Micah 5

Micah 5:1

51

Micah speaks a message from God to all the nations An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on the Book of Micah www.easyenglish.info Les Painter This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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Chapter 5 5:1-6 The *Messiah’s birth and his future greatness The main subject of Micah’s message now changes. He has spoken about the new Zion (new Jerusalem). He now speaks about kings that will come from King David’s *descendants. This section starts from the defeat that Jerusalem’s king will suffer (verse 1). But then Micah goes on to describe how a very special king (the *Messiah) will have success (verses 2-6).

v1 Now, people in the strong city, gather your soldiers. The soldiers of the enemy are surrounding us. They are preparing for the attack. They will strike the Judge (ruler) of *Israel. They will hit him with their *rod. They will hit him on the cheek.

Verse 1

The word ‘now’ links this message with the previous one (Micah 4:9; 4:11). Soon Micah will describe future *salvation by the *Messiah. But here Micah describes an army which was attacking Jerusalem. The attack is like the time when Sennacherib, king of Assyria, attacked Jerusalem. That happened in the year 701 *BC. (Look at Micah 1:9; 1:12; 4:11.) ‘Now, people in the strong city, gather your soldiers. The soldiers of the enemy are surrounding us. They are preparing for the attack.’ The ‘strong city’ means Jerusalem. The walls that surrounded Jerusalem shut its people in. So the walls made the city strong.

But is seems that this verse does not describe that particular attack. Sennacherib did not overcome Jerusalem. But these armies will strike the king of Jerusalem. They will hit him with a *rod. They will strike him on the cheek. It means that the king cannot defend himself. He cannot even defend his face. (Compare that with Isaiah 50:6.) This *rod means something special. The person who holds it has rule and authority. That is what it means. But the king of Jerusalem here did not have a *rod to defend himself. That meant that he had no rule or authority.

In Micah 4:9-5:1, we see the word ‘now’ four times. Each time, Micah describes some results that will happen for a certain reason. They will happen because people do not obey God. These results are:

 We have pains, like a woman’s pains when she is having a baby (4:9).

 We are separate from God. And we are separate from his people (4:10).

 Everything seems to cause difficulty for us. It seems as if things are striking our bodies (4:11).

 We feel that walls surround us. We cannot escape. We hate the way that we live. We even hate ourselves (5:1).

But there is hope that a new leader will come. When Micah describes this event, he is also looking towards a future time. He links King David’s *descendants to the future Ruler. That ruler is David’s greater Son (*descendant). He is the perfect ruler. He is Jesus Christ, the *Messiah. When he was on the Earth the first time, God’s enemies struck Jesus too. They insulted him (Matthew 26:67; 27:26; 30).

v2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, are small. You are so small that one would not include you among Judah’s families. But out of you will come a man who is for me. He will be the ruler over *Israel. His origin was a long time ago in the distant past. It was in an ancient time.

Verse 2

The message now goes on from one period to another period. The word ‘but’ connects the two periods. When Micah referred to the first period (verse 1), he mainly described the situation in Jerusalem. The enemy’s army would surround Jerusalem then. It would be a time when those enemies would defeat the city’s people.

The message now goes on to mention the town called Bethlehem. *Israel’s people can have hope for future success. And the reason for their hope will come from Bethlehem. Bethlehem has the name ‘Ephrathah’, which means ‘fruitful’. ‘Ephrathah’ was the name of a district in Judah. Bethlehem was in that district. (Look at Psalms 132:6.) The names ‘Bethlehem’, ‘Ephrathah’ and ‘Judah’ remind us about Jesse, David’s father. Jesse was from Ephrathah. He was from Bethlehem in Judah (1 Samuel 17:12). King David’s *descendants have not obeyed God’s laws. They are like a tree that someone has cut down. But from that tree’s roots (from David’s family), a branch (a new King) will grow up. And on that branch, fruit will grow (Isaiah 11:1). In other words, that new King will be successful.

In ancient times, Bethlehem was small. It was the smallest among the families (*Hebrew ‘thousands’) in Judah. (Compare this with 1 Samuel 9:21.) It was not even in the long list that contained Judah’s 115 towns (Joshua 15:20-63). It was very small. It was not important. But the most important person would come from it.

