Bethlehem – God’s Promised Blessing – Vayechi

Every year on December 25th, Christians around the world celebrate the birth of the Messiah. Christmas is not a biblically mandated festival, for example: Passover, The Feast of the First Fruits, or The Feast of Tabernacles (Ex. 23:14-17), however, the celebration of Christmas is a Christian tradition that remembers the birth of the Messiah.   

Although December 25th is the commonly accepted date remembering the birth of the Messiah, it cannot be historically proven as the correct date. No one really knows the exact date when Yeshua was born but this date was chosen at some point in history and has become a traditional day to celebrate the birth of the Messiah. Although we don’t know exactly when the Messiah was born, we do know exactly where He was born, in the city of Bethlehem. There is a unique connection to Bethlehem and the birth of the Messiah in this week’s Torah Portion, however, before looking at the verses in this week’s reading, I’d like to begin by recounting some of the details surrounding the birth of the Messiah.

Yeshua’s Birth

The birth of the Messiah coincided with a universal census in the Roman Empire which contributed to bringing Mary and Joseph to the designated city where the Messiah was to be born:

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. – Luke 2:1-7

We don’t know exactly when Joseph and Mary left Nazareth, when they arrived in Bethlehem, or how many weeks or months they remained in Bethlehem. We only know that Mary gave birth to the Messiah while they were staying in the city of Bethlehem.

We are all familiar with the nativity scene of the baby in the manager with Mary and Joseph together with a variety of animals encircling the new family. We have become comfortable with the fact that Yeshua was born in an environment resembling a village farm. Why was the Messiah born in a place designated for animals? The Scriptures tell us “… because there was no room for them in the inn.” We could think that the local hotels were all full, however, I don’t think that this is what is being implied in this verse.  

Accommodations in Bethlehem

The word used for “inn” in Luke 2:7 is the Greek word “Kataluma” which literally means “guest room” or “lodging place.” This Greek word is only used three times in the New Testament, once here and then the other two times to refer to the guest room that Yeshua used for the last Passover with his disciples (Luke 22:11. Mark 14:14). I find it very interesting that this word is used in reference to the first and last place that Yeshua spent the night. There was no room for Him in the guest room at His birth when He came into the world but there was room for Him in the guest room for Passover before His death.

When we look at the context of how the Greek word “Kataluma” is used in describing the location of the Last Supper (which occurred on the first night of Passover), we get a clearer picture of what this word really means:

Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. And Yeshua sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it.” They said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare it?” And He said to them, “When you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters. And you shall say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ And he will show you a large, furnished upper room; prepare it there.” And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover. – Luke 22:7-13

Yeshua had His disciples prepare the Passover for them in a large guest room in a home. The location of the last supper wasn’t in a hotel but rather in the guest chambers, the spare room in a home. 

When the Scriptures tell us that there was no room for Mary and Joseph in the “inn,” it is literally saying that the guest room was unavailable. The lodging place spoken of in Luke 2:7 was more than likely referring to the guest room of extended family or friends. If Joseph was originally from Bethlehem, surely he would have had extended family who still lived there or possibly a family friend with whom they could have stayed. Surely someone in Nazareth knew of some contact for Joseph and Mary to spend their nights while they were in Bethlehem. Why was there no space in the guest room for Joseph and Mary?

I’ve spent enough time in the Middle East to know that there is always space in someone’s home to fit a couple of more people. It is not according to the number of beds but just floor space. There seems to be a greater reason than adequate space in the guest room for Mary and Joseph being forced to stay with the animals. It is possible that the lack of space was as a result of the census and the large numbers coming to register in Bethlehem, however, Joseph and Mary were a young couple and she was pregnant. A guest room should have been made ready for them, even if it was a shared guest room with other occupants, but it wasn’t. Why was there no space in the guest room for Joseph and Mary?

 

A Sign of The Messiah

The Bible always gives us exactly what God wants us to know in each situation and so it is with the birth of the Messiah. It seems clear that the reason that there was no guest room available for Joseph and Mary is because of the sign of the Messiah which the angel told the shepherds:

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” – Luke 2:10-12

The shepherds were told that a Savior, the Messiah, was born in the city of David, Bethlehem, and the specific sign which they were given to identify the Messiah was that the baby would be “…wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 

The Greek word used here for manager is Phatne which literally means “feeding trough” or “a feeding box for cattle.” How was the baby lying in a feeding trough a sign to the shepherds? This was obviously not an everyday event. Human babies are generally not born in animal stalls or placed in an animal feeding box. 

