Part of a Series: Prepare the Way
by Steve Dunn
"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past." - Micah 5.2 NLT
I don't know if you have every given Bethlehem much thought beyond singing the Christmas carol or the words of scripture faithfully read at Christmas time. Some of you may know that in addition to Jesus, Bethlehem was the birthplace of another highly significant hero of the faith. King David was born in Bethlehem.
Despite that first famous son, Bethlehem was pretty insignificant at the time Jesus was born. An unwalled village about five miles south of Jerusalem with little more than a hundred persons during the Herodian period. It's population had been swollen beyond reason because of the dictate of Caesar Augustus. It's no wonder there was no room in the inn. Actually, I doubt if Bethlehem had that many inns at all.
Small things are where God often does his best work. A mustard seed, a young boy's small lunch, a widow's seemingly insignificant offering, a young slave girl in the house of a mighty general.
Yet we tend to think of small as insignificant. And often we despise the small in a world that pursues the "big." It's no wonder that Zechariah would chide Israel, ""Who has despised the day of small things?" - Zechariah 4.10
Perhaps the best way to prepare for His coming is to look for God at work in the small things, and in the small places, and what is happening in the lives of people who seem insignificant at first glance.
© 2018 by Stephen L. Dunn. You have permission to reprint this provided
it is unchanged, proper authorship is cited, it is in a publication not for
sale, and a link is provided to this site or to www.drstevedunn.com. For all other uses, contact Steve at sdunnpastor@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment