Matthew 2:5-6

Matthew 2:5–6 (NKJV)

⁵ So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

⁶ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;

For out of you shall come a Ruler

Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

The things that we believe have the least value GOD can believe otherwise. just as all things spoken by the Prophets through the inspiration of the HOLY SPIRIT come to pass… GODS’ word was made flesh and came to earth. Although life on earth is not meant to be easy in JESUS CHRIST our King and Lord all thing will work out for our good and the good of His body, the Church.

God does all things through Him and to His glory so that no man can boast! All things will be placed under His rule.

Bethlehem’s importance comes from its connection to David and the Davidic Messiah.

Matthew clearly records how the Jewish religious authorities, who became Christ’s enemies later, unintentionally affirmed that Jesus had fulfilled a messianic prophecy in His birth. God sometimes uses the words of His opponents to speak the truth. NKJ Bible.

Israelite and Judean period:

Archaeological confirmation of Bethlehem as a city in the Kingdom of Judah was uncovered in 2012 at the archaeological dig at the City of David in the form of a bulla (seal impression in dried clay) in ancient Hebrew script that reads "From the town of Bethlehem to the King," indicating that it was used to seal the string closing a shipment of grain, wine, or other goods sent as a tax payment in the 8th or 7th century BCE.

Biblical scholars believe Bethlehem, located in the "hill country" of Judah, may be the same as the Biblical Ephrath, which means "fertile", as there is a reference to it in the Book of Micah as Bethlehem Ephratah.The Bible also calls it Beth-Lehem Judah^, and the New Testament describes it as the "City of David".It is first mentioned in the Tanakh and the Bible as the place where the matriarch Rachel died and was buried "by the wayside" (Gen. 48:7). Rachel's Tomb, the traditional grave site, stands at the entrance to Bethlehem. According to the Book of Ruth, the valley to the east is where Ruth of Moab gleaned the fields and returned to town with Naomi. It was the home of Jesse, father of King David of Israel, and the site of David's anointment by the prophet Samuel. It was from the well of Bethlehem that three of his warriors brought him water when he was hiding in the cave of Adullam.

Micah 5:2 (NKJV)

² “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 everlasting.”

Revelation 2:27 (NKJV)

²⁷ ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron;

They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—