Commentary - Micah 5:1-6

Bird's-eye view

We are in the middle of one of Micah's great sections of consolation, and we have come to the central passage where the birth of the Messiah is promised. After laying out the sins of Israel's leadership with unflinching severity, Micah turns to the ultimate solution. The immediate context is one of utter humiliation and defeat. The judge of Israel is to be struck on the cheek, a picture of profound disgrace. But right on the heels of this degradation, God promises a ruler from an unexpected, humble place. This is how God always works. Out of weakness, He brings strength. Out of humiliation, exaltation. Out of a forgotten village, an eternal King. This passage shows us the great reversal of the gospel. The path to glory is through humility, and the King who will be great to the ends of the earth first comes from a town too little to be noticed.

The prophecy moves from present shame to future glory, from a besieged city to a worldwide kingdom. It reveals the identity of the coming King, His eternal nature, His pastoral work, and His ultimate victory over all the enemies of God's people, represented here by the Assyrian. This is not a story of political maneuvering or military might, but of God's sovereign plan unfolding in history, culminating in the Prince of Peace who Himself is our peace.

Outline

Micah 5:1

"Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops; They have laid siege against us; With a rod they will strike the judge of Israel on the cheek."

Micah begins this great word of comfort with a picture of utter distress. He tells the "daughter of troops," which is Jerusalem, to gather her forces. Why? Because a siege is laid against them. This is the hard reality of their sin. Judgment is at the gates. The enemies of God's people are confident and insolent. The ultimate sign of this humiliation is that the "judge of Israel," their ruler, will be struck on the cheek with a rod. This is not just a simple assault; it is a gesture of supreme contempt and degradation. It is a public shaming. This prophecy had its immediate fulfillments, but it points ultimately to the Lord Jesus, the final Judge of Israel, who was struck, spat upon, and mocked. God does not promise His people a life free from humiliation. In fact, the path for the King is the path for the kingdom. Before the crown comes the cross. Before the exaltation comes the slap on the face.

Micah 5:2

"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 everlasting, From the ancient days."

Here is the great pivot. The word "But" is one of the most important words in the Bible. Man brings humiliation; God brings exaltation. The contrast is stark. While the current ruler is being shamed, God is announcing the coming of a true Ruler from a place no one would expect. Bethlehem Ephrathah. Bethlehem means "house of bread," and Ephrathah connects it to the fruitful fields of its past. It was David's town, but by this time it was insignificant, "too little to be among the clans of Judah." God loves to pick the small, the overlooked, the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are. This is the logic of the gospel. He doesn't choose Jerusalem, the seat of power, but Bethlehem, the forgotten village.

And who is this one who will come forth? He is to be "ruler in Israel." But this is no ordinary king. Micah tells us something staggering about His origins. "His goings forth are from everlasting, from the ancient days." This is a clear statement of the pre-existence and eternality of the Messiah. This is not just a man who will be born; this is the eternal Son of God who will take on flesh. His "goings forth" are not just his ancestry, but his eternal processions from the Father. Before Bethlehem, there was eternity. Before He went forth from that little town, He had been going forth from the Father from everlasting. This little baby in a manger is the Ancient of Days.

Micah 5:3

"Therefore He will give them up until the time When she who is in childbirth has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brothers Will return to the sons of Israel."

Because this is God's plan, there will be a divinely appointed delay. "Therefore He will give them up." This sounds harsh, but it is not an abandonment. It is a period of waiting, a long gestation. God will let His people sit with the consequences of their sin for a time. For how long? "Until the time when she who is in childbirth has borne a child." This is a direct prophecy of the virgin birth of Christ. The waiting will end when Mary brings forth her firstborn Son. The pain and travail of the nation is likened to the pain of childbirth, which has a purpose and an end. It leads to a birth.

And what happens after this birth? "Then the remainder of His brothers will return to the sons of Israel." The coming of the Messiah is the great ingathering. This refers to the scattered remnant of Israel, but in its ultimate fulfillment, it points to the gathering of the Gentiles into the family of God. Through Christ, all of God's elect, His "brothers," are brought into the one covenant family, the true Israel.

Micah 5:4

"And He will stand and shepherd His flock In the strength of Yahweh, In the majesty of the name of Yahweh His God. And they will remain Because at that time He will be great To the ends of the earth."

What kind of ruler will He be? He will "stand and shepherd His flock." He is not a distant tyrant, but a present, caring shepherd. And notice the source of His authority. He shepherds "in the strength of Yahweh, in the majesty of the name of Yahweh His God." His rule is God's rule. He is the perfect mediator, standing as man before God, and as God for man. His strength is not His own as a mere man, but the very strength of God Almighty.

The result for His people is security. "And they will remain." The word can also be translated "abide" or "dwell securely." Because their Shepherd is strong, the sheep are safe. Why are they safe? "Because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth." This is a glorious, postmillennial promise. The fame, authority, and greatness of Jesus Christ will not be a corner affair. It will not be a secret. His kingdom will extend to the ends of the earth. The gospel will be victorious in history, and the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. This is the destiny of the baby from Bethlehem.

Micah 5:5-6

"And this One will be peace. When the Assyrian enters our land, When he treads on our citadels, Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight princes of men. And they will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, The land of Nimrod at its entrances; And He will deliver us from the Assyrian When he enters our land And when he treads within our borders."

Micah now defines the very nature of this King's rule. "And this One will be peace." He doesn't just bring peace, or make peace. He is our peace. He is the reconciliation between God and man, and therefore the only possibility for true peace between man and man. When the enemy comes, what is our response? The "Assyrian" here is a type for all the godless, predatory empires of the world that set themselves against Christ and His Church. When he invades, when he seems to be winning, what happens?

We don't despair. Christ raises up leaders. "Then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men." Seven is the number of perfection, and eight is the number of new beginnings. This means that Christ will provide a full and overflowing measure of competent, godly leadership for His people in their time of need. These are the pastors, elders, and magistrates who lead the people of God in resisting the enemy. And this resistance is not passive. "They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword." This is a picture of the offensive, victorious nature of the Great Commission. The "sword" is the Word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit. The Church is not a beleaguered fortress; it is a conquering army. We take the battle to the enemy's gates, to the "land of Nimrod," the ancient seat of rebellion against God. And the result is certain: "He will deliver us from the Assyrian." Christ is our deliverer, and He works through the means of a faithful, well-led church.

Application

The central lesson of this passage is that God's ways are not our ways. We look for strength in palaces; God brings it forth from a stable. We look for rulers in capital cities; God finds His in a backwater village. This should encourage us profoundly. When our nation is in disarray, when our leaders are struck with disgrace, when the enemy seems to be at the gates, we are not to look to the established powers for our salvation. We are to look to the King from Bethlehem.

We must also see that Christ Himself is our peace. We do not find peace in political solutions, economic stability, or cultural victories. We find peace in a Person. When we are united to Christ by faith, we have peace with God, and that is the only foundation for any other kind of peace. And because He is our peace, we can be confident. He is great to the ends of the earth, and His kingdom is advancing. He has given us leaders, the shepherds and princes of the Church, and He has given us our marching orders. We are to take the sword of the Spirit and shepherd the land of our enemies, turning them from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God's dear Son. The victory is not in doubt, because the Shepherd King from Bethlehem is eternally great.