Micah 5

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. Micah 5:1

Statements in this verse have led commentators to see this as a picture of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 586 BC. So many soldiers were encamped around Jerusalem that it probably looked like a city of troops. Unfortunately, Israel only had a weak and half-starved army to resist the Babylonians. Several commentators mention that striking Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod would have been a terrible insult to an oriental monarch (cf. Lam. 3:30). We mentioned the account in 2 Kings 25:1-7, and we see that Israel’s King Zedekiah was captured and greatly abused. His sons were killed before his eyes. He was then blinded and taken as a captive to Babylon. We can assume he was struck with rods in all this abuse.

“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” (5:2). Here the prophet Micah does it again. Earlier he had accurately named Babylon as the site of Judah’s captivity. Now he names little, insignificant, Bethlehem as the site of the coming Messiah’s birthplace. Phillips says, “Micah was the first person to realize this fascinating fact, and against all odds, he wrote it down.” [1]

Bethlehem was truly a small and insignificant town. It was just 5 miles (8 km) south of Jerusalem, and today is almost a city suburb. The root of the ancient Hebrew name Ephrathah means “fruitful.” [2] The name Bethlehem itself in Hebrew means “house of bread.” How fitting, since Jesus was and is the Bread of Life (Jn. 6:35). The Bethlehem area today has many olive trees. In Bible times we note in the Book of Ruth that there were many fields of grain. In addition, it was a luscious place to graze sheep.

The little city had a great history featuring Ruth and Boaz as well as being the hometown of King David. Still, it was tiny and insignificant. Phillips says, “Although Bethlehem was only a small place of little account, it would become world famous.” [3]

We simply must focus on the one who is to be the ruler of Israel. We are told that his origins are unsearchable, from the days of eternity, or from everlasting (Psa. 45:6). This reminds us of the amazing description in John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” (Jn. 1:1-2). Yet, this one, who was and is God, came down to earth and was born as a little baby in Bethlehem (cf. Isa. 7:14; 9:6). He who was timeless, stepped into time, took on human flesh and thus became the Savior of humanity.

The Messiah coming from Bethlehem was a well-known fact when the wise men arrived in Jerusalem and the elders were asked where the Christ would be born. They quickly spoke up, “‘In Bethlehem in Judea…for this is what the prophet has written’” (Matt. 2:5). They no doubt replied, “Bethlehem in Judea,” because there was most likely another Bethlehem in the tribal lands of Zebulun. [4] Matthew Henry, 17th century minister and author, notes that this is probably the most important prophecy in the whole Old Testament. [5]

It is terribly sad today that Bethlehem, which was a Christian city through recent history, has now become mostly an Arab/Muslim city. This happened during the peace process with Oslo II (1995). Israel’s leftist leaders seemingly did not even have an appreciation of King David’s city of birth, so they traded Bethlehem for an elusive peace, which was absolutely worthless in the end.

A Picture Of Israel’s Future

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. Micah 5:3

The NIV here has that Israel will be “abandoned,” while several other translations use the expression “give them up” (ASV, NAS, NKJ, NRS, RSV), until the one in labor brings forth. Utley comments: “This whole paragraph marks a radical transition from God’s judgment (siege, exile) of Jerusalem and Judah to God’s marvelous restoration (cf. Mic. 4:6-8,12-13).” [6]

Of course, the true beginning of that restoration, although unperceived by Israel, was the virgin Mary bearing her divine Son as we have mentioned (cf. Isa. 7:14; 9:6; 11:1-16). Phillips comments, “Micah was saying that there was to be an interval between his time and the time of the incarnation. During that span, Judah would lose its sovereignty.” [7] Judah would not only lose sovereignty but would experience 70 years of Babylonian captivity. Phillips continues by saying, “…the royal family of David would shrink in importance until it was represented by a peasant girl and a Nazarene carpenter.” [8]

We now know that the time interval between the woman bearing the son and the brothers returning home was a long one, approximately 19 centuries. As we have mentioned, the serious second return of Jewish people to the land of Israel began in 1882. It soon became a worldwide movement. In the next 50 years or so, the land was settled and populated. Israel became a Jewish state on May 14, 1948, as we have mentioned. Few people, including Christians, realized that Micah’s ancient prophecy was fulfilled. Also, the state of Israel was literally born in a day, according to Isaiah’s prophecy (Isa. 66:7-11; cf. Lk. 21:24).

“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” (5:4). Both Feinberg and Phillips feel that this verse reflects the second coming of Christ, and they note that there is no picture of him more beautiful than that of a shepherd. [9] This verse makes clear that the greatness of the Lord will be seen and acknowledged worldwide (cf. Psa. 2:8; 72:8; Mal. 1:11, 14).

