Advent 4/25

 DAY FOUR (week one; prophecies)

Do you recognize the town name “Bethlehem”? It is now a very well-known place, but it was actually a very small, non-influential town. It was King David’s hometown, but I’m unsure if there was really anything else significant about it… except this prophecy!

“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will come forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His times of coming forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.” (NASB)

So this certainly isn’t referring to David, considering the book of Micah was written 200 to 300 years after King David’s death. This leader has actually been around since “long ago, from the days of eternity”! This must be the messiah!

Now we know where Jesus must be born. Yet Mary and Joseph weren’t actually from Bethlehem, so why did she give birth in Bethlehem? We will talk about that during Week 3 of this advent.

I would like to talk about an aspect of this prophecy -and the one from yesterday- that you guys might’ve noticed. “...And the government will rest on His shoulders” and “...to be ruler in Israel”. These prophecies have not been fulfilled, when Jesus Christ lived on Earth, He was never after an Earthly crown. He only spoke of a heavenly kingdom.

Why do you think Jesus has not fulfilled this entire prophecy? What do you think must happen for Him to do so?

Today I encourage you to pray with me for your family- this may not be directly related to the prophecy, but we have been talking about Jesus coming as a child, completely human! If you have younger siblings, nephews, nieces, or really any kid in your life, let’s pray for their health and spiritual well-being to God.