot train or anything. The roads are a lot worse than even those in South Australia, so the trip itself is a challenge. There’s no air-conditioned transport in winter, no comfy seats and ladies it’s definitely no use shouting at your husband telling to get to the hospital faster! Despite going through red traffic lights- which Joseph did not have! It’s not going to help! Besides all this, if I personally suddenly had to deliver a baby in the middle of nowhere on my own, I would probably just faint at the goings on, so that would be even more inconvenient! And embarrassing!
But think about this. God has planned everything from the beginning of time. Isaiah and Micah (and others) had prophesied this very event hundreds of years before. Joseph and Mary had to be in Bethlehem for the birth of the Messiah and so they had to be moved from Nazareth to Bethlehem just at the right time. And so this totally inconvenient census by Caesar Augustus, made Joseph and Mary do something they would not ever want to do at that time of their lives, and that is go to Bethlehem. And while Caesur Augustus thought he had organised this census, we can see now that God had orchestrated this from the beginning of time
Proverbs 21:1 21 The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord;
He turns it wherever He pleases.
Is this not happening today in the world, with leaders and their decisions?
But what about when we like Mary are put into situations which are just so inconvenient, sometimes so difficult. Do we think – wow God where are You in all this- why am I being put through this! But God wanted Mary to be in Bethlehem. There is a bigger story to be told, there is a bigger picture, one where our comfort and convenience is but a miniscule part. Sometimes we think to ourselves, I’m being obedient why aren’t things going better, or maybe it’s because I’m not in God’s will? But God did not make the journey smoother and softer, he strengthened them. We are not guaranteed comfort and convenience we are we are promised meaning despite the inconvenience and discomfort.
But why Bethlehem?
Well this area of Ephrathah was a unique agricultural area. As we said this was David’s ancestral home, he was crowned here, but God never allowed him to build the temple. For that he had to wait for his son Solomon. But David was tasked with all the preparations. And one of the things he did to aside a piece of his family land near Bethlehem for the priests of Israel to raise the sacrificial sheep. And according to ancient historical records, he set aside what was known as the Field of David which was located one mile east of the town of Bethlehem. And In the field, priests built stone watch towers for the shepherds to guard the sheep and keep watch for potential dangers
Today, we can find ruins of stone watch towers scattered throughout a field one mile east of the city of Bethlehem, just as recorded. In fact, there are more shepherd watch towers in this one field than have been discovered anywhere else in the world
Why were so many built here, because this was part of a designated area to produce the most important sheep in all Israel
The lambs raised in this area were to be used for the daily sacrifices made by the priests at the temple. In particular the Passover Lamb, the most important sacrifice of the Jewish year, would come from here. According to the Law, a sacrificial lamb had to be spotless and without any blemishes whatsoever. So the priests went to great length to protect and watch over these special lambs .
Micah also talks about Migdal Eder in relation to end times in Micah 4
Micah 4:6-8, Zion’s Future Triumph
6 “In that day,” says the Lord,“I will assemble the lame,I will gather the outcast
And those whom I have afflicted;7 I will make the lame a remnant,
And the outcast a strong nation;
So the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on, even forever.
8 And you, O tower of the flock [Migdal Eder],
The stronghold of the daughter of Zion,To you shall it come,
Even the former dominion shall come,The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”
And so on that particular night , when Jesus was born in Bethleham, the town was full of people because of the census and so Mary found a stable where she went into labour and Jesus was born.
Joseph and Mary wouldn’t have chosen this but this is exactly what God wanted, exactly what God planned… His Son born like a lamb. God gave them no other option, because He wanted everyone to understand what this special Child would do for all humanity. Jesus would be the Lamb of God, born among the flock of temple sheep destined to be sacrificed at the temple, Spotless and without blemish where one day He, the Good Shepherd would one day lay His own life down for His sheep
So it’s no coincidence that Jesus’ first visitors on that night were none other than the very shepherds who watched over the sacrificial lambs in those towers
Luke 2:8-12
8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock at night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 And so the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Saviour, who is [a]Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a [b]manger.”
The world changed for ever more! Our future changed for ever more then the angels then went on in Vs 15
Luke 2:13-14 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.”
And His favour rests on us! AND so does His peace!How do we know this, because we know (from Philippians)…
That the …
peace of God will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:7)
So we need not be …
anxious about anything,… simply, present your requests to God. (Phil 4:6)
So we can…
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Phil 4:4)
Why? Because….
The Lord is near. (Phil 4:5)
It doesn’t get better than that! We are truly a blessed and chosen people!