Out of Bethlehem

You’ve probably heard of Bethlehem. Whether from singing the famous Christmas hymn “O Little Town of Bethlehem” or from hearing the story of Jesus’ birth, chances are if you grew up in America or in a Christian community, you’ve at least heard of the place. But how much do you really know about it? Have you ever wondered why of all the places Jesus could have been born, He was born there? If you know your Bible, you might think, “Well, He was born there because that’s where it was prophesied that He would be born.” True, but why was Bethlehem the place that was prophesied? Was it just some random town?

Like many of you, I’ve known of Bethlehem’s existence for practically my whole life, but in 2019 I finally got to visit, and now I’m living a mere 14 miles from there, as the crow flies. Living in the Holy Land somehow makes things in Scripture jump out more—“little” things that we tend to glance over because of our unfamiliarity with their meaning or context, things like where various events happened. After visiting Capernaum in 2019, I realized just how many of the familiar New Testament accounts happened there. Similarly, this Christmas season, I’ve been noticing a lot about Bethlehem.

For instance, did you realize that Ruth met Boaz in Bethlehem? That fact just sunk in for me earlier this month as I was reading the book of Ruth for the who-knows-how-many-th time. And that fact, which is super cool for reasons I’d be getting ahead of myself to explain here, started me on a hunt to see what else happened in Bethlehem. As it turns out, a lot did.

My first discovery is actually thanks to one of our pastor’s recent sermons in which he mentioned that the name Bethlehem in Hebrew is the combination of the words beth + lechem, which literally means “house of bread.” Names typically were significant in ancient times and weren’t just randomly assigned, so it is reasonable to assume that Bethlehem was known for or at least associated with bread in some way. Thus, we can say, out of Bethlehem came bread.

The first time we hear of Bethlehem in the Bible is in Genesis 35 when Jacob’s beloved wife Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin (who would represent three of the twelve tribes of Israel), dies in childbirth and is buried “on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)” (v. 19, ESV). Thus, with the very first mention of Bethlehem, we find that it is a place associated with grief, a very particular kind of grief that is tied to the Fall: death from difficulty in childbirth.

The next reference to “Bethlehem” comes in Joshua 19, when the land is being divided among the tribes. The Bethlehem mentioned here, however, is a different place. It’s not the Ephrath Bethlehem, it’s a Bethlehem in Galilee (the north) which was part of the tribe of Zebulun’s allotment. The next mention of Bethlehem is also believed to refer to the Bethlehem of Zebulun rather than of Judah. This occurs in Judges 12 when it is identified as the hometown of the judge Ibzan.

The Bethlehem of Jesus’ birth shows up again, though, in Judges 17 as the origin of the Levite who became a priest for a man named Micah who had made a shrine for an idol. The Levites were the one tribe who were scattered throughout the other tribes of Israel to serve as priests of the Lord, so it’s not unusual that this Levite was coming from the territory of the tribe of Judah. What is unusual, though, is that he had left Judah and was “sojourning” in Ephraim, a central tribe, for some unknown reason. Furthermore, he ends up disobeying God’s commandment two-fold. First, he becomes an accessory to possessing graven images, disobeying God’s general command not to worship idols. But he also forsakes God’s specific calling on his life as a Levite to facilitate worship of the one, true God and instead starts serving a false god and facilitating worship of it. Thus, out of Bethlehem came an unfaithful priest.

A couple of chapters later, in Judges 19, we’re met with another disturbing account related to Bethlehem. The Levite in this chapter is described in much the same way as the one in chapter 17, although it is unclear whether or not they are the same person. Regardless, the Levite takes a wife/concubine from Bethlehem in Judah and brings her to where he is sojourning in Ephraim. She becomes unfaithful and leaves him to return to Bethlehem, at which point, after a few months, he goes “to speak kindly to her and bring her back.” He is welcomed into his father-in-law’s home and stays for several days before leaving with his wife to journey back to Ephraim. On the way, they stop to spend the night in a town called Gibeah where, long story short, the woman is raped and murdered while her husband does nothing to stop it. Upon finding her dead in the morning, he carries her body back to Ephraim where he proceeds to cut it in twelve pieces to send throughout the nation to make it known what a terrible thing the people of Gibeah had done, leading to their punishment. Thus, out of Bethlehem came an unfaithful wife, an unprotective husband, and another story of grief.

Then comes Ruth. Bethlehem in Judah is identified as the hometown of yet another man who sojourns elsewhere, Elimelech, the husband of Naomi. When Elimelech and his two sons die in Moab (modern-day Jordan), Naomi and one daughter-in-law Ruth return to Bethlehem where Boaz, the family’s kinsman redeemer, is also from. He marries Ruth to carry on the family name, and at the end of the book we learn that Ruth and Boaz of Bethlehem become the great-grandparents of David. David is introduced in 1 Samuel 16 as the youngest son of his father who is working as a shepherd and who is chosen by the Lord to be king of Israel. Thus, out of Bethlehem came a shepherd king.  

