Jesus Would be Born in Bethlehem
Old Testament prophecy fulfilled by Jesus
The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem of Judea.
Micah was a prophet in the Old Testament who delivered the message of God in the days of the divided kingdom (when the northern 10 tribes were known as Israel, and the southern 2 tribes known as Judah). His ministry was before Assyria took Israel captive and before Babylon took Judah captive.
Even in the dark days when Micah was a prophet, God gave him a prophetic detail that promised to bring great light to all people.
The prophecy God gave Micah:
“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.” Micah 5:2
That Ephrathah is connected with Bethlehem of Judah is clear in several places in the Word.
When Rachel died: “So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). Genesis 35:19
When Boaz married Ruth in Bethlehem: “And all the people who were in the court and the elders, said, ‘We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephratha and become famous in Bethlehem.’”
When David was born in Bethlehem: “Now David was the son of the Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse . . . “ I Samuel 17:12
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, wise men from the east followed the star so they could worship the newborn King. When Herod asked the wise men where Christ would be born, they answered:
“And they said to him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet, and you, Bethlehem, Land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.’” Matthew 2:5-6
By the time of Jesus earthly ministry, some believed that they didn’t know where the Messiah would come from (John 7:27). Others believed the Messiah would come from Bethlehem based on Micah 5:2. The masses heard that Jesus came from Nazareth, a city in the Galilee. But they didn’t know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, not Nazareth. We see this confusion in the book of John:
“Others were saying, ‘Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He? Has not the scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?’” John 7:41-42
Hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, in Bethlehem, God gave Micah the prophecy: God the Father would send One FROM Him to rule Israel, and that One would come THROUGH Bethlehem. That One, we call Jesus, did not begin in Bethlehem-He was from eternity.
“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.” Micah 5:2
Every prophecy God gave His prophets happened exactly as He told them-including this one in Micah.
Carla Killough McClafferty