“Micah’s Song of Humble Power”
Micah 5:1-6: Luke 1:39-45
December 20, 2015, Fourth Sunday of Advent
By Pastor Kent Fry, Third Reformed Church, Holland, MI
A few weeks ago at the Thanksgiving worship service we had a children’s time and the
children were asked what they were thankful for? And one of the children knew the right answer
for this particular context and place responded, “Jesus!” And in a sense we do believe that all of
our faith and all of the scriptures come down to Jesus. But we do have to be a bit careful about
reflexive types of answers. I remember one children’s sermon when the pastor asked the kids,
“Who invented the airplane?” And of course one child answered, “Jesus!”
So this morning on the fourth Sunday of Advent, just before Christmas, what do you
think we are going to talk about? Be careful….! Yes, we are going to get to Jesus as we always
do in worship. But you may have noticed in the hymns and the scripture readings, particularly
the Old Testament reading, that we are going to talk about……Bethlehem! “O little town of
Bethlehem,” as one of the great Christmas carols puts it.
One of the unique features of this congregation is that we actually have a member of our
congregation who is from Bethlehem. In fact, he is leaving tomorrow to visit his family in
Bethlehem. And I don’t mean Bethlehem, PA! I don’t think you find many congregations can
claim a member of the congregation from the real Bethlehem. How cool is that? I think he is
going to be in Bethlehem for Christmas.
Our scripture reading from the Book of Micah is one of the most important messianic
prophecies in the Old Testament. He was a contemporary of Isaiah’s who we looked at together
in worship last week. He prophesied eight centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ to the
northern kingdom of Israel but primarily to the southern kingdom of Judah in which resided the
Davidic throne. And similar to the time and situation of last week with the prophet Isaiah, Micah
heard the word of the Lord during a time when the great super power of the ancient near east was
pressing down from the north on the tiny kingdoms of the fertile crescent.
While Micah is most known for his prophecy about Bethlehem in the fifth chapter, he
also was a prophet who spoke of social justice for his day and time. One of the classic prophetic
words of all time:
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, and to love kindness
And to walk humbly with your God.”
Besides social justice and judgment, Micah did have a vision of the future that prepared
the messianic hopes of the ancient people of Israel. What did the minister preach on this
morning? Bethlehem! We want to comprehend and marvel at the height and depth of this Old
Testament prophecy and the word “Bethlehem” so that it might bring us to Jesus Christ.
I.
Bethlehem: The Stirring of the Hearts of God’s People:
Of course, when the prophet Micah mentions Bethlehem, he was hitting on something
with those who heard or read the prophecy. It is a bit like Americans when you name a place. It
is much more than a place: Jamestown, Plymouth Rock, or Gettysburg or Washngton D.C. or
the Twin Towers. These places stir at the heart of the American people. Bethlehem had a way
of doing that for the ancient people of Israel.
When Micah, the prophet mentioned Bethlehem in his prophecy, he was reaching back
deep in the history of his people and stirring their hearts. The first reference to Bethlehem in the
scriptures goes way back to near the beginning of the Bible. One of the patriarchs Jacob had a
wife named Rachel. Jacob if you remember worked for his Uncle Laban and for seven years and
wanted to marry Leah. But on his wedding night his uncle switched the girl to the other sister
Rachel. Isn’t that a great story? So Jacob had to work another seven years for his uncle to marry
Leah. Rachel, we learn in Genesis 35 is buried near Bethlehem. Rachel’s tomb is in Bethlehem.
In the history of the kings of Israel that begins with I Samuel, in a time of momentous
social change and increasing complexity in ancient society, the people of Israel demand a king.
Samuel the prophet-priest and chief judge of Israel is sent by God to Bethlehem to anoint one of
the sons of Jesse as future king of Israel to replace Saul who has disobeyed God. Samuel lines
the sons up and they are powerful, handsome, strong, and brave. But God each time tells Samuel
not to look on the outward appearance. Ah, here we get a foreshadowing to the ultimate
meaning of the word “Bethlehem” as it stirs in the hearts of the ancient people of God. “Do you
have any more sons?” “Only the runt of the litter, David who is taking care of the sheep.”
