After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.

• Matthew 2:1-11a

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.”
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.”

• Luke 2:13-15

“O little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting light;
the hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary;
and, gathered all above,
while mortals sleep, the angels keep
their watch of wond’ring love.
O morning stars, together
proclaim the holy birth,
and praises sing to God the King,
and peace to men on earth.

How silently, how silently,
the wondrous gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of His heav’n.
No ear may hear His coming,
but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive Him still,
the dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem,
descend to us, we pray;
cast out our sin and enter in;
be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels,
the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
our Lord Emmanuel!.”

• Phillips Brooks, O Little Town of Bethlehem

Caroling was such an important part of Christmas.  I was probably caroling before I could read.  I remember walking from house to house with other members of the youth group and even before I was old enough for youth group.  No one invited us in for cocoa and cookies.  All of that was waiting back at the church.

For the past two years, I have dissected carols during the Advent Season for quizzes.  I plan to do so again, but maybe in yet another different vein, and the carols that I choose will be some that are very popular and that I have not yet used.

The second carol for 2023 is O Little Town of Bethlehem.  I seem to cringe each time I hear or sing this carol.  I think it stems from my home church deciding that the little ones would sing about the little town.  This put me on the spot, being the only boy in a group of several girls when I was too young to see the advantage of that arrangement.  You know, when the opposite sex was icky.  Besides, they liked all the party games that I did not like.

There are many lines in this carol that touch on the Scriptural text.  I think I will go that route.

I will quote a verse, or a part of a verse, of Scripture and you can suggest a line that matches it.

The Questions:

?	Scripture	Bible Reference	Line from the Carol
1	“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,     though you are small among the clans of Judah,
2	Your sun will never set again,     and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light,     and your days of sorrow will end.
3	On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.
4	After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
5	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.”
6	And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
7	Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
8	Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

While this carol is sung by many groups of “little” people, and one in the videos below, the message is very much a message for all ages.  Jesus Christ came to earth to save us from our sin.

It is a gift from God.  We cannot earn it; we must simply (with great difficulty for many) trust God and believe that He has our best interest at heart.

God can be trusted.  His plan works.  As some people have suggested. Just let go, and let God…

Bible References:

?	Scripture	Bible Reference	Line from the Carol
1	“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,     though you are small among the clans of Judah,	Micah 3:2a
2	Your sun will never set again,     and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light,     and your days of sorrow will end.	Isaiah 60:20
3	On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.	Matthew 2:11a
4	After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.	Matthew 2:9-10
5	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
6	And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!	2 Corinthians 9:14-15
7	Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—	John 1:12
8	Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.	Isaiah 7:14

One of the answers is one and a half lines of the song to get the entire answer that the Bible verse mentions.

About the only thing that the song mentions that is not told in the Bible account of the birth directly, is that the angels were watching over Him.  Yes, they were, but that is mentioned in the Scriptures elsewhere.  The angels who were talking to the shepherds were not the only angels in attendance.

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The Answers:

?	Scripture	Bible Reference	Line from the Carol
1	“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,     though you are small among the clans of Judah,	Micah 3:2a	O Little Town of Bethlehem
2	Your sun will never set again,     and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light,     and your days of sorrow will end.	Isaiah 60:20	Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light.
3	On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.	Matthew 2:11a	For Christ is born of Mary
4	After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.	Matthew 2:9-10	O morning stars together proclaim the holy birth.
5	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	And praises sing to God the king and peace to men on earth.
6	And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!	2 Corinthians 9:14-15	the wondrous gift is giv’n! So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heav’n. Okay, one and a half lines
7	Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—	John 1:12	where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.
8	Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.	Isaiah 7:14	O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord, Emmanuel

And here is the Gaither Vocal Band singing O Little Town of Bethlehem.  This is the latest group with Reggie Smith, Wes Hampton, Adam Crabb, Todd Suttles, and Bill Gaither.

But what of a different tune?  Here is University of Birmingham Alumni, Birmingham, England, with their version O Little Town of Bethlehem.

And here is the Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church choir, Greenville, SC, USA,  performing the Dan Forrest arrangement of O Little Town of Bethlehem.

And these are kindergarten and first graders?  Okay, maybe my old nightmares were overkill, but we never sang it this good.

Maybe you are tired of the Chip Davis version, but I cannot get enough of it.  I hope you enjoy the Mannheim Steamroller version.

If you like these Saturday morning Bible quizzes, but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Saturday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.