Centuries before, God had told Samuel to go to this small town called Bethlehem. God told him to look for a certain man. Even when that man was born, God had chosen him as the future king. But Samuel did not choose anyone from among Jesse’s older sons. He chose David, the youngest son (1 Samuel 16:1-13). God usually works this way. He chooses the weak things in this world. Often he chooses not to honour wise and strong people (1 Corinthians 1:18-31). The *Messiah that God had promised would come from this little town called Bethlehem. From the least important town would come the most important person.

Today people all over the world know the name Bethlehem. That is because Jesus, the *Messiah, was born there. But earlier, people did not know Bethlehem very well, even at the time when Jesus was born. When King Herod heard about Jesus’ birth, he was worried. All the people in Jerusalem were worried too. The king therefore asked the leaders where Christ (the *Messiah) should be born. They replied that it would be in Bethlehem, in the area called Judea. That was what the *prophet had written. The leaders then repeated part of this verse, Micah 5:2. (Look at Matthew 2:3-6.)

*Israel’s leaders ruled to get their own advantage (Micah 3:1-4). But the *Messiah would come ‘for me’. That means ‘for God’s advantage’. The *Messiah’s origin was in an ancient time. That means a very long time ago. The last words in this verse are ‘in an ancient time’. These words connect the *Messiah with Jesse and with David. They lived a long time before Micah lived.

The words ‘ancient time’ may also refer to a time even before Jesse. Writers in the *Old Testament often use the word ‘old’ to refer to God. We see this idea especially in the Book of Habakkuk. ‘*LORD, you are the God who lives for always’ (Habakkuk 1:12). Jesus Christ existed before all time began (John 1:1-2; 8:58). The words ‘in an ancient time’ may therefore refer to this truth. Jesus Christ is the God who also was there in the beginning. He is the God who is here now. He is the God who always will be there. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and for always (Hebrews 13:8).

v3 Therefore he (God) will leave his people alone. That will last until the pains because of birth are over. Then the *remnant of the *Israelites will return to *Israel’s people.

Verse 3

Micah says that God will leave his people. That situation will be the result of what has happened before (Micah 4:9; 11; 5:1). It will include the exile (when God will send the people out of their country). (See Micah 4:10.) This message will not be popular. It will be a very sad message for the people in Jerusalem.

This is the message. God will not continue to help Jerusalem’s people. The people in the ‘Daughter of Zion’ (Jerusalem) will be alone (Micah 4:10). It will be a time when people suffer greatly. God’s people will suffer God’s punishment. Jeremiah referred to that (Jeremiah 4:27, 31). It will be a sad time for God too (Hosea 11:8). But, one day, the people will not suffer those things any longer (Lamentations 4:22).

People would suffer pains, but there would be a happy end.

The *Messiah will be born in Bethlehem. Zion’s (Jerusalem’s) new age will start then. Until then, *Israel’s situation will not change. They will have no human king until then. (Look at Micah 4:9-10.)

But then God would begin to establish his kingdom (rule). He would establish it in the lives of his people. And in the end, the result would be that *Israel’s people would return to God. The *Messiah would be king over the whole earth. And the nations would be at peace.

We now understand that these wonderful things did not happen immediately after the *Messiah’s birth. First, the *Messiah had to suffer the punishment for people’s *sins (Isaiah chapter 53; Psalms 22). Since then, God has been patient. He is waiting for people to trust him (2 Peter 3:8-9).

Micah said that the *Messiah would lead Zion’s (Jerusalem’s) new kingdom (government). At first, this had a *spiritual meaning. The kingdom would consist of the people that believe in the *Messiah. They are both *Jews and those that are not *Jews. Their relationship to the *Messiah would be like a family relationship. And it would have a link to what had happened in time.

It would also be a *spiritual relationship. The *Israelites had been prisoners in a foreign country. But they would not be prisoners any longer. They would return to be together with the other true members of *Israel’s people. ‘Return’ here means something *spiritual. It means that they ‘come back’ to God. In other words, they start to obey him again.

