SuperVerse

Our SuperVerse this week is Micah 5:2 (nkjv). Have children look up Micah 5:2, and read it aloud slowly with them. Note: Ephrathah is pronounced: Ef-RAH-tuh.

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”

In Bible times there were two towns named Bethlehem—so saying Bethlehem Ephrathah made it clear which one. Bethlehem was small compared to Jerusalem and other cities in Israel, and certainly not where you would expect the future Ruler of Israel to be born!

Do you remember when the Wise Men in the Superbook video went to Jerusalem? They probably went there because they assumed that the King of the Jews would be born in the biggest, most important city of the Jewish people. When King Herod asked his advisors about the birth of the King of the Jews, they told him about Bethlehem of Judea, basing their answer on this scripture written by the Prophet Micah.

The New Living Translation says it this way:

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past.

The verse promises that a Ruler of Israel will come from the distant past. Jesus existed with God from the beginning—He is the promised Ruler who came from the past!

Let’s read our verse aloud together slowly again. Read the SuperVerse together. Yes, God kept His promise by sending His Son to be born in Bethlehem. He came not as the world expected—but as a tiny baby in a little town.

Note: Younger children may not be able to memorize the SuperVerse. They may simply repeat it several times, while older children may memorize part or all of it. Be sure all children understand its meaning.