God is into the smallest of details. Often we take things for granted and do not realize what has happened to bring about life’s events. You should know that God is working even in the small and seemingly insignificant things that happen in His universe and in our lives. God revealed hundreds of details to prophets about the coming of the Messiah. It was humanly impossible for them to see the fulfillment of what God was showing them. The events that took place in Bethlehem demonstrated God’s knowledge and sovereignty. God Almighty is in control and has sworn by Himself to accomplish everything that He has promised. This is not only true about the coming of the Messiah, it is also true about the smallest details of your life.
The Gospel account gives clear details of the events surrounding Christ’s birth, life, ministry and miracles.
John 20:31 NKJV These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
What we have been given in the New Testament is sufficient to bring us into faith in Jesus Christ, God’s provided Redeemer and Savior.
From a distance, one prophet spoke of the One Who would come.
Numbers 24:16 NKJV The utterance of him who hears the words of God, and has the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, with eyes wide open:
Numbers 24:17 NKJV I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; a Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel…
From the time the children of Israel entered into the Promised Land, the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ was visible like a radiant and beautiful star.
The God who sees, knows and brings all things to pass showed the prophet that a Star would come out of Jacob.
The Star the wise men saw and followed was not an accident or natural phenomenon. Over a thousand years before the star was seen in the sky, God said it would arise and would be a sign of the Christ arising in majesty and power.
The Prophet Micah saw the One Who was promised arising from Bethlehem.
Micah 5:2 NKJV “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”
Micah 5:4 NKJV And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great to the ends of the earth;
Bethlehem was the appointed place for the birth of God’s Promise.
What God initiated in Bethlehem is now established in the hearts and lives of believers around the world.
Matthew 2:1 NKJV Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
Matthew 2:2 NKJV saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
Solomon foresaw the arrival of the wise men from the East following the brightness of His coming.
In Psalms 72:11-12 He said: The kings of Tarshish and of the isles will bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; All nations shall serve Him.
Isaiah continued the same message.
Isaiah 60:3 said, Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
In Isaiah 60:6 it says, The multitude of camels shall cover your land… from Midian and Ephah… those from Sheba shall come; They shall bring gold and incense, and they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.
When they saw His star, they expected to find Him in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem held the Temple and throne of Herod, King of Galilee, Judea and Samaria. Surely the new born King would be in Jerusalem. When word of their arrival came to King Herod, the king was alarmed, so he called the scribes, Pharisees and teachers of the people to see what was written about the Christ. They turned to the words of the prophet Micah and Isaiah who prophesied about 700 years before Christ’s birth. The Holy Spirit gave them insight to prepare a way for the coming of the Messiah. After hearing the Prophet’s words, Herod sent the wise men on their way to find the child.
Hold on to that thought for a moment.
Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem?
Luke 2:1 NKJV And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
Luke 2:2-3 NKJV This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
Luke 2:4 NKJV Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
Nazareth of Galilee was 80-90 miles north of Bethlehem. It was a weary and rough five-days journey for Mary on a donkey over hills and valleys to an elevation of some 3,500 feet. The City of David was the birthplace of King David and the place where Jacob’s wife Rachel was buried.
Luke 2:6 NKJV So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
Luke 2:7 NKJV And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
With God nothing just happens.
God Almighty is in control of the details of life. He is the ruler of kings and governments. He is Sovereign King and Lord over all. Our God knows what is in the heart and mind of men. Before Caesar Augustus was born, God knew that he would be king and would cause everyone to be registered in their own city. The Omniscient God knew that Mary and Joseph would end up in Bethlehem when it was time for her to give birth.
Now, go back to Bethlehem.
The wise men had just heard Micah’s prophesy from King Herod that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
Matthew 2:9 NKJV When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.
Matthew 2:10 NKJV When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
When Israel came out of Egypt, the prophet was told and saw that God was preparing a way for His Messiah. God ordained and arranged the star and Bethlehem. You need to know that when you face what appears to be unexpected situations that God is into the details of your life.
Jeremiah 1:5 NKJV God told the prophet Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
God knows the beginning and the ending of everything. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and End. Neither Satan nor evil men can pervert or destroy what God has planned. God is able to turn things around for good and He is able to accomplish His purpose and plan.
Watch this Divine drama being fulfilled.
Matthew 2:11 NKJV And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Can you believe that God knew that the wise men from the east would come and behold the young Child and present their treasures and gifts to Him?
Matthew 2:12 NKJV Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
God is in control of even the smallest details.
After the wise men departed, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.
Matthew 2:13 NKJV …“Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”
Sometimes we have to make what appears to be unplanned trips in life.
As far as we can tell, everything is out of control, but God is keeping and protecting us. He knows the way that we should take.
Matthew 2:16 NKJV Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.
Bethlehem, the place where the Angels sang praises to God, became a place of lamentation and bitter weeping.
God knew that this massacre would come.
Jeremiah 31:15 NKJV Thus says the Lord: “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more.”
In the city where Rachel had been buried, all of the male children were put to death. Satan and evil men were attempting to destroy the Savior and Redeemer, but God had a plan.
Jeremiah 33:15 NKJV ‘In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David A Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
Jeremiah 33:16 NKJV In those days Judah will be saved, And Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: the Lord our Righteousness’
When God makes a promise, He will fulfill what He says.
Isaiah 11:1 NKJV There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
Isaiah 11:2 NKJV The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
Isaiah 11:3 NKJV His delight is in the fear of the Lord, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
Isaiah 11:4 NKJV But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
Isaiah 11:5 NKJV Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
Throughout the Old Testament God gave the message to His prophets, “Prepare a way for the Lord.”
The One born in the manger in Bethlehem was Immanuel. Wise men found Him and now we know that Jesus the Christ is the Hope of the world and the Messiah of God. Jesus our Lord and Savior has come to give real hope, peace and life. This is the Good News of the Gospel. We have found Him!
Psalms 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him.
