The Babe in Bethlehem

Micah is one of the "Minor Prophets" - minor, not because they are, in some way, less worthy than the "Major Prophets" (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel), but because the books named after them are much shorter in length.

To confirm the importance of Micah's little volume, we need look at only one verse:

"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days." (Micah 5:2)

This is an amazing prophecy, explicitly predicting, more than 700 years before He finally came, that the future King of Israel would be born in the little village of Bethlehem. And, to assure its fulfilment, the great Emperor Augustus had to decree a comprehensive census, compelling Joseph to take Mary with him to Bethlehem for her child to be born.

 

That the prophecy involves an actual birth is clear, not only from the phrase "come forth," but also from the succeeding verse which warns that God will "... give them up until the time when she who is in travail has brought forth;" (v. 3). We may also note that the preceding verse had  predicted that "... with a rod they strike upon the cheek the ruler of Israel." (v. 1), speaking of His initial rejection and execution.

 

But that is not all. The prophecy not only foresees the birth of the Christ-child in Bethlehem, His repudiation by His own people, and His eventual installation as King over all Israel (not merely the southern kingdom of Judah), but also that this same remarkable person was none other than God Himself! His "origins" had been "from of old, from ancient days." That is, He is eternally proceeding forth from His Father. He did not become God’s Son when He was born in Bethlehem; He has been coming forth eternally.

 

There is still another truth implied in the remarkable Hebrew word for "come forth." It is also used for such things as the flowing of water from a fountain or the radiations from the sun. Thus, the never-ending coming forth of power from God the Father, through the Son is nothing less than the sustaining energy for the whole creation, as He is "upholding the universe by His word of power" (Hebrews 1:3). And this was the Babe in Bethlehem! 

As we anticipate the celebration of the birth of the Lord Jesus (which we should really have done in Sept/Oct, but that's another message!), let us give thanks that the Babe of Bethlehem became the Christ of the Cross, and that He will soon return as the conquering King. Are you ready for that world-shaking event? May all of us see beyond the tinsel, the turkey, the other trappings of the "festive season", and commit ourselves to the service of the Lord.

A past long gone.

I have tried to find the story online - but have been unable to do so! Of course, it may be entirely apocryphal, but even if it is just a parable, it has an important lesson. It is the story of a nun who had, in her youth, committed what she considered to have been a grievous sin. She had, as a Romanist, gone to her priest, and had received 'absolution'. However, this brought her no peace at all. Day after day, she would mentally chide herself for her foolishness, and seek forgiveness.

One day, as she prayed and, again, asked for forgiveness from the only One Who can truly grant it, she believed that she heard a voice asking: "For what do you require forgiveness?" She named the sin, and the voice responded: "But why. I forgave you that sin on the first occasion on which you asked!"

According to the English novelist, Aldous Huxley, "There are no back moves on the chessboard of life"! Yet is it not true that we remain aware of things that we have done in the past, and things that we failed to do? Often, our sins worry us. They motivate us to wish that we could undo the past!

That is why those of us who have placed our trust in the Lord Jesus can be thankful for the message of Father God, found in both the First and Second (aka Old and New) Testaments. The great prophet, Isaiah, urges us to "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that He may have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." (Isa 55:6-7).

Another of the Hebrew prophets asks: "Who is a God like thee, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? ... ... Thou wilt cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." (Micah 7:18-19; emphasis added). 

When Paul preached in Antioch, he said: "Let it be known to you therefore, brethren, that through this man [Jesus] forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by Him every one that believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses." (Acts 13:38-39; emphasis added).

John, on whose letters my third book - Defending the Faith - is based, writes: "... if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:7-9; emphasis added).

Are you worried about your past? Rejoice! God has cast all of your sins into the depths of the sea. Are you still concerned about your sins? Rejoice! If you are in Jesus, and He is in you, (in other words if you are His true disciple, born again by the work of God the Holy Spirit in your life), they are forgiven, and you are cleansed from all unrighteousness. 

Permit me to share just two further scriptures. The writer of the great Letter to Hebrew disciples of Jesus quotes from the prophet Jeremiah when he states: "I will remember their sins and their misdeeds no more." (Heb. 10:17); while the psalmist-king, David writes: "... as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us." (Ps. 103:12).

If you have truly put your faith in the Lord Jesus, and received the salvation that He gained for you at Calvary, then the past is truly forgiven and, as the Spirit does His sanctifying work in you, the future is assured!

I love singing, and have many favourite songs and hymns. But if I was forced to choose just one as my "favourite favourite", it would be "When peace, like a river, attendeth my way" (aka "It is well with my soul".) Of that hymn, my favourite verse - and one that I seldom sing without a tear in my eye - is the one that reads:

"My sin; O the bliss of this glorious thought; My sin, not in part, but the whole is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord; Praise the Lord, O my soul."

May that be your personal testimony as well!