Micah 5:2-5

Sisters and brothers in Christ,

This evening’s Bible passage is Micah 5:2-5:

² 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.

³ Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return
to the people of Israel.
⁴ 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.
⁵ And he shall be their peace. 

We learned yesterday that Ruth gave birth to Obed, the grandfather of King David and a distant ancestor of Jesus (Lk 3:32), in Bethlehem. This birth of Obed to a Moabite immigrant isn’t the first mention of Bethlehem in the Bible. Rachel, wife of Israel, died in childbirth “on the way” to Bethlehem (then known as Ephrath) and was buried nearby (Gen. 35:16-20). The survival, even until the present, of what is believed to be Rachel’s tomb allowed Matthew to imagine Rachel “weeping for her children” after the slaughter of the Innocents in Bethlehem by Herod’s soldiers (Matt. 2:16-18). Rachel stands for all distraught mothers.

Bethlehem was also the birthplace of David himself (1 Sam. 17:12), who was still a shepherd boy there when Samuel anointed him (1 Sam. 16:4). By the time David was king, however, Bethlehem had become a “garrison of the Philistines” (2 Sam. 23:14), against whom David waged war.

The story of Ruth is therefore something of an exception. As we saw yesterday, Ruth was welcomed to Bethlehem, was treated well, married Boaz, and gave birth to Obed. But the biblical history of Bethlehem was not on the whole a peaceful one.

Which makes it all the more startling that the prophet Micah, nearly three hundred years after the death of David and seven centuries before the birth of Christ, should announce that the “little” town of Bethlehem would be the birthplace of the ruler who would bring—of all things—peace to the world.

This promised ruler is not an afterthought of God. His birth has been planned “from ancient days.” Micah assures his readers that this ruler born in Bethlehem will bring peace not only to “the people of Israel,” but also to “the rest of his brothers” among the Gentiles. Like David, he will be a shepherd, but his flock will be people not sheep, and he will care for his people “in the strength of the LORD,” keeping them all “secure.” In short, “he shall be their peace.”

Luke, who probably consulted Mary on the matter, reports that Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Lk. 2:1-7). Perhaps Luke also spoke to one or more of the shepherds, who told him of the angelic announcement of the birth “in the city of David” of “a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Lk. 2:11) and of God’s accompanying promise of “peace, good will among men” (Lk. 2:14 KJV).

What are we to make of this promise of peace? It’s worth remembering that God takes the long view. The importance of Bethlehem to the divine plan of salvation only slowly revealed itself. So it is, I suspect, with God’s promise of peace. Individually, in Christ, we have peace with God now, but it takes us a lifetime truly to lean all the way into that peace and to experience “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding” (Phil. 4:7) Peace between nations takes even longer, perhaps the entire lifetime of the church as a whole. The prophet Isaiah hints at this long view when, along with the promise of the birth of the Christ child, he adds, “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:7). Only in the new heavens and the new earth will there finally be complete global peace.

In the meantime, we who are followers of Christ are called to be peacemakers: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (Matt. 5:9). We may not be in a position to do much in the way of peace on an international scale (although we shouldn’t underestimate the power of prayer or the importance of voting wisely), but we can work quietly for peace in our relationships with others at home, in our neighborhoods, in our churches, and at work.

Our efforts may seem small, but Bethlehem was a “little” town and God chose Bethlehem for the births of Obed, David, and Jesus. And it was the kindness of Boaz and the others in Bethlehem that made the birth of Obed possible. And without Obed, no David. And without David, no Mary. Small things can have large effects. Small kindnesses can bring surprising peace.

Your brother in Christ,

Max