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Promise
Aim: See that Christmas begins with promises made centuries earlier, and that God chose a small, ordinary place to keep them.
Before you start
- Read Isaiah 9:1–7 and Micah 5:1–5 through once yourself.
- Open the Time Map at Isaiah (QR 1) and Bethlehem from above (QR 2) on the screen.
- Have a Bible for every two people, or print the verses below.
Plan · 40 min
| 5 min | Welcome. Ask: what is the longest you have waited for something? |
| 5 min | Read Isaiah 9:2, 6–7 and Micah 5:2 aloud, two readers. |
| 10 min | Show the timeline, Hezekiah's Jerusalem and Bethlehem (below). |
| 5 min | The evidence: which Bethlehem, and how Isaiah 9 is read. |
| 10 min | Discuss the questions. |
| 5 min | Pray. |
Read
Isaiah 9:2; Isaiah 9:6–7; Micah 5:2
Show in the labs
1. Isaiah · The Bible Time Map
Isaiah and Micah lived about seven hundred years before Jesus. Let the gap sink in.
2. Hezekiah's Jerusalem · Jerusalem Through the Ages
This is the city they knew: new walls, a tunnel for water, Assyria on the way.
3. Village · Bethlehem and the Birth of Jesus
And this is Bethlehem: a village of a few hundred people on a ridge.
What the evidence says
Textually statedMicah names Bethlehem Ephrathah, “little among the thousands of Judah” (5:2).Strongly supportedThe village of the Gospels is today's Bethlehem, about 9 km south of Jerusalem; the name never moved.Strongly supportedJewish readers also took Micah 5:2 as a promise of the Messiah; the Aramaic Targum says so outright.PlausibleIsaiah 9:6–7 read of the Messiah (Matthew 4:13–16 and the church) or of King Hezekiah (some Jewish interpreters). Both are readings; say so and move on.Questions
- Micah's promise was about seven hundred years old when Jesus was born. What do you make of a promise that takes that long?
- God started with a small place. Where else in Scripture does he start small?
- Which of the four names in Isaiah 9:6 do you most need this year?
Leader tip
Leave the timeline on the screen while you talk. The distance between the prophets and the manger does a lot of the teaching for you.
Closing prayer
Faithful God, you kept your word to Isaiah and Micah, and you will keep it to us. Teach us to wait for you this Advent. Amen.
Promise
Long before Jesus was born, God made promises. This week we read two of them.
Read · Micah 5:2 and Isaiah 9:6
6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Look
Scan the code to see Bethlehem from above, as it may have looked when Jesus was born.
xdreamers.com/labs/places-of-jesus/bethlehem?stop=village
Can you find…
- The village on its ridge
- A road going north to Jerusalem
- The terraces where people grew food
Wonder
- God chose a very small village. Why do you think he did?
- Isaiah gives the child four names. Which one do you like best?
For the youngest: Is Bethlehem big or small? Is it near Jerusalem or far away?
Pray
God, you always keep your promises. Help us wait for you. Amen.
Draw or write
Draw a light shining in the dark (Isaiah 9:2).