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Christmas carols in the Scriptures – O Little Town of Bethlehem

Why is Bethlehem referred to as “little” in the Christmas carol “O Little Town of Bethlehem”? Find connection to the Scriptures and the significance of this little town.

O Little Town of Bethlehem

As I’ve become more familiar with the content of the Bible, words and phrases from Christmas carols take on new meaning as I recognize references in scripture. “O Little Town of Bethlehem” is one such carol whose lyrics speak more deeply the more I read my Bible. Let’s look at a few noteworthy observations as we seek to find significance in this song about a small town.

Christmas carol

This may not be the most well-known Christmas carol. Songs like “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” or “Silent Night” tend to top the list of a Christmas carol sing-along. “O Little Town of Bethlehem” is more likely to be a song some singers in the group know but not all. The other two songs clearly sing of the angels or nativity scene with mother and child. “O Little Town of Bethlehem” focuses on a location. What’s so important about that and why is it described as “little”?

That’s precisely what caught my attention this year as I pulled out holiday tunes to play on the piano. Let’s look at the name of this song to discover some details about its significance.

O Little Town

Why little?

This description of “little” comes from a reference in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew:

“And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.” Matthew 2:6 NLT

This is actually a reference to words of the Lord through the prophet Micah in the Old Testament:

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    are only a small village among all the people of Judah.
Yet a ruler of Israel,
    whose origins are in the distant past,
    will come from you on my behalf.” Micah 5:2 NLT

Did you notice the contrast of how these are both written? The Old Testament excerpt describes Bethlehem as “only a small village among all the people of Judah.”

Then the Lord continues to proclaim, “Yet a ruler… will come from you on my behalf.”

The New Testament passage from Matthew declares, “You, O Bethlehem… are not least among the ruling cities of Judah.”

Then continues to announce, “For a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.”

The Old Testament passage from Micah helps us understand the label “little”. But we also see that in spite of Bethlehem’s small stature, this little town was chosen for a great purpose.

Bethlehem and a ruler

This ruler, a shepherd, points forward to Jesus. The Son of God sent from the Father. Jesus the Good Shepherd. (John 10:11,14)

Bethlehem is the birthplace of the Messiah. Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem, the town of Joseph’s lineage.

“And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.” Luke 2:3-5 NIV

David, a shepherd, who also happened to be the least of his brothers. When the Lord sent Samuel to the house of a man named Jesse to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as king, no one expected the youngest son David to be chosen.

“Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, ‘The Lord has not chosen these.’ So he asked Jesse, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’

‘There is still the youngest,’ Jesse answered. ‘He is tending the sheep.’” 1 Samuel 16:10-11 NIV

Bethlehem and provision

In the Old Testament book of Ruth, we find another connection to Bethlehem and to David. A widow named Naomi returned to her people in Bethlehem. Accompanying her was her faithful daughter-in-law Ruth, also a widow who was from Moab.

Ruth met and married a man named Boaz, a guardian-redeemer (Ruth 2:20) whose act of redemption brought Ruth into his family and provision for the widow. From this union a woman on the outside joined the family line of Judah and became an ancestor of Jesse and of David, the shepherd who grew to be king. (Ruth 4)

From this family line came the One who would be ruler and shepherd, Jesus.

Bethlehem’s significance

Bethlehem, the place the shepherds journeyed to after a visit from an angel gave them word of the Messiah, the Savior born there. (Luke 2:8-15)

While Bethlehem may have been small, her role in history is far reaching. And who came to Bethlehem but shepherds, the outcasts of society, and a pair of widows, easily forgotten were it not for the presence of a redeemer.

And who came out of Bethlehem but a shepherd David, the youngest of his brothers, and a Savior, Christ the Lord.

What of your story? Do you see yourself with a small part to play? What greater role might God have for you that’s bigger than you imagine? Your part may be more significant than you realize. Take a cue from a small home town that birthed the greatest gift from God.

Looking for more Christmas carols?

Christmas Carols in the Scriptures – Angels We Have Heard on High

Christmas Carols in the Scriptures – O Holy Night

Christmas Carols in the Scriptures – Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Christmas Carols in the Scriptures – The First Noel

Christmas Carols in the Scriptures – O Come O Come Emmanuel

Wondering how to get started with the Bible? Here are five simple steps to get into the Bible.

