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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy
word.
“Marshal your troops now, city of troops, for a siege is
laid against us. They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod.”
“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.”
“Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when
she who is in labor bears a son, 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 our
peace.”
Micah 5:1-5a
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks
be to God.
The Israelite people needed hope and God had provided it
to them, promising that a remnant would be permitted to return after the
seventy years of exile in Babylon to rebuild the nation after the destruction
from His judgment. Through His promise, God continued to show His people (and
us as well) that He was a God of mercy and deliverance, a God of restoration
and revival.
Yes, there was hope for the Israelites in the immediate
future but what about beyond that? What did God have in store for His people
well after that?
The answers are found in these opening verses of Micah 5
as God introduces one who was coming to rescue and save His people, the Messiah
who would be their Shepherd and bring security and peace:
“Marshal your
troops now, city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike
Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod.”
“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.”
“Therefore Israel
will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, 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 our peace.”
Micah 5:1-5a
Of course, Micah wasn’t the only prophet who had foretold
the coming of the Messiah, Isaiah and Zechariah among the others. The
predictions were well known among the Israelite people who probably spent time
thinking about where this promised Savior would originate. Odds were probably
set pretty high that the Messiah would come from one of the major tribes of Israel,
most probably Judah, but note here that Micah, unlike any of the other
prophets, gives specific information as to which clan the Great Deliverer will
emerge from.
“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.”
Those expecting the Messiah to come from the tribe of
Judah would find themselves right but they probably would not have thought
their Savior would come from a small clan within the tribe like Bethlehem
Ephrathah. Surely the thought was that this coming Ruler of God’s people would
come out of the holy city of Jerusalem, not the little town of Bethlehem. But
as we see over and over again in the scriptures, God’s plan often defies man’s
expectations.
Indeed, as we fast forward from the Old Testament to the
New, we find Jesus emerging from Mary’s womb and into creation within a lowly
manger in Bethlehem where Joseph had gone to participate in the census ordered
by Caesar Augustus. Just as Micah and other fellow messengers had foretold, she
(Mary) who was in labor bore a son, the very Son of God Himself, conceived by
the Holy Spirit. That Son, the prophesied Messiah, came to bring hope for the
future for the Israelites and all other who would place their faith, hope, and
trust in Him as Savior from that point forward. He stood, stands, and will
always stand firm in caring for His children while shepherding His flock “in
the majesty of the name of the Lord His God”. Under Jesus, God’s people would
live securely as His greatness would be such that no one would ever exceed it
and that greatness would “reach to the ends of the earth.” Ultimately, He would
be the peace for all who would follow Him, living up to Isaiah’s prediction
that He would be the “Prince of peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
The words of the Lord to the Israelites in Micah’s day
were indeed words of hope for the future, a hope being born not just for Israel
but all mankind as God made a new covenant. Today, Jesus still stands as our
only hope for the future, the only One who can bring us salvation, and the only
One who can bring us to a life forever with Him and God the Father.
It’s a future hope that is eternal, a future hope that no
one can it take from us when we receive Him as Savior.
Have you found that kind of hope in your life yet?
If not, Jesus is waiting to give it to you.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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