The next several mentions of Bethlehem are not specified as the Bethlehem in Judah, although it is likely that the Judean town is the one referenced. Asahel, who is David’s nephew, the brother of David’s army commander Joab, and one of David’s mighty men himself, is killed by an enemy of David’s and is buried in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem (1 Chronicles 2:16; 2 Samuel 2). Two men named Elhanan who were also among David’s most valiant military supporters are tied to Bethlehem as well (2 Samuel 23:24; 2 Samuel 21:19). Thus, out of Bethlehem came strong warriors.

In 2 Samuel 23 and 1 Chronicles 11, we find the account of David in conflict with the ancient Canaanite people, the Philistines, who had a garrison at Bethlehem. David yearns for water from the well in Bethlehem (presumably, the one in Judah that is his hometown), and three of his mighty men break through the Philistine lines and get the water for him, which he then pours out before the Lord out of respect for the lives of his men. Thus, out of Bethlehem came water from a well.

When David’s grandson Rehoboam became king, leading to a split in the kingdom with Judah and Benjamin on one side and the rest of the tribes on the other, he built fortifications at several existing towns, one of which was Bethlehem. These weren’t just minor enhancements; 2 Chronicles 11:11 says, “He made the fortresses strong, and put commanders in them, and stores of food, oil, and wine.” Thus, Bethlehem became a strong fortress.

But all the fortresses in Judah weren’t strong enough to keep Babylon from conquering the kingdom. After a few hundred years of progressive rebelliousness against God, the people of Judah were conquered by the Babylonians and many were taken into exile, where they remained for several decades. In the meantime, the remnant who was left in the land became afraid of retribution from Babylon after someone killed the Babylonian-appointed governor and those with him. They decided to flee to Egypt, but before they went, they stopped at a village by Bethlehem to inquire of the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 41:17). After being commanded by God not to go to Egypt, the people blatantly disobeyed and went anyway, setting themselves up for destruction. Thus, near Bethlehem the people rebelled against God.  

When a group of the exiles was allowed to return from Babylon, Nehemiah made a point to list the different groups of people who made the journey home. Among those who returned were “The men of Bethlehem” (Nehemiah 7:26). Thus, Bethlehem’s population returned, showing God’s mercy even in judgment and setting up the conditions for the fulfilment of a prophecy that had been made by Micah (a different Micah from the one mentioned earlier) a couple of hundred years before the exiles’ return.

That prophecy was specifically concerning Bethlehem: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. […] And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace.” (Micah 5:2, 4-5a, ESV). Thus, out of Bethlehem was to come a strong shepherd king who would be a strong fortress and put an end to war and destruction, bringing peace.

Some four hundred years would pass after the exiles returned to Judah before the town of Bethlehem would show up again. Luke tells us that, because Joseph was a descendant of David, Bethlehem of Judah was his and Mary’s destination when the emperor called for a census. It was there that Mary gave birth to Jesus, there that the shepherds visited Him, there that the magi from the east found Him, and there that Herod went on his jealous, murderous rampage against all boys two-years-old and younger trying to kill Him (Luke 2 and Matthew 2).

Throughout Scripture, Bethlehem is shown as a microcosm of all that is wrong with the world as a result of the Fall, and from rebellion to restoration, it tells the story of the relationship between man and God. It begins as a place of death, of unfaithfulness, of neglect, of war, of exile, of fear, of rebellion, of covetousness, of murder. But it is also a microcosm of all the Fall-reversing promises that are fulfilled in the Promised One, Jesus. From the house of bread, came the Bread of Life. From the town with a desirable well, came the Living Water. From the hometown of warriors came the Mighty Victor. From the home of a shepherd king came the King of Kings who is our Good Shepherd. From the strong fortress came the strongest Fortress of all. Instead of an unfaithful priest came the Great High Priest, Faithful and True. Instead of an unprotective husband came the Bridegroom, protective and loving.

Because of Jesus there will be no more murder, no more covetousness, no more rebellion, no more fear, no more exile, no more war, no more neglect, no more unfaithfulness, no more death. Because of Him, the process of reversing the Fall has started and one day will be fully complete. The One born in Bethlehem has lived the perfect life no one else could; He has broken the curse; He has defeated the Enemy; He has conquered death. Out of Bethlehem has come the Savior of the world.

And that, my friends, makes for a very Merry Christmas!

PC: Eric Eanes. Used with permission.