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.--Micah v. 2.
We find Boaz (the husband of Ruth) was of Bethlehem, a small city
belonging to the tribe of Judah, situate about five or six miles
from Jerusalem, and his posterity continued to possess it for some
time, for it was the birth-place of David, the son of Jesse the
Bethlehemite, great grandson to Boaz. This was the city from which,
according to prophecy, the Messiah should come. If we examine the
records left by the Evangelists, we shall find a decree was issued
by Augustus Cæsar, to tax all the people of the Jews, and every
family was ordered to repair to the cities belonging to their
respective tribes. This it was, which brought the Virgin Mary from
Nazareth to Bethlehem, she being of the house and lineage of David.
It is probable the whole family of David were cited to assemble for
the purpose of being taxed; it might be with a design to humble and
mortify them, for they had a rightful claim to the throne of Judah.
If this had not been the case, it is more than probable Mary, from
her situation, would have been permitted to remain at Nazareth.
Whatever were the motives of the civil authorities, we have cause
to bless our God for thus overruling events, which distinctively
considered were oppressive, but now tend to establish the truth as
it is in Jesus. What else, humanly speaking, could have brought
Mary, a female in the humblest walk of life, to Bethlehem?--If it
were not for this circumstance, we should have wanted this proof
of Jesus being the Messiah; for we are told, he should be born at
Bethlehem, a city little among the thousands of Judah.[29] Although
a manger was the best accommodation offered for the royal babe, yet
his birth was not altogether unnoticed, or passed by, as an event
of little importance; for lo! amidst the stillness of the night,
an angelic messenger is sent to announce to Jewish shepherds, the
arrival of the chief Shepherd. No sooner are the glad tidings of
great joy communicated, but a multitude of the heavenly hosts, who
had followed with joyful haste, make the air re-echo with sounds,
sweet as the music of heaven. While charmed with the delightful
melody, and breathless to catch the strain, we distinctly hear,
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towards
men." The next object which arrests our attention, is a company of
Eastern philosophers, who are come to pay their adorations to the
sovereign stranger, and to welcome his arrival. But who could have
directed them to this obscure retreat, to find the infant King?
They were led thither, by a star of peculiar motion, appointed
to direct these eastern sages (probably Chaldeans), to Israel's
King. But how ill did his appearance accord with the dignity of
his character; yet notwithstanding the poverty with which he
was surrounded, they worshipped him. For he who was a babe at
Bethlehem, by the mysterious union of the human nature with the
divine person, is the same "whose goings forth have been from of
old, from everlasting." We are told that when he went forth in the
acts of creation, "the morning stars sang together, and all the
sons of God shouted for joy." What wonder then if they tuned their
golden harps afresh, when he went forth to accomplish redemption's
work, which mystery the angels are represented as desiring to look
into. He is also described as a Ruler not only in the armies of
heaven, and amongst the inhabitants of earth; but, in a more near
and interesting sense, does he reign and rule in the hearts of his
redeemed. The symbol of his authority is not an iron rod; no, he
rules them with the sceptre of his love. We would say "Gird on thy
sword upon thy thigh, O thou most mighty; and go forth, conquering
and to conquer; until every land shall own thy power, and all the
nations of the earth shall call the Redeemer blessed." May we
imitate these eastern sages, and not feel ashamed to confess our
attachment to him, who once appeared as an infant at Bethlehem; for
it became him, in taking our nature, to assume it from its earliest
state, and in all things to be made like unto his brethren, sin only
excepted.
[29] It will be observed the chief priests and scribes, in quoting
this passage (see Matt. ii. 6.) have not given it correctly, but
have made it bend as much as possible to their ideas of a temporal
prince.