O Little Town of Bethlehem
I’m currently writing an Advent devotional entitled The Anticipated Christ. It’s the companion to my Lenten devotional The Unvarnished Jesus. Today I wrote three meditations and I’m now about halfway done with the book. I thought I would share the most recent meditation with you.
O Little Town of Bethlehem
But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
who are one of the little clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth from me
one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient of days…
He shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord our God.
And they will abide undisturbed,
for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth;
and this one shall be our peace
(Micah 5:2-5)
The prophet Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah of Jerusalem, prophesying seven hundred years before Christ. Micah is best known to us as the one who prophesied the birth of Messiah in Bethlehem. Of course, Bethlehem was the birthplace of King David, so it makes sense that the messianic Son of David would also be born there. Nevertheless, Bethlehem was only a small and seemingly insignificant village, but this is in keeping with the ways of God — the work of God often emerges from quiet obscurity.
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