Micah 5:1 Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek. 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. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace.
John 7:42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”
Matthew 2:6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
Luke 2:4-7 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.
1 Corinthians 1:27-28 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; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,
Matthew 2:1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet.
From Micah, we read of the importance that was to come from Bethlehem. This prophecy from Micah was quoted in Mathew chapter 2 by the chief priests and scribes. They knew the Messiah would come from Bethlehem. They quoted the verse to Herod when asked: “where the Christ was to be born”. Do you ever wonder what it was that kept them from acknowledging Jesus Christ? Do you ever wonder what it was that kept them from believing in the miracles, healings, and His death and resurrection? These were people who knew scripture and believed in the one true God. And yet, they failed to see the redeemer and savior Son of God. Their lives had the appearance of piety. They proclaimed to know the way too honoring and pleasing God. What was it that kept them deaf and blinded to the Son of God? The fact of the matter is that they trusted more in what they were doing than what Christ did. They trusted in their works as a means of being made right before God. Their hearts, minds, and souls were not surrendered to Jesus Christ but rather given to self-reliance and pride. We aren’t so much different. We trust in self, and much more so when things are going smooth and well in our lives. We lean on our own understanding and make provision in our minds why we are right before God. Our eyes are blind to how far we have followed after things of this world. Our ears are deaf to the Word of God because we choose to live apart from it and allowing it to speak into our hearts. Our hearts, minds, and souls, must be totally surrendered in humble submission before Jesus Christ. It is then we will begin to see that the things of this world are distracting us away from a fruit-filled life of honoring, glorifying, following, obeying, and relying on Jesus Christ.
