Bethlehem ’s Secret

“Though thou be little, yet out of thee shall he come forth.” Micah 5:2

It was the place of Hebrew legends. It could have been something about Rachel’s tomb, or David’s birthplace, or the militant Philistines who established a fort there to house their garrisons. The “House of Bread” earned its name from some long forgotten incident now fallen between the cracks of history’s sketchy record. Maybe it spun out of David’s ragtag, but loyal followers, whose brave and undying support of their beloved leader wove itself into Israel ’s culture. Perhaps it hearkened back to Naomi, Ruth and Boaz who left their imprint on the fields surrounding the otherwise nondescript, little village, five miles south of Jerusalem in Judah ’s hill country. And any knowledgeable local could easily direct tourists to the probable spot where Samuel anointed David king of Israel .

God slips his secrets into crevices and folds where most people fail to look. The prophet asked, “For who hath despised the day of small things?” Zechariah 4:10. Divine bias leans toward the small, rather than the great; the poor rather than the rich; the lowly rather than the high; the covert rather than the overt; the little known rather than the famous, the little rather than the much. “A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.” Psalm 37:16. Eschewing the glory of earthly kingdoms, God situates his overarching truths in small places. “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.” Isaiah 28:10-11. In his ministry, Christ called attention to a little child, a little lunch and a little flock. The New Testament heralds a little book, a little strength and a little while. God’s subtlety denies satisfaction to the casual dabbler. He forces men to seek him out.

Bethlehem ’s illogic baffled the world. How could a place achieve historical significance without some impressive distinction to set it apart? Bethlehem was not important enough. It was not strategic enough. It was not wealthy enough. It had neither commercial value nor cultural worth. But, Bethlehem did fit the profile of God’s modus operandi. He wanted nothing from this world; he took nothing from this world. “For he shall grow up before him as…a root out of a dry ground.” Isaiah 53:2. Should he have added Rome to his list of credits, or even Jerusalem , he would have been beholden to this cosmos. His legitimacy to the monarchy through the lineages of Mary and Joseph, only received attention at a much later date. He had no known mentor, no handler, no agent and no sponsor. As a root out of a dry ground grows without water or nutrients—-a phenomenon that contradicts nature—-neither did Jesus borrow from the wealth of the world to enhance his own status. To the secular mind, Bethlehem was a liability, not an asset.

The world’s most profound secret patiently waited to be born in the midst of streets more suitable for driving herds to market than entertaining royalty. Nothing but an obscure prophecy suggested the glory it was about to know. Its residents were ignorant of that which was concealed in its bosom. Little Bethlehem was in God’s crosshairs. A star, a chorus of angels, Mary, Joseph and Judean shepherds all converged on this these quiet streets. “And Joseph also went up from Galilee , out of the city of Nazareth , into Judaea , unto the city of David , which is called Bethlehem .” Luke 2:4. Bethlehem ’s secret, before Christ, lay not in its past, but in its future. The secret was the Savior. “And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel .” Isaiah 45:3

Bethlehem ’s secret continues to reproduce itself in countless conversions today. People with no apparent value on today’s market, with nothing to give and even less to promise find themselves in God’s crosshairs, targets of divine grace. What happens when a sinner emerges from the pits of sin? A star appears. “…As unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.” 2 Peter 1:19. Angels sing. “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” Luke 15:10. A new birth takes place. “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.” 1 John 5:1. God’s secrets are far better than the world’s headlines. Let us never discount any person as incapable of redemption. Secrets can come from anywhere.