Micah 5:2 NIV: 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.
Just when I thought I knew everything about the Christmas story, another layer of symbolism was revealed to me this past week. Seven hundred years before Christ was born, Micah prophesied the location of his birth in “Bethlehem Ephrathah”.
Bethlehem in Hebrew literally means “House of Bread,” and Ephrathah comes from a Hebrew root meaning “to bring forth or bear.” So, the town where God chose Jesus, the bread of life, to be born is a town named after that very act.
The layers of meaning and symbolism shouldn’t surprise me because I have seen firsthand that God is the master of details and situations that the world considers just “coincidences.”
Here’s an interesting fact about the Christmas story you might not know. While the church started using December 25th as the date of Jesus’s birth as early as 235 AD, it was chosen because prophets supposedly always died on the day they were conceived, thus having a perfect lifespan. Nine months from the first Easter is December 25th.
Most scholars believe this date is neither historically nor contextually accurate. Shepherds wouldn’t be out in the fields during December, and no Roman emperor would order a census in the middle of winter.
What is likely, however, is that Jesus was born during the Feast of Tabernacles (usually mid-September to early October). This feast was considered a pilgrimage festival, where families traveled to their family lands to help with and celebrate the end of the harvest. Rome, seeking an accurate census, would leverage this tradition for its own records. There is additional evidence regarding John the Baptist’s conception that places Jesus’s birth exactly at this time.
Thus, Joseph and Mary traveled not only because Rome ordered a census but also because it was Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), and everyone in the extended family was heading home, filling every last spare bedroom.
Here’s why this fits perfectly into God’s divine plan: The Feast of Tabernacles was meant to remind the Jewish people that God dwelt among them during their journey through the wilderness. It was also called “the season of our joy (zeman simchateinu).”
John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt (tabernacled) among us.” I can’t think of a better time for Jesus to be born than during the most joyful festival celebrating God’s presence among us. I’ve placed the other elements of the festival on the right, including the palm, citron, myrtle, and willow.
This Christmas season, I hope this artwork reminds you of the miracle of God’s coming to live among us in human form. He was born in the house of bread as a reminder that he is the bread of life, and whoever comes to him will never hunger (John 6:35).
He still enters small, unexpected places—our homes, tables, and hearts—to dwell among us. He still brings life from what seems barren. He remains the Bread that satisfies.
Leave a Reply