“And he will be our peace when the Assyrians invade our land and march through our fortresses. We will raise against them seven shepherds, even eight commanders, who will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod with drawn sword. He will deliver us from the Assyrians when they invade our land and march across our borders” (5:5-6). Commentators are pretty well agreed that these verses speak of a great end-day battle against Israel.

Phillips comments: “The word Assyrian became a haunting synonym for war, cruelty, oppression, and terror to the hapless middle eastern countries…In his somewhat obscure reference to a latter-day Assyria, Micah may have had in mind the confederation of nations that will have as their common goal in the last days extermination of the state and people of Israel…Israel’s Shepherd will be her protector during all the end-time troubles.” [10] Wiersbe adds: “Israel’s future enemies would be defeated (vv. 5:5b-6), the Jewish remnant would be blessed (vv. 5:7-9), and the nation would be purged of its sins (vv. 5:10-15).” [11]

We see in 4:13 that God will give Israel horns of iron and hooves of bronze in the last days (cf. Zech. 12:6). Here we note that God will give Israel seven shepherds, even eight commanders, who will rule the land of Assyria with the sword. The identity of these future warriors is quite impossible for us at present. However, these figures may also be symbolic. Jamieson remarks: “‘Seven’ expresses perfection; ‘seven and eight’ is an idiom for a full and sufficient number (Job 5:19; Prov. 6:16; Eccl.11:2). [12]

The Blessings Of Israel

The remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for anyone or depend on man. Micah 5:7

Feinberg comments: “Since rain does not fall in Palestine from the beginning of May to the latter part of October, the dew, the night-mist of the summer months, is essential to the summer crops. The dew speaks of Israel’s abundant, refreshing and fertilizing ministry among the nations.” [13] Surely a part of that blessed dew is the general knowledge of the True God that is spread worldwide by the Jewish people.

A continuous blessing or dew from the Jews that is so often overlooked is their wisdom and inventiveness. In my book Does God Play Favorites, I spend a chapter outlining these blessings. There have been literally hundreds and thousands of Jewish people who have blessed the nations with their knowledge, skills and inventiveness throughout history.

America has been particularly blessed with Jewish knowledge and skill. A Jewish man by the name of Haym Solomon saved our revolution by loaning massive amounts of money to our leaders. If it were paid back today with interest (and it never was) it would amount to two and a half trillion dollars. In 1975, we did issue a postage stamp honoring Solomon who “was responsible for raising most of the money needed to finance the American Revolution.”

The Jews have blessed all the nations with many discoveries and inventions. Just to list famous Jews in America will astound us. There were names in merchandising like Levi Strauss, Sears Roebuck, Gimbels and Macy’s. There was Edwin Land and his Polaroid camera and Emile Berliner and his Gramophone, which made the recording industry possible. Also, there were Radio and entertainment giants like David Sarnoff of NBC, and William Paley of CBS. In our day we cannot forget Larry Page and Sergey Brin who founded Google.

Of course, Hollywood has been the domain of Jewish enterprisers and entertainers. Samuel Goldwyn founded MGM while Adolph Zukor founded Paramount. There were also Louis B. Mayer, Lewis Selznick, William Fox and Marcus Loew. Hollywood itself has boasted hundreds of Jewish actors, actresses and other entertainers from Joey Adams to Shelly Winters. An extremely high percentage of the famous Hollywood figures are Jewish.

When we think of music we think of Irving Berlin, with his God Bless America and White Christmas. We think of George Gershwin, Rogers and Hammerstein, Jerome Kern, Fritz Kreisler, Bruno Walter, Arthur Fiedler and Leonard Bernstein.

It was Jewish scientists who enabled America to lead in the atomic race. We would not have developed the atomic and hydrogen bombs without names like Albert Einstein, Robert Oppenheimer and Edward Teller. A Jew, Hyman Rickover, also developed the first atomic- powered submarine.

We would need a small book to catalog all the inventors, musicians, actors, doctors, politicians and other Jewish people who have helped give us a wonderful life in America. [14] God did say that the Jewish people would be a blessing to all nations (Gen. 18:18).

