Bethlehem’s Manger

I was taken aback when the pastor said, “I don’t know why he [God] sent his Son to be born in a manger. I don’t understand that.” The simple answer is, “…because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7b NIV). The more in-depth answer is that the situation fulfilled Scripture, as well as the requirement that Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem to be counted for the census. The prophet Micah foretold, “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 NIV).