Pulling for the Underdog

What is it about ole' Bob Crachet that just tugs at our hearts during the Christmas season?

You remember the miserable little fawning clerk in the sadistic employ of Ebenezer Scrooge, don't you?

It's possibly the same emotion that draws us to George Bailey as he tells off old man Potter in It's a Wonderful Life!

We tend to pull for the underdog.

I think that is why we like Bethlehem so much. It was apparently a town without much going for it, a small town that was destined to stay that way. They were so tiny and ill-equipped that you let one Roman Tax Convention come to town and every Motel 6 in the land is booked to the gills.

This week's Advent Candle focuses on that little town. As we talked about that candle tonight, we read Micah 5:2 (NKJV)...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 ....

We began our devotion with a few clues, a map, and a magnifying glass and a challenge to find Bethlehem, Georgia on the map in three minutes...

With Mom's help, they achieved their goal with about 10 seconds to spare.

Bethlehem seemed small and insignificant, but there is history there:

• In a "revival move" of sorts, Jacob and his clan were on their way back to Bethel - a place where he had had an experience with God. En route, Rachel - the true love of his heart - gave birth a second time to a son whom Jacob would call Benjamin - "the son of my right hand". And it happened in mid-journey, right there in Bethlehem. Much in the same way that God's own "Son of His right hand" would be born on the road there centuries later.


• Rachel also died there while giving birth (all this can be found in Genesis 35).


• Much later, Naomi returned to her hometown, Bethlehem, after she had lost her husband and two sons in Moab. Naomi had nothing left ... except for Ruth, her faithful daughter-in-law. Ruth would later catch the eye of an eligible bachelor named Boaz. They would fall in love and marry. Out of their marriage would come children and grand-children - one of which would be David... a little shepherd boy.


• It was to Bethlehem that a nervous Judge by the name of Samuel would be dispatched by God to anoint and appoint a replacement for King Saul. . . the replacement was that little grandchild - the shepherd, David.


• David would give us some timeless lessons on underdogs.


• One day after he was firmly in place as the King. He found himself outside of his little hometown, Bethlehem. Only this time he couldn't go into town. The Philistines - chief enemies to the Israelites- had taken the city and were firmly ensconced. As David languished outside the gates with his men, he mused about a longing for the sweet water from the well inside the gates of Bethlehem (there is nothing like the water of your hometown). Almost instantly, three devoted "men of valor" burst through the line risking it all. They grabbed a bucket of water from that well and rushed back to safety. David was smitten. He could not bring himself to drink this water which his men had risked their lives to bring to him. He could only offer it to God - so he poured it on the ground.

You see, there was a lot of history in that little insignificant town.

A great deal of people are that way. They seem small - not very valuable.

Yet significant events have happened all along their journey. People of influence have crossed their path.

God has been working over their entire lifetime to bring them to the point that Christ will be born in their hearts.

Just like that little town, Bethlehem.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.You can read more details on these stories in the Bible: Ruth, 1 Samuel 16, 2 Samuel 23 and Luke 2