Advent 2025 – 09
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
Advent 2025
Day 09 | BETHLEHEM
Advent 2025
Day 09 | BETHLEHEM
BETHLEHEM
Micah 5:2
“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.”
This prophecy from Micah was given more than seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus the Christ (which means: “Messiah,” “Anointed One,” or “Chosen One”) in that quiet little town of Bethlehem.
Bethlehem-Ephrathah are two names with two meanings. Bethlehem means “house of bread.” Jesus later would be called the “bread of life.” Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.” (John 6:51).
Ephrathah, the older name for the town, means “fruitfulness” or “to be fruitful.” Jesus reminded us of his original home when he said, “When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples.” (John 15:8). Paul reminds us of fruit when he talks about the “Fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5).
The family tree of Jesus shows three other famous names in the Scriptures connected with Bethlehem. It was the home of Ruth, that of King David, and the final resting place of Jacob’s wife, Rachel.
What joy we might get out of remembering all of this, is that the LORD God had a plan and completed it exactly as He intended. How could Micah have known – hundreds of years before His birth – about Jesus’ coming and His birthplace? There is only one way… the LORD told him by His Spirit, and he (Micah), being a man of God and a prophet, wrote it just as he heard it. Unvarnished, no explanation, just “Here is what God said.” I can almost hear him adding, “Wait for it!”
Prayer: LORD, as we get closer to Christmas this year, help us not to be complacent, discouraged, bored, or too busy to appreciate ALL that the Birth of Jesus means and will always mean. And THANK YOU again for sending Your Son so that we might have life and life abundant. Amen.
Micah 5:2
“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.”
This prophecy from Micah was given more than seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus the Christ (which means: “Messiah,” “Anointed One,” or “Chosen One”) in that quiet little town of Bethlehem.
Bethlehem-Ephrathah are two names with two meanings. Bethlehem means “house of bread.” Jesus later would be called the “bread of life.” Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.” (John 6:51).
Ephrathah, the older name for the town, means “fruitfulness” or “to be fruitful.” Jesus reminded us of his original home when he said, “When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples.” (John 15:8). Paul reminds us of fruit when he talks about the “Fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5).
The family tree of Jesus shows three other famous names in the Scriptures connected with Bethlehem. It was the home of Ruth, that of King David, and the final resting place of Jacob’s wife, Rachel.
What joy we might get out of remembering all of this, is that the LORD God had a plan and completed it exactly as He intended. How could Micah have known – hundreds of years before His birth – about Jesus’ coming and His birthplace? There is only one way… the LORD told him by His Spirit, and he (Micah), being a man of God and a prophet, wrote it just as he heard it. Unvarnished, no explanation, just “Here is what God said.” I can almost hear him adding, “Wait for it!”
Prayer: LORD, as we get closer to Christmas this year, help us not to be complacent, discouraged, bored, or too busy to appreciate ALL that the Birth of Jesus means and will always mean. And THANK YOU again for sending Your Son so that we might have life and life abundant. Amen.
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