of Jacob for ever; and of His King dom there shall be no end.” Christ Himself is going to sit upon David’s throne. Of His reign there shall be no end. In the Gospels there are over 20 references to Jesus as the Son of David. He readily accepted this des ignation. In Rev. 22:16 we have Christ declaring, “I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and the morning star.” Scrip ture makes it clear that the Redeem er who was promised would come from the family of David. Chapter Five It is nothing short of amazing to realize with what precise accuracy the very city of Christ’s birth was prophesied long years before He was bom of the virgin. This we find in Micah 5:2. Micah was a contem porary of Isaiah who lived during the reigns of three kings in Judah. The Southern kingdom, made up of Judah and Renjamin, came into exis tence following the death of Solo mon. Micah wrote during the reign of Ahaz. These were dark, dark days for Israel as apostasy was rampant. Micah did not mince words when he rebuked them for their idolatry. They were also a very coveteous people (2 :2 ). Constantly God’s servant brought their gross sins to their at tention. He warned them very clearly that they could not play around with God (3 :12 ). Without repentance judgment would be certain. The prin ciple has not changed one bit. It is still true. Yet, in spite of it all, Mi cah saw a day coming when Israel would be exalted. What a beautiful picture he paints. A day is to come when men will no longer leam war. Hatred and greed will vanish. He tells them of the great kingdom that is coming. Looking down through the centuries of time, he sees in a humble village the birth of the King who will rule over the world. Beth- lehem is specifically pointed out in 5:2.
You might wonder why the name, “Bethlehem Ephratah”. The second word means “fruitful”. Bethlehem has always been a very small town, even as it is today compared to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. But from such a humble locale came the One who has blessed the whole earth. Yes, Bethlehem is indeed fruitful above all cities of the world. In Hebrew, the expression, “whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” can be translated that the One who was to be bom in Bethlehem would have a previous eternal existence. A number of cults profess to believe that Jesus Christ existed prior to His coming. They perhaps look on Him as an angel. But this is in gross error for He can only be acknowledged as God in the flesh. The text says that the one who is to be Christ was not created; He is the Creator! The wise men who came from the East properly asked the question, “Where is He who is born king of the Jews?” Herod did not know; the chief priests and scribes were not looking for the coming of the King. The same is true today. But why was not the Messiah to be born in Jerusalem? After all, this was the city of the king. It was a much larger place than Bethlehem. This is the way we would have done it. The smaller city was certainly in keeping with the humble character of the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 2:5- 11). Bethlehem was the birthplace of David. As his greater Son, Christ, the Eternal King naturally would come from that place. Bethlehem means, “house of bread,” or “house of food.” In John 6:35, Christ rightly refers to Himself as the Bread of life. By believing on Him, no man will ever know spiritual hunger or thirst. Yes, it was fitting for Christ to be born in Bethlehem. There are many hungry people in the world today. Leaders everywhere are concerned about a coming fam-
Page 16
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs