O Little Town of Bethlehem

Hymns of Christmas Series
Micah 5:2 
Pastor Craig Hudgins

Two thousand years ago, when Christ was born, the world’s attention was fixed on three major cities: Rome, Athens, and Jerusalem. These were the centers of money, culture, power, military strength, and trade. If you were looking for influence, prestige, or greatness—you would look there.

And yet God chose none of them.

Instead, He chose a small, quiet, overlooked little village named Bethlehem Ephratah.

“Bethlehem” means House of Bread.
“Ephratah” means Fruitfulness.

Even in the name, we can see a picture of communion—the bread and the fruit of the vine. The House of Bread was tucked away in a small but fruitful place. And into that humble village, God placed the most important moment in human history.

Micah prophesied it this way:

“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.”
—Micah 5:2

As we begin this message, consider this:
You may feel small, insignificant, unprepared, unlearned, or overlooked. But God delights in using people like that. He did it with Bethlehem, and He can do it with you.

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1. The Humble Birthplace

God has always had a way of choosing the small, the weak, and the overlooked to accomplish His greatest work.

Bethlehem was the backdrop of Naomi and Ruth—a place of famine, hardship, and yet redemption. It was in Bethlehem that the Kinsman Redeemer, Boaz, stepped into the story and pointed forward to Christ.

Bethlehem was the hometown of Jesse, a shepherd with many sons. When Samuel came looking for Israel’s next king, Jesse didn’t even bother to call David in from the sheepfold. And yet it was that overlooked shepherd boy—standing on a hillside in Bethlehem—who was anointed king.

Paul puts this truth plainly:

“God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise…”
—1 Corinthians 1:27

God doesn’t need our credentials.
He needs our availability.

Bethlehem was little, but God used it.
Surely He can use us.

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2. The Holy Prophecy

Micah wrote this prophecy 710 years before Christ was born. He did not know the world scene that would come centuries later. He didn’t know the rulers, the politics, or the culture that would rise and fall.

But he knew God, and God gave him a word that was perfectly specific:

“Out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel.”

We sometimes think we are drifting through life by accident, chance, or coincidence. But a 700-year-old prophecy reminds us that God is always in control.

God used the lineage of Ruth and Boaz.
God used the shepherd boy David.
God kept Bethlehem small—no palace, no shopping district, not even a McDonald’s or a steakhouse in seven centuries. Just a quiet little town preserved for a divine purpose.

Mary and Joseph weren’t even living in Bethlehem. They were in Nazareth. But God moved the heart of a Roman ruler named Caesar Augustus—who “just so happened” to reign while Mary was great with child.

Luke 2 tells us that a decree went out that all the world should be taxed.

No doubt the people grumbled:
“Why do we have to travel?”
“Why now?”
“Don’t they know we’re pregnant?”

Caesar probably thought it was his idea.
But Scripture shows it was simply God being God, moving people and pieces to fulfill what He had promised 700 years earlier.

A few reminders for us:

• If God said it, we can trust it.

• God’s timing is not ours, but He is never late.

• God has not forgotten you. If He spoke a promise into your life, He will fulfill it—even if He has to move the whole world around you.

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3. The Heavenly Connection

No one can suggest that Micah’s prophecy referred to someone ordinary. The Holy Spirit had Micah add this remarkable line:

“…whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

That’s the same truth John declares:

“In the beginning was the Word…”
—John 1:1

Micah said the Ruler who would come from Bethlehem was the eternal God—the Word from the beginning—the everlasting One.

And yet that Everlasting One humbled Himself and came to a little town called Bethlehem.

Laid in a feeding trough…
In the House of Bread…
Becoming Himself the Bread of Life the world desperately needs.

This is the heavenly connection:
eternal life is found in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Phillips Brooks captured it beautifully:

“How silently, how silently,
the wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of His heaven.”

And again:

“Yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting Light;
the hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.”

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Conclusion

God’s greatest work often appears in the simplest of places, through the simplest of people. His prophecy—spoken seven centuries earlier—was fulfilled exactly, proving that God always keeps His promises.

The baby in the manger was more than just another child.
He was the Savior of the world.

You may feel forgotten, overlooked, or insignificant, but God has you exactly where He wants you. You are not an accident—you are part of His plan.

When I think about Bethlehem and what God accomplished in that little town, I can’t help but think about our own little hometown—Social Circle, Georgia.

And I have to ask:

What great things could God do in this one-red-light town,
through our small church,
if we simply make ourselves available?