The search for the Christmas story and the missing manger

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:30 — 5.1MB)

Join me as we search for the Christmas story and the missing manger in the Bible and learn a simple way to remember what you find.

This podcast episode was inspired by a two-part blog series, “The Christmas story and the missing manger.” You can read the original posts here:

The Christmas story and the missing manger part 1

The Christmas story and the missing manger part 2

Another podcast episode with a Christmas connection:

Christmas carols in the Scriptures – Angels We Have Heard on High

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:44 — 5.3MB)

If we listen to the angels’ song in the sweet carol “Angels We Have Heard on High,” we just might hear echoes of the Christmas story throughout its verses and refrain.

Did you know this Christmas carol takes its cues directly from the nativity story found in the Gospel of Luke? Let’s take a closer look at the source of this song’s inspiration.

Angels We Have Heard on High

In a previous series of Christmas carols in the scriptures, I mentioned how sometimes my Bible study group would read a passage of scripture and try to remember which song had included those verses. With “Angels We Have Heard on High,” I went about it the other way around. I had been looking at the verses and refrain of the song when it dawned on me that this was a summary of part of the Christmas story.

Let’s connect the verses of the song to key verses in scripture.

You may find the angels’ song has more praises to sing than just the glorious refrain.

Christmas story in the carol

“Angels We Have Heard on High” is one of my new favorite carols. I’ve always loved this traditional Christmas carol, but this year I’ve grown even more fond of it.

While reading the story of the birth of Jesus found in the Gospel of Luke and practicing this carol for worship, I discovered something I hadn’t seen before. This traditional hymn is the account of a key aspect of the Christmas story – but maybe not what you thought.

I’ve always thought of it as the angels’ song with the “Gloria” chorus. When I looked at the words of the song in light of the scripture passage, I realized how truly connected they are. I also discovered this song is really the shepherds’ song, or at least covers the experience of the shepherds.

Want to see?

Gloria in excelsis Deo

Verse one introduces the “Angels We Have Heard on High,” sweetly singing, “Gloria in excelsis Deo.”

First of all, who heard the angels? Is that a general “we?” Could mean us, right? That we heard the angels singing “Gloria.” That’s how I understood the song whenever I sang it. More on that in a minute.

What about that Latin phrase in the refrain, “Gloria in excelsis Deo?”

We sang this song recently in church and somebody remarked, “I don’t even know what that means.”

First, how to pronounce it. Did anyone else learn to say the first part of “excelsis” as “eggshells”?

Glory to God in the highest

This phrase means “Glory to God in the highest” and leads us to our first scripture connection.

“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.’” Luke 2:13-14 NIV

Shepherds praising God

Verse two inquires of the shepherds, why so joyous? What’s this “gladsome tidings” or good news?

Luke 2:20 echoes back this verse.

“The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” Luke 2:20 NIV

The “Gloria” refrain of the song, “Glory to God in the highest,” also returns as the shepherds add their praises to the celebration of heaven.

These verses, from the Bible, and the song, capture the shepherds’ joy of all they experienced on that holy night. Let’s gather a few more details of their divine encounter.

Good news of a Savior

Prior to a whole host of heaven’s worshipers praising “Glory to God in the highest,” one angel of the Lord startled the shepherds out of their routine reverie of watching their flocks by night to tell them the good news of the Savior’s birth in Bethlehem.

“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.’” Luke 2:10-11 NIV

Shepherds go to Bethlehem

The shepherds decided to go to Bethlehem to see for themselves what the angel proclaimed. There they found Mary and Joseph, and the baby Jesus, the Messiah, who was lying in a manger.

After witnessing for themselves what the angel had told them, the shepherds told everyone along the way what they had seen first-hand.

Following their encounter with Jesus, the shepherds sang heaven’s song. The next two verses of the carol clarify what the shepherds experienced.

Come to Bethlehem and see

Verse three of the Christmas carol brings with it the invitation to “Come to Bethlehem and see” the birth of Jesus, who is Christ the Lord.

“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.” Luke 2:15-16 NIV

The scripture passage reflects their decision to go to Bethlehem and see what the angels sang about, what the first angel told them.

