Is Anyone Out There Hungry?

"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 the days of eternity."
(Micah 5:2)

Isn't this awesome? Seven centuries before the birth of Christ, Micah prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. I love it!

I was curious about the word, Ephrathah, which is attached to the name, Bethlehem. I learned that it names a place comparable to what we would call the county in which a town is found. So, in a contemporary world it would read Bethlehem, in the "county" of Ephrathah. Interesting, isn't it? Who knew?

Now the REALLY good part!

Do you know what Bethlehem means? It means, "House of Bread". What an appropriate name for the birthplace of the "Bread of Life", Jesus!

God thinks of everything, doesn't He?

In John 6:48 & 51, Jesus says, "I am the Bread of Life. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

In the book of John, Jesus used the saying, "I am", seven times. "I am the Bread of Life" was the first.

Consider it this way, "I AM the Bread of Life."

Remember? God revealed Himself to Moses as "I AM WHO I AM" as His covenant Name. "I AM whatever you need me to be." Jesus is the fulfillment of the covenant with the Great I AM!

Jesus, the Bread of Life - the life-sustainer for all who believe - was born in Bethlehem, the "House of Bread." Do you think there is a message here? Yes! To believe in Jesus means to partake of Him. "If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever." I don't think the Lord is referring to a "warm a pew on Sunday" kind of faith. We are to be CONSUMED with Him.

Listen to the words my Roget's Thesaurus associates with partake: "be a party to, be in on, be into, consume, devour, engage, enter into, feed, get in the act, ingest, participate, savor, take part in."

Jesus said, "I AM the Bread of Life." And to think, He came from the "House of Bread"!

Is anyone out there hungry?

Lord, You are fascinating! Thank You for continuing to show us Your mysteries, Your complexities. I absolutely love to see the pieces of the puzzle come together. How truly amazing You are. The longer I serve You, the sweeter You grow.