I think verses 1 - 5a belong with chapter 4. They continue the beautiful description of the hope for the remnant of Judah. We will come back to them.
Verses 5b - 9 describe the overthrow of Assyria. That had to be a comforting message! In verses 10 - 15, the Lord reveals through Micah how He will judge the nations for their rebellion and their disobedience. Once again, Micah is intent on his hearers realizing the seriousness of sin and idolatry. Why is that such a hard lesson to get? Why do we continue, even into our day, to assume the lesson is always for someone else? Again, may I encourage you to deal with your own sin-business ... the behaviors and attitudes that bring shame on the name and person of Christ (if you are a believer, the name you wear!)
Let's take our focus back to the beginning of the chapter - this splendid prophecy of Messiah. Read it again slowly and isolate the descriptive phrases.
from Bethlehem Ephrathah
from God
ruler in Israel
His goings forth are from long ago - from eternity
shepherd of His flock
has the strength of the Lord
will be in the majesty of the name of Lord God
great to the ends of the earth
our peace
Oh Lord - open our eyes so that we may see! Help us to understand the majesty of You through Your sent Messiah. What beautiful language You gave to Micah to enhance our understanding. Thank You.
To close your reading and your study today ... I want you to do a little cross-referencing. I found it to be wonderful - thrilling actually to see how God weaves His purposes throughout scripture. So just sit back with your Bible ... and carefully read through the following:
Micah 5:2 mentions Bethlehem Ephrathah (there is more than one Bethlehem, hence the distinction)
Genesis 48:7
Genesis 49: 8 - 10
Ruth 1: 1 - 2, 22; 4: 13 - 14, 21 - 22
1 Samuel 16:1; 17:12
Matthew 2:1, 3 - 6
John 1: 1, 14
Isaiah 9: 6 - 7
Revelation 19:11 - 16; 20:4
Thank You Lord!
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