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Micah, the Prophet of Unchanging Love, part 8

The promise of the coming Kingdom would be nothing without the arrival of the King Himself. This is pictured in terms of childbirth, which includes travail before deliverance. Micah 5 enlarges upon the birth of the Messiah in very specific terms. But before this prophecy, Micah 5:1 provides a transition from 4:13.

¹ Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops; they have laid siege against us; with a rod they will smite the Judge of Israel on the cheek.

4:13 says to “arise and thresh” the opposing nations on the prophetic threshing floor. This does not necessarily speak of war and destruction, as many think. Recall that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to separate the wheat from the chaff. John speaks of Christ in Matthew 3:12, saying,

¹² His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

While this is certainly part of divine judgment, it is mostly God’s way of separating friends from enemies, as well as removing chaff from us as individuals. The point is that the work of the threshing floor is accomplished by the Holy Spirit. By removing chaff from us as individuals, we qualify as “wheat” that is gathered into his barn.

It is noteworthy that John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, would speak of God’s threshing floor and refer to the verse preceding the revelation of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem. John provides us with a certain level of interpretation and puts the prophecy in terms of the Holy Spirit rather than making it about physical warfare per se.

Bethlehem Ephrathah’s Calling

Micah 5:2 then tells us,

² But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago [qedem], from the days of eternity [olam, “obscurity, unknown origins”].”

Bethlehem means “house of bread.” Ephrathah means “fruitful.” This “little” town was to bear fruit in a special way, bringing forth the Messiah, the “ruler in Israel.” So Jesus was placed in a manger (Luke 2:12), as if to say that He was the Bread of Life to feed God’s sheep.

In Micah 5:2, each 49th letter beginning with the fourth yood spells “Yeshua.” Furthermore, if you look at every 48th letter, it spells “Mary” and “Joseph.” Thus, on the surface of the verse, it is apparent that the Messiah would come of the tribe of Judah and be born in Bethlehem. But by counting every 48 or 49 letters in what is known as Equidistant Letter Spacing, the same verse also spells out His name (Yeshua) and the names of his mother and father, Mary and Joseph.

The prophecy, then, is remarkably specific and defies all odds. It is not likely that Micah himself knew these details. He was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write the words in a specific way that would reveal the Messiah, His birthplace, and His parents. It is only recently that Equidistant Letter Spacing was discovered. In fact, if these details had been known at the time of His birth, the priests probably would have told King Herod (Matthew 2:6) when they quoted Micah 5:2. Hence, God obscured the names of Joseph and Mary for their own protection.

Furthermore, the Messiah’s “goings forth are from long ago.” He did not come into existence at the time of His birth in Bethlehem. This sets forth Christ’s pre-existence and His incarnation, if not His deity.

Reconciling Judah with Israel

Micah 5:3 says,

³ Therefore He will give them up until the time when she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren [i.e., Judah] will return to the sons of Israel.

God “will give them up until the time…” This is somewhat obscure, but it seems apparent that this is a prophecy about Judah as a whole, which had been separated from Israel since the death of Solomon. The implication is that the Messiah will unite the tribes once again. Micah does not tell us how this will occur, but other prophets confirm this reunification. Isaiah 58:12 says,

¹² Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins, You will raise up the age-old foundations; and You will be called the repairer of the breach [between Israel and Judah], the restorer of the streets in which to dwell.

Micah 5:4, 5 continues,

⁴ And He will arise and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God. And they will remain, because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth. ⁵ This One will be our peace…

Christ is called “the good shepherd” (John 10:11) as well as “the great shepherd” (Hebrews 13:20). Hebrews 13:20, 21 tells us,

²⁰ Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, ²¹ equip you in every good thing to do His will working in us that which is pleasing in His sight…

The author of Hebrews was probably referring to Micah 5:4, 5, which sets forth Christ as the shepherd and the God of peace who reconciles adversaries. Micah says, “they will remain, because at that time He will be great,” i.e., well known “to the ends of the earth.” Micah does not tell us who “they” are, but this is explained in Hebrews 13:21, where believers are being equipped “to do His will.” Most often, God works through His people to bring heaven to earth through the power of the double witness.

As we will see shortly, not only do we have a great Shepherd, but we are also being equipped to be shepherds as well.