Today’s passage in Micah is 5:1-6. Last time we met the discussion was about The daughter of Jerusalem being rescued.
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.
Looking at Scripture
We know that rescue is coming to Jerusalem, but in the meantime, the call is out. Gather in your armies, trouble is coming!
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.
But it’s different for Bethlehem. The smallest of all. Considered too little to be one of Israel’s clans. A people too little to matter much of anything.
2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
Something important is going to happen with this insignificant place.
A ruler is going to come out. This ruler is going to be the ruler of Israel. This ruler is one talked about long ago, days from so long ago it’s ancient. He IS coming forth from Bethlehem.
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 line “therefore he shall give them up until the time” I think is talking about God and how, for a while, he is giving Bethlehem up. This small, insignificant place. He is giving them up til the time this ruler shall come forth.
3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labor has given birth;
When that time comes, all of Israel shall be one family again.
then the rest of his brothers shall return
to the people of Israel.
This ruler will be a shepherd to Israel. Not only that, he will shepherd his people in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the Lord HIS God. That is the kind of shepherd that shall rise out of Bethlehem.
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.
He will be the type of shepherd that makes his flock feel secure. In fact their shepherd is great to the ends of the earth. One who makes you that secure, is one who can be in charge. A leader, protector, a shepherd.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth.
5 And he shall be their peace.
BUT all is not at peace for the Assyrians are going to come. I will freely admit I don’t understand everything about this passage beyond the fact that Israel shall defend herself. She will be raising up shepherds and princes of men. They will shepherd Israel. In the end, the shepherd, who is coming, will deliver Israel from the Assyrians.
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.
Pondering
Can you imagine it? Looking back at verse 4-5. That feeling of security? That ability to rest secure. Sheep like feeling secure. We know from scripture that people are like sheep. We like to being in groups, we like that whole feeling of security. Now imagine being so secure that you have peace. Oh the contentment that would bring.
Hanging on to that thought, helps make everything alright.
Challenges faced in life are not a worry when you have peace and security. To know that in the end, it will be okay. It’s huge!
I also have to look at how a place deemed insignificant really wasn’t. Out of a small, unimportant place, the one who would save his people would be born. Would rise up out of it. A shepherd who would save his people.
It’s amazing if you stop and think about it.
I really like the passage you highlighted, the hope that will come by having the shepherd there. Such great application to our lives today.
yes, a ready shepherd is a huge hope to us.