June 26

The Hope of the World

Micah 5:2-4 "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.... and he will be their peace."

The bad news first: the nation is going to be destroyed and they are going to be in exile in Babylon. You can’t get any worse news than that!!! The good news: a deliverer is coming and he will bring peace to the world. He will bring a standard of righteousness that will allow him to judge all peoples of the world. There will come a time of universal peace when swords will be beaten into plowshares. The time is coming when men will be able to sit under their own fig tree (this fig tree will not be owned by the government) and all nations will worship the Lord. There is coming a time when terror will vanish, a time when we will not fear the craziness of Iran, the Taliban, or North Korean missiles anymore.

How is this going to happen? Is the UN finally going to get its act together? Is President Obama going to be able to talk world leaders into a peace proposal? The hope of the world lies in a promised, coming king. As the prophet looked down the corridor of history, he saw a hero arising from an obscure town of Bethlehem. God’s plan for world peace centers on ONE person. When the wise men came looking for the King of the Jews, the prophets turned to this verse to explain his birth location. Everyone knew the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, a small town of about 300 at the time of Christ’s birth. Do you know how many other messiahs have claimed to have been born in Bethlehem? ZERO, yet the world continues to overlook Jesus.

A few facts about these verses:
1. He will come “for” God…. He is sent on a mission by God the father.
2. He will rule over Israel…. He will have a throne.
3. He is eternal God… for his origins are from old, from ancient times. Literally “from the days of eternity.”
Jesus stepped out of eternity into human history.
4. He will shepherd his flock… he will care for us.
5. He is the answer to the world’s problems. He will be their peace.

“World Peace” is a frequent answer that beauty pageant contestants give during the Q & A time, but who would have ever considered that the hope of the planet rests on a small baby born in the tiny village of Bethlehem?

Tolkien used this same theme in the Lord of the Rings. The basic story line flows out of the idea that an evil, dark lord seeks to gain absolute power over the world at any cost. And despite his seemingly all-seeing “eye,” a true hero slips in under the radar, raised in the small, backwater region of the Shire. There, Frodo
Baggins would grow up, little knowing that he would become a hero of mythic proportions. For he would carry the instrument of the evil one’s destruction, a ring of power, right into the very heart of darkness in order to destroy it. And this one, who was least likely to accomplish such a feat, would win the victory for all in a virtuous and heroic fashion. Frodo although the hero is physically the frailest.

Jesus wasn’t born in the Shire… he was born in the backwater of Bethlehem yet he is the hope of the world. He would set his face toward Jerusalem, be falsely accused, tried, and found guilty. And when nailed to a Roman cross, He would then surrender his life as a perfect sacrifice. This sacrifice would become the instrument of destruction for Satan and the only hope for our salvation and world peace.

This will be my last blog until October. I will be praying that each of you is faithful to spend time with the Lord. You can go to http://gracebiblereaders.blogspot.com/ to view last year’s journal entries on any day. May God continue to speak to us this summer.