Our invitation

Since the shepherds’ joy is already expressed in verse two of the Christmas carol, “Angels We Have Heard on High,” perhaps the next verse of the song, “Come to Bethlehem and see Him,” is our invitation to meet Jesus at the manger. Have you been? Have you met Jesus in this season and joined in the heavenly praise,

“Glory to God in the highest.”

The song, the shepherds, and our Savior, invite us into the story of Christmas, of Christ’s birth which brings the good news of Jesus to us as well. Come, see what the shepherds saw and add your praise to the celebration.

Glory to God in the highest.

Looking for other Christmas carols in the scriptures?

Christmas Carols in the Scriptures – O Holy Night

Christmas Carols in the Scriptures – Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Christmas Carols in the Scriptures – The First Noel

Christmas Carols in the Scriptures – O Come O Come Emmanuel

Christmas carols in the Scriptures – Hark the Herald Angels Sing

“Hark the Herald Angels Sing” is certainly a song about angels, but it’s also a song about Jesus. Don’t miss the gift of Christ proclaimed by the Prophets of the Old Testament in these verses.

Christmas special

“Hark the Herald Angels Sing” is most likely one of the best-known traditional carols due in part to its prominent placement in a certain Christmas special.

Surprising connection to Scripture

I think it also has one of the most surprising connections to Scripture of all the carols.

Recognized phrases

As mentioned in a previous post, when my Bible study read through the Word, we recognized phrases throughout Scripture that reminded us of songs we knew. One such phrase that really caught our attention spoke of someone rising “with healing in his wings.” This phrase stood out immediately but we couldn’t quite place where we’d seen or heard it.

Music

We sat with it for a moment allowing the music to find the phrase in our heads, then I went in search of a hymnal in the church to confirm what was surfacing.

Hark the Herald Angels Sing

We found the phrase in “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”

Healing in wings

I realized I had sung this verse so many times over the years that I took it at face value. I don’t know that I understood what it was saying. What exactly is healing in a wing anyway?

Verse in the Bible

Imagine my surprise when that very verse showed up in the Bible. Well then, if it’s in there, then it makes sense to God. But what does it mean?

Context

First, let’s find out where it is, which will give us some context as to its meaning.

This phrase comes in the middle of the third verse of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and follows the declaration that He, Jesus, brings light and life to everyone.

Life and light

We could just stop there, couldn’t we?

Jesus brought the gifts of life and light to all of us.

Light in the midst of darkness, into a world in darkness. And life where there was once only death.

Prince of Peace

The third verse of the Christmas carol starts out by telling us who Jesus is, the Prince of Peace. This title for our Savior comes from the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah.

“For 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.” Isaiah 9:6 KJV

Healing wings in Scripture

But what about the healing wings? Where are they found in Scripture?

Minor Prophet Malachi

The Scripture reference for this phrase leads us to the Old Testament and the Minor Prophet Malachi. This was one of those really cool aha moments for my Bible study when we were reading through the Bible.

Words of carol come from Bible

The wording in the hymn was so strange to me. I had sung it every Christmas but didn’t really pay attention to the text. Then when I read it in Malachi I thought, wait a minute, that’s from a Christmas carol. Wow, the words of the Christmas carol come from the Bible.

“But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings;” Malachi 4:2a KJV

Just FYI, fear in this context can be likened to “show honor.” The NIV translation uses the word “revere.”

What does it mean?

Okay, great, we found it. But what does it mean?

This is the gift that’s found in this verse. Jesus brings healing. Life and light.

Gospel of Luke

In the Gospel of Luke, Zechariah sings a song about this. I find it only fitting that we turn to a song in the Bible to clarify the verse of this Christmas carol.

Zechariah is the father of John, the one who will grow up to be called “John the Baptist.” Following John’s birth, Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesies about his son John:

“’And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.’” Luke 1:76-79 NIV

Light, life, healing

Do you see the gifts of light, life, and healing?

We find healing in Jesus. The rising sun refers to His light, and it reminds me of Jesus rising after His death on the cross. Because He died for us, we have access to ultimate healing.

“By his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24b

What a beautiful gift to receive this Christmas.

Want to read more about Jesus as light?

