Bethlehem: Why This Town?

The Town of David

☐

Jesus could have been born in a palace in Rome or in the big city of Jerusalem. Instead God chose Bethlehem, a small town in the hills of Judea. Why this town? The answer goes back hundreds of years.

A small town. Bethlehem sat about six miles south of Jerusalem. It was a farming town with grain fields, olive trees and flocks of sheep.

A sad day long ago. Jacob's wife Rachel died on the road there. “So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)” (Genesis 35:19). Ephrath is an old name for Bethlehem.

Ruth and Boaz. In the days of the judges, a family from Bethlehem moved to Moab because of a famine (Ruth 1:1). Later Naomi came home with Ruth, and Ruth married Boaz of Bethlehem.

A baby named Obed. Ruth and Boaz had a son. “They called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David” (Ruth 4:17).

Samuel's visit. God told Samuel, “I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons” (1 Samuel 16:1).

The shepherd boy. Samuel anointed Jesse's youngest son, David. David “went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem” (1 Samuel 17:15).

A promise to David. God promised that David's family would rule forever: “Your throne shall be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:16).

Micah's promise. About seven hundred years before Jesus, God named the town: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel” (Micah 5:2).

Everyone knew. When King Herod asked where the Christ would be born, the leaders answered, “In Bethlehem of Judea” (Matthew 2:5).

Joseph's family. Joseph went to Bethlehem “because he was of the house and lineage of David” (Luke 2:4). God's promise and Caesar's order met in one little town.

Ruler and Shepherd. Micah said this Ruler would shepherd His people. Jesus later said, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11). The King born in David's town cares for His people like a shepherd cares for his sheep.

The angel's news. “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).

What we learn. God planned the birthplace of Jesus long before it happened. He keeps His promises down to the smallest detail.

What to do. Find Bethlehem on a Bible map this week. Thank God that He keeps every promise He makes to you.

Bethlehem appears in the Bible long before the night Jesus was born. Its story runs from Genesis to the Gospels, and each part prepares the way for the birth of the King.

Ephrathah. The older name Ephrath or Ephrathah (say: EF-rah-thah) means fruitful. David's father Jesse is called “that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah” (1 Samuel 17:12).

Genesis 35:19. Bethlehem first appears as a place of sorrow, where Rachel died after giving birth to Benjamin. Jacob set up a pillar on her grave (Genesis 35:20).

Ruth 1–4. A famine drove Elimelech's family out of Bethlehem to Moab. God then brought Ruth, a Moabite woman, into the family line of the Messiah through her marriage to Boaz (Ruth 4:13-17). The King's family tree includes outsiders welcomed by grace.

A blessing at the gate. The elders prayed that Boaz would “be famous in Bethlehem” (Ruth 4:11). God answered that prayer far beyond anything they imagined.

1 Samuel 16. God sent Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint a king. God passed over Jesse's older sons and chose the shepherd boy, because “the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

2 Samuel 7. God promised David a house, meaning a royal family line, and a throne established forever (7:12-16). After the kings of Judah were carried away, the people waited for the Son of David who would reign on that throne.

Micah 5:2. Micah promised a Ruler from tiny Bethlehem “Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” The Ruler would be born in a town, yet He had always existed. Micah 5:4 adds that He would shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord.

Matthew 2:5-6. The chief priests and scribes quoted Micah to Herod: “For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.” They knew the right town, yet they did not go to see Him.

John 7:42. Years later, crowds argued that the Christ must come from Bethlehem, the town of David. They thought Jesus came only from Galilee, because they did not know where He had been born.

The city of David. Luke 2:4 and 2:11 call Bethlehem “the city of David.” Jesus is “the Root and the Offspring of David” (Revelation 22:16), both David's descendant and David's Lord.

Why a small town? “God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty” (1 Corinthians 1:27). God brought the King of kings into the world through a little town, so that all the glory goes to Him.

Application. God's plan for your life is part of a much bigger story. He is faithful across generations, and He can use ordinary places and people for His glory.

The House of Bread

☐

Many Hebrew names have meanings. Bethlehem means house of bread. That name tells us something wonderful about Jesus, who was born there.

A town of fields. Wheat and barley grew in the fields around Bethlehem. Farmers baked bread from the grain they harvested.

No bread in the house of bread. In the days of the judges, a famine came. There was no food, so Naomi's family left Bethlehem for Moab (Ruth 1:1).

Bread again. Naomi heard “that the Lord had visited His people by giving them bread” (Ruth 1:6). So she came home.

Harvest time. Naomi and Ruth “came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest” (Ruth 1:22). Ruth gathered grain in the fields of Boaz, and God took care of them.

Bread from heaven. Long before, God fed Israel in the desert with manna. Jesus said, “Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven” (John 6:32).

The Bread of Life. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).

Living bread. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever” (John 6:51).

A feeding box. Baby Jesus was laid in a manger, a box where animals were fed. Many Christians see a picture here: the Bread of Life was laid in a feeding box in the house of bread.

Given for you. At His last supper, Jesus took bread and said, “This is My body which is given for you” (Luke 22:19). He was talking about His death on the cross.

Daily bread. Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). We need God every day, the way we need food.

Never hungry again. Bread fills us for a few hours, and then we are hungry again. Jesus fills the deep hunger of the heart for God, and He promised that whoever comes to Him “shall never hunger” (John 6:35).

Always welcome. Jesus promised, “the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37).

What we learn. Jesus is the true bread our souls need. Only He can satisfy the hunger in our hearts for God.

What to do. The next time you eat bread, thank God for Jesus, the Bread of Life. Ask Him to fill your heart.

Names carry meaning in the Bible. Beit Lechem (say: bayt LEH-khem) means house of bread, and God placed the birth of the Bread of Life in exactly that town.

Bread and food. The Hebrew word for bread can also mean food in general. Bread was the basic meal of every family in Israel.

Famine in Bethlehem. Ruth 1:1 opens with an empty house of bread. A famine in the days of the judges sent Elimelech's family to Moab, where the men of the family died.

God visited His people. Ruth 1:6 says the Lord had visited His people “by giving them bread.” The return of bread was a gift from God, and it led Naomi and Ruth back to Bethlehem.

Barley harvest. They arrived “at the beginning of barley harvest” (Ruth 1:22). Ruth's gleaning in the fields of Boaz brought her into the family line of David and of Jesus.

Manna. In John 6:31-33 the crowd remembered the manna in the desert. Jesus answered that the Father gives “the true bread from heaven,” and that “the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

John 6:35. “I am the bread of life.” This is the first of Jesus' great “I am” sayings in John. Bread keeps a body alive for a day; Jesus gives life that lasts forever.

John 6:51. Jesus said, “the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” The Bread of Life would be given through His death.

The manger. The sign to the shepherds was “a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12). Many Christians see a picture in it: the One who is bread for the world was laid where food is placed.

Luke 22:19. At the last supper, Jesus broke bread and said, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” When Christians share the Lord's Supper, they remember His body given on the cross.

Matthew 6:11. “Give us this day our daily bread.” Asking for daily bread teaches us to depend on God every day, for our bodies and for our souls.

John 6:37. The invitation is open: “the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” No one who comes hungry to Jesus is turned away.

Application. Many things promise to fill us: fame, money, friends, screens. Only Jesus satisfies the deepest hunger of the heart. Come to Him each day in His Word and in prayer.

📖

Complete all sections to finish!

Read each section and answer the questions correctly.