THE KING OUT OF BETHLEHEM – Micah 5:2-5a
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on December 15, 2019 under 2019 |
Bethany Bible Church Sunday Message; December 15, 2019 from Micah 5:2-5a
Theme: The promise given to us in Micah tells us the glories of the King born out of Bethlehem.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
Click HERE for the audio version of this sermon.
In Matthew 2, We’re told,
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 have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him” (Matthew 2:1-2).
We often think of the image of those ‘wise men’—the magi—traveling from far away, following that mysterious and wonderful star, and making their way to Jerusalem. We’re not told anything of the details of how they came to see this star, or of how they understood the significance of it. But they came to Jerusalem very specifically to see the Child who was indicated by it—He ‘who had been born King of the Jews’.
So they came to Herod—who was the king who reigned over the Jews at that time. We’re told, “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him” (v. 3). And we can well understand why all Jerusalem would be troubled when Herod was troubled! Herod was a paranoid, unpredictably emotional and murderous man; and when he became troubled, who could know what dreadful things he might do! A ‘newborn king’ would be seen as a threat to his power—particularly when foreign dignitaries came from afar to worship the child. And so, when we’re told; “And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born” (v. 4), we can be sure it wasn’t out of mere curiosity.
And it’s then—in this New Testament story—that we discover another important passage in the Scriptures about Christmas. The chief priests and scribes—experts in the Jewish scriptures—answered King Herod’s question in this manner:
So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel’” (vv. 5-6).
Now; this morning, I ask that we give special attention instead to that Old Testament passage that the chief priests and scribes quoted. They quoted it somewhat loosely; and what they said about it compressed a lot of information into just a few lines. But the whole passage is found in Micah 5:2-5. It is an Old Testament prophecy about our Lord—written over 700 years before our His birth:
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting.”Therefore He shall give them up,
Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth;
Then the remnant of His brethren
Shall return to the children of Israel.
And He shall stand and feed His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God;
And they shall abide,
For now He shall be great
To the ends of the earth;
And this One shall be peace (Micah 5:2-5a).
It’s revealed to us in the New Testament that this Old Testament prophecy is about Jesus Christ. It’s a passage that we should get to know well. It gives us a promise from God about the glories of the King whose birth we celebrate on Christmas Day.
* * * * * * * * * *
This glorious promise has been becoming more and more relevant to our world lately. People, it seems, keep hoping for the right leader to come along and solve all our problems for us, and to establish peace and justice for us, and to bring about the sort of situation in this world that we all long for. But none of these leaders seem to be able to accomplish such a thing.
There’s that line from that Christmas hymn that we often sing. It expresses our sense of frustration when it says,
And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”
That’s certainly how people are feeling nowadays, isn’t it? They have hoped for an earthly king—and earthly ruler—or a set of leaders—who are good, and righteous, and trustworthy, and who can bring about peace. But none of them have … or ever can. That longing after peace on earth is something real—something we truly need. But it’s a longing that seems continually frustrated.
But that song goes on to declare the promise of God for the fulfillment of our hopes:
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men.”
And dear brothers and sisters; this Old Testament passage in the Book of Micah is showing us that God is not dead nor does He sleep! It tells us that God has answered that longing in our hearts for a ruler who will truly bring about peace on earth! That Ruler has already been born into this world, and His work of ruling unto peace has already been started. The work of it is being accomplished in the hearts of one person at a time—as they place their faith in His sacrifice on the cross. And it will be brought to completion one day when He returns.
And then, peace will be brought about upon this earth.
* * * * * * * * * *
Now; look with me at this passage in Micah 5 in a little more detail; and let’s learn together what it tells us about the glories of this King who has been born for us out of Bethlehem.
The first thing we notice about this great King is that …
1. HE COMES FROM A HUMBLE SETTING.
The prophet Micah was led by God to write,
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah … (Micah 5:2a)
The name “Bethlehem” means “House of Bread”. And the name “Ephrathah” may have been an alternative name for the place—or it may have been the name of a small district within this small town; and it means “Fruitful Field”. Those are charming names; but they make it clear that there really wasn’t much impressive about this place. It was little more than a farm-town surrounded by fields for flocks to feed in. But small and seemingly insignificant as it was, it was important to the history of the Jewish people. Their most beloved king had come from Bethlehem—King David. He grew up in Bethlehem, and he used to watch the sheep in its fields.
And three hundred years after King David’s time—seven hundred years before David’s great descendant Jesus was born—the people of Israel were being told in Micah 5 that their greatest King would also be born from that same small, seemingly-insignificant town. Though it was little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel (v. 2b).
What a glorious truth this tells us about the King of kings! He didn’t come from one of the great places of this earth—a place from which we might have expected a mighty king to come. We don’t have, in Him, a rich Ruler holding dominion over the poor. Instead, He came from a humble setting—from a little, insignificant farm-town.
He’s the King for all people—great or small—rich or poor—you and me.
Then, notice that …
2. HIS COMING WAS PROMISED LONG BEFORE.
Micah goes on to tell us that this glorious King is one -
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting” (v. 2c).
