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 of Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting (Micah 5:2).
Jesus Christ was the only man whose biography was written before he was born, and this is a part of it. The very place of His birth was recorded 700 years before the angel announced to the shepherds on the starlit hills of Judea, "Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11). Bethlehem was the city of David, and on His human side Jesus was a descendant of David. He is called the Son of David (Matt. 1:1). And the promise was made that He should sit on "the throne of his father David" (Luke 1:32).
But who is this Jesus of Nazareth, born in Bethlehem? He is not only a man of the house of David, but He is divine, because His "goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting," or, as the margin says, "the days of eternity." Here His preexistence is declared. That same theme is taken up by the apostle John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him" (John 1:1-3). This creating Word was Jesus Christ, for we read in verse 14: "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." The "only begotten" is Jesus, for "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son" (John 3:16). He had been going forth as Creator from the days of eternity. Now He had come forth as the Redeemer of the lost.
Bethlehem--what a name it is!--"house of bread"; and He who came from this little town is the Bread of Life.
MEDITATION PRAYER: "Make haste to help me. O Lord my salvation" (Ps. 38:22).
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Jesus Christ was the only man whose biography was written before he was born, and this is a part of it. The very place of His birth was recorded 700 years before the angel announced to the shepherds on the starlit hills of Judea, "Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11). Bethlehem was the city of David, and on His human side Jesus was a descendant of David. He is called the Son of David (Matt. 1:1). And the promise was made that He should sit on "the throne of his father David" (Luke 1:32).
But who is this Jesus of Nazareth, born in Bethlehem? He is not only a man of the house of David, but He is divine, because His "goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting," or, as the margin says, "the days of eternity." Here His preexistence is declared. That same theme is taken up by the apostle John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him" (John 1:1-3). This creating Word was Jesus Christ, for we read in verse 14: "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." The "only begotten" is Jesus, for "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son" (John 3:16). He had been going forth as Creator from the days of eternity. Now He had come forth as the Redeemer of the lost.
Bethlehem--what a name it is!--"house of bread"; and He who came from this little town is the Bread of Life.
MEDITATION PRAYER: "Make haste to help me. O Lord my salvation" (Ps. 38:22).
ReplyForward
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