One of the most memorable and unique passages in the book of Micah is, “Bethlehem Ephrathah…one will come from you to be ruler over Israel for me. His origin is from antiquity, from ancient times” [Micah 5:2; Christian Standard Bible]. Incredibly, this prophecy about the birthplace of Yahshua was given approximately 700 years beforehand! Yahweh, from Whom nothing is hidden, knew Israel would be under the control of Rome when He sent His Son. He knew Caesar Augustus would order the whole empire to be registered, and everyone would travel to their hometown for this. Messiah was promised to King David’s line, and their hometown was Bethlehem! I find such attention to detail quite thrilling!
It's extraordinary to read that the promised ruler was One Who’d had a prior existence before Bethlehem. He had His origin ‘from antiquity, from ancient times’, said the prophet. What does it mean? “He has not been a secret and a silent person until his birth in Bethlehem;” writes Charles Spurgeon, “that newborn child has worked wonders long before now.” Pause and ponder! How could that possibly be? How is it feasible for an existing Being to be conceived [Miriam was pregnant], brought to birth, and nurtured as a newborn? It’s entirely beyond the comprehension of a human brain, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. I feel like the Psalmist who wrote, “This wondrous knowledge is beyond me” [Psalm 139].
Paul wrote that Yahshua, “existing in the form of [Yahweh], did not consider equality with [Yahweh] as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity… becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross” [Philippians 2:6-8]. The pact between Yahweh and Yahshua was from antiquity. Yahshua was pledged to give His life, to pay “blood for blood, wound for wound, suffering for suffering, agony for agony, death for death” [Spurgeon], so we could be reunited with His Father; so we could live!
There are many things we can’t understand; the Bible is full of mysteries. Let’s pause with wonder; let’s trust and believe.
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You Are The BranchesClick to see the whole passage:
1 timothy 3:16 NIV - Beyond all question, the mystery from - Bible Gateway
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