Month: April 2020

The book of Ruth is about a Moabitess who follows her Jewish mother-in-law (Naomi)   back to Israel. The city Naomi goes to is Bethlehem, and the majority of Ruth is set within Bethlehem’s jurisdiction. It is a beautiful book, talking about the redemption of one of Israels’ most hated enemies (Moab), set in a place that has a long and colorful history in the Old Testament. Bethlehem was the same place that Joseph and Benjamin’s mother, Rachel (the favourite wife of Jacob, aka Israel) died some thousands of years earlier. It was the place the Lord sent the prophet Samuel to pick out a new king. As 1Samuel declares, “The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”    

From such things we can gather that Bethlehem is both a place of reconciliation and the birthplace of the king of God’s people. The writer of the book of Ruth subsequently notes this about Ruth’s son, “And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.”  Jesse is specifically named 25 times in 1Samuel alone. Jesse is important for the same reason Bethlehem is – it is from these unlikely origins that the Messiah will rise. As Isaiah prophesied some 700 years before Christ, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord— and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.”

Matthew 2 begins, “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”” In these two verses, Matthew tells us where Jesus was born, what time Jesus was born, and that the circumstances of His birth included Gentiles coming to worship Him.  Each of these is a fulfillment of prophesy, but the most obvious is Jesus’ birthplace. Not only because of Isaiah (quoted above), but because Micah 5:2 specifically called it out as the birthplace of Messiah, “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.”  

So that Jesus was born in Bethlehem is a fulfillment of much prophesy. It is clear that God long ago planned it. Before the days of king David, before David’s grandfather, even before Jacob’s lifetime. As one Bible writer put it, “He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” 

It should astonish us all that just as the time and place of Jesus’ birth was predetermined and planned by the Father, so was ours. That you were born, and when you were born, and where you were born, and the manner in which you were born, are also part of His plan!  For the Word also says, “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.” This He did for His own purpose, just as He did with Christ’s. 

Being born in such humble circumstance was not a blessing to Jesus, but it was and still is a very great honour for the people of Bethlehem, just as it was and is a sign to all peoples everywhere that God cares for the lowly in heart. Sometimes the more challenging circumstances of our lives are not for us per se. They are for those who will look back at our lives, that those who come after us might glorify God all the more!

Marcus Verbrugge

APPLICATION: Thankfulness

Meditate on this truth: God has had a plan for your life from before the creation of the world. That is a wonderful truth. It is an even more wonderful truth to realize that He is committed to accomplishing His plan and purpose for you. As Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Amen.

“When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”

Matthew 1:24-25 is at first glance just a simple note telling us only that Joseph was obedient to God’s instruction through the angel. It is enough to know that of course – because that is all that is needed to keep to the core message of who Jesus was. On the other hand, Luke tells us a huge amount of circumstance that Matthew glosses over. Recognizing that, we can realize that Matthew is telling us the story of Christ’s birth largely from Joseph’s viewpoint – leaving Luke to tell it to us from Mary’s. 

The circumstance Matthew skips (Luke 1:39-80, 2:4-40) is the subject of much of our Christmas pageantry today; the young couple’s journey to Bethlehem, the refusal of a room at the inn and the birth of Jesus in the manager, amidst the animals. Of course it’s possible that Matthew simply didn’t know about other details, like Mary’s visit to Elizabeth and Zechariah’s encounter with Gabriel in the temple (things Luke found out in his careful study of all that had happened). All the same, one thinks that he would’ve surely known more about Jesus’ birth. Yet he is not alone in dropping such detail – neither John nor Mark give it either. Mark introduces us to Jesus at his baptism, and John tells us who He was before time, and then introduces us to Him at his baptism.  

The point is that each of the Gospel writers reflects Jesus’ life from their vantagepoint.  Each tells the truth (for they write from the Spirit’s prompting) but each speaks from their own frame of reference. The glory of Christ is such that it cannot be fully represented from one voice or one account– just as the Scripture is never fully explained in a single sermon or by a single teacher. The Glory of God is such that it takes all of us, living all of eternity, to merely reflect the character and nature of God. Such is our purpose, because we were all made for His glory. As His Word says, “Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth—  everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

We can ponder that and wonder if it would’ve added to our ability to know who He is or all He did to have more than four accounts of Jesus’ life, but that is idle speculation for fallen flesh. What is important is that we do as Joseph did. That we promptly obey God’s instructions as given to us, knowing that God is giving them specifically to us – and that we seek to honor His Name with our whole being in both what we do and in what we deliberately do not do.

Amen.

Obedience to the Lord is not only measured by how much we do for our Savior, but by how we obey Him when nobody is looking.

John Wimber

APPLICATION: Intentionality

What has God asked you to do in this season of your life? 

What have you given up for the sake of His Name, honour and glory?