A sign has to be extraordinary, something different or miraculous. I believe that the Messiah and Savior of the world being born in an animal stall and being placed in a feeding trough was an obvious sign to the shepherds, just as the angel had said. It was also a fulfillment of prophecy. What was the prophecy that was fulfilled? 

God used the prophet Isaiah to declare a miraculous sign to the house of David in the days of King Ahaz: “Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) The sign of the virgin being with child and bearing a son is beyond human comprehension, it is totally supernatural. This supernatural sign also brought with it human consequences.

This prophecy came true through the young girl Mary, the virgin who became pregnant by the Holy Spirit and bore this child who is called Immanuel, God with us. As a result of these supernatural and unusual circumstances, she and her future husband were considered outcasts by society. They were not welcomed into a guest room in a home but were cast aside to be with the animals, even though she was pregnant. She was not a prostitute but a righteous woman with a righteous husband to whom she was pledged in order to bring forth the gift of God to the world. The sign of the virgin who would bear a child was confirmed by the sign of the baby wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger. 

Why Bethlehem?

As has already been mentioned several times, we know that Yeshua was born in the city of Bethlehem, but why Bethlehem? We can start with the obvious, that Joseph had to register in Bethlehem in order to fulfill the decree of the census and since he was pledged to be married to Mary she needed to go with him. In complete agreement with the timing of God, Mary’s pregnancy reached its fulfillment during the time that they were in Bethlehem.

We also know that Bethlehem is a complete fulfillment of the prophecy regarding the birth place of the Messiah:

But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity. – Micah 5:2

The ruler of the people of Israel would come forth from the tribe of Judah and more specifically, He would come from Bethlehem (Ephrathah). King David was also from Bethlehem and we know that the LORD promised to establish an everlasting kingdom through King David’s throne (1 Chronicles 17:14). 

All of the above are sound proof texts from the Bible for why the Messiah was born in Bethlehem. The city of Bethlehem first appears in the Scriptures in Genesis 35:19. In this week’s Torah Portion reading the city of Bethlehem appears for the second time in the Scriptures corresponding to Genesis 35:19 and connecting in a unique manner to the birth of the Messiah. 

The Life of Jacob

This week’s Torah Portion is called ויחי – Vayechi meaning “And he lived” referring to Jacob, who lived seventeen years in the land of Egypt before he died at the age of 147 (Gen. 47:28). The end of Jacob’s life is recorded in these last few chapters of the book of Genesis where Jacob made one final request before he was gathered to his fathers:

Then he charged them and said to them, “I am about to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site. There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah— the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.” When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people. – Gen. 49:29-33

Jacob wanted to be buried in the burial cave of his father and grandfather along with their wives together with his own wife Leah, who was also buried there.

This request to be buried in the cave of Machpelah was obviously very important to Jacob because this request is recorded twice in this week’s reading. Before Jacob made the request from all of his sons, as quoted above, Jacob had earlier asked Joseph to promise not to bury him in the land of Egypt but to bury him with his fathers in the land of Canaan (Gen. 47:29-31). Joseph agreed to this request and made a promise to his father to obey his wishes.

The Burial Place of Rachel

If being buried in the cave of Machpelah was so important to Jacob that he made both Joseph and all of his sons promise to bury him in that place, It would seem natural that Jacob would have surely buried his wife Rachel there as well. Rachel was the first love of Jacob’s life and his preferred wife above Leah, however, Rachel was not buried in the cave of Machpelah:

“…Now as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died, to my sorrow, in the land of Canaan on the journey, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).” – Gen. 48:7

Rachel died on the way to Ephratha (also spelled “Ephrath”) and that is where Jacob buried Rachel. Ephratha and Bethlehem were two names of the same city. Why did Jacob not bury his beloved wife Rachel in the tomb of the patriarchs, in the cave of Machpelah? Why did Jacob bury Rachel on the way to Bethlehem? 

There are two things that we cannot choose in life, when and where we are born and when and where we will die. Rachel was buried on the way to Ephratha/Bethlehem because that is where she died. Jacob could have brought her to the cave of Machpelah in Hebron but he didn’t. Why didn’t he?