“Bring him here.” David the shepherd boy from Bethlehem is anointed the future king of Israel.
(I Samuel 16)
The Old Testament tells us the story of Ruth, the Moabite. She lives with her mother-inlaw Naomi who is originally from Bethlehem who came to Moab because of a famine. Naomi’s
husband dies as well as the husbands of Ruth and Orpah leaving these women destitute without
any form of ancient social security. So Naomi determines to return to Bethlehem where at least
she has family and some means of support. Ruth refuses to return back to her family in Moab
and follows Naomi to Bethlehem. There she marries Boaz because of some flattery on the part
of the women at the threshing floor and the steadfast love of the Lord. And Ruth becomes the
great grandmother of David, the king of Israel.
“Bethlehem!” It means that out of little and small something great can happen which
stirs the hearts of ancient Israel.
David who becomes the king is from Bethlehem, a little backwater place, the shepherd
boy who has become king. And the scriptures promise in 2 Samuel, some of the widest and
important theological streams in the scriptures, God makes an eternal covenant God with King
David. “But I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away
from before you. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your
throne shall be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:16)
In some of the darkest times of the southern kingdom of Judah as the Assyrians are
knocking at the gates of Jerusalem, Micah the prophet draws on this David kingly theology to
give a vision of God’s future rule and reign, “But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one
of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel.”
Actually the Assyrians miraculously were not able to enter the city of Jerusalem in the 8th
century B.C. and Jerusalem escaped destruction and exile. But dial ahead a century and a half to
the Babylonians and then Jerusalem was razed to the ground. The prophecy of Micah and other
prophets such as Isaiah passed into a great messianic stream and hope for a future ideal king who
would rule the people of Israel and usher in an age of peace among the nations.
And so we come to the New Testament and Luke declares the birth of Jesus: “Joseph
also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem,
because he was descended from the house and the family of David.” And in the Gospel of
Matthew when the wise men come from the east, once reaching Jerusalem they consulted the
chief priests and scribes where the Messiah was to be born. And then comes the quote from
Micah:
“And you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
For from you shall come a ruler
Who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
They followed the star, but it was only by the word of Micah that the wise men got to
Bethlehem.
On Christmas Eve in 1865 a young rector by the name of Philip Brooks approached
Bethlehem by horseback. He worshiped in the Church of the Nativity. The simplicity and
beauty of the service made a lasting impression on him. Three years later he was serving a
church in Philadelphia when the Sunday School asked him to write a song for Christmas. The
memory of Christmas Eve in Bethlehem came rushing back, and he penned the words in a single
evening. It took years for the carol to wind its way around the Christian community around the
world, but of course it greatly contributes to the passion of the heart and soul around the word
“Bethlehem.”
For both ancient Israel and the early Christian Church, and through the great Christmas
carol we are part of the biblical stream. Bethlehem stirs the hearts of God’s people.
Out in Pennsylvania my mother and father are buried in Pennsylvania Dutch country,
down the road from the family farm that has been in my extended family since 1722. The deed
to the farm was signed by King George II and hangs in the living room of one of the farm
houses. Both homes on the farm were built before the Revolutionary War. In the cemetery, are
soldiers from the American Revolution, the Civil War, and all of my relatives going back to the
early 1700’s, some of the early names in German. My relative bought the farm from the head
cook in General Washington’s army. And my relatives today in Pennsylvania say that during the
American Revolution when Washington and his army were starving at Valley Forge, which the
head cook got wagon loads of food from the Fry Family Farm. My uncle can still show you the
foot path to Valley Forge. And my relatives in Pennsylvania say with some pride, “The
American Revolution would not have happened without the Fry Family Farm, for an army
marches on its stomach.” Maybe an apocryphal story, but who knows….?
