The King’s Humble Roots - Micah 5:2-5a
Whenever you read the prophets, you realize what a difficult job they had. So often, their primary job was to preach bad news to people that didn’t want to hear it. Who wants that job?
During Micah’s ministry Israel was divided between the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. And this was the message that God gave to Micah to preach: the Assyrians are going to destroy you.
In fact, the Assryians had already sacked the northern kingdom of Israel and were gearing up for an attack on the southern kingdom of Judah.
And when Micah looked around, things were not good. Not only was there a widening socioeconomic gap, but the wealthy were oppressing and exploiting the poor. And of course, Micah understood the Assyrians to be the instrument of God’s judgment on his people.
They had broken their covenant with God, his judgment was falling upon them.
But obviously what makes this passage of particular interest to us this Christmas Eve because even in the midst of terrible, discouraging, depressing news, Micah relays some wonderful news: take comfort in the Messiah.
As we sit here this morning enjoying the palatial creature comforts of the American Legion, on this side of the cross, we of course know that this passage finds its ultimate fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
However, understanding how we get from Micah 5 to Jesus Christ isn’t quite as clear.
I know many sadistic people love doing jigsaw puzzles in their free time and apparently, they’ll even pay money to torture themselves with these things.
In many ways, Old Testament prophecy can feel like a puzzle, you have all these pieces but you don’t know how they all fit together.
Last week, we looked at an Old Testament prophecy from Hosea chapter 11 where the prophet said, “out of Egypt I called my son” which is quoted in Matthew chapter 2 verse 15. Interestingly enough, Matthew chapter 2 also helps us understand Micah chapter 5.
Basically, I just took all the Old Testament quotations from Matthew chapter 2 and turned them into sermons. I’m kidding! It just sort of providentially worked out this way.
In Matthew 2, the wise men from the east visit King Herod and tell him that they are there to worship the king. Herod knew they were talking about the messianic king and he asked the chief priests and scribes where the king would be born, and they quote to him Micah chapter 5 in Matthew 2.
This is what we learn from Matthew chapter 2. I’ll be reading the first six verses:
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?
For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: [Here in verse 6 — they quote Micah 5] "'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’"
In other words, Micah 5 answers Herod’s question, the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
A Shocking Selection (vv. 2-3)
To be clear the chief priests and scribes paraphrased Micah 5:2-5. Notice again what Micah says in verse 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.”
You probably noticed that Micah says, “Bethlehem Ephrathah,” but the chief priests and scribes just say “Bethlehem in Judea.” Again, they’re paraphrasing, because “Bethlehem Ephrathah” is the town’s more technical formal name. And of course, Micah utilized says, “Bethlehem Ephrathah” to remove all doubt and ambiguity. This great ruler, the Messiah will definitely be born in that tiny town south of Jerusalem.
But not only is Bethlehem a tiny town south of Jerusalem, he also tells us one of its primary characteristics: it’s a weak town. Bethlehem was so weak that we’re told it’s “too little to be among the clans of Judah,” which is another way of saying Bethlehem was weak militaristically.
It wasn’t well fortified and didn’t have a reserve army that could be called upon at a moment’s notice, which is of course, why it doesn’t deserve to be counted among the clans of Judah. Judah was the powerful kingly tribe of Israel, and Bethlehem doesn’t really fit that mold.
And yet in God’s holy providence, this little weak town is where the Messiah will be born. Notice the powerful description of Christ the Messiah at the end of verse 2.
“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.”
Remember, the Lord is speaking through the prophet Micah, and the Lord says that the Messiah will come from the people of Israel, for Him.
In other words, the Messiah will come - not to accomplish the will of the people of Israel - but to accomplish the will of God.
If you were among the people in Judah wouldn’t you want Micah to say, “don’t worry y’all the Messiah is going to come next week and save you from the Assyrians!”
But he doesn’t say that, does he? Micah tells the people that the Messiah will accomplish the will of the Lord.
Isn’t that a helpful reminder? Because so often there’s an unspoken expectation for Jesus to do exactly what we want him to do! We’re supposed to have the ideal family, land all the promotions, and of course always avoid hardship.
But of course that mentality is built upon a faulty premise, that Jesus is supposed to serve us.
He came to accomplish the will of the one whom he has ruled and reigned with from the very beginning.
““from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler over Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”
Verse 2, says “in Israel” but a better translation is “over Israel.”
Christ rules over Israel, because he rules over the whole world! And he has ruled and existed from eternity past. That’s what is meant when Micah says that his coming will be “from ancient days,” which could also be translated as “from days of eternity.”