They leave behind their *sin and its effects. They go to be together with the other true *Israelites, the people that trust the *Messiah.

But ‘return’ also has a physical meaning. God has provided a home for the *Jews in *Israel. And in the end, he will rule as king there.

Christ (the *Messiah) started this process in an upstairs room in Jerusalem. There, 120 people that were his ‘brothers’ (people that believed in him) had gathered together because of him. Those were the few people that he had chosen. Christ then sent his Holy Spirit to them. From that time, those few people started to change the world (Luke 3:16; Acts chapter 2). Those few people were the first of the *remnant that is the true *Israelites.

Christ will complete this process in the future. Only God knows when Christ will return. But he will return with great power. He will return to rule as king from Jerusalem. And that is when the whole *remnant returns to *Israel’s people and to *Israel’s God.

v4 Then the Ruler of *Israel will stand. He will stand in the *LORD’s power. Like a *shepherd, he will feed his sheep. (In other words, the Ruler will take care of his people.) He will feed them in the strength of the *LORD God. His people will have a good, safe home. The people on the whole Earth will then know how great the Ruler really is.

Verse 4

The *Messiah will rule (Revelation 20:4-6). He will rule with his ‘brothers’ (the people that believe in him). He will stand. That means that he will live for always (Psalms 33:11; Isaiah 14:24). He will stand in the *LORD’s strength. He will be like a *shepherd. He will look after his sheep. David too was a *shepherd. He looked after sheep. Then God took him away from the sheep. God made him a *shepherd (ruler) over God’s people.

The *Messiah will not rule by means of human power. He will not rule by clever plans, like David’s sons. They had not followed the *LORD’s ways to live. They had trusted in their military strength. (Look at Micah 5:10-15.)

But the *Messiah will be like David. He will trust God and he will obey God’s laws. The *Messiah’s greatness was like David’s (2 Samuel 7:9). But David’s greatness was only in one country, *Israel. Christ’s greatness will reach further. His government will reach all over the Earth (Micah 4:3-4; Matthew 28:18-20; John 17:2). Christ gives *eternal life to his people. That new life will last for always. Nobody can steal God’s people from his hands (from his care). (See John 10:28.)

Jesus is the Good *Shepherd. And he will be the great Ruler of *Israel (Zechariah 14:9-11). The citizens that are under his rule will live in safety. They will defeat the devil (Matthew 12:22-29). Jesus will provide for their *spiritual health (John chapter 10; Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 5:4).

v5 And the Ruler will bring peace.

The army from Assyria will come into our country. They will march past our strong buildings. But we will choose seven *shepherds (rulers) and even eight leaders. v6 They will use their swords. They will rule over the *Assyrians. They will rule Nimrod’s country. They will do it with their swords in their hands. They will use their swords to rule over those people. Then the Ruler of *Israel will save us from the *Assyrians when they come into our country. He will save us when they march past our borders.

Verses 5-6

Micah’s message is that the *Messiah will rule the world. His rule will bring his peace. Here Micah uses the words ‘our’ and ‘us’. It means that the *Messiah will rule together with his loyal people. They are part of the kingdom (nation) that will win the battle. The *Messiah will be their peace. This is the reason for their confidence. He will free them. The *Messiah will defend his nation from attack by enemies. He will rule over his enemies.

Micah mentions future attacks against the *Messiah. He says that the *Assyrians will attack the *Messiah’s nation. The *Assyrians did then attack *Israel, but they lost the battle in 612 *BC. That was six centuries before Christ’s birth.

The loyal nation will be under the *Messiah’s rule. The *Messiah will win. He will win with his people’s help. His people will appoint seven *shepherds (rulers). Seven is the perfect number in the Bible. Moreover, they will appoint even 8 leaders. 8 is one more than 7. So that means more than enough.

Also, the Ruler (the *Messiah) will bring peace to *Israel. He ‘will save us’. This statement emphasises that success belongs to the *Messiah. It does not belong to the leaders. The present leaders had spoken about peace (Micah 3:5). But it was a false peace. Jesus himself provides our peace (security). See Ephesians 2:14-17.

