Wednesday Discussion

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. (Micah 5:2)

God turns the judgment of nations into the road that leads to Bethlehem and the Prince of Peace.

Chapters 4 and 5 Are One Message

Last week in chapter 4 we saw God speaking through Micah about the latter days. He says in 4:1, "Now it shall come to pass in the latter days," and again in 4:6, and once more in 5:10. One of the most important things to recognize is that chapters 4 and 5 are a single message. They go together.

In the original language there were no chapter and verse markers. Those divisions were added much later—around the 10th, 11th, and 12th centuries A.D., a thousand years after Christ. So the chapter and verse numbers in your Bible are not divinely inspired. If your favorite number is eleven and you love Matthew 11:11 because of it, I'm sorry to break it to you—God didn't set that up. But the words themselves are inspired and from God.

This matters here, because Micah 5:1 actually connects best with chapter 4. In the Hebrew Scriptures, 5:1 was part of chapter 4, and our 5:2 was their 5:1. So 5:1 takes us right back to where we were last week.

God Behind the Scenes of Empire

Micah pictures the city of Jerusalem under siege, a nation coming against it and ultimately bringing punishment upon Judah, whose capital was Jerusalem. We already know one of those nations is Babylon, mentioned last week. The other is Assyria. The Assyrians came against Israel in the 8th and 7th centuries B.C., and the Babylonians came in the 6th century B.C.

If you studied secular history, you would read about the Assyrians and Babylonians as the warring empires of the day. You'd marvel at how clever they were—the Assyrians first developed steel chariots, and the Babylonians built upon that. But when you read the Scriptures and gain spiritual insight from God, you begin to understand what's happening behind the spiritual scene. God was raising up these people and their kings to bring judgment upon His own people.

Why? Because God had a plan for Israel: through Abraham would come the Messiah, the King who would bring redemption to sinful people throughout the entire world. But as you follow Israel's history, they got out of order—as we all do, falling short of God's glory. They were caught up in idolatry, adultery, covetousness, and injustice toward those they led. God said, in effect, "We're going to have to deal with that." So He used Assyria to bring judgment, and when their idolatry only grew worse, He brought the Babylonians.

A Spiritual Battle Then and Now

We see something happening on this side of the spiritual curtain, but behind it God is moving and working. When I see that in the Old Testament, it makes me realize that even in our day the things happening physically throughout the world—nations rising against nations—are indications of a spiritual battle going on.

In last week's passage we also saw a far prophetic promise: one day the Lord will come and reign upon the earth bodily, and there will be no war, but prosperity, righteousness, and joy (Micah 4:1–3). It's pictured again in chapter 5. I don't know anyone who hears that promise and doesn't say, "That sounds good." Even people who call themselves atheists would admit peace, prosperity, safety, and joy look good. That future promise was given to bring hope to a people about to be judged. God says, "I'm going to bring a punishment because of your sin, but you will not be completely obliterated, because I have a future promise to bring."

The Coming One from Bethlehem

In chapter 5 we come to this great promise of the coming One—the Redeemer, the Messiah, the Christ. We're introduced to His first coming in 5:2: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah... 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."

Notice He is the everlasting One. He wasn't created; He didn't just appear at one point in time. He is eternal—yet now He comes to the earth, through the little town of Bethlehem. And remember, this was written about 700 years before Jesus came.

There are hundreds of prophecies in the Bible, and most are filled with poetic metaphor that's hard to interpret. Get three pastors together on a prophetic passage and you'll get five different opinions. But this passage we know with absolute certainty, because in the Gospel of Matthew we are told it speaks of Jesus, born in Bethlehem.

You remember the story: wise men from the east followed His star to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is He who was born King of the Jews?" King Herod didn't know, so he asked the religious leaders where the Messiah would be born. They answered, "In Bethlehem"—because Micah 5:2 says so. God Himself has revealed in Matthew 2 that this passage speaks of the coming of the Messiah.

