Micah

Chapter 5:1-2 (ESV) - 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 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.

Question to consider: Who is the ruler who was from ancient days and from Bethlehem?

The first verse of today’s passage is actually part of chapter four in the Hebrew Bible and appears to apply to the siege that would happen by the Babylonians against Jerusalem a little over a century after Micah. The striking on the cheek was considered the height of insult, and at the time in which Jerusalem was laid waste by Nebuchadnezzar, king Zedekiah would experience this humiliation. In fact, Nebuchadnezzar was so angry that Zedekiah would betray their treaty by attempting to ally with Egypt, that Zedekiah was made to witness the execution of his sons before having his eyes plucked out so their deaths would be the last thing he saw.

I would argue that this fulfillment with Zedekiah was merely a type and shadow of Christ who would be struck by the rulers of Israel before the great and terrible day when He would be nailed to a cross and receive the full cup of God’s wrath on the sin of all the nations and for all time. I believe this because immediately after describing the siege, Micah went back to a prophetic promise of the ruler coming forth from ancient days to be from Bethlehem Ephrathah. It may seem cryptic that this ruler could be both from ancient days and from Bethlehem, but the apostle Matthew declared its fulfillment at the birth of Jesus in chapter 2 of his gospel account.

Another time in which many nations were assembled against Jerusalem was in AD 70 at the final destruction of the earthly temple by the Romans. Christ proclaimed that this judgment would come upon the generation of the disciples and said, “Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” (Matthew 24:2) 

In His woes against the scribes and Pharisees leading up to this statement, Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” (Matthew 23:329-36)

As I mentioned at the beginning of this study, most people miss the mercy of God in the reading of these prophetic judgments. Just as God demonstrated mercy during the time of Hezekiah who listened to the warnings from Micah and Isaiah, so the scribes and Pharisees could find mercy in Christ. His death on the cross paid for their sins as well if only they were willing to receive it. Those who refused to receive Christ’s payment for their sins ignored His warnings and received the judgment for all the righteous blood shed from Abel to Zechariah in AD 70.

This same choice is given to everyone, for we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and either be found innocent in Him or judged according to the Law.

Prayer

Dear heavenly Father, we confess that we have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed by what we have done and what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of Christ, we ask for Your mercy and grace to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Amen.