Road Signs to Bethlehem - The Place of Messiah's Birth

Up until the time of Jesus, the only thing we know much about Bethlehem was that it was called the city of David. This was the hometown of the great King of Israel. It was at Bethlehem that David Shepherded his Father's sheep when the giant, Goliath, and the Philistine army was threatening the army of Israel's King, Saul. 

But then, the prophet Micah writes to God's people and says:

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.[i]

This cannot be a reference to David unless you believe that David was the ancient one who was "from everlasting." David had already died many years before the time of Micah. The verse can only refer to the Ancient of Days that Daniel writes about.[ii] This is someone who had no beginning and will have no end. 

We had been told that the Messiah and King would come from one of Jacob's twelve sons. That son would be Judah. 

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. [iii]

He would also come from David, the King, but he would also come to us from Bethlehem.

The country and territory of Judah had a population of thousands. Humanly speaking, nearby Jerusalem would have been the likely place for the King to be born, seeing that David and all of the remaining Kings of Judah had their thrones there. Jerusalem was also a much larger city. Instead, God chose the little village of Bethlehem.

It would be in a field near Bethlehem that an angel would appear to announce the birth of the Savior to some shepherds. No Royalty, no cameras, no newspaper reporters, no paparazzi, but there was a great host of angels and these lowly Shepherds who would witness the birthday of the baby King. 

If the Messiah is going to come to us through this virgin, Mary, the one who was to marry Joseph, surely they would have to be living in Bethlehem, right? 

But there is a big problem. Joseph and Mary did not live in Bethlehem, but in Nazareth, around 100 miles away. Here, the foreknowledge of God would play a powerful role. This was fulfilled providentially by God. 

At the time of Jesus’ birth, the land of Israel was under the dominion of the Roman Empire. The Roman Emperor Augustus had made a decree that all persons must return to their native city to be accounted for and taxed. Joseph and Mary, who were now married, had to make their way from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

God would use the decree of a pagan king to fulfill the prophecy of the birthplace of the Messiah. When the wise men from the east came following a star and bearing gifts in search of the young Messiah, they stopped in Jerusalem to ask specifically where the Anointed one would have been born. Strangely, the biblical scholars knew that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. The reason they knew this was because of the verse from the book of Micah.  [iv]

Can you see the greatness of God here? Through the prophecy of a man named Micah, who lived over 700 years before Christ, he narrows the birth of his Son, Jesus down to one tiny town – Bethlehem.

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[i] Micah 5.2

[ii] Daniel 7.9-22

[iii] Genesis 49.10

[iv] Matthew 2.5-6