Why Jesus was born in Bethlehem

"I am the bread of life, and unless you eat My flesh..."

Jesus of Nazereth, the Son of David, the Bethlehemite

In the fields just aside of this little village, shepherds spending the night would receive the news out of the mouth of angels. I love God's style! He went to these insignificants of society as they were working that night, to share with them not just a piece of life changing news, but the most important event of human history! On top of everything, He sent His most important angels to announce His coming, a sight which must have been extremely breath-taking, majestic and downright scary.

Courtesy of Flickr - delayed gratification

But it all happened in that one place... the ancient village of Bethlehem... why?

When the ancient Israelites wondered in the desert, they ate the bread of angels... totally effortlessly, the stuff would just appear on the ground. When they entered the promised land, very near Bethlehem, there was no more manna... instead, with hands that had gone soft they had to wield tools, till the iron-clad lands and break the stones asunder; they had to irrigate and wait for the rains... and only then would the land bare a harvest, the fruits of which (in this case wheat) were used to make bread.

This grain had to then be ground on two large, circular mill stones. The ground wheat, now flour, would be mixed with water, then baked to make the food of the masses for millenia. Stone, water, fire... the crucifixion.

Bread gives life. But to give life it must be crushed, even into finely ground dust, mixed with the sin of the world and then baked in the fires. That is precisely why Jesus was born into the world in this small town... a town that is called "The House of Bread" for in it would be born the Bread of Life!

The Story of Christmas, from the Desert!

He came to be ground, so you could be lifted high in wholeness. He came to become united to your sins, that He might do away with them ever more. And on that cross, His flesh and heart, burned that you would never flounder under the curses of this world!

He was born to die for you... even if you were the only one!

This Christmas, meditate on this... The Bread of Life is yours. He lives in you, of His body you are now... and all His Strength, all His Life, even His flesh and blood, He freely gives you!

Merry Christmas!

David Roiel
The Green Leaf Blog-Discover your inheritance!

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