The Birthplace of Jesus predicted 700 years in advance !

Of all the hundreds of cities and villages in Israel to be born into, Jesus was born in Bethlehem.  Why? God told the prophet Micah in 700 B.C., “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2)

How can we be sure this prophecy is talking about Jesus? The phrase “from ancient times” can literally be translated “from days of eternity.” That same expression is used in Habakkuk 1:12 to describe God who is the eternal and everlasting one. So, what the prophecy is saying is that the long-promised Messiah actually has origins from the days of eternity past. As Micah 5:2 predicts, and as the New Testament confirms, Jesus didn’t come into existence when he was born, he has always existed from eternity past as God.  At his birth, the second member of the Trinity, God the Son, became the man Christ Jesus. He didn’t give up his divine nature to do this. Rather, he took on a human nature, so that Jesus was fully God and fully man.

The Micah 5:2 prophecy was well recognized by the Jews of the first century as a Messianic text. We know this because Matthew’s Gospel describes how when the Wise Men came to Jerusalem and asked King Herod where the King of the Jews was to be born, Herod asked the chief priests and teachers of the law, (see Matthew 2:5-6) and they replied by quoting Micah 5:2 that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.

Perhaps just as amazing is the fact that Mary and Joseph didn’t live in Bethlehem.  Yet,  because of a decree by Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of the entire Roman world, they had to travel to the city of their common ancestor, David.  Since both Mary and Joseph were descendants of David, they had to travel to Bethlehem, the birthplace of king David, and while they were there, the time came for Jesus to be born, just as God predicted! (see Luke 2:1-7)

The Scriptures can be trusted. Old Testament and New Testament. Every prophecy about the first coming of Christ has come true, even the smallest detail. God promised a Savior, and then he fulfilled his promise. Jesus lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death, paying for our sins in full, and then he rose again on the third day in victory. What a Savior we have. What a God we worship. He is in charge of human history, and worthy of our complete trust and faith.  There is an acronym I like that describes what faith is.

Forsaking All I Trust Him.

Have you done that?

Each day is also an opportunity to exercise ongoing faith in the Lord.