Every year at this time our attention is turned toward the story of the birth of Christ. The setting is in a little town called Bethlehem a little more than two thousand years ago. A simple word search reveals that the Bible mentions many things took place in the city of Bethlehem.
Rachel was buried in Bethlehem. (Gen. 35:19)
Joshua gave the city of Bethlehem to the tribe of Judah when he divided the land among the tribes of Israel. (Joshua 19:1-15)
Ibzan, the judge, was from Bethlehem, and when he died he was buried there. (Judges 12:8-10)
Elimelech and Naomi left their home in Bethlehem because of famine. (Ruth 1:1-2)
Ruth returned to Bethlehem with Naomi from the land of Moab after her husband and her father-in-law died. (Ruth 1:19, 22)
Boaz was also from Bethlehem. (Ruth 2:4)
The people of Bethlehem blessed Boaz and Ruth. “The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel….” (Ruth 4:11)
The land around Bethlehem was passed down within the same family for many generations. King David’s father Jesse, the grandson of Boaz and Ruth, lived in Bethlehem, and so it became known as the city of David. (I Samuel 16:1)David was anointed king in Bethlehem. (ISamuel16:13)
David returned from following King Saul to care for his father’s sheep in Bethlehem. (I Samuel 17:15)
Asahel, Joab’s brother was buried in Bethlehem. (II Samuel 2:32)
David’s three mighty men broke through a garrison of the Philistines in order to bring him a drink from the well in Bethlehem. (II Samuel 23:16, I Chronicles 11:18)
King Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, fortified the city of Bethlehem. (II Chronicles 11:5 & 6)
A group of men from Bethlehem returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel to help rebuild the temple. (Ezra 2:1-2, 21)
Micah, the prophet who ministered during the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, prophesied that Christ would be born in Bethlehem. (Micah 5:2) “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.”
More than 700 years later, Christ was born in Bethlehem. (Matthew 2:1, Luke 2:4-7)
The angels sent the shepherds to Bethlehem to see the baby Jesus. (Luke 2:11-16)
When the wise men came from the east to worship the newborn king, they came to Herod looking for the child. Herod called for the priests and scribes and asked them where Christ would be born. They knew from reading Micah’s prophecy that Christ would be born in Bethlehem. (Matthew 2:5-6)
Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem in search of Messiah and they found Him there. They worshipped the Christ child, and gave Him gifts. (Matthew 2:8-11)
When the wise men did not return and show Herod where the child was, Herod killed all the children in Bethlehem that were two years old and down. (Matthew 2:16)
Micah’s prophecy regarding Bethlehem became a point of discussion among the people who wondered if Jesus really were the Christ. (John 7:42) The people knew where Jesus grew up, but they did not know that he was born in Bethlehem, the city of David.
Many significant things took place in Bethlehem, but of course, it is an important place to us because it is the birthplace of Jesus Christ.
