But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of
you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old, from ancient times (Micah
5:2).
Everyone who has ever received a
Christmas card is familiar with Micah 5:2.
But here's something you might not know about it.
Beyond the common understanding
that it's a prophecy of the Messiah's birth place, the
way Micah described Him is unique, to say the least, and
contradicts the Jewish thought prevalent at the time of
His birth that he would be an ordinary man.
The English phrase “whose origins are from of
old, from ancient times” is remarkable in itself but
only tells part of the story.
A literal translation from the Hebrew shows that
the
promised ruler of Israel existed before time began, and
would continue to exist forever. He wouldn't just be a
human descendant of King David with a human life span,
but would be a man like no other.
A man from eternity.
Later John would say the
following about Jesus. Calling Him “The Word” He wrote,
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John
1:1).
So we wouldn't misunderstand who
“The Word” is, John followed up with,
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We
have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who
came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John
1:14).
And Jesus Himself made the point
that if the Messiah was just a son (descendant) of
David's why did David, speaking through the Holy Spirit,
call Him Lord? For David said,
The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit
at my right hand until I put your enemies under under
your feet” (Matt. 22:43-44)
In our English translation the
meaning isn't clear, and even if you look up the Greek
text of Matt. 22:43-44 you can miss it.
But in the Hebrew text of Psalm 110, from
which Jesus was quoting, the difference was obvious to
them and it's obvious to us.
The Lord (YHWH) said to
my Lord (adon), “Sit at my right hand until I put
your enemies under under your feet”(Psalm 110:1).
Notice two different Hebrew words
are both translated Lord.
The first one, called the tetragrammaton (four
letters) is the closest the scribes could legally come
to writing the name of God. These four letters later
came to be pronounced first as Jehovah and then as
Yahweh and are used only of God the Father.
The second word, adon, means lord or master and
can refer to men as well as God.
The Lord's point was that if the
Messiah was only a son of David, why would David call
Him Lord? In the human context a father is superior to a
son and would not call him Lord.
The answer no one dared give (Matt. 22:46)
was that the Messiah was not just the son of David, but
was also the Son of God.
King Of The Jews
By the way, here's another
interesting point. After the Lord's birth, the Magi came
to Jerusalem and inquired of King Herod as to the
child's whereabouts.
When he asked some of the chief priests where the
Messiah was supposed to be born, they told him it was
Bethlehem, based on their knowledge of Micah 5:2.
Herod tried to trick the Magi
into revealing the Lord's exact location so he could
have the boy killed.
The Magi were well known figures in their day,
and were thought of as kingmakers. Herod immediately saw
their arrival as a potential threat to his position.
Herod wasn't even Jewish, but had
been appointed to the throne because of his connections
in Rome, and now these kingmakers were inquiring about
the one who was born king of the Jews.
Someone like that could legally challenge his
right to rule.
In his mind, he resolved to eliminate this
potential rival as soon as possible.
But God thwarted his plans by
sending the Magi home a different way and warning Joseph
to escape to Egypt with Mary and Jesus until it was safe
to return.
Furious at being outplayed, Herod gave orders to kill
all the boys in Bethlehem who were two years old and
under (Matt. 2:1-18).
But in my opinion the strangest
part of the story is that there's no record of the chief
priests making any inquiry of their own. The Jews had
been looking for their Messiah King for 500 years, and
yet the testimony of these famous kingmakers that He had
come apparently didn't excite enough curiosity to cause
an investigation. It's an example of the kind of things
we can miss when we ignore the clear prophecies of the
Bible.
Back To Micah
Now let's look at the verses
immediately following Micah 5:2 for some
additional discovery.
Therefore Israel will be
abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives
birth
and the rest of his brothers return to join the
Israelites. He will stand and shepherd his flock in the
strength of the
Lord, in the majesty of the name of the
Lord his
God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be
their peace. (Micah 5:3-5)
Even though the opening word of
Micah 5:3 (therefore) identifies these three
verses as part of the same thought, most people have
never read them.
Taken together they reveal incredible secrets
from beyond the veil of time.
Micah was a contemporary of
Isaiah and Hosea and served as a prophet between 750 and
686 BC. In addition to prophesying the fall of both
Samaria (the Northern Kingdom) and Jerusalem (the
Southern Kingdom) in chapter 1, Micah was allowed to
foretell the birth of the Messiah in chapter 5.
A straightforward reading of
Micah 5:2-5 would indicate that because of His
promise to send a ruler to Israel, God would leave the
Jewish people alone for a period of time ending when she
who was in labor gave birth to Him.
His birth would bring the divided kingdom back
together and they would live securely. His greatness
would spread through out the world, and He would be
their peace.
But this is another case of the
fulfillment being open ended based on Israel's response
to the Messiah's coming.
They did experience a 400 year long time of
silence between the Old and New Testaments. She who was
in labor did give birth to the ruler God had promised
and His greatness has spread through out the world.
But since those to whom He was
sent rejected Him, the kingdom was not reunited, He did
not become Israel's shepherd, they have not lived
securely, and peace has eluded the world. Instead Israel
was well and truly abandoned, disappearing from among
the nations of Earth for 19 centuries, and the prophecy
remains unfulfilled. In addition, the promises of this
and other prophecies would hence forth be hidden from
their eyes (Luke 19:41-42).
Return To Me, And I Will Return To You
Ezekiel 38-39 tells of a
battle scholars agree has not happened yet.
According to Ezekiel 39:22 God will use it
to open Israel's eyes and from that day on they'll know
He is the Lord.
This will bring them back into their Old Covenant
relationship with Him. But once more they'll be fooled.
Thinking He's their Messiah many will follow the
anti-Christ and there will be terrible times for Israel
and the world. Jesus called this time the Great
Tribulation, unequaled from the beginning of the world
and never to be equaled again (Matt. 24:21).
But according to Lamentations
3:22-23
the Lord's mercies are new every morning, and He
promised Israel that when they seek Him with all their
heart they'll find Him (Jeremiah 29:13).
Toward the end of the Great Tribulation the time
will come when they will seek Him, and as He promised
they'll find Him.
“And I will pour out on the
house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit
of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one
they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one
mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as
one grieves for a firstborn son” (Zechariah 12:10)
The Spirit God, promised in
Ezekiel 39:29, will be poured out on the people,
their eyes will be opened and their hearts will be
softened, and they'll finally recognize the One who has
been their Messiah all along.
All Is Forgiven
On the day of the Lord's
crucifixion, Pilate tried and failed to convince the
crowds of His innocence.
Finally in frustration he symbolically washed his
hands indicating he was done trying. “I am innocent
of this man's blood,” he said.
“It is your responsibility.”
All the people answered, Let
His blood be on us and on our children” (Matt.
27:24-25).
And so it has been for nearly
2,000 years.
But on the day their eyes are opened they will
realize the enormity of their of their sin.
They will grieve bitterly and seek His
forgiveness. And what will the Lord's response to this
be?
Their blood guilt, which I
have not pardoned, I will pardon (Joel 3:21).
Finally the balance of Micah
5:2-5 will be fulfilled.
He will stand and shepherd his
flock in the strength of the
Lord, in
the majesty of the name of the
Lord his
God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be
their peace.
You can almost hear the footsteps of the
Messiah 12-01-12
