Micah 5 - O Little Town of Bethlehem

by Lance Ponder⁽⁹⁰⁾
http://fkiprofessor.xanga.com

Oracle of Bethlehem

The fifth chapter of Micah begins with one of the best known messianic references in the Old Testament. Micah specifies that the king he was talking about would be born in the small town of Bethlehem. This king would gather those chosen by God and provide them with ultimate security. The references to Assyria and the land of Nimrod (Babylon) appear to be general references to enemies. These were known enemies, but only symbolic of the true enemies of humanity – the evil of the human heart, Satan and demonic forces, and death itself.

Mic 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. In a standard Hebrew bible Mic 5:1 is numbered Mic 4:14 and the fifth chapter begins at Mic 5:2. This would logically mean this particular verse might be at least as well grouped with the previous oracle as with this one. In that context this verse it implies the wishful thinking that this great “iron horn” king would restore Israel to power through military conquest. The last line, however, shows such an idea to be a wrong interpretation. The first judge of Israel was Moses. Moses was appointed by the ultimate judge, the God of Israel. The judge here is God in the incarnation of Christ. Christ was struck, whipped, and stripped of all human dignity to take the punishment for our transgressions. Jesus also warned his disciples that because they loved God they would become the enemy of the world.

Mic 5:2 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. This verse is one of the most well known and often quoted messianic prophecies. It places the birth of the king in the town of Bethlehem. David came from this town (1 Sam 16). Nathan prophesied to David from a vision that one of his offspring would become a great king who would rule forever (2 Sam 7:12-17). Micah’s phrase “from ancient days” describes this messiah-king as a person who existed from long ago. By describing this person as yet to be born yet being from long ago makes perfect sense when you realize the man Jesus was also God incarnate.

Mic 5:3 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. “He” is Jesus. “Them” refers to the human house of Jacob. “She who is in labor” refers to Jerusalem. The “rest of his brothers” refers to all the believers, Jew and Gentile alike, though thousands of Jews were converted in the days and years following pentecost. The “people of Israel” refers to all those who would believe in the God of Jacob. Such are the spiritual offspring of Abraham. These believers would inherit the new covenant Jeremiah spoke of (Jer 32:37-41). Together you could reasonably rephrase this passage to say something like: “Therefore Jesus will give up those who are children of Jacob in the flesh only, but after his death and resurrection people will come to believe in him from all over the earth and become spiritually adopted children of Jacob’s God.”

Mic 5:4 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. The glorified Christ will be the head and husband of the Church. The peace and security of Christ is not political or even physical in the worldly sense. This peace is spiritual and it transcends the tribulation of the world. Within this world believers would bare the fruit of the Spirit. We are to do our best to provide for the poor and weak. The ultimate protection, peace and safety will be manifest when Christ resurrects and translates his elect, taking his place among his believers when the marriage of Church to Christ is consummated.

Mic 5:5-6 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; 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. Jesus himself will be the peace, not the circumstance. This is a spiritual statement. The next sentence, then, logically is also largely symbolic of spiritual events. The “Assyrians” here represent all enemies of the Kingdom of God. The number seven represents completeness and perfection. The number eight represents abundance. Taken in context it seems to say God will provide for all the needs of the Church including human pastors, evangelists, missionaries, and other leaders and servants. The phrase “they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword” was taken by many Jews to mean this king would defeat enemies with military power. The sword here refers to the Holy Spirit. Christians would evangelize even their mortal enemies, converting them and becoming brothers. When the enemies of Christ try to stop the Church, Christ will rescue his people and continue to rule in glory and power. This promise does not mean individual believers will all live to a ripe old age, rather that the spiritual unity of faith in Christ will not be stoppable.

Oracle of the Church

Looking beyond Pentecost, Micah could see a vague picture of the church age. Micah 5:7-9 speaks of a tremendous victory over the enemies of God.

Mic 5:7 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. From the verses immediately prior to this we know the language here is symbolic. We know the “remnant of Jacob” refers to believers in the God of Jacob, Jew or otherwise. As a result of the exiles yet to come the tribes of Israel were spread out through various other parts of the world even well beyond Assyria and Babylon. The descriptions given in this passage (5:7-9) don’t make much sense if applied only to the Jews of the dispersion. Micah says the remnant will be in the midst of many peoples. This would be a good description of the dispersion, but it would also be an excellent description of the rapid spread of Christianity and its presence among most of the peoples of the earth. References to dew and showers imply it is something that cannot be prevented. It will happen when it happens according to God’s choice of time.

Mic 5:8 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. The first part of this verse echoes 5:7, but it branches into a description of a powerful force. It is easy to understand, based on this verse, why Jews thought this chapter spoke of a messiah that would instigate a political reign of power and throw off oppressors. It is a description of power, but in context with the rise of Christianity it isn’t political power. Instead Jesus promised and delivered the Holy Spirit. The enemy wasn’t political. The enemy, as Paul describes in Eph 2:2, is the “prince of the power of the air” and the “spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.” The ultimate enemy is death itself (1 Cor 15:26). The ultimate remnant of Jacob is Jesus Christ, the lion of Judah who is among many peoples and from whom no one can be separated who loves him.