The Messiah’s mission was hatched in eternity past because he existed in eternity past. The Christ won’t be an ordinary man because he’s always existed ruling and reigning from heaven with the Lord.
Hopefully you can see the contrast that Micah is building: the most important person in all of human history will be born in the weak, lame, podunk town of Bethlehem. Micah is differentiating Jesus from Bethlehem. He’s contrasting the insignificance of Bethlehem with the significance of the Messiah that will be born there.
You know, growing up around here and going to Glenvar High School, we could have the worst season, frankly, in any sport, but there was always one guaranteed win: Craig County High School. Most of y’all know where Craig County is, you just stay on 311. And we’d always beat Craig County in everything because it’s such a tiny rural county.
There are a lot of wonderful people that live out there, but in high school we stereotyped them as backwoods country folks. I’m sure that’s an unfair stereotype, but I’m just telling you all the way immature high schoolers saw things.
Now just imagine for a second, that I told you the greatest United States President to set foot in the White House would be from Craig County, I think all of us would be a little surprised. Craig County isn’t known for producing people like that.
You all would probably ask me, “are you sure he’s not supposed to be from Richmond or Alexandria or some place that’s more important?”
As I was thinking about this, I was curious as to who the most prominent person from Craig County was and I learned that the very first student to enroll at the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College which is a little school we now call Virginia Tech, was a young man named Addison Caldwell, who was from Craig County. In fact, he walked from Craig County to Blacksburg in order to enroll.
He’s probably the most prominent name to come from Craig County. You hear that and think, yeah, that’s probably as good as it’ll get for the folks in Craig County.
Interestingly enough, there was another prominent figure that was born in Bethlehem, King David. And frankly, that’s what Bethlehem was known for - it was known as the obscure town where David was born. The commentator Dale Ralph Davis said, that Bethlehem was probably known as “David’sburg.”
You wouldn’t expect one great ruler to be from Bethlehem let alone TWO! You wouldn’t expect the greatest king in the history of Israel to be from Bethlehem, but you really wouldn’t expect the Messiah, the Christ to be from that same little town too.
Wouldn’t you expect the most important ruler in the history of Israel to come from the most important Jewish city, Jerusalem? Jerusalem was a strong, fortified city where the temple was located. Jerusalem was the epicenter of Israel.
But again, God doesn’t do things the way that makes the most sense to us. God does it the way He sees fit. Jesus didn’t come to earth to accomplish our will, he came to accomplish God’s will.
None of that was an accident. This was God’s plan from the very beginning. Isn’t that precisely how God operates? He used the terrible speaker Moses, the Moabite Ruth, the Christian killer Paul, and a lame place like Bethlehem.
But in many ways, isn’t that the point? Over and over and over again God uses the weak, lowly and humble to shame the arrogant, proud, and self-righteous.
The Apostle Paul makes this exact point in 1 Corinthians 1:
“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”
From the little, humble town of Bethlehem would come the Savior of the World! Amen!
Sometimes it’s easy to think that the people of God are always the weak, lowly, and humble, while the world is full of pride and self-righteousness. But the reality is God’s judgment cuts every which way! The people of God certainly weren’t immune to his judgment! Afterall, they broke the covenant that the Lord had made with them.
That’s the context of Micah isn’t it? Micah is telling the people of Judah that the Assryians are God’s judgment upon them.
A common criticism of the church is that it’s full of self-righteous, arrogant people. It’s so easy to believe that because we’re Christians and we go to church, therefore, God’s hand of blessing will always be upon us no matter what and his judgment is reserved for the world. But that’s just not Biblical.
It’s pretty much common knowledge at this point that people are walking away from the church and the faith in droves. I think it was Lifeway Research which is the research arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, that recently announced church closures are outpacing new churches. This certainly isn’t ‘thus saith the Lord’ or anything like that, but I have certainly wondered if the universal church is under God’s judgment. Is the Lord judging his church? Again, I don’t have any special knowledge, but it certainly doesn’t seem to be out of the realm of possibility.
After all, the Lord isn’t satisfied with perpetual cultural accommodation and outward religious motions, he wants your heart and affections.
But even in the midst of grief over God’s judgment, there was and there still is hope. Look at verse 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.”
There’s a lot going on in verse 3 and I don’t want to bore you with all the discussions, but the overall picture in verse 3 is Micah telling Judah to expect the judgment to come upon them, but to look with great anticipation to a glorious future birth of the Messiah.
Micah is alluding to the fact that the people of Israel will remain in subjection to other nations until the Messiah arrives. But when he does arrive, it will be glorious and the Messiah will be Immanuel, God with us, and he will gather his people to himself.
