WORDS
The best commentary for YOUR Sunday School classes
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WORD by Chorles L. Feinberg, Th.D., Ph.D., Director Talbot Theological Seminary
Beth lehem
T he eyes of the yvorld may be turned all through the year to Washington, London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow or Tokyo, but at Christmas time all gaze toward Bethlehem. Of the more than twoscore place names in the Old Testament which are com pounded with the word beth, the name of Bethlehem is the most out standing. This city in the territory of Judah was called Bethlehem of Judah (Judg. 17:7, 9; Ruth 1:1,2), as well as Bethlehem Ephratah (Micah 5:2). It was the family home of Da vid (Book of Ruth; 1 Sam. 17:12) and the b irthp la ce of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 2:1)'. Now known as Beit Lahm (house of flesh), it is sit uated some five miles south of Jeru salem. Bethlehem was also the name of a town in the tribe of Zebulun (Josh. 19:15). Because the birthplace of our Lord was so small, it does not appear in the list of towns of Judah mentioned in Joshua 15 and Nehemi- ah 11. What is lacking in size, is compensated for in fertility. The re gion has been, and still is, one of the most fertile in Judea, although it is not supplied with springs of water. Orchards of figs and olives and vine yards surround the thriving village. The first Biblical allusion to this town (Gen. 35:19) is connected with the death of Rachel. In the time of Rehoboam, son of Solomon, it was a fortified stronghold (2 Chron. 11:6). Near Bethlehem' the Jews who fled to Egypt in 586 B.C. found a refuge along the way (Jer. 41:17). More than 100 of the population returned from Babylonian Captivity (Ezra 2: 21; Neh. 7:26). In the time of the Crusades the first concern of the war riors was to care for the safety of the Christians of Bethlehem in A.D. 1099, before Jerusalem was captured. The town remained under Christian rule after the overthrow of the Latin Kingdom set up by the Crusaders. Today it is one of the most prosper ous of all Christian communities in the Holy Land. One never ceases to marvel at the appropriateness of the fact that the Bread of Life was born in the House of Bread, Bethlehem. Three vital truths are involved. The figure of
bread implies suffering. Bread is a fit symbol of the Person of Christ. It combines elements of heaven (sun shine and rain) and of the earth (soil and seed). Christ came both from heaven and from earth, from the Father and from the line of David (Romans 1:3,4). He was both divine and human. The manner in which bread is made is instructive of the way in which Christ became the Bread of Life. There must be death in the seed (John 12:24). Christ died for us. The grain must be ground in the millstones. What trials and agonies He underwent (Isaiah 53: 10)! Bread requires kneading on the board. In His afflictions our Lord was pressed again and again. Then there is the heating in the oven. Christ bore the wrath of God on Calvary (Lam. 1:12,13). All these features bring out the work of Christ at Gethsemane (oil press) and Calvary (or Golgotha from the Hebrew word to roll). If there is to be bread, these processes must be carried out; if Christ is to be the Bread of Life, He must under go this suffering for us. His death makes Him the Bread of Life for the world (John 6:51). The symbol of bread reminds us of sustenance or strength. Man needs bread for the strength it furnishes (Psa. 104:15). Without Christ, the Bread of Life, man is desperately weak (Rom. 5:6) and w ithou t strength (John 15:5). Think of the way in which bread is assimilated and incorporated into the body. This is no more wonderful than the "proc ess by w h ich Christ imparts life through Himself and sustains it in communion with Himself. The rea son there are so many starved-looking Christians is that they have not been feeding sufficiently on the Bread of Life. The figure of bread, finally, por trays satisfaction. There are few arti cles of food that satisfy like bread. Christ is the Bread of Life, because He can satisfy (John 6:35; Phil. 4:12, 18). When Christ designates Himself as the Bread of Life, there is implied the hunger of the soul. He can sup ply the hunger of the heart and the soul. In the wilderness there was no
Make your Sunday School classes more helpful, livelier, more inspired —with this famous commentary on the International Sunday School Les sons. Bible-centered, evangelical in emphasis, The Douglass Lessons, 1954 offers an abundance of concrete, use ful ideas, including the famous Hints to Teachers, striking illustrations, practical applications and—new this year—audio-visual aid suggestions. $2.95 at your bookstore or write £j/ie '/(/rfr'int//« h 60 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 11, N.Y. grass nor water for Israel. They had to look to God for everything. It is the true spiritual position for all of us. God did feed them with bread from heaven. The manna in the wil derness satisfied the hunger of Israel. The' loaves in Christ’s day satisfied the 5,000 and on another occasion the 4,000. Likewise this spiritual Bread of Life can satisfy any soul that will eat Him. The enjoyment and satis faction of it go on into eternity. Note last day in John 6:39,40,54. It is everlasting (John 6:49,50). Satisfac tion and appetite go on hand in hand with this bread. For us who know Christ as the Bread of Life by faith, this truth means we must feast on Him daily. Yesterday’s bread will not suffice for today. To the unsaved about us we must declare that God, if He be asked for bread, will not give a stone in stead. Bread profits not at all unless eaten. Christ can do no heart good unless He is appropriated by faith. With Isaiah we can say: ‘Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken dili gen tly unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul de light itself in fatness.” Thank God for the Bread of Life from Bethle hem’s manger.
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