Why Bethlehem? (part 3)

Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1-6

In the first two devotions of this series, we saw that on earth there was a bloodline that was being followed. From Adam, to Seth, to Noah, to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah. From there the family goes to Boaz and Ruth, down to David. As we know, this ultimately leads to Jesus. On the other side of this coin, there is a spiritual battle in which Satan wants to destroy the child Jesus, and he is willing to kill as many people as it takes to make this happen. We saw that Herod killed all the boy babies two years old and under in Bethlehem after Jesus was born. The question we must ask is "How did he know to kill only the boy babies in Bethlehem?"

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“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”

Micah 5:2

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

Matthew 2:1-6

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Micah the prophet made a statement that seems benign in the text if you do not know what is actually being said. The priests and religiously educated in Israel understood that this was a Messianic prophecy. It was this prophecy that led the people to look for a King who would deliver them from the oppression of the Babylonians, Persians, and eventually the Greeks and Romans. God was going to send His king who would save them from their enemies.

After Jesus was born, the wise men (Magi) followed a star to the house in which Mary and Joseph were living in Bethlehem. However, before they arrived at the house, they stopped off to see King Herod and ask him where the child was to be born. He asked the priests, and they told him of Micah's prophesy. Herod planned to use the Magi to lead him to the child, but God warned them in a dream and they left Israel by a different route. When Herod realized that he had been played, he took matters into his own hands and guessed that two years old was a safe enough time frame to make sure he killed this "new king".

Matthew lets us know that Micah's prophecy was important in the events of Jesus's birth. Jesus had to be born to the right family, in the right city, and for the right purpose. He couldn't just be anyone born anywhere. While many people may claim to be the messiah, there is no way that they honestly could have met all of the requirements. Only Jesus did this.

One theory about the Magi is that they were looking for the Messiah because they had been taught by Daniel in Babylon. If this is true, Micah's prophecy could have been one of the teachings Daniel taught them. Micah was a prophet around 150 years before Daniel. Regardless, these men knew that an important child was born, and they wanted to worship Him.

Father, You made it clear that Your Son would be born in Bethlehem. Sadly, people were not looking for His birth. Just like then, people today are not looking for His return. I pray that we would be like the magi. Help us to look expectantly for His coming.