In verse 6, the word ‘they’ means the *Messiah’s *shepherds (the rulers of *Israel). The chief *shepherd is the *Messiah. The *Messiah’s *shepherds will be true *shepherds (good rulers). That is because they are under his rule. (Look at 1 Peter 5:1-4.) They will rule the country called Assyria. (See Isaiah 19:23-24 and Zechariah 10:11.) ‘Assyria’ here refers also to all the other enemies of God’s kingdom (rule). This refers especially to the chief enemy, the devil who is called Satan (Ephesians 4:7-12; 6:10-18).

At an earlier time, Nimrod had been the man with the strongest power. People used the name Nimrod to refer to great strength. Nimrod was the grandson of Ham, who was Noah’s son. He was a very powerful man. And he became famous. When he began to rule, he was in Babel. That was in the country called Shinar (Babylon). From that country, he went to Nineveh (Genesis 10:8-11).

So the names Babel (or Babylon) and Nineveh mean something special. These names are important to Micah. He has a good reason to refer to Nimrod here. ‘Nimrod’s country’ is Babylon (Genesis 10:8-12). The people in Babylon were God’s chief enemies. And they were his people’s chief enemies. At the time when Micah lived, Assyria ruled over Babylon. But in 612 *BC, an army from Babylon destroyed Assyria. Then Babylon was the most powerful nation among all the nations. But then, in 539 *BC, another nation destroyed Babylon. In the *New Testament, the ‘sword’ often refers to God’s message, the Bible (Ephesians 6:17). We use this ‘sword’ by the Holy Spirit’s power. 5:7-9 The *remnant will rule the nations v7 Then the few people that remain from Jacob will be among many people. They will be like *dew from the *LORD. And they will be like showers on the grass. The showers do not wait for anyone. Those people do not put their hope in men. They do not need anyone. v8 The few people that remain from Jacob will be among the nations. Those few people will be among many people. The few people will be like a lion among the animals in the forest. They will be like a young lion among groups of sheep. The lion passes through the forest. He goes where he wants to go. He chooses an animal. Then he attacks it. Nobody can save it. He tears it to pieces. There is nobody to rescue it.

Verses 7-8

The words ‘will be’ start another message about the ‘last days’ (last period). It is about the events after the *Messiah’s birth. It is about the *remnant from Jacob’s family (Micah 4:7). Micah uses the name ‘Jacob’ to mean all *Israel (Micah 1:5). The weak *remnant are the rest of the ‘brothers’ (those that believe in the *Messiah). (See Micah 5:3.) They will become strong. *Israel will become a strong nation. It will be in the middle of many strong nations. It will be stronger than those nations. But *Israel’s people will not win by their own strength. The *Messiah is on their side. He rules by the *LORD’s strength (verse 4).

Micah refers to the *remnant by the name ‘Jacob’. Also the man called Jacob was weak in his body. (Look at Micah 4:6.) Then God gave to him a new name, Israel. Then Jacob (Israel) became strong. He became strong enough to achieve God’s purposes. He completed many of the promises that God made to Abraham (Genesis 12:3; 22:17-18). The nation called *Israel came from him. God was loyal to his people. He did for them what he had promised. He achieved it by means of the *remnant. Abraham has now become the father of many nations (Romans 4:16-17).

The *remnant brings *eternal life to those who believe in the *Messiah. And it brings death to those who do not believe in him. Verses 7 and 8 are similar in one way. They show the effect that *Israel will have on the nations. Verse 7 describes the *remnant as *dew and showers of rain. These are things that show God’s *eternal life and his help. They come from God in heaven. They do not wait for (expect) people to send food (or goodness) to the earth. ‘Wait for’ means to look towards the future. It means to expect good things to happen. It does not mean to delay. Dew and rain do not depend on people’s actions. People are weak. People do not control the supply of water. It comes by means of God’s action. God is good and kind. And he has all power.

