Bethlehem Ephratah

"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, 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; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." (Micah 5:2).

Ephrath as a geographic name first appears in Genesis 35:16,19 as the ancient name of Bethlehem; Jacob's wife Rachel died while giving birth to Benjamin and was buried on the way to Ephrath or Bethlehem. Ephrathah, a woman, was a foremother in the tribe of Judah, whose first son Hur was the grandfather to Bethlehem, ancestor to the Bethlehemites (I Chronicles 2:18-19, 50-51). Ephrathah or Bethlehem was also where Ruth bore Boaz a son named Obed, who became David's grandfather (Ruth 4:11, 21-22). Thus the two names Bethlehem and Ephratah (also transliterated as Ephrathah or Ephrath) have been linked from the ancient days.

'Bethlehem' means 'house of bread', while Ephratah signifies 'fruitfulness' or 'abundance.' How appropriate it is that our Lord Jesus, who is the Bread of Life (John 6:35) or the Bread of God (John 6:33), chose to be born in Bethlehem Ephratah. He says, "He that cometh to me will never hunger; and he that believeth on me will never thirst." (John 6:35). He is the life-giver, as the Creator of life (John 1:1-3), as the Sustainer of life (Hebrews 1:3), and as the Enabler of resurrection (I Corinthians 15:22,45). The life that He gives as the Bread of Life is given so that the receiver may have it more abundantly (John 10:10). This food of life, best of all, is given to us "without money and without price" (Isaiah 55:1). We celebrate and commemorate this, whenever we partake in the Communion (I Corinthians 11:23-26, Matthew 26:26-28).

Jesus came to earth so that He may save His people and give Life to them (Matthew 1:21). Everything He did -- the place He was born in, the timing and circumstances in which He was born in, the way He was preceded by the voice in the wilderness, the way He grew up in Nazareth, the way He preached, taught and healed, ... -- was to announce to the world that He was the Bread of Life, the Life-giver, that we must come to Him in repentance and eat in fellowship with Him and have life. Everything about Him -- even the name of His birthplace -- was perfectly orchestrated to proclaim that He is the Messiah, the prophesied Savior.

Yes, Lord.  You are the Bread of Life.  You are the Source of the Living Water. Let me eat and drink from you, so that I may never hunger nor thirst. I want the life that only You can give to me and I would like to have it more abundantly. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.