There is no specific chapter and verse to explain why Jacob buried Rachel on the way to Bethlehem and not in the cave of Machpelah, however, I believe that the story of the Bible as a whole provides an answer to this question. I believe that there is a prophetic declaration that Jacob made regarding Rachel’s death by burying her on the way to Bethlehem that even he didn’t fully understand at that time.

Ephratha – Bethlehem

The place of Rachel’s burial is noted as being on the way to Ephratha, which is also called Bethlehem. The name Ephratha, which in Hebrew is אפרתה, means  “place of fruitfulness” and describes the quality of the land as being very productive and bearing much fruit. The name Bethlehem, בית לחם – Beit Lechem, means “house of bread” or “house of food” and again describes the character of the region as being particularly abundant in food. Both names, Ephratha and Bethlehem, describe the fruitful and abundant nature of the land in and around this city. It is more than likely because of the meaningful names of that city that Jacob chose to bury Rachel there. 

We need to remember that when Jacob had set out for Paddan Aram God gave him the blessing of Abraham and Isaac: “…in you and in your seed all the families of the earth will be blessed.” (Gen. 28:14) And after Jacob had spent twenty years in Paddan Aram, he returned to the Land of Promise and was dwelling in the Land when the LORD again blessed him:

God also said to him, I am God Almighty; Be fruitful and multiply; A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come forth from you. The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you. – Genesis 35:11-12

God had repeatedly blessed Jacob and he intended to walk in all of the fulness of God’s blessings. 

It was shortly after this blessing from the LORD that Rachel gave birth to their son Benjamin but then died while giving birth (Gen. 35:16-20). In the place of life there was death. In the place of fruitfulness there was mourning. It seems that Jacob buried his wife in the place of fruitfulness, Ephratha – Bethlehem, as a way to remember God’s promises to him even in his loss. 

Ephraim and Manasseh

Jacob’s desire to claim all of the promises of God are evident to the very end of his days. In his conversation with Joseph before his death, Jacob claimed Joseph’s sons for himself as a way of fulfilling God’s promises:

Then Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and He said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession.’ Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. – Gen. 48:3-5

Jacob’s claim on Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, seem to be Jacob’s way of obtaining God’s promise to him in making him fruitful. The name Ephraim means “I am doubly fruitful” (Gen. 41:52). Jacob wanted this reality in his life and so he claimed Ephraim as his own.

The Place of Blessing and Fruitfulness

Jacob sought the blessing of God all of his life, even before he was born as he grabbed on to his brother’s heel. Jacob was fruitful and had been blessed in many ways (Gen. 30:41-43) yet he was always striving to obtain the blessing of God (Gen. 32:24-30) and the fruitfulness of life. Even in Rachel’s death and burial it seems that Jacob was remembering the promise of God to bless him and make him fruitful by burying her in Ephratha, the place of fruitfulness, and in Bethlehem, the place of abundance.

I believe that God in His great foreknowledge, allowed Rachel to die and be buried on the way to Ephratha-Bethlehem as a sign of the greater blessing that would come forth from that place. Although Rachel’s burial place is associated with Ephratha-Bethlehem, this city is not part of the territory of her sons; Joseph and Benjamin. Bethlehem would come to belong to the tribe of Judah, the son of Leah, Rachel’s sister. In a unique way, Bethlehem brings together Rachel and Leah, the two wives of Jacob and the two mothers of the nation of Israel. 

In this same city, Bethlehem, Boaz redeemed Ruth and the family of Naomi. Ruth bore Boaz a son, Obed, who was the grandfather of King David in the continuous line of the Messiah. Two-thousand years after Rachel’s death, a young virgin who was chosen by God would conceive through the power of the Holy Spirit and give birth to a son who would bring salvation to all the families of the world through His life and death. Mary gave birth to Yeshua in Bethlehem to fulfill prophecy and to be a sign in the place of His birth. 

The City of The Messiah

Bethlehem can be considered the city of the two mothers of the people of Israel, Leah and Rachel, as well as the city of Mary through the birth of the Messiah. Through Rachel’s death and burial in Bethlehem we were given a landmark of the promise of God. Jacob wanted to see the full extent of the blessing and fruitfulness of God in his life. He saw it in part but the fulness of God’s blessing to Jacob would only come 2000 years later. Through Yeshua’s birth in Bethlehem we are given the fulness of God’s blessing to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for all of the families of the earth. 

Shabbat Shalom!

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Torah Portion: Gen. 47:28 – Gen. 50:26

Haftara: 1 Kings 2:1-12

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