In verse 8, there is a different description. Micah describes the effect that Zion’s (Jerusalem’s) people will have among the nations. Its people will be like a strong animal. They will break up the nations like grains of wheat (Micah 4:13). God’s *remnant among the nations will be like a lion. A lion lives among the wild animals in the forest. It is proud and fierce. The lion is like a leader among the other wild animals. The *remnant is like a young lion. The young lion tries to find food among groups of sheep. He tears the sheep to pieces. And nobody can rescue them. This describes God’s punishment. Nobody can escape from it (Deuteronomy 32:39; Psalms 50:22; Hosea 5:14).

This *prophecy has a *spiritual meaning. The things in it are happening now. And Jesus Christ’s church (the people that belong to him) will see it happen completely. God is saving his people. They are like a sweet smell of *eternal life. They are like a sweet smell because they will bring *eternal life to people. But other people do not accept the *eternal life that God’s people bring. And so they are dying. So it is as if those other people taste a flavour (taste) of death (2 Corinthians 2:14-16). The church (people that belong to Jesus Christ) still has these two effects (*eternal life and death) on people today. God’s Holy Spirit gives power to his people. They will spread God’s kingdom (rule) across the whole world.

But this *prophecy also has a physical meaning. Jesus, God’s *Messiah, will return to this Earth. He will rule as King of *Israel. And then all the nations will have to obey him. Before this happens, there will be a terrible time on the Earth. The most wicked people will rule by the devil’s power. But Jesus will defeat them and their ruler, the devil (Revelation 19:11-16). Then Jesus’ rule will begin. He will be a strong ruler (Psalms 2). He will rule with his people. And nobody will be able to oppose his rule (Zechariah 14:16-19).

v9 You will lift your hand to strike your enemies. You will kill them all.

Verse 9

God has given his promise in verses 7 and 8. Now Micah and the *remnant give their answer to that message. ‘You will lift your hand to strike your enemies. You will kill them all.’ (Look at Isaiah 26:11.) All nations will be under the *Messiah’s rule. His rule will be over the entire world (Micah 5:4).

God’s rule can cause both *eternal life and death. He will give *eternal life to those who obey his commands. But death will come to his enemies. Those who obey God’s commands will win (Revelation 21:24-27). 5:10-15 God will protect his new *spiritually clean nation In chapters 4 and 5, there is a message about hope. This message refers to a certain time in the future. Micah refers to the same time again here (‘that day’, verse 10). This is the time when the *Messiah will win over the nations. He will bring together the *remnant. He will regather them. They will be under the *shepherd from Bethlehem. Now here, after those promises, we read the words ‘the *LORD says’. (Compare Micah 4:6.) Those words refer to the certainty that these things will happen.

The message here means that God will protect *Israel in two ways:

1) God will make *Israel’s people *spiritually clean (verses 10-14). That will certainly happen. It will happen from the inside (verses 10-14). Yes, God will punish *Israel’s people because of their *sins. But that is for their benefit.

2) God will punish the nations that refuse to obey him (verse 15). Because they refuse to obey, he will consider them guilty. Therefore he will punish them severely.

Each part of this message starts with these words. ‘I will destroy’ (verses 10-14). God will free the city from all evil things. He will destroy certain things. He will destroy them in order to make the nation *spiritually clean. There are four types of evil thing. The people in *Israel trust in:

1) Their own powers and strength.

2) Their military power. The people in *Israel have trusted in that. But their certainty needs to be in God alone (verses 10-11).

3) Magic, which people used to try to discover the future (verse 12).

4) Idolatry, which means that the people trusted in false gods. And they made images of false gods (verses 13-14).

The people in *Israel have confidence in those 4 kinds of things. But God will take away that feeling, so that they cannot be proud in those ways any longer. They were trusting in their own powers. But God will make them stop that.

v10 The *LORD declares what will happen in that day (at that future time). At that time I will take away your horses. I will destroy the carts that you use in war. v11 I will destroy the cities in your country. I will pull down all your castles. v12 You will not try to do magic any longer. Nobody will try to discover the future by that means. v13 I will destroy your images that show false gods. I will pull down your high columns of stone. You use them to help you remember your false gods. But these things are merely objects that you have made with your hands. You will not bend your body in front of them any longer. v14 I will destroy the poles that are called Asherah. I will destroy your false gods. I will even destroy your cities.

