6. Renaming A Town
Luke 2:4; Ruth 1
You may have been to a Carol Service and heard a reading from the unfamiliar little book of Micah in the Old Testament - specifically Micah 5:2. It speaks of a little town from which will come a King. The town is called Bethlehem Ephrathah. We’ve all heard of Bethlehem, but what’s this Ephrathah lark about?
Ephrathah is the original name of the town. It means ash heap. It was obviously not a highly valued town. People still use similar terms (that I can’t post here) for towns they don’t like.
Bethlehem’s first mention in Scripture is way back in Gen 35:19 as the burial place of Jacob’s wife Rachel. It is the location of a bit of action towards the end of the book of Judges but it comes to prominence in the story of Ruth because of a famine - a shortage of bread.
Ruth’s story is pretty painful stuff. She’s from Moab and she marries one of the sons of a woman called Naomi who left Bethlehem in search of bread. Tragedy strikes and leaves Naomi’s husband and two sons dead. Ruth is a young widow and only five verses into the book of Ruth we are in a pretty bleak and hopeless situation.
Naomi hears that God has provided for His people in Bethlehem and she resolves to go back but advises her daughters-in-law to move on with their lives. Ruth (whose name probably means friendship) clings to Naomi and refuses to leave her.
They head to Bethlehem and the chapter ends with a verse that is dripping with hope: So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning. (Ruth 1:22)
For people who have lived through famine, a successful barley harvest was an incredible picture of hope. Barley meant bread. The chapter that began with a famine ends with a barley harvest.
Meditating on this story in Advent 2025 I began to wonder when in the history of Israel did Ephrathah become primarily known as Bethlehem? Could it be that it was during this period of God’s provision that the name written over the town was changed?
Don’t call this place Ephrathah (the ash heap) any longer.
This is Bethlehem - which means the House of Bread.
Bethlehem is the place where a famine can end and bread can be provided.
Bethlehem is the birthplace of hope. Because of Bethlehem we have hope.
In Luke 2:4 God once again provides for people in Bethlehem.
In the House of Bread a King is born who will grow up to declare:
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35)
He is the one who the prophet Micah spoke of:
“He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.
And he will be our peace.” (Micah 5:4-5)
Ponder
When God moves, can He change the name and character of a town?
Can He change the things that have been historically written over a town?
Can He write a new story over a town?
Now re-read these questions and substitute the word ‘person’ for the word ‘town’.