Let us not glide over the fact that Christ was born in Bethlehem. Do you realize how this shocked the Jewish people? The Old Testament is clear about the importance of Jerusalem. Scripture says, “Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion (Jerusalem), that is, the city of David” (2 Sam. 5:7). Jerusalem is called the “city of David.” Jerusalem is the home of the Temple; it is the place of kings. It is the proper place where the King of Kings ought to be born.
But things are not as they ought to be. Jesus, the king of Kings, is born in Bethlehem, a poor, peasant town of perhaps 100 people about 6 miles from Jerusalem. Bethlehem's only claim to fame is that it was the birthplace of David, the greatest king of Israel in the Old Testament. And yet, it was to Bethlehem that the prophet Micah (750 years before Christ) foretold would come the ruler in Israel (5:2). This was shocking to the hearers of the prophecy, for the ruler of Israel should be born in a palace, not a small, one-claim-to-fame town.
The fact that the ruler for Israel was born in Bethlehem and not Jerusalem is symbolic. We expect Jerusalem because that's the place of important people. We expect Jerusalem because we know the proper place of one-hit wonders and the true artists. But the Lord does not come to the important people; rather, He comes to the humble people. He comes to the once-created glory of creation to redeem it (Ps. 8). Bethlehem receives the Lord, not the important city of Jerusalem.
God chose Bethlehem, the birthplace of David, to be the birthplace of David’s long-awaited son. It was Bethlehem--not Jerusalem--upon whom the honor was given, reminding us that the world is not as it should be, that God looks upon the world not as those who live good lives against those who live bad lives, but as those who are humble against those who are proud.
But things are not as they ought to be. Jesus, the king of Kings, is born in Bethlehem, a poor, peasant town of perhaps 100 people about 6 miles from Jerusalem. Bethlehem's only claim to fame is that it was the birthplace of David, the greatest king of Israel in the Old Testament. And yet, it was to Bethlehem that the prophet Micah (750 years before Christ) foretold would come the ruler in Israel (5:2). This was shocking to the hearers of the prophecy, for the ruler of Israel should be born in a palace, not a small, one-claim-to-fame town.
The fact that the ruler for Israel was born in Bethlehem and not Jerusalem is symbolic. We expect Jerusalem because that's the place of important people. We expect Jerusalem because we know the proper place of one-hit wonders and the true artists. But the Lord does not come to the important people; rather, He comes to the humble people. He comes to the once-created glory of creation to redeem it (Ps. 8). Bethlehem receives the Lord, not the important city of Jerusalem.
God chose Bethlehem, the birthplace of David, to be the birthplace of David’s long-awaited son. It was Bethlehem--not Jerusalem--upon whom the honor was given, reminding us that the world is not as it should be, that God looks upon the world not as those who live good lives against those who live bad lives, but as those who are humble against those who are proud.
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