The Advent of Glory by R.C. Sproul: 5 Days Exploring the First ChristmasSample

Day 4: Bethlehem

One of the functions that the prophets in the Old Testament served was to act as prosecuting attorneys for God.

The prophet’s task was to serve a court summons to a guilty people who had violated the terms of their covenant—of their contract if you like—with their God. These prosecutors would call the people to account and then pronounce God’s sentence of judgment upon them.

Yet, at the same time, when God sent his prophets to pronounce these verdicts of judgment against his people, he would always temper that justice with mercy. There was always a “however”—always a promise of his ultimate work of redemption contained within the threat.

And so, amid the prophecy of judgment in Micah 5, there comes a little breath of fresh air—a brief statement of good news.

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days” (v 2).

What’s special about this particular prophecy is its beginning. It’s astonishing to me that centuries before the birth of Christ, the town that was specifically mentioned as the future birthplace of the Messiah King was a tiny, apparently insignificant village—“too little to be among the clans of Judah.”

You would think that the Messiah would have been destined to be born in Jerusalem, at Mount Zion in the Holy City—the place David had established as the central sanctuary and the capital of the whole nation. Instead, it was in Bethlehem.

Bethlehem is about four and a half miles south of Jerusalem. Even today, it is not a big place. You can still see the shepherds herding their sheep in the fields around it.

In Micah’s time, it was even more insignificant, but from it came one who would be great to the very ends of the earth (v 4). God works like that. There are big, spectacular set pieces sometimes, but more often, isn’t it the little things he chooses? The womb of a girl nobody had ever heard of, the hillside scattered with sheep, the town easily forgotten, a criminal’s cross—and my life and your life.

In what ways do you feel little? What difference does it make to know that God is the one who brings the mighty out of the small?

A Prayer for Today

By Joni Eareckson Tada

O Jesus, I am astounded that you, the King of the universe, chose to be born in a parking lot behind a Bethlehem motel with a blinking No Vacancy sign. You incarnated yourself inside the frail frame of a poor peasant girl, and you chose an animal shed for her delivery room. You chose to announce your Messiah manifesto to a ragtag group of scruffy shepherds. Oh, this Advent, help me to understand that this is the way you work. You take delight in choosing the unlikely, the unlovely, and the poorly gifted. I marvel at how this turns up the wattage on your glory. So, here at year’s end, I commit not to cherish inflated ideas of my own importance but humbly lower myself before Your Majesty. I lay my Christmas gift at your feet, yielding my weakness for your kingdom purposes. For your glory and honor, Jesus, amen.