Bethlehem—Bayt Lahm—Bethlehem Ephrathah—Not Happenstance
“Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus,
(The Gospel According to Luke 2: 1-5 NASB)
that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.
This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.
Joseph also went up from Galilee,
from the city of Nazareth,
to Judea,
to the city of David which is called Bethlehem,
because he was of the house and family of David,
in order to register along with Mary,
who was engaged to him,
and was with child.”
People are drawn to honesty. They want to see truth. When untruth is present, humanity turns away and seeks truth.
- Historical records prove Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
- Archeological records prove Bethlehem was a part of the Roman province of Judah (Judea).
Bethlehem was the smallest town in Judah and a place associated with shepherding. This tiny village was near Jerusalem and located on the West Bank of the Jordan River. Historical records state how this was the early home of the shepherd boy David.
Bethlehem—Bayt Lahm—Bethlehem Ephrathah—Truly Not a Place of Happenstance but
GOD’S PROVIDENCE!
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,
(The Gospel According to Matthew 2: 1-8 NASB)
magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?
For we saw 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.
Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people,
he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
They said to him,
“In Bethlehem of Judea;
for this is what has been written by the prophet:
‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH,
ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH;
FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER
WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’ “
Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared.
And he sent them to Bethlehem and said,
“Go and search carefully for the Child;
and when you have found Him, report to me,
so that I too may come and worship Him.”
O little town of Bethlehem, small in size but greater than its size because the ruler, the KING of kings was born there. God purposed His plan all along!
This little town, the clan of Bethlehem, came from Judah who was the fourth born son of Jacob and his first wife Leah.
Judah, the word that means to PRAISE, a tribe from which the town of Bethlehem is located within the historical land of Israel.
“And she conceived again and bore a son and said,
(Genesis 29: 35 NASB)
“This time I will praise the LORD.”
Therefore she named him Judah.
Then she stopped bearing.”
Judah—the fourth born son of a man named Jacob, who was renamed Israel by God Himself.
“God said to him [to Jacob],
(Genesis 35: 10 NASB)
“Your name is Jacob;
You shall no longer be called Jacob,
But Israel shall be your name.”
Judah, the tribe of people who settled south of Jerusalem and became the prominent tribe.
“So Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him, Bethel
(Genesis 35: 15-16 & 19-20 NASB)
[the house of God]
Then they journeyed from Bethel;
and when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath,
Rachel [Jacob’s second wife]
began to give birth and she suffered severe labor.
. . .
So Rachel died and was buried
on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
Jacob set up a pillar over her grave;
that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.”
Judah, the tribe from whom comes King David, King Solomon & the Messiah Jesus.
Seven hundred years BEFORE the birth of Jesus, the prophet Micah proclaimed the words of Almighty God—
“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
(The Book of Micah 5: 2 & 4-5a NASB)
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity.”
. . .
And He will arise and shepherd His flock
In the strength of the LORD,
In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God.
And they will remain,
Because at that time He will be great
To the ends of the earth.
This One will be our peace.”
- Bethlehem means ‘house of bread’ and Ephrathah means ‘fruitful and abundance.’
- Bethlehem—Bayt Lahm—Bethlehem Ephrathah.
Truly Not a Place of Happenstance but a place that would fulfill God’s prophecy!
- King David, the youngest son of Jesse.
- Jesse—whose ancestral lineage led to JESUS.
- Jesse—who reared from the TRIBE of JUDAH!
- Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Ruth and Boaz.
- Naomi, the mother-in-law of Ruth, the mother of Jesse (King David’s father).
Truly GOD’S PROVIDENCE and not mere happenstance.
“All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said,
(The Book of Ruth 4: 11 & 14 NASB)
“We are witnesses.
May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah,
both of whom built the house of Israel;
and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem.
. . .
Then the women said to Naomi,
“Blessed is the LORD who has not left you without a redeemer today,
and may his name become famous in Israel.”