He Chose the Place
May 16 2025 - Eric Buresh
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though 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. Micah 5:2 (NKJV)
Reading through Micah, I passed this little gem of Messianic prophecy. It gave me pause. It was not by the whim of Caesar that Mary arrived in Bethlehem. It was not by chance that the census fell at the very moment of her delivery. The journey, the timing, the town—all were ordained by God. Micah had declared it long before, that out of lowly Bethlehem—the least of cities—would come the greatest of Kings. He whose goings forth are “from everlasting” would step into time in the smallest of places, at the humblest of hours.
Let the doubter say what he will: our God keeps His promises. He does not forget a single word He has spoken. Though the scroll of Micah gathered dust for centuries, its ink was not dry before God had already shaped history to fulfill it. Not one syllable shall fall to the ground. God wrote Bethlehem in the prophecy, and He carved it into the story of redemption.
But there is a greater marvel:
The King of Glory chose to be born not only in obscurity, but in poverty.
He did not enter in silk, but in swaddling cloth. He did not arrive in a palace, but in a stable. The world had no room for Him then, and still it has no room now. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. Yet this was no accident. This was the chosen way of heaven.
See how He comes—not demanding, but giving.
Not exalting Himself, but lowering Himself.
Not grasping for comfort, but embracing discomfort for our sake.
He who laid the foundations of the earth lay now on straw. He who upholds all things by the word of His power now cries with infant lungs. And He chose it so. This is not merely a manger of circumstance—it is a throne of divine humility.
Do you see what He reveals by this? Do you see the character of your Savior?
The Lord of all chose to make Himself of no reputation. Should we then live obsessed with name and recognition?
The Giver of life made Himself dependent on those He created. Should we then demand to be self-made and self-sufficient?
The King of heaven was content with no room in the inn. Should we then be consumed with ease and earthly comfort?
What a rebuke Bethlehem is to our view of the American dream. What a blow it delivers to our love of luxury, our hunger for praise, our worldly preoccupations. And what a Savior it reveals—a Savior who stoops low to lift the lowly, who becomes poor that we might be made rich in grace. Let us not merely admire His humility—let us imitate it. Let the same mind be in us that was in Christ Jesus, who though He was rich, for our sakes became poor.