House Of Bread

Matthew 2:3-8 The song below brings  back many memories for us all. I'm willing to bet that we all grew up singing it at some time in our lives. Take a moment to read and meditate on each stanza to the song before we dive in.

Written by: Rector Phillips Brooks (1835-1903) of Philadelphia, wrote the words to O Little Town of Bethlehem in 1868, following a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. 

 

O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight

For Christ is born of Mary
And gathered all above
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love
O morning stars together
Proclaim the holy birth
And praises sing to God the King
And Peace to men on earth

How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him still,
The dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in
Be born to us today
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel  

It is interesting that God would choose the small quaint village of Bethlehem, some five miles southwest of Jerusalem,  for the Messiah  to be born in. The name Bethlehem means "House Of Bread" and remember what Jesus would say later on in His life. Look at John 6:35 Jesus said  "I am the bread of life". Here Jesus is not only born in a village called "House of Bread" but He literally becomes "The Bread of Life" bringing eternal salvation and life to us all. He is also the source of  "The Living Water" But these points are only the tip of the iceberg, so lets get on our diving gear and dive into God's word to see what we can discover below the surface of the water.

In Matthew 2:3-5 Herod gathers all the chief priests and scribes together and inquires or demands from them where the Christ was to be born. Herod is visibly worried by all the commotion that this large traveling group of magi from the East has stirred up. And what might not be apparent at first glance is the fact that the religious leaders did not have to check their scrolls of scripture for the answer because this prophecy had been  hidden in their hearts from long ago.

The chief priests and scribes knew Micah 5:2 by heart. "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, although 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"  God had a plan before he began His work of creation. That should not surprise us if we really are awake and thinking. He knew beforehand how wicked the human heart would be and designed the plan of salvation into His creation before the first brick was laid. Actually way before there was matter to create bricks in the first place.

God is so very good. I have personally had an incredible couple of years walking down through the valley just as many of you have also done. Losing your job, house, marriage-spouse and life savings. Its was through this very dark time in my life when my fair weather friends all abandoned me and fell by the way side. People who I thought had my back only stepped back to let me fall under the bus. My safety net of friendly fellowship evaporated into thin air. Dark times indeed but my God was always there! although He was silent at times  He protected me by guiding me in my desert walk and  preparing a table in the presence of my enemies.

Bread is the universal food in the world. It comes in all sizes, shapes, textures and colors. It can be allowed to rise, fried in oil or  cooked unleavened over a primitive fire. It is in this universal necessity of life that Jesus identifies Himself  "I am the bread of life". He alone provides for our daily sustenance by not only giving us something to eat but through the rich blessings of hope and faith. Our prize awaits us at the Bema Seat where we who received the free gift of salvation will stand before our King and receive our reward. Then later on we are allowed to lay those treasures at the feet of Jesus in the most precious act of worship all creation will ever witness. Dinner will follow but the question is...Do you have a reservation?

In Matthew 2:7 we find Herod doing a little research in asking when the star had appeared. Unfortunately, we all have been conditioned to assume that the three wise men were at the birth of Jesus and probably boiled water for Mary and Joseph. Every year at Christmas w set up our nativity scenes, look we have several nativity scenes and I love them all! But the facts are that the magi probably came one year or more after the birth of Jesus. It was an extremely long camel ride to Bethlehem. We will see later on in the book why that is so.

Herod's got a plan to eliminate Jesus. He is worried that his throne was going to be threatened by this prophesied Jewish Messiah-King who would bring governmental change to his area.. Herod is power hungry and paranoid. In verse eight of Matthew chapter 2 we see Satan's influence on Herod where he lies to the magi and says he only wants to know where this baby is so that he can worship Him. This is just the continuation of the on-going plot of Satan to extinguish the Messiah's line and derail God's plan of salvation. But then we all the the end of the story?