“But
you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming
forth is from of old, from ancient days.” (Micah 5:2, ESV)
“And
Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the
city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and
lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with
child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she
gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid
him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:4–7, ESV)
Why Bethlehem? John Piper writes, “Bethlehem is scarcely
worth counting among the clans of Judah, yet God chooses to bring his
magnificent Messiah out of this town. Why? One answer is that the Messiah is of
the lineage of David and David was a Bethlehemite. That’s true, but it misses
the point of verse two. The point of verse two is that Bethlehem is small—not
that it is great because David was born there. (That’s what the scribes missed
in Matthew 2:6). God chooses something small, quiet, out of the way, and does
something there that changes the course of history and eternity.”[1]
One immediately thinks of 1 Corinthians 1:27–29 (ESV),
27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose
what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are
not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
And again, 2
Corinthians 12:9 (ESV),
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made
perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my
weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
It seems to be God’s pattern to disallow a philosophy, person or place
to undermine his glory. “I
am the Lord; that is my name; my
glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols” (Isaiah 42:8, ESV). [Emphasis mine].
Father, it is a good reminder,
especially in this Season of the year, but indeed all year, that nothing should
engage our lives to the point the glory – that earth-shaking, mouth-dropping,
mind-stopping glory that is the wonder of your essence, should pale in
comparison to what we do and say. Lord
keep us from idols. Lord, demolish
anything that is “raised
against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5, ESV).
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