Why God Abandons His People

In 5:1 we're told judgment will come upon Israel and upon their ruler in that day, King Hezekiah. But a future Ruler, the everlasting One, will come through Bethlehem. And in 5:3 God says He will abandon His people—which seems harsh. Why would God release a people He called His special treasure into exile?

The answer is that He is doing this to prepare the way of the Messiah and to make the people ready for His coming. It doesn't make sense to us because God's thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways. He works differently than we work, in unexpected ways. Many of us have recognized that in our own lives.

Verse 3 gives the purpose: "a remnant shall return." A remnant is a small portion. If you reach into a big bucket of apples and pull out three, you have a remnant. God is purifying a people for Himself, through whom the Messiah will come—a people who had been filled with idolatry, covetousness, adultery, and sin. He says, "I need to purify you."

His Reign of Strength and Glory

When that remnant returns, the Messiah comes and shepherds the people, overseeing and caring for them. Verse 4 says His reign will be a time of His majesty, of ruling in strength, of the people living securely, and of His glory extending to the whole earth.

Now, 2,000 years ago Jesus came to earth, God incarnate, through the little town of Bethlehem. But did He come with strength and majesty and power and glory? Did His greatness fill the whole earth? No. He did come to Bethlehem—but the rest hasn't happened yet. So either He won't fulfill this promise, or He already fulfilled it in some way we don't understand, or it remains future. I suggest to you it hasn't happened yet. There is coming a day when Jesus will come again and reign with majesty and strength, and His glory will fill the earth.

The Messiah Who Is Peace

When He does, this passage tells us He will bring peace. Micah 5:5 says, "And this One shall be peace." Notice it doesn't say He shall bring peace, though that is a byproduct of His coming. The Messiah shall be peace—the very embodiment of it, because Isaiah 9:6 calls Him the Prince of Peace. Jesus is, in His very nature, peace.

The apostle Paul keys in on this in Ephesians 2:14, revealing that Jesus "is our peace." So Jesus is the Prince of Peace, bringing peace into the lives He enters, and one day He will bring peace to the whole world.

Judgment, Scattering, and the Purpose Behind It

That is the promise Micah reveals. Israel's leadership and rulers will be judged, but a great Ruler is coming—the Messiah, the Prince of Peace—who will one day reign on the earth and bring global peace. That good news was not for Micah's day, but for the latter day.

In 5:5–6, Judah's enemies will one day be judged. Before that, however, the people would go through great difficulty and be scattered among the nations. Verses 7–9 tell us Israel would be scattered to other nations for a time because of their sin and as punishment—a punishment for the purpose of purification. If you want to read more about this exile, read Daniel, Jeremiah, and the related Old Testament passages.

Verse 8 says the remnant of Jacob shall be among these nations, and verse 9 says God will lift them up one day to stand upon and judge their foes. So they pass through tribulation, but not forever, and not without purpose. God is preparing them for the coming of the Messiah, the Prince of Peace. There is joy mixed with the bitterness of this judgment.

Peace, Security, and Purity

Chapter 5 ends pointing back to that great day when the Lord brings about His kingdom of righteousness. When He comes and reigns, verse 10 says He will remove all the instruments of war—their horses and chariots—which means peace. He will remove the walls and defenses around their cities, which means security. And He will remove all their idols, which means purity.

So Micah finishes looking forward to the day when the Messiah comes in fullness: He gets rid of warfare and there is peace; He gets rid of walls and defenses and there is security; He gets rid of idolatry and there is purity.

A lot is happening in this passage as Micah jumps between the judgment of his own day—through Assyria and Babylon—and the far future when the Messiah reigns in righteousness. But the connection between the two is this: the judgment 2,800 years ago made Israel ready to bring forth the Messiah who will bring the righteous reign still to come. That is how these things go together.

Closing Prayer

Father, I pray that You would give us wisdom as we talk tonight, as we discuss the application questions. Help us to take these things to heart—the things we can learn from this passage—and make us more like You, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.