Micah
Micah was a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah, Amos and Hosea. He prophesied during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. And he has a lot to say about Christ!
4:1-8
1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.
In the last days – this is our clue that he is speaking of Messianic times. What a glorious picture he paints!
many nations shall come to the Lord and walk in his paths – I believe this describes our day: the Gentiles are flocking to Christ and walking in his ways.
And he shall judge among many people … they shall beat their swords into plowshares – Seems to me that Micah sees the coming of Christ but doesn’t distinguish between the first and second coming. If I’m right, then v 1-2 would be the first coming and 3-4 would be when Christ comes again and the kingdoms of this world they are become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.
6 In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;
7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.
8 And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.
This is the kingdom of our God and of his Christ, where salvation and security are the norm.
5:2
2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
I recently read that ‘Christians interpret this as referring to Christ.’ Really? What about what we read in Matthew 2:3-6
3 When Herod the king had heard these things [the report of the magi about the birth of the king of the Jews], he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
Aha! The chief priests and scribes quote Micah 5 and say it refers to Christ!
This prophecy in Micah tells us three things:
• There is coming a Ruler in Israel – Messiah
• Messiah will come out of Bethlehem Ephratah, which is Bethlehem in Judah.
• His goings forth are from old, from everlasting (the LXX says from the beginning, from eternity).
This is rather specific. If Jesus was born anywhere else he would be disqualified from being Christ. This would explain Luke and the account of Joseph and Mary traveling from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the Bethlehem of Micah’s prophecy, so Jesus could be born there.
And just who is this one who was born in Bethlehem Ephratah? None other than he whose goings forth were from the beginning, even from eternity: the Word, the Son of God.
5:3-15
3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
4 And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
5 And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.
6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.
7 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.
8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
9 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.
10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots:
11 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds:
12 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers:
13 Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands.
14 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities.
15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.
I believe this is the kingdom of him who is to be born in Bethlehem. And as in chapter 4, Micah doesn’t see clearly the two comings of Christ. Verse 2 is the first coming, while this is the second coming of Christ, when he sets up his kingdom on the earth.
4 he shall stand in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the LORD his God, and shall be great unto the ends of the earth
6-9 thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off
Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Doth his successive journeys run;
His Kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more. (Isaac Watts)
10-15 Holiness and righteousness shall prevail. Come, Lord Jesus!
7:18-20
18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
v 18-19 tell us of the mercy, compassion, and salvation of God; v 20 his faithfulness
Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old – This is powerful! But when did he swear an oath to Abraham?
Genesis 22:16-18
And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
So, when will he do this? When Messiah comes.
“Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob - The promises which he has made to Jacob and his posterity. Not one of them can ever fall to the ground. "And the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn;" viz., that "in his Seed all the families of the earth should be blessed;" that the Messiah should come from Abraham, through his son Isaac, by Jacob and David; be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel. And this promise, and this oath, God has most signally fulfilled by the incarnation of Christ, who was sent to bless us by turning away every one of us from his iniquities; and for this purpose he was delivered for our offenses, and rose again for our justification; and repentance and remission of sins are preached in his name to all nations. Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, when he prophesied by the Holy Spirit seems to have referred to this truth, if not the verse, Luke 1:72-73 'To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham.' ” (Adam Clarke)
Thou wilt perform – God is faithful and will fulfill his promises. Hear Peter and Paul:
from Peter’s sermon in Jerusalem in Acts 3:12-28
18 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.
25 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.
from Paul’s sermon in Antioch in Pisidia Acts 13:16-41
23 Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:
32 And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,
33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again
38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins
from Paul’s epistle to the Romans 15:8-9
8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: 9 And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy...
These are but a few occurrences - fulfilled is the theme of the New Testament. I counted 33 times where the word was used. The coming of Jesus was the fulfillment of what God had spoken by the prophets and confirmed the promises to the fathers. All that God has promised concerning Israel, concerning the nations, concerning the kingdom, he will fulfill. And all of it will be by the Messiah, the Son of the living God, who was born in Bethlehem, Jesus of Nazareth.
Who is a God like unto thee?
"Well might the prophet exult in his challenge to earth and hell. Who Is a God Like unto Thee! Hell is speechless, earth is dumb. Infidels dare not open their mouths!!! Hallelujah! Jesus is the mighty God and Savior, pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin, and saving to the uttermost all that come unto God through him. Blessed be God! Reader, lay this to heart.” (Adam Clarke)
No comments:
Post a Comment