This can be interpreted as supporting the fact that King Jesus is the eternal Son of God in human flesh—that He has no beginning; but existed before time itself. And this would be absolutely true. Jesus Himself once said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58).
But most likely, these words are meant to convey to us that our Lord’s ‘goings forth’ were foretold to us from ancient times—from times of antiquity—in the scriptures. We were first told of His coming in Genesis 3:15. In the Garden of Eden, God had told the serpent that there would be enmity between him and the woman, and between his seed and her Seed. “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel”. So the coming of Jesus was foretold to us in the story of the very beginning point of humanity.
And it was told even more specifically in a promise that God gave to King David. God had told David;
“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13).
Think of it, dear brothers and sisters: What ruler has ever been born into this world of whom it could be said that his goings forth were from “of old”?—“from everlasting”?—from of antiquity? But that’s what’s told to us about the King born out of Bethlehem.
He is the King whose coming is the fulfillment of the promise of God in the Scriptures!
Micah goes on to speak of how His coming would be in the context of hard times for Israel. We’re next told that …
3. HE WILL BE THE DELIVERER OF THE JEWISH NATION.
Micah goes on to write in verse 3;
Therefore He shall give them up,
Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth … (v. 3a).
This is speaking of times that the prophet Micah warned about elsewhere in his book. He spoke of the times of God’s judgment that would come upon the Jewish people for their disobedience and rebellion against Him. Those times eventually came in the form of the Babylonian captivity. The people of Israel were ‘given up’ by God into the hand to their enemies for 70 years. The kingdom glory of King David had been made to cease on earth for a time; and the riches of his reign were lost to his people for a season through the judgment of God.
But this would only be for a brief time. The Book of Micah is filled not only with the warnings of God’s coming judgment, but also with the promises of restoration and future glory. There would come a time when “she who is in labor has given birth …” This may be eluding to the time when God would restore His people from their captivity in Babylon. It speaks in Micah 4:10 of those days of restoration; and says, “Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion …”
But Micah’s words speak of much more than those days of restoration. They speak of the time when their promised King would be born of a virgin; and would reign over those who are left and remain of the Jewish people;
Then the remnant of His brethren
Shall return to the children of Israel (v. 3b).
This promised King—Jesus—would not only come into this world in keeping with the promise to David. He would also one day come again, and gather His scattered people to Himself, and reign over them in their land—in Jerusalem!
Look at what else we’re told about Him; that …
4. HE WILL SHEPHERD HIS PEOPLE.
We’re told in verse 4;
And He shall stand and feed His flock (v. 4a).
This King—born in Bethlehem—will truly be the Shepherd to His people that they need. He will provide for them, and care for them, and lead them as a good and righteous King should. Jesus said this about Himself;
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so, I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:11-16).
A Shepherd who truly “stands” and “feeds” those who are His own—sacrificially—lovingly. He even gives his life for the sheep. This is the kind of Ruler what the world needs.
This is what Jesus is to all who trust and follow Him. He is their good Shepherd.
And He will not do so in mere human power. He will lead His people by the authority and in the power of His Father. Micah goes on to tell us that …
5. HE WILL BE STRONG IN THE LORD HIS GOD.
Micah tells us in verse 4 that He will stand and feed His flock …
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God (v. 4b).
Other kings and rulers seek to rule over their people in the only power that they have—and that is in the power of fallen humanity. No other fallen ruler has been able to give us what we need—nor ever will! But Jesus comes to this earth to rule—not as a mere man—but as the God/Man; Son of God in human flesh. Jesus Himself speaks prophetically in Psalm 2 and says;
“I will declare the decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel’” (Psalm 2:7-9).
Jesus will reign as the only King who—at last—rules over this world perfectly; and in the full power and authority of God!
And what a rule it will be! It will be centered in Jerusalem; but it will be over all the world. Micah tells us next that …
6. HE WILL BE GREAT UNTO THE NATIONS.
Micah speaks of the Jewish people under their glorious King and says,
And they shall abide,
For now He shall be great
To the ends of the earth (v. 4c).
“To the ends of the earth” speaks of the furthest reaches from Jerusalem. Our Lord’s rule will be over every nation on the globe. He will be the one, true ‘world’ Ruler. God will give Him—as it says in Psalm 2—”the nations” for His inheritance, and “the ends of the earth” for His possession.
Notice, therefore, that He will—at long last—bring about what the world is longing for. Micah tells us that …
7. HE WILL BE PEACE TO THE WORLD.
In verse 5, Micah puts it simply:
And this One shall be peace (v. 5a).
* * * * * * * * * *
Now; when the world longs for a ruler who will bring about peace, it longs for someone that it truly needs. But without knowing it, the world is really longing for what God has provided for us in the Person of Jesus Christ—the King who has been born for us out of Bethlehem.
This, dear brothers and sisters, is what we celebrate at Christmas! This is what His birth means to the world. As it says in another great Christmas passage …
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this (Isaiah 9:6-7).
Praise God for the glories of this King who was born for us from out of Bethlehem!
Click HERE for the audio version of this sermon.
EA
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