“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.”
- Micah 5:2
A recent Advent message at our home church got me thinking about some things. In an obscure Old Testament passage foretelling of the coming Messiah a description is given of where He will be born. The location given above in the prophecy of Micah is that His birthplace would be small. In other words, a backwater village. There will be no fanfare and bright lights. There will be no red-carpet rollout. There will be no passing along of the key to the city. The Messiah will be born in obscurity and insignificance, and His birth will be to a young, betrothed virgin and a day laborer that works with his hands; a bit ironic and not exactly the epic grand entrance that one would expect for a King.
There’s something here that bears consideration and here’s the premise…many times God chooses the out-of-the-way, the long-forgotten, and the insignificant to accomplish His redemptive purposes…and that includes both places and persons. Consider the recorded stories of Ruth, a Gentile widow in great need, or Gideon, a young man with limited resources, or Zacchaeus, a diminutive and despised tax collector, and there are many more. And yet the stories often recollect a common thread - apparent insignificance. Each of these persons have a vital role to play in God’s redemptive plan, but obscurity and relative inconsequentiality seem to carry the day. After all, can anything good come out of Nazareth (John 1:46)? And consider the most profound and significant figure of all…the reason for our Advent festivities…is born an infant, and born, of all places, in Bethlehem. The God-man takes on human flesh in relative obscurity.
The interesting thing is that this seems to be a pattern. God takes pleasure in making something out of nothing. He surely could’ve chosen more spectacular people and more grandiose places to make Himself known…but He doesn’t.
20th Century pastor and theologian, Francis Schaeffer, said it this way, "We must remember throughout our lives that in God's sight there are no little people and no little places." Schaeffer understood the significance of insignificance. He understood that what the world sees as criteria for success and notoriety are not on par with God’s criteria. Note the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
The Apostle Paul gives us a clue as to why God oftentimes chooses the insignificant to reveal Himself – so that we might not boast. When God’s glory and credit are on the line He gets to be first to receive the homage.
Judy and I recently had the privilege of visiting a small congregation that gathers on Sunday mornings in Ashwood, OR. The meeting place is at the end of the paved road in an old converted tavern, complete with a woodstove and an outhouse. And, talk about obscurity, there were eight of us in attendance to be exact. We gathered for prayer and instruction, and at the end of it all we thanked God for accomplishing His purposes in small places.
This Christmas season, and when our thoughts are turned to Bethlehem, may we remember that God does the significant with the insignificant. In an announcement of that magnificent event the angelic host sang out in their loudest voice…Gloria, In Excelsis Deo. In other words, glory to God in the highest…because a long-anticipated infant Son has been born in a place of obscurity, and one day His name will become known far from Bethlehem...to places like Ashwood, Oregon, and even to the ends of the earth. Rejoice, because what was hidden and obscure and seemingly insignificant has become news to be shouted from the rooftops - a King has been born. His name is Jesus, and He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).
