Unto Us a Child is Born

 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. (Micah 5:2)

It’s a “little” book, and it contains a prophecy about a little town. One that would have been forgotten to history, had it not been for the word of the Lord naming it as the birthplace of the King of kings.

The subject of course is that God tells us Jesus the Messiah will be physically born in tiny Bethlehem, on the road from Jerusalem to Hebron. Although Micah is considered one of the Minor Prophets, he lived during tumultuous times, including the Assyrian invasion in the 8^th century B.C.

Micah recorded what are known as “near” and “far” prophecies, meaning, he would often reference an event fairly close to his own time. Other times, he was looking far into the future. In Micah 5, he does both.

Interestingly, Micah not only denounced corruption in general in Judea—he also took to task fellow prophets that took money for revealing prophecies. Sound familiar? We are plagued in America today by shyster “preachers” that are in it for the cash.

But I digress.

I find it somewhat annoying that many observers say that “Christians interpret Micah 5:2 as referring to the birth of Christ.” It’s obvious that’s what it’s talking about and the key word in the prophecy is “everlasting.” Only One is everlasting, and that is Christ. He has always been and will always be, part of the Trinity, and the He mercifully took on our sins.

Matthew 2 affirms this prophecy:

And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

I’ve written before about my trips to Bethlehem. There are the usual tourist trap spots, but the Church of the Nativity is the traditional site of Christ’s birth, not in an ancient “motel,” but rather in a grotto that today is located underneath the church. A series of narrow steps takes visitors into the cramped site, littered with Catholic mementos and ritual. Still, it’s likely this was the site. An interesting point is that even today, shepherds keep their flocks on the small hillsides around the town.

Nearby too is a ghastly site, the place where Herod had baby boys murdered. He had heard the prophecy that a King would be born in Bethlehem, so to cover his bases—how absurdly shortsighted humans can be—he ordered his men to murder countless little boys. You can stand in the room where it took place.

I like knowing that our faith is rooted in reality. These things took place in real places, in real time. They are historical, part of mankind’s history. Jesus was born into a violent, fallen world, then murdered only a few miles away, but rose from the dead.

Christmas season reminds us of these beautiful moments in which God told us how He redeemed us. I always think about this: there are so many people hurting now, especially at Christmas, when money is particularly tight. People are lonely, estranged from family.

If you have any of these issues in your life, please tell Jesus that you need Him. He has promised (Matthew 11:28) that He will comfort you and take your burdens. Your problems might seem insurmountable, but they are not. Consider doing this over the next week, at least: continually talk to God and tell Him that you need Him as never before. Then move to the stage of believing Him for his wondrous and singular promises. Resolve that you will have a good Christmas, no matter your earthly circumstances.

Merry Christmas and much love to all.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com

Allenby!

On this date, 104 years ago, British General Edmund Allenby walked through Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem.

Only a month before the famous “Balfour Declaration,” Britain’s official consent to begin the process of turning Palestine over to the Jews so that they could reconstitute their ancestral home, was issued. The British in World War 1 were engaged in battle in the Middle East with the Turkish Ottoman Empire, rulers in the area for 400 years.

For us that study Bible prophecy, we can now see the interesting details that went into the drive for statehood, realized of course on May 14, 1948.

In Europe, where Jews had been persecuted for centuries, the publication of a vile book, The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century, by Houston Stewart Chamberlain, further turned Germans against the Jews. Chamberlain, who had married Richard Wagner’s daughter (Wagner or “Vahg-ner” as the Germans pronounced it, was the famous composer. His music was played in the extermination camps during World War 2), was a vile anti-Semite whose views influenced Hitler.

It was time to get out of Europe and Jewish activists like Theodor Herzl used this to their advantage, to try and rouse Jews out of their slumber, and depart for Palestine.

It is interesting to note at this very time, when the Jews were beginning to fulfill epic Bible prophecies for the resettlement of Palestine, the world at large was working overtime to delegitimize the Jews’ rights to the land. Ironically and tragically, much of this emanated from the Church in one way or the other.

Since about 1870, American preachers were becoming more and more enamored of the views of Charles Darwin. This philosophy of naturalism, as it was known, kept at its core a belief that the Bible was myth. Particularly Genesis. And, among other things, the Book of Beginnings traced the history of the Jewish people. By relegating it to legend, fewer people considered that the Jews had a future history.

In 1902, when Herzl was really working to find a national home for the Jews, certain biblical scholars in Germany were also pushing their “Bible as myth” garbage. One of these, Friedrich Delitzsch, delivered a paper entitled “Babylon and the Bible” in 1902 (the Kaiser was in attendance). In this paper, Delitzsch proposed that the Bible had been influenced by Babylonian myth—not the other way around. This was a diabolical but surprisingly effective attack on Scripture. I sat in a lecture in 2002, by Marcus Borg, and the Oregon St. professor outlined the same view.

Remember, if the Bible is myth, then its claims are no more relevant than any other sacred book.

But Allenby’s entrance into Jerusalem a year before World War 1 ended is a marvelous evidence that God was working through history to return His people to their land. As Sir Martin Gilbert wrote in his monumental work, Israel: A History—

“With the British conquest of Jerusalem, the way was clear for the Zionists to work with the British to begin building up the Jewish National Home promised by the Balfour Declaration, and to create the Jewish national institutions through which that home could prosper. One of the earliest steps in this direction was the purchase on 31 January 1918 of the house and property of Sir John Gray Hill on Mount Scopus, on which the Zionists had acquired an option just before the outbreak of the war. For the sum of £6,500, the site was acquired that day for the future Hebrew University.”

Thus was the modern state of Israel on its way. We would do well to remember history and celebrate it, for one reason: God’s sovereignty shines like a beam of light in the darkness.

I’ve walked through Jaffa Gate myself, many times. Not with the fanfare of Allenby! When I do, I am reminded once again that God alone decides History. Only He is in charge, and that goes for our individual lives, too.

Think on that this Christmas season, especially if you are worried about your present or future circumstances.

He is bringing us all home.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com