After my mother died, I hadn’t been there in ten years. Now married, 27 years old my
wife and I found my mother’s burial spot. She said to me rather respectfully, “Do you need time
by yourself?” And I did. You see I was on holy ground.
What is holy ground for you; a burial plot; an old homestead, the sanctuary, a hometown?
Bethlehem is like that for the people of God joined to the story of the scriptures.
II.
A Place that Signifies Humble Power:
Literally Bethlehem means “the house of bread” in Hebrew, but it signifies much more
than this to the people of God,….to us. “But you O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the
little clans of Judah.” It was a backwater place, a rural place that was nothing in comparison to
the eventual fortress of King David and Solomon, Jerusalem with the great temple. It was
nothing in comparison to Rome and Caesar Augustus on the throne. But it was this little and
humble place that produced David and Jesus.
Where is God in the world? And in the Christian scheme of things God is in humble and
small places like Bethlehem. God does not come in raw and naked power, but in small and
humble beginnings. God is found more in the cradle of Bethlehem or the cross than the overt
places of power.
As the people of God joined to the story of Bethlehem, we too are called to exercise
power. We often think of power as a negative thing and that we are to have nothing to do with
the use of power. But our power will either be creative and humble or it will be raw power and
destructive. Bethlehem is the place and city that reminds us of humble power, creative power.
Richard Foster puts it this way, “There is power that destroys. There is also a power that
creates. The power that creates gives life and joy and peace. It is freedom and not bondage, life
and not death, transformation and coercion. The power that creates restores relationship and
gives the gift of wholeness to all. The power that creates is spiritual power, the power that
proceeds from God.”
The mother who rights a wrong between children is exercising her authority. The school
principal who changes soul-destroying rules is breathing life into the heart of students. The
pastor who helps feuding committees settle their differences is using power for healing. The
company president who corrects the cost overruns is using power to restore integrity and
wholeness to the world of business. All of us in daily life encounter thousands of opportunities
to enlist power in the service of reconciliation. (Richard Foster, Money, Sex, and Power)
Bethlehem! The name should remind us of humble creative exercise of power.
In our times of anxiety, there is a tendency to opt toward a strong man with easy answers
or blaming some outside group. This has taken place throughout human history. It explains
Hitler’s rise to power or Herod or Stalin. But what our politics is in need of is humble and
creative use of power. We need to be reminded that God raised up leaders in Bethlehem.
The Christian Church has found itself in an increasingly marginalized situation in relation
to the culture of our country. And thus we have tried the heavy club of legislating our faith in
our society the past few decades. The younger generation, my kid’s generation, are turned off by
the judgmental and power politics of the church. They want to see a church of servant
leadership, of humbleness in the way of little Bethlehem. And thus the ministry of our church in
the future will not be found in a towering steeple, but in ministries of compassion and mercy
such as caring for our neighborhood, at risk children, maybe refugee ministry, serving in the
soup kitchen, caring for at risk families who are desperate for a roof over their heads, or sharing
the gospel with those who are downtrodden by the constraints of secularism.
Bethlehem!
I have been known to be a bit skeptical of football coaches, but a person who seems to
me used power in a humble way was actually Pastor Nate’s grandfather who was the football
coach at Central College where I went to school. At one point he had the winningest record of
all coaches in the NCAA. He had a lot of power at the school. But I remember one day at an
alumni event he said to me, “I like to win football games, but the purpose of college football is
not to win games but to get young men interested in something so they can become productive
and good citizens.”
Conclusion:
Bethlehem, literally in Hebrew, the house of bread. But we also comprehend the height
and depth, length and breadth: Bethlehem “one of the little clans of Judah.” The place of the
humble birth of Jesus. And thus we sing, “Where meek souls receive him still, the dear Christ
enters in.”
Sources:
Richard Foster, Money, Sex, and Power.
Feasting on the Word Commentary: Micah 5
Leslie Allen, The New International Commentary on Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah