Archives for May 19, 2015

Singing God’s Praises in a Cave near Bethlehem, Perhaps One Like Where Jesus Was Born

In Bethlehem we see how God’s plan of salvation was composed of many links in an unbreakable chain of grace. We see one link in the chain when, more than three thousand years ago, two women came to Bethlehem. One was old, the other young. One was a native of this Jewish town, the other, her daughter-in-law, was a foreigner from Moab. Though an outsider from a pagan land, Ruth not only was accepted by the Jewish community, but she married a Hebrew man named Boaz, for she too had come to trust in the Lord (Ruth 2:12).

Another link in the chain appeared some years later, when the Lord directed the prophet Samuel to go to Bethlehem and speak to the grandson of Boaz and Ruth (Ruth 4:21–22; 1 Sam. 16:1). This man had several sons, and God led His prophet to anoint the youngest of them, David. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Ruth’s great-grandson David, and he became the champion of Israel and the father of a dynasty of kings by divine covenant.

It seemed that God’s chain of promise was shattered when, after centuries of disobedience, the royal line of David fell under God’s judgment. However, long before the son of David went into exile in Babylon, the prophet Micah foretold that from Bethlehem would come a “ruler in Israel,” not a mere man, but an eternal Lord whose activities were “from everlasting,” and who would shepherd His people “in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the Lord his God,” and whose kingdom would extend “unto the ends of the earth” (Mic. 5:2, 4).

Stooping to Enter the Church of Nativity

Seven centuries after Micah penned those words, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and an angel announced to shepherds nearby, “unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). It is amazing that this village even existed after so many years of war and hardship. It is even more amazing to consider that the reason Mary gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem is because of a decree from a pagan emperor, Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1).

When today we are tempted to doubt that God works all things for good, let us remember how precisely He fulfilled His purpose to bring His Son into the world in the little town of Bethlehem. We can wait for the coming of His kingdom with absolute confidence, for God’s plan did not fail in the past, and cannot fail in the future. The child of Bethlehem will reign. And we can be sure that even the seemingly random events of our day are exactly what God has planned to bring Christ’s kingdom to all the nations, and one day with visible glory.

Seven or eight miles south of Jerusalem (ten miles by car), atop a rounded hill stands Herodium (or Herodion), the fortress of King Herod the Great. (Herod the Great is not to be confused with other Herods that appear in the Bible during the ministry of Christ and His apostles.) Herodium was a splendid place, with gardens and a huge pool on the grounds below, and a stately palace enclosed by the fortress above.

Though Herod the Great constructed beautiful buildings, such as the temple and Herodium, he was not a beautiful person. The 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia says, “He was prepared to commit any crime in order to gratify his unbounded ambition.” This included murdering one of his wives, three of his sons, and two rabbis. In his final days, he ordered that when he died a number of prominent Jewish leaders should also be murdered so that there would be national mourning at Herod’s death—but this order was not carried out.

In the Bible, Herod the Great is particularly known for his response to the visit of the wise men from the east (Matt. 2:1–18). The account is a striking contrast between two kings. On the one side is King Herod, an old man living in pomp and power, yet paranoid about his kingdom. He is not of the house of Israel, but a foreigner with no rights to the throne. When the wise men appeared asking about the birth of the promised King of Israel, Herod first responded with trickery to try to locate the boy, and when that failed he murdered all the male children age two and under of the region of Bethlehem—given the size of the town, perhaps twenty or thirty precious children. He was a liar and a murderer, like the devil (John 8:44).

On the other hand is the true King of the Jews. He is the Son of Abraham, the greater Isaac, born miraculously not of an old woman but of a virgin (Matt. 1:1, 18, 20). He is the Son of David, the rightful and promised King (Matt. 1:1). His birth fulfills God’s promises (Matt. 2:6). He is no mere man, but Immanuel, God with us in the flesh (Matt. 1:23). Wise men worship Him and bring Him costly offerings with great joy (Matt. 2:10–11). He is no murderer, but He saves His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). He did not come in pomp and power, but in humility, forced to flee for His life at an early age, and one day was nailed to the cross for our sins. What a King! What a Savior! Yet today He reigns in a palace a million times more beautiful than Herodium ever was, and if we serve Him we shall reign with Him there forever.