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Bethelem, Egypt Nazareth


          “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.’” (Micah 5:2) 

           “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. (Hosea 11:1) 

          and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.” (Matthew 2:23)

            You know the story. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Shortly after the visit by the Magi, Joseph took his family to Egypt. When they returned to Israel, they went to live in Nazareth. Those events were all mentioned in the prophecies that are the text today. Let's fill in a few historical details. David lived from 1040-970 BC. Solomon died in 931 BC. Micah and Hosea were prophets during the Eighth Century, BC. They lived and prophesied 150 to 200 years after those kings but at least 700 years before Jesus was born. Given the number of times Israel was invaded during the thousand years between David and Jesus, it would not have been surprising if Bethlehem had been reduced to rubble. 
          There are reasons for these prophecies. They didn't throw darts at a map. Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. This prophecy makes Moses a type of a messiah. Moses prophesied, "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers" (Deuteronomy 18:15.) The prophesy in Hosea ties Jesus to Moses and to the prophets.
          David was from Bethlehem. He united the kingdom and was one of the few successful kings. He was known as a man after God's own heart in spite of his failings. The prophesy in Hosea ties Jesus to David and to the kings.
          The passage from Matthew poses an interesting problem. Nowhere in the Old Testament does a prophet say anything about the Messiah and Nazareth. Matthew says that it's a prophecy. Some scholars suggest that Matthew was referring to an extra-Biblical prophecy. The apostles did refer to extra-Biblical material sometimes. It's possible but no such text has been found. Other scholars suggest that the root of the word "Nazar" refers to "branch" so Matthew may have  been using a play on words that referred back to Isaiah 4. Still others say that it was simply a way to say that Jesus would be despised since Nazareth was the Rodney Dangerfield of Israel. It got no respect. 
          I'm going to suggest another possibility, with a play on words that seems obvious. What if the parallel with Nazarene is Nazirite? One of the most famous judges in the book of Judges is Samson. His mother was instructed not to drink or eat anything derived from grapes, and to never cut Samson's hair. He was to be raised as a Nazirite. Jesus was not raised as a Nazirite, but He was raised as a Nazarene.
       Those three places: Bethlehem, Egypt and Nazareth identify Jesus with the kings, the prophets, and the judges.

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