The Daily Nugget

Hi All

As we enter advent season, we begin to prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus, but have we ever really pondered on why Bethlehem was chosen ? God chose Bethlehem for Jesus' birth to fulfill prophecy and to connect him to the lineage of King David. The Old Testament book of Micah foretold that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem(Micah 5:2), and the city was also the ancestral home of Joseph, who was a descendant of David. The name "Bethlehem" itself means "house of bread," and this is linked to Jesus being the "Bread of Life"(John 6:35). The bible also tells us that Jesus is “The Prince of Peace”(Isaiah 9:6) this is the same Jesus who is the hope for all believers today.

Be Blessed and Encouraged

Why God Chose Bethlehem

But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity."   

(Micah 5:2)

We all know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but have you ever pondered about why God chose Bethlehem, when on the face of it there would have seemed to be places that would have been more appropriate for example,why not Jerusalem as  It was the seat of religious power,there was also Rome which was the seat of political power and Athens which was the seat of intellectual power. When we look into the history and background of Bethlehem we can better understand why it was chosen.In the story of the birth of Jesus as told in the books of Matthew and Luke the city of Bethlehem is mentioned on nine different occasions whether it be referred to as Bethlehem or City of David and throughout the old testament Bethlehem has always been a place where God  provided answers and solutions  to problems.For example in the book of Ruth we read how God provided Boaz to bring Ruth and Naomi out of poverty. In the book of 1 Samuel we read how God provided the future King David from Bethlehem for the Israelites at a time when they were struggling with poor leadership under the reign of Saul(1 Samuel 13:14). The prophecy Micah gave in the above verse(Micah 5:2) came at  a time when the Assyrians invaded Bethlehem and were causing all sorts of disruption. God used the prophet Micah to reveal Bethlehem as the divinely handpicked city where our saviour Jesus Christ would be born.