ADVENT DEVOTIONAL | Day 21 | O Little Town of Bethlehem

READ
2But 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. - Micah 5:2

REFLECT
Have you ever made careful plans just to see them fall apart? Perhaps you’ve had a flight cancelled due to bad weather, or missed a long-anticipated dinner because work runs late. Moments like these remind us how fragile and uncertain our plans can be.

Well, God’s plans are not like our plans. Seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus, God spoke through the prophet Micah. Though Israel would face judgment for its sin at the hands of Assyria, God promised hope beyond devastation. God would bring forth his ruler from the humble town of Bethlehem Ephrathah, the birthplace of King David. Moreover, this ruler’s coming forth was not only from Bethlehem, but also “from of old, from ancient days,” grounded in God’s long-established plan of redemption for fallen humanity.

Seven hundred years later, God’s promise was fulfilled. In a lowly manger in Bethlehem, Jesus was born — a son of David who would save God’s people from their sins. How wonderful and unshakeable are the plans of our God!

RESPOND

• Have you ever questioned if God is really in control? How does Jesus’s fulfilment of Micah’s prophecy reassure us that God is sovereign and faithful?
• Take a moment to reflect that King Jesus, God incarnate, was born in a manger in the quiet town of Bethlehem. What does the manner of Jesus’s birth show us about God’s heart?
• Jesus, the greater David, reigns over all today and forevermore. How does that truth empower us to live for him and like him?