Micah 5
January 8
Reading: Micah 5
1 Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops;
siege is laid against us;
with a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek.
2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.
3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers
shall return to the people of Israel.
4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the LORD,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they shall dwell secure,
for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth.
5 And he shall be their peace.
When the Assyrian comes into our land
and treads in our palaces,
then we will raise against him seven shepherds
and eight princes of men;
6 they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
and the land of Nimrod at its entrances;
and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian
when he comes into our land
and treads within our border.
7 Then the remnant of Jacob
shall be in the midst of many peoples
like dew from the LORD,
like showers on the grass,
which delay not for a man
nor wait for the children of man.
8 And the remnant of Jacob
shall be among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,
which, when it goes through,
treads down and tears in pieces,
and there is none to deliver.
9 Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries,
and all your enemies shall be cut off.
10 And in that day, declares the LORD,
I will cut off your horses from among you
and will destroy your chariots;
11 and I will cut off the cities of your land
and throw down all your strongholds;
12 and I will cut off sorceries from your hand,
and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes;
13 and I will cut off your carved images
and your pillars from among you,
and you shall bow down no more
to the work of your hands;
14 and I will root out your Asherah images from among you
and destroy your cities.
15 And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance
on the nations that did not obey.
Micah 5:1 issues a hypothetical command to armies what would attack Jerusalem. It is as if God is saying to them all, “Do your worst. You cannot stop what is to come.”
And what is to come? Here Micah 5:2 continues the prophetic promise of chapter 4 with the most well-known prophesy in the book of Micah. Chapter 4 told of the coming day when the Lord will restore his people, Israel. But how, specifically, will He do it? Now we find out. A King is coming, a ruler for Israel, from little Bethlehem, in Ephrathah. And this is no ordinary ruler. He is the one who will step out of eternity, as a child, to restore His brothers, the sons of Israel. (vs. 3) He will shepherd His flock in the name of the Lord. (vs. 4) He will bring the peace promised in Micah 4:1-3. (vs. 5)
This is an astounding promise. It is nearly impossible to puzzle out. How can this be fulfilled? We now know. Jesus was born, God out of eternity to be our good shepherd, as a child in Bethlehem to restore His people and bring them peace with God. Throughout the Bible, God delivers His people in the most surprising and amazing ways. This is maybe the most stunning of all.
Verses 5-6 explain that conquering Assyria will get their recompense from the Lord. Verses 7-9 explain that the remnant of Israel will be rescued from the nations. Verses 10-15 explain that the Lord will bring judgment upon all the nations, and their gods, that have mistreated Israel. All of this is under the sovereign Lordship of the one who steps out of eternity to become a child in Bethlehem.
Who would have thought that the Messiah would begin as a child? But, how else would He begin? Babies are how people come into this world. (see Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6)