The Christmas story and the missing manger part 2

Other Christmas carols:

Christmas carols in the Scriptures – The First Noel

Christmas carols in the Scriptures – O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

A bike and the Bible – The Gospels, Acts, and Romans – part 14

We’ve finally made it to the Gospels, Acts, and Romans, on this journey through the Bible. Join me as we take a quick ride past these first several books of the New Testament.

If you’ve followed this trek you’ll know we just made our way through the Old Testament. On the bike ride this brought us to a trestle high above a creek.

The Gospels

The Gospels – Mathew, Mark, Luke, John – are where Jesus came to earth, walked the land, healed the sick, and taught about the Kingdom of God. This is where we encounter the tangible Jesus, living among the people.

Viewed from above

The creek at this point of the bike ride was viewed from the height of a train trestle far above the water below. Matthew’s Gospel starts with a genealogy which at first glance appears far removed from the story of Jesus. Many people are confused by this list of names, still others skip it entirely, and some like me initially get lost in it until we find some familiarity and discoveries in it.

Matthew Mark Luke John

Matthew gives us Jesus’ lineage and Kingdom teaching. The genealogy in the first chapter of this Gospel links Jesus to King David, whose story we discovered in 1 and 2 Samuel in the Old Testament.

Mark walks out the gospel with Jesus on the move in ministry.

Luke shows us the shepherds and a whole lot of “carefully investigated” details. (Luke 1:3)

And John just confused me the first several times I peeked inside. What was this Word stuff right at the beginning of this Gospel? After reading Genesis I recognized the connection to John’s Gospel and the beginning of the Bible.

As I continue to look into these four books of the New Testament that share details of Jesus’ life and ministry, I start to understand a little more about the Gospels and the love of God.

Look around

Once I grew accustomed to riding on gravel I could look around and see my surroundings instead of just the rocks under my bicycle tires.

When I glanced out past the trestle across the vast forest of trees I recognized parts of the trail I had ridden over. This section folded back around so I could see out over a segment of the path on which I had already traveled.

Bigger picture

Taking a step back gave me a more encompassing view of the bike trail.

I hope that if you’ve followed along on this ride that just rolled through the Old Testament that you, too, have started to grasp a bigger picture of what’s in the Bible.

More tunnels

I relished this moment on the ride because soon we were riding through two more tunnels.

Acts and Romans

Tunnels. That’s what the books of Acts and Romans felt like to me at one time.

When I first read Acts it was a cure for insomnia. I couldn’t get through it. Too many details. Too many storylines. After spending more time with my Bible open I began to recognize the names of people in Acts and connect them to other places in Scripture.

Where Gospels leave off

Acts takes up where the Gospels leave off. In fact, Acts is the move of the people in ministry, the early church, after Jesus heads back to heaven (resurrection and ascension) at the end of the Gospels.

Connections to books around it

If we skim Acts we’ll see names from the Gospels and names mentioned in the books of the Bible that follow. No need to spend much time in it now, just note the connections to the books around it. This basic knowledge will help anchor more of the content of the Bible.

Tunnels

I think just being accustomed to riding through several tunnels on the trail helped me travel through these next two.

Although some of the details in Acts were hard to remember, I was starting to grasp more aspects of Scripture so I knew the feeling of being in the dark wouldn’t last.

This tunnel and the next one were not as long as the first few. I think I was able to see the light shining through as I entered one of them.

Having a glimpse of visible light was helpful at this point in the Bible – for the book of Acts and the one that follows, Romans.

Romans

My first glimpse at Romans was probably similar to my experience with Acts. A lot of information that I couldn’t keep track of. This book was different from the Gospels and Acts. Romans is the first of the letters in the New Testament. This one happens to be a letter to the church in Rome written by Paul whose story can be found in Acts. See how these connections work?

The Book of Romans is Paul’s teaching about Jesus. This is another book that becomes clearer to me each time I return to it.

If you are reading along in your Bible, I encourage you not to get bogged down by Acts or Romans. We’ll keep rolling through the New Testament to glance at the next section of letters. Ready?

For a reminder of where we’ve been:

A bike and the Bible – Daniel and the Minor Prophets – part 13

For a refresher on 1 and 2 Samuel (and King David):

A bike and the Bible – Joshua to 1 and 2 Samuel – part 8