It is stated in this verse that the Jew waits for no man. The Jewish people have a certain boldness in their ideas and inventiveness. They call it chutzpah and they define it as: “Gall, brazen nerve, effrontery, incredible ‘guts,’ presumption plus arrogance such as no other word and no other language can do justice to.” [15] This chutzpah is especially evident inside Israel. Dan Senor and Saul Singer, in their book Start-Up Nation, say: “Whereas Americans emphasize decorum and exhaustive preparation, Israelis put chutzpah first. ‘When an Israeli entrepreneur has a business idea, he will start it that week, one analyst put it.’” [16] That might explain why following the United States, tiny Israel has more companies listed on the NASDAQ than any other country in the world. [17]

The Lion-Like Nature Of Israel

The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which mauls and mangles as it goes, and no one can rescue. Your hand will be lifted up in triumph over your enemies, and all your foes will be destroyed. Micah 5:8-9

Here we note that not only will Israel be a dew of blessing to the nations, but it will be a force to be reckoned with. The “lion of Judah” quality will certainly be evident at times. Feinberg sums up: “Israel will serve in a twofold character; as a source of refreshing (dew, showers) and as a source of power and judgment (lion) in God’s hand.” [18]

We might remember reading about the valiant Maccabees when a tiny and ill-equipped Jewish force defeated the tyrant Antiochus Epiphanes of Syria. His large army was wonderfully equipped and was in fact the remnant of the mighty and victorious army of Alexander the Great. Antiochus had made an awful mistake of offending the God of Israel by terribly oppressing the Jews and by offering a pig on the great altar in Jerusalem. The Jews defeated him and founded their independent Hasmonean dynasty in 167 BC.

In modern times, many of us have witnessed the “lion-like” nature of Israel. On May 15, 1948, six Arab armies from Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Iraq attacked newborn Israel. The Arab armies were well equipped and trained, while the Jews were ill-trained and poorly equipped. Still, by the time of the conclusion of the War of Independence in 1949, the Israelis had won control of most of the land that presently makes up the state of Israel.

The lion-like nature of Israel was certainly seen in the miraculous Six-Day War. Although Israel had won her independence, Arab belligerence had continued at very high levels. By May 25, 1967, the armies of Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Saudia Arabia and Egypt all moved in hostility to the very borders of Israel. The Israel armies were then outnumbered three to one. [19]

Assessing the grave situation, Israel decided to pre-empt the attack. On the morning of June 5, the Israeli air force struck the airfields of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and Syria. In all, 452 enemy planes were destroyed, 391 of them on the ground. In less than three hours Israel had gained complete air superiority. [20]

The armies of Israel went on the attack, and in one of the largest armor battles in history, the Egyptian armored power was shattered. Israeli troops raced on and soon reached the Suez Canal. The Egyptian losses: over 400 tanks destroyed, with another 200 captured; 10,000 men dead, with another 12,000 taken prisoner. [21] Israel captured the Gaza Strip from Egypt and once again Israel took control of the whole Sinai Peninsula.

The miraculous war progressed on all fronts. Judea and Samaria, which had been under Jordanian control since 1948, fell into Israeli hands. At last, the Old City of Jerusalem came under Israeli control.

The 1967 war was so miraculous that even Israelis were stunned. Tough, battle-hardened soldiers wept when the Western Wall was captured. Gen. Shlomo Goren, the Chief Rabbi of the Israel Armed Forces arrived at the wall, with the Torah clutched in his hands. Goren cried, “We have taken the city of God, we are entering the Messianic era for the Jewish People…” [22]

The Golan Heights, from which Syria had terrorized the Galilee for years, was captured by Israel. In a mere six days, the war was over and once again the vastly superior Arab armies were defeated. [23]

Micah has assured us that in future actions Israel will have horns of iron and hoofs of bronze to defeat her enemies. The Bible also indicates that Israel will fight mightily in the great last day battle of the ages. Indeed, their leaders will be “…like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume all the surrounding peoples right and left,..” (Zech. 12:6).

God’s Chastening And Preparation

“In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will destroy your horses from among you and demolish your chariots. I will destroy the cities of your land and tear down all your strongholds.” Micah 5:10-11

Since the days of King Solomon, Israel has relied on chariots (1 Ki. 10:26). However, God had regularly warned his people not to do such a thing (Deut. 17:16; Isa. 2:7; 30:15-17). The Psalmist had sung: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psa. 20:7). Utley comments: “Chariots were the ultimate weapon of that day. They seem to have been introduced into this area (originally from the Hyksos rulers in Egypt) by the Phoenicians or Philistines who plated them with iron and made them the most formidable weapon available.” [24] They were like the combat tank of ancient times.