Verses 10-14

‘Destroy’ in the *Hebrew language here has a special meaning. It means to remove something. And it means to make *spiritually clean (holy) the place where it was. To destroy here means to remove by punishment. It means to remove what is unholy. In that way, God will save the nation and he will preserve it.

The people in *Israel put their confidence in their military carts and horses. They put their confidence in their strong cities and castles. God’s *covenant with *Israel’s people was that they should trust him. The nation should not trust in other helps (Psalms 20:7). There is a great danger here for us all. We still trust in cities and buildings.

We trust in our own powers and strength. The result can be a belief that God is unnecessary. We think that we do not need him. That is the danger.

God’s *covenant with *Israel’s people did not allow certain practices. People used magic. They tried to find information about what would happen to them. They asked their gods about the future. But God’s law said that the punishment for those acts was death (Exodus 22:18; Leviticus 19:26). The people from the nations near *Israel practised those things. Those people requested such help from their own false gods. But God did not allow his people to do that. Neither does he allow his church (the people that belong to him) to do that today (Galatians 5:19-20; Revelation 21:8). God wants his people always to ask him for help. Our confidence and security should come only from our belief in God.

*Israel’s people did not need to trust other gods. But that is what the people in the nations near *Israel did. And *Israel’s people imitated. They made their gods with their own hands. For that, they used gold, silver or other materials. They created images in wood. They made tall columns of stone. It was wrong to bend their bodies to those gods. It was wrong to pray to them. Religions use images in their ceremonies. And they sell similar images. In that way, they make large sums of money. So they build large businesses from that. Later, Paul noticed that it was happening in Ephesus (Acts 19:11-41). God does not allow such practices. The second commandment deals with this (Exodus 20:4). (A commandment means a law that God gave to Moses on the mountain called *Sinai.)

The tall columns of stone and the poles (or special trees) called Asherah were male and female gods. The people in the nations near *Israel *worshipped these two gods. These were called Baal and Asherah. And the people in *Israel copied this evil religion. This religion included practices with sex. These happened between men and women. (They also happened between men and men. And they happened between women and women.) The people thought that these gods would give them large families and successful farms. But there was no moral goodness in the way that the people lived. A bad moral state will ruin a nation. For that reason the *LORD said that he would destroy their cities.

All the evil things that the people near *Israel did, the people in *Israel did too.

v15 Some people will not listen to me. The nations do not obey me. So I will show my anger. With great anger I will hurt them.

Verse 15

This verse is about the punishment that God will give to the foreign nations. The people in those nations have not obeyed God. Therefore he is angry with them. He will show to them his great anger. God is angry on behalf of his people, the nation called *Israel. He will now punish *Israel’s enemies. All through time, God has protected his people. Other nations have not obeyed him. But God protects his people against those nations. A time will come when he will again use his power against those other nations. That will happen when Christ comes the second time (2 Thessalonians 1:8; Luke 18:7-8; 21:22; Revelation 6:10).

The *Hebrew text here contains also the words for ‘take vengeance’. To ‘take vengeance’ means that a person acts with anger against another person. He does it because that other person has hurt someone. Maybe that other person hurt the person that is now angry. Or maybe the other person hurt the angry person’s relative or friend. ‘Vengeance’ in the Bible means something special. It is the method by which God defends his people.

He wants to do good things to his people. So he punishes those people that do not obey him. He is angry with those that do not want to know him. Only God has the power really to take vengeance. Only he has the right to do it (Deuteronomy 32:35; Hebrews 10:30; Romans 12:19). God has the desire to help his people.

And he has the power to do it. But sometimes God’s people do not believe that. His people should not themselves take vengeance. To do it themselves means that they do not trust God.

© 2007, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

January 2007

Visit our website: www.easyenglish.info

var w0 = new Array;w0[0]=’<b%3EMessiah</b%3E ~ God’s special servant; the man that the Jews expected to come to the Earth; the only person that can put people into a right relationship with God; the man that will come again to rule all the people in the world. ‘Messiah’ is a name for Jesus Christ. It means the person that God appointed to rule. God sent him to save us from God’s anger. (God’s anger is because of the bad things that we do.)