Matthew 2:5-6 “And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.”
When you think about Kings and Princes, and their places of birth, you think of regal palaces or well-known cities of wealth, where pomp and circumstance are common for the day. You rarely hear of the birth of nobility in a small town, not to mention a stable!
Bethlehem was such a place. It was small in population and physical size, yet in Micah 5:2, it is foretold that the Messiah would be born there even though “it is little among the thousands of Judah and found not the least among the princes of Judah”. This should put Bethlehem on the map! The birth of distinguished people was always supposed to give honor and importance to a city or country. Not only was the Lord born there, but it was prophesied that the Messiah would come from the lineage of David and Bethlehem was the city of David. Bethlehem was little, but now it had the preeminence above all the cities of Israel. I can’t help but think of the song “Little is much when God is in it.”
Another interesting fact about the city of Bethlehem is its name. The name signifies “the house of bread.” How fitting the one who is the true manna from heaven, the bread that came down from heaven, to give life to the world was born in this city. Bread is considered a sustaining food, it is a carbohydrate, so it gives energy. Jesus proclaimed two times while here on earth that he is the “bread of life.” He is our sustainer and our strength or energy.
John 6:35 “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
John 6:48 “I am that bread of life.”
God chose Bethlehem. A small, out-of-the-way city, where nothing much happens to give it notoriety. Yet, this little town would go down in history as the place of Christ’s birth, an event that changed the course of history for all eternity.
Why would God do that? He chose a little shepherd boy to defeat Goliath with a slingshot. He chose a little boy with 5 loaves and 2 fishes to feed a multitude. God’s word, the Bible, is full of examples where he uses the small insignificant people and things, to accomplish his purpose.
Think about the birth of Christ. A young woman with no significance to her name became His earthly mother, a carpenter his earthly father, and a stable, not an Inn, for the birthplace. No innkeeper could boast or gain wealth because he sold a story about how the King of Kings was born at his hotel. No one could boast of their achievement at Christ’s birth.
God also chose us! Not because of something great we accomplished in this life, but on the contrary, because of our smallness, he freely and unconditionally chose us. We could not help ourselves no matter how hard we tried, we could not earn eternity. We did not first choose him.
John 15:16 “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”
No one can boast of anything, especially of their standing in Christ. It is all of God’s making. He created us, He chose us, and He does the saving of us.
The greatest meaning and insignificance of God choosing Bethlehem is that God does not give us the blessings of the Messiah, the blessings of salvation, based on our merit. It has nothing to do with how great men may think we are, but instead, he chooses to magnify himself to proclaim His own glory.
That’s my God! All glory and honor are to be His.
So, when you think you can’t be used, or that what you do is so small it doesn’t matter, think again. It matters greatly to God, and he will use you if you are willing to give him all the glory instead of taking the glory for yourself. The angels had it exactly right in Luke 2:14 when they proclaimed, “Glory to God in the Highest!”