Mic 5:9 Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off. The first person singular “your” in this passage indicates Micah is speaking of an individual. Of course the Jews under Roman occupation felt this meant the messiah would crush the Romans and restore the sovereignty of Jerusalem. The literal fulfillment was when Jesus was raised up on the crucifix and as a result the power of Satan and death were halted. It was not what the people were expecting, but in that act Jesus became the acceptable blood sacrifice on behalf of sin, destroyed the authority of death, and became the first of the dead to rise to glory. In hindsight it seems considerably better for the sake of humanity that Christ established his perfect eternal government as the Kingdom of God rather than merely throwing off the yoke of Rome from the relatively small ethnic group of Jews who wanted to raise themselves up as sovereign in Jerusalem.

Oracle of Destruction

Micah spends the rest of the chapter explaining the purification process they are going to go through. Micah was writing to the Hebrew people and so it seems logical he is speaking of the purification of the Jews. This purification would come as a result of being exiled and returning with renewed conviction to obey the Lord. They would be stripped of military power (5:10), dependent on God for protection (5:11), cleansed of false prophets (5:12) and idols (5:13-14), and God will not spare other peoples among them who fail to comply (5:15). These prophecies accurately describe the conditions of post-exile Judah. They also describe the character of a Christian individual. We are to be broken of dependence on self, purified of idols and seeking wisdom outside of God’s will, and subject to the punishment of hell if we refuse the grace of God.

Mic 5:10-11 And in that day, declares the Lord, I will cut off your horses from among you and will destroy your chariots; and I will cut off the cities of your land and throw down all your strongholds; “In that day” refers to a certain point in the future, at least from Micah’s perspective. It is reasonable to think 5:10-15 flow directly from the previous passage which spoke of the church age. If so then the “day” Micah saw seems to be the church age. This would mean the stripping of military power would describe the church as an apolitical organization without military power to support it. If this passage actually refers to condition of Israel in preparation for the coming messiah, it is also accurate. From the first return of Jews in 515 BC up to the time of Christ, even though attempts were made to break free and establish themselves as a political and military power, the Jews were never successful in their attempts. Persia provided oversight of Jerusalem until Alexander conquered the region. During the Persian period Jerusalem was relatively autonomous, but they did not have any real military and their political power was effectively limited to the religious authority defined by the Torah. The Greeks changed the political and cultural landscape more than any previous conquering people although their rule was relatively brief. Eventually the Romans replaced the fragmented remnants of the old Greek powers as the occupiers of the land. Numerous revolts were instigated and other outside powers occasionally attempted to gain control, but none were successful. The Maccabean revolt was brief and in the grand scheme ineffectual in securing political freedom. Other attempts were made and all resulted in a bloody nose to the Jews. The greatest revolt was put down by Caesar in 70 AD when the second temple was utterly destroyed. Another Jewish revolt early in the second century was quickly put down by Rome and no serious attempt at national autonomy was ever attempted again until after WWII. The point being, before Christ Jerusalem was prevented from having military strength and afterward the Jews were essentially wiped out as a political entity.

Mic 5:12-14 and I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes; 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; and I will root out your Asherah images from among you and destroy your cities. The Jews received the Ten Commandments and held them to be the central tenets of their law. Seeking spiritual power outside of God, whether through sorcery or idolatry, violates the first three Commandments. As the beliefs of other nations around Israel penetrated the Jewish culture, they came to accept these evils as part of everyday life. Consider the popularity of occult and new age practices today in America compared with the Puritans of the 17^th century or the relatively moral flavor of 19^th century America following the great awakening. Christianity is retreating in America today. America’s erosion of values and faith today bares striking similarity to the erosion of values and religious purity of the Jews in Micah’s era. God promised to force the purification of Jewish society in the coming restoration. Ezra and Nehemiah, along with the last few Old Testament prophets, placed great emphasis in restoring religious purity to the society of the returning exiles. While this was a minor fulfillment of Micah’s prophecy, the greater fulfillment came when the Holy Spirit filled new Christians. Except for icons such as the cross or fish used to identify themselves as Christians, symbols and images were absent from early Christian churches and homes. Mysticism such as fortune telling or other “sorcery” was forbidden. Although modern churches contain crosses, crucifixes or other images of Christ and the saints, both protestant and Catholic, these items serve as reminders of our faith. They are not the objects of faith nor are the objects themselves worshipped. In general gambling, fortune telling, and other mysticism is still forbidden in Christian churches. The ultimate fulfillment is the absolute purity of our glorified resurrected (or changed) bodies living in the place John called New Jerusalem.

Mic 5:15 And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey. YHWH is a jealous God and He makes no pretence to the contrary. He even said so with His own finger when He wrote the second Commandment (Ex 20:5). When you trust in humanism, spiritism, yourself or your created items instead of God you provoke God’s wrath. Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome were all pagan societies. All were eventually conquered. Rome was unique in that by the 6^th century it became Christianized. The former kingdom collapse as such. Rome itself, however, became and remains to this day an important place for Christianity as a religion. The verb tenses used in this particular verse indicate the Lord will do something based on what some nations have not done. “Nations” is a term which refers to people groups based on culture rather than political or racial boundaries. While such a term can be interpreted loosely, the important point is that God’s wrath will be visited upon those who refuse to seek God and His righteousness.

Majoring in the Minors

Micah Chapters:

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7

Article submitted Monday, July 05, 2010 & read 279 times.

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