Notes of Faith December 9, 2025
House of Bread
Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.
Ruth 4:21-22, ESV
Bethlehem means “house [beth] of bread [lechem].” During the period of the judges it was referred to as “Bethlehem in Judah” (Judges 17:7-9) to distinguish it from another Bethlehem near the Sea of Galilee (Joshua 19:15). Though Bethlehem was “little among the thousands of Judah” (Micah 5:2), it was important.
Recommended Reading:
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Boaz was a well-to-do farmer in Bethlehem who married a Moabite woman named Ruth. Boaz saved Ruth—and Ruth’s mother-in-law, Naomi—from poverty and established a legacy of salvation in Bethlehem. Boaz and Ruth had a son named Obed, who had a son named Jesse, who had a son named David. When it was time for God to choose a king to replace Saul, He sent the prophet Samuel to Bethlehem to choose David as king. Because Joseph was a descendant of David, he and Mary journeyed to Bethlehem to register for the census—where Mary gave birth to Jesus. So Boaz and Ruth are mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:5-6).
Bethlehem, the “house of bread,” gave the world the “bread of life” (John 6:35). God’s hand is always at work to accomplish His purposes.
Christ is the true Bread of Life sent by God to bring us eternal life. We all need Christ to be the Bread of Life to us.
Witness Lee
There is a lot of great information on Witness Lee and Watchman Nee to be viewed and to gain insight on Christian leaders used by God in the midst of great persecution. Their teaching and writings are still wide-read today and continue to inspire true believers and followers of Christ. Those who have the time to invest in a deeper intimacy with God should check out books that both have written.
We all need the “Bread of Life” to live spiritually!
John 6:48-58
48 "I am the bread of life. 49 "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 "This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh."
52 Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?" 53 So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me.
John 10:27-30
27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 "I and the Father are one."
Jesus, the eternal Son of God, took on flesh in Bethlehem, the house of bread. May we eat daily from the “Bread of Life” becoming more like Him, doing the will of our Father in heaven, bringing glory to the Father, and Son, through the power of the Holy Spirit given to live in us!
Pastor Dale