That little word ‘return’ in verse 3 is important because it can mean to ‘turn back,’ ‘repent,’ or as John Calvin translated it ‘convert.’ “...then the rest of his brothers shall convert.”
In other words, many will trust in the Savior for salvation.
This Messiah who is going to rise up from among Israel, and people are going to turn their lives over completely to him. Isn’t that precisely what happened at Pentecost? Peter preached to the Jewish people and then 3,000 people were saved that day.
The Power and Peace Christ (vv. 4-5a)
When you read about people submitting themselves to Messiah, and then the powerful terms in which Micah describes the Messiah you get a very strong image of the Christ.
Look at verses 4-5.
“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. And he shall be their peace.”
The imagery there is one of strength isn’t it? He’s not going to move, he’s going to stand, and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. In other words, the Lord will be with him.
And by the power of the Lord he’ll shepherd the flock and because Jesus will be so strong, all those in his care will be completely safe. They’ll dwell secure and he will be their peace.
Herod’s Reaction
You read that part of Micah’s prophecy and suddenly Herod’s extreme reaction makes a lot more sense doesn’t it?
No doubt the description would have put fear into the heart of Herod, because he was an illegitimate king. He didn’t come from the lineage of David. He was an Edomite. But he certainly wasn’t going to just abdicate his throne and turn over his power to someone else. He was going to do whatever it would take to maintain power, even if it meant slaughtering all the baby boys in Bethlehem.
He doesn’t want a ruler who resembles King David in any way, shape, or form, to come forth!
But Micah clearly prophesied that the Messiah would be a shepherd-king like David from Bethlehem.
The shepherd/sheep imagery runs throughout Scripture, but the two most obvious places are in Psalm 23 and John 10.
Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.” Or remember what Jesus says in John 10, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
It reminds me of the first line from the hymn “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed.” The first line is “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed, great David’s greater Son.”
The Messiah would be like David, but infinitely greater!
He Shall Be Their Peace
In fact, he’ll be so great, “he will be their peace.”
Isn’t that an incredible statement given the context of Micah’s prophecy? How can Micah say that God’s people will have peace in a future Messiah as the Assyrian war drums grow louder?
It almost seems disingenuous doesn’t it? It’s as if Micah is patting the people of Judah on the heads and saying, “the Assryians are going to destroy you, but it’ll be fine!”
In other words, he’s telling the people of Judah that they can experience peace even in the midst of disaster.
A number of years ago, I read Chip Gaines memoir or biography, not sure which category that that book would fall under called Capital Gaines, I found the book a little underwhelming but he did tell one pretty funny story.
He said when he was young and just starting his business he gauged his success (or lack of success) on the thickness of his wallet. When his wallet was thick, life was good. When his wallet was thin, he was going to be eating cereal for the next few nights.
I don’t know exactly where he stood with the Lord at that time in his life, but no doubt, his comfort was in his immediate circumstances.
We’re certainly affected by our immediate circumstances in life, but it shouldn’t be the place where we find ultimate peace.
And that’s the sermon the Lord called Micah to preach and it’s a sermon that we could all benefit from hearing as well: for the Christian, your hope, your peace, your comfort, doesn’t come from your immediate circumstances, it comes from the Lord Jesus Christ.
And he didn’t come to give us political peace, he came to give us something much better - peace with God through his sacrificial death on the cross. His death is our peace.
It’s what the Apostle Paul tells us in Colossians 1:” For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”
Or how about what Jesus said on the night of his crucifixion? “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
In just a moment we’re going to sing the popular Christmas carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
The author Phillip Brooks captured this point beautifully in the second stanza when he wrote, “O morning stars together proclaim the holy birth! And praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth.”
Isn’t that the whole reason Jesus came to earth to begin with? He came to give us peace with God, by paying the penalty of your sin and my sin on the cross.
Christmas is coming at a good time this year, because it really feels like the world is coming unglued doesn’t it? Up is down and down is up.
There are so many anxiety-inducing things going on in our country, many of you face pressures at work, stress over finances, and not to mention worry over personal relationships with family and friends.
All of those things can create anxiety in our lives, and yet, Micah reminds us that we can have peace through Christ if you truly trust him - if you truly rest in him.
May we all abandon worldly hope, self-reliance and empty religion, and look where Micah points us - a humble shepherd-king born in Bethlehem who came to make peace for us all by the blood of his cross.
My prayer is that even when you face uncertainty, anxiety, and fear, you would find peace and security in Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas. Let’s pray together.