God has not cast away his people (Rom. 11:1). However, he will chasten them and prune them until he does away with their fleshly ideas. Israel’s victories in the last days will not come about through human strength. [25] This has implications for the church as a whole. Calvin once said, “…The Church will never be safe, till she is stripped of all creature trusts, and rests on Jehovah alone.” [26]

The Lord certainly did this stripping in Micah’s day. Utley comments, “We know from Assyrian documents that in 701 B.C. Sennacherib captured forty-six walled cities of Judah (cf. Mic. 5:14b).” [27]

“I will destroy your witchcraft and you will no longer cast spells. I will destroy your idols and your sacred stones from among you; you will no longer bow down to the work of your hands” (5:12-13). We know from the prophets that the people of Israel eventually forsook the Lord and wholeheartedly ran after the Baals of Canaan. This brought about their downfall. Coffman notes how after their Babylonian captivity the people never again fell into the shameless idolatry they had before their captivity. [28]

Witchcraft and sorcery are matters that affect both the US and Israel. Today the whole subject of sorcery has gained wide popularity as reflected particularly by the Harry Potter books and movies. We have also been gently initiated into sorcery by the TV, starting long ago with such innocent and funny witch programs like “I Dream of Jeannie,” then moving deeper into programs such as “Bewitched,” and finally on to the really heavy stuff like “The Exorcist.”

It seems that despite its strong biblical prohibitions, even we Christians hardly have a clue as to sorcery’s evil nature and its damaging effects upon humankind. I can remember that as a student in a Christian college, several of us young men (some were already pastors) had numerous sessions of hypnotizing each other. At the time, we had no idea that the seemingly innocent practice of “casting spells” was absolutely forbidden by the scriptures (Deut. 18:11-12). I have often wondered what damaging and long-term effects might have resulted from these sessions. I have personally repented and asked God‘s forgiveness for my ignorant participation.

Perhaps it is about time for the church and for Israel to consider this subject in view of the strong warnings of scripture, even those of our own New Testament. Hopefully, our children can be much better prepared to deal with sorcery than some of us were in the older generations.

It seems that many in modern Israel are easy prey to sorcery. It is a common practice for young men out of high school or after the army experience to travel the world looking at other religions, particularly those of India. They apparently do not realize that the revelation of the True God has been given specifically to the people of Israel. Micah tells us that God will not put up with such things. In Isaiah 2:6, it is said: “You have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob. They are full of superstitions from the East…”

Today, due to New Age influences, many eastern ideas are permeating our society and our churches. These include eastern meditation, various forms of mind control, and even seemingly harmless exercise and relaxation programs. In Psalm 147:19-20 we read: “He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws….” We must understand that the special saving revelation of God to humanity has come exclusively through Israel. We must not look elsewhere.

“I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles when I demolish your cities. I will take vengeance in anger and wrath on the nations that have not obeyed me” (5:14-15). The Lord God had said to Israel: “Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the LORD your God, and do not erect a sacred stone, for these the LORD your God hates” (Deut. 16:21-22). Yet, wicked King Manasseh put an Asherah pole in the very temple of God in Jerusalem. (2 Ki. 21:7). It was this wickedness of witchcraft, sorcery and idolatry that brought about the ruin of Israel.

Footnotes

1. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 174.

2. Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 173.

3. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 174.

4. Adam Clarke, Clarke’s Commentary, Micah, v. 5:2. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/acc/micah.html

5. Matthew Henry, Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible, vs. 5:1-6. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/mhn/micah.html

6. Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, vs. 5:2-5a.

7. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 174.

8. Ibid.

9. Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, pp. 174-175. (see also Phillips, 174-175).

10. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 175.

11. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT. p. 1457.

12. Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Commentary on Micah, v. 5:5.

13. Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 176.

14. Gerrish, Does God Play Favorites?, pp. 203-218.

15. Dan Senor and Saul Singer, Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle (NY: Twelve Hachette Book Group, 2009), p. 30.

16. Ibid., p. 1.

17. Ibid., p. 13.

18. Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 176.

19. Martin Gilbert, The Arab-Israeli Conflict, Its History in Maps, third edition, (London: Widenfeld and Nicholson, 1974), p. 69.

20. Goeffrey Wigoder, ed., Israel Pocket Library, Immigration and Settlement (Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House Ltd., 1973), p. 200.

21. Ibid., p. 202.

22. Quoted in, Charles F. Deloach, Seeds of Conflict (Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, 1974), p. 63.

23. Gerrish, Does God Play Favorites?, pp. 126-127.

24. Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, v. 5:10.

25. Guthrie, et. al. The New Bible Commentary: Revised, p. 758.

26. Quoted in Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Commentary on Micah, v. 5:10.

27. Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, v. 5:11.

28. Coffman, Commentary on Micah, v. 5:13.