From the great love story of Ruth and Boaz, to King David's birth home, to the meaning of Bethlehem, to the prophecies from Micah, to where Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin and finally to being the birthplace of Jesus. So much incredible history from this one little town!
"The Bible mentions two towns named Bethlehem, one seven miles northwest of Nazareth in Zebulun (Joshua 19:15; Judges12:8-10), and the other five miles southwest of Jerusalem in Judah, the Bethlehem where Jesus was born. That Bethlehem is mentioned nearly 30 times in the Old Testament and has a rich history that relates directly to Jesus Christ and helps us better understand Him and what He came to do for us."
This section goes on to talk about this incredible history and the meaning of Bethlehem:
"Bethlehem means 'house of bread,' and Ephrathah means 'fruitful,' because the land around Bethlehem was very productive. It was common knowledge among the Jews that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (John 7:42). Seven centuries before Jesus was born, the prophet Micah wrote, '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.' (Mic. 5:2).
That Jesus, the Bread of Life (John 6:33-40), should be born in the 'house of bread' is no accident. The Father sent manna from heaven to sustain the people of Israel in the wilderness but He sent Jesus to give life to the whole world. It cost Jesus His life on the cross to give the bread of life to a world of lost sinners. Eat the bread of this world and you will always hunger, but receive Jesus and feed on Him and you will never hunger. His earthly life as the incarnate Son of God began at ' the house of bread,' and our eternal life begins when we trust Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life."
Click HERE for Part 1 of...C is for Christmas
No comments:
Post a Comment
Feel free to leave your own thoughts in the comments. I try to respond to all of them by the end of the week. : )