Daily Devotional

-December 13, 2020

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day — Merry Christmas,

-Christ Was Born In Bethlehem-

“And when he (Herod) had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judaea, for thus it is written by the prophet.’”

(Matthew 2:4-5).

Herod was an evil king with very bad motives. He did not want to come before the Christ Child to worship as the wise men did. He was jealous of Child and sought to kill Him. Matthew 2:16 says, “Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.”

Herod was not the first to attempt to kill Jesus before He went to the cross to die for our sins. In Nazareth, there were those who tried to push Him off the steepest place of the city. Every attempt failed miserably. Think how many young toddlers Herod killed. There was great anguish and sorrow over these little ones whom he killed. It reminds us of how Pharaoh ordered all the male Israelite children to be put to death. Satan was behind all attempts to kill the Jews and to kill Jesus.

Herod knew who ask when he had a question from the Scriptures. He sought out the chief priests and scribes. They were educated and very knowledgeable in the OT. Knowledge is a good thing, education is a good thing, and theology is a good thing, as long as one puts it into practice and honors and obeys God. Otherwise it is of little value. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 8:1b-3, “Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.”

These are the men who should have known that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah. They should have welcomed Him, honored Him, and worshipped Him. But they like Herod envied Him, rejected Him, and crucified Him.

These chief priests and scribes rightly knew that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea. There was another city named Bethlehem so they added, “of Judea.” Bethlehem of Judea or Judah, was a small, yet significant city. King David was born there, and Boaz, who married Ruth lived there. It was also Naomi’s hometown. The prophet Micah identified it as the birthplace of the Messiah in Micah 5:2, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me, the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting.” The eternal Son of God was born in a small town.

The lesson for us is that God considers big what men consider little, and uses the small places and small things to accomplish big things, great things. God uses us as His humble servants to do great things for Him. The hymn writer Phillips Brooks wrote, “O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by; Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light: The hopes are fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”

You might also consider yourself little, your gifts little, your labor little for our great Lord and Savior, but realize God can use you for His glory. In fact, the greater our weakness, the more glory God receives. God knows what He is doing, and what we can do through Him. Bethlehem, though small, played a big part in God’s plan.

Have a blessed and joyful day serving our Lord and rejoicing in His birth in Bethlehem. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean