"Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth "(Micah 5:1-4).
Today's Morsel: Last year, the Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl. The city of Green Bay, Wisconsin, is the smallest city in America with a National Football League winning team. The population of Green Bay is only about 105,000 people. But it keeps producing winners. There have been many great leaders that have come from small cities and towns. Scripture says, "Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see" (John 1:44-46). They knew through scripture that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, as nothing had been mentioned of Nazareth. And so when Phillip said, Jesus of Nazareth, Nathanael more or less rejected it until Jesus told him, "Before Phillip called thee under the fig tree I saw thee." Immediately, his eyes were opened to truth. Zechariah said, "For who hath despised the day of small things" (Zechariah 4:10)? Micah, the prophet, had prophesied that out of Bethlehem Ephratha, though little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of it would come forth Him that would be ruler in Israel. Such a little town, but a great leader and Savior would be born there. Bethlehem was the city of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz, where Obed was born, who was the grandfather of King David, who was the lineage line to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is why Jesus was often referred to as the son of David. And because God had chosen this lineage line, it would be only right that He come to earth in the city where the King He had chosen after His own heart had lived. Jesus wants to be born in your city, church, and home, so don't think that it is to small.
Sing: O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie; above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by: Yet in the dark street shineth the Everlasting Light; The hopes and fears of all the years, are met in thee tonight.
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