Micah 5

Victory through the Messiah (vs. 1-9)—The enemies of God and His people are relentless, and often win some battles—“they will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek” (v. 1); smiting on the cheek was a great insult to an Oriental. Some have seen in this verse a prophecy of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian attack on Jerusalem, but if so, it would only be a type of the spiritual attack against the church. And the verse may actually be better places at the end of chapter 4.  Regardless, the King will come from Bethlehem (v. 2). This is certainly one of the most amazing prophecies in the Old Testament. Micah predicts the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. His “goings forth are from of old, from everlasting,” in other words, He is eternal in nature, not a created being as some false religions teach today. Micah is writing about 700 years prior to the birth of Christ, one of the greatest proofs of Biblical inspiration to be found. Verse 3 is obscure; who will He “give up,” and who is “she who is in labor has given birth”? There is no consensus of opinion, and I’m not going to speculate. There is a “remnant,” however, and that always refers to God’s people. Perhaps the reference is to the Jews who had drifted so far away from God’s law, but some of them, “the remnant,” returned to the spiritual “children of Israel”—the church—under the Messiah. That’s only a guess, however.

Regardless, He will “feed His flock in the strength of the Lord,” and He “shall be great to the ends of the earth” (v. 4). And He shall be our peace and protection (v. 5). Verse 5 is lovely. “When the Assyrian comes into our land” refers to any spiritual enemy that we face. Because of Christ, we will have “seven shepherds”—the perfect number—“and eight princely men”—yea, more than enough—to meet the crisis. The Lord protects His people, completely and thoroughly. Not only will He protect us, but He will give us victory (v. 6). God’s people will be a blessing to the world—“like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass” (v. 7), in other words, the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matt. 5:13-14). Yet God’s people are not weak by any means. They “shall be among the Gentiles…like a lion among the beasts of the forest” who “both treads down and tears in pieces” (v. 8). We are “more than conquerors” in Christ (Romans 8:37), defeating all who stand in our way (v. 9). “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). The Lord Jesus gives us overwhelming strength and a decisive victory. None can stand in His way, and when His people follow Him, they have comfort and protection in Him. A marvelously beautiful prophecy.

Our sufficiency is of God (vs. 10-14)—He will “will cut off your horses from your midst and destroy your chariots. I will cut off the cities of your land and throw down all your strongholds” (vs. 10-11). “Sorceries” and “soothsayers,” as well as “carved images,” sacred pillars” and “wooden images” were also “cut off” or “pluck[ed]…from your midst” (vs. 12-14). All the vain things that we have depended upon in our lives are no longer necessary, if we keep our faith in God. But those who reject him will come face to face with His “vengeance in anger and fury” (v. 15). To sum up, this whole chapter speaks of what we have in the “Ruler” Who was born in Bethlehem (v. 2). Reconciliation to God (v. 3), sustenance (v. 4), peace, protection, and victory from and over our fiercest enemies (vs. 5-7), a refreshing influence in the world (v. 8), and strength and victory in the world (vs. 8-9). All of this if we turn from the futility of the world and trust Him (vs. 10-14). Otherwise, we will face the wrath of a vengeful God (v. 15). The blessings we have are found in His church, the very first thing Micah introduced in this exquisite passage on the Messianic age in chapters 4 and 5.