Untitled Sermon

Micah 5:1-15

v. 1

“gather thyself in troops” - to muster militarily - to call to military service

“troops” - troop of warriors

ESV - “Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops”

NASV - “Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops”

NIV - “Marshal your troops now, city of troops”

RSV - “Now your are walled about with a wall”

GNT - “People of Jerusalem, gather your forces!”

Message - “But for now, prepare for the worst, victim daughter!”

You will do so, to resist the enemy. Lest they should fall into false security because of the previous promises, they are reminded of the calamities which will precede the prosperity.

“daughter of troops” - Jerusalem

“he hath laid siege against us” - the enemy - Nebuchadnezzer/the Babylonians

Nebuchadnezzer and the Babylonians laid siege against Jerusalem for three years

(2 Kings 25:1-2)

“Thou shallt smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek”

“judge” - ruler - Zedekiah

“smite...upon the cheek” - the greatest of insults to someone from that region

v. 2

“Bethlehem Ephratah” - or, Bethlehem Judah, so called to distinguish it from Bethlehem in Zebulun. It was a few miles SW of Jerusalem. “Bethlehem” means “the house of bread,” and Ephratah means “fruitful.” Both names refer to the fertility of the region.

“though thou be little among” - smallest - scarcely large enough to be reckoned with - it was insignificant in size and population, or little in worldly importance. The low state of David’s line when Messiah was born is also implied here. - God chooses the little things of the world to eclipse in glory its greatest things.

1 Corinthians 1:27-28 - “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:.”

“thousands of Judah” - Each tribe was divided in clans or “thousands,” each “thousand” containing a thousand families - so, the meaning is the “clans” of Judah

“unto me” - God the Father - to fulfil all the Father’s will and purpose from eternity past

“from of old, from everlasting” - The terms convey the strongest assertion of infinite duration of which the Hebrew language is capable. The Messiah’s generation, as man, coming forth unto God to do His will on earth, is from Bethlehem; but as the Son of God, His goings forth are “from everlasting.”

v. 3

“Therefore will he give them up” - Because of His settled plan, God will give up His people to their foes

“until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth” - Israel’s deliverance from her long travail pains of sorrow will synchronize with the appearance of the Messiah as her Redeemer in the last days

Romans 11:26 - “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.”

“Then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel” - The remainder of the Jews dispersed in foreign lands will return to join their countrymen in Israel.

v. 4

“And he shall stand” - to rise up for the purpose of taking action

“feed in the strength of the LORD” - His “food” will be the might of the Lord

“they shall abide” - the Jews, the returning remnant

v. 5

“And this man shall be the peace” - “this man” is simply “this” in Hebrew referring to the One just mentioned - He and He alone. Other translations end the phrase with a period and concludes to previous section. - The phrase is literally “And this shall be peace”

ESV - “And he shall be their peace.”

CSB - “He will be their peace.”

NASB - “This One will be our peace.”

GNT - “and he will bring peace.”

But NIV uses the phrase to begin another section

“And he will be our peace when the Assyrians invade our land...”

Also the RSV - “And this shall be peace, when the Assyrians...”

“when the Assyrian shall come into our land” - Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah

Shalmaneser V was king of Assyria 726-722 BC

Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC in the fourth year of Hezekiah

(2 Kings 18:9-12)

Sennacherib was king of Assyria 704-681 BC

Invaded Judah in 701 BC (2 Kings 18:13-19:36)

2 Kings 19:35-36 - “And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.”

“and when he shall tread in our palaces”

The devastation caused by the Assyrians when they invaded Judah was immense. Although Jerusalem was spared, Sennacherib claims to have destroyed 46 walled cities and to have taken 200,150 captives

“Then shall we raise against him seven shepherds”

“shepherd” = leaders

“and eight principal men” - again, the meaning is “leaders”

Seven is a number of perfection; the idiom “seven and eight” means a full and sufficient number

CSB Study Bible - People confident in their worn strength believed that they could raise up for themselves numerous leaders against their enemies, even ruling over Assyria and Nimrod, or Babylon. But Micah asserted that only “he” - God’s ruler - could rescue them from the Assyrians (v. 6b)

v. 6

“And they shall wast the land of Assyria” - Judah’s”sufficient” armies

“and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof”

“Nimrod” - Babylon

“entrances” - the passes into Assyria

“thus shall he deliver us...when he cometh...when he treadeth”

“he” - the Messiah

God would deliver Judah, but not in the way that they envisioned

v. 7

In the future Messianic reign, the “remnant of Jacob” will be among “many people” throughout the world. Their presence will be a blessing as is the “dew” and “showers” on the grass.

Isaiah 68:19-20a - “And I will send those that escape of them unto the nations...that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations.”

“that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men”

“tarrieth” / “waiteth” = hope - their hope will be in the Lord

v. 8

“as a lion...as a young lion” - the Jews will be “as a lion” in its power of striking terror into all opponents.

v. 9

“Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries...”

In other passages, it is the Lord’s hand that is lifted up. But Israel’s foes are the Lord’s foes. When her hand is said to be lifted up, it is the Lord’s hand that strikes the foe by her.

v. 10

“And it shall come to pass in that day” - the time of Christ’s rule on earth

“cut off thy horses...destroy thy chariots” - The universal peace given Christ’s reign on earth will cause warlike instruments to be needless

“cut off” - exterminate

“v. 11

“cut off the cities...throw down thy strong holds” - fortified cities for war - men will live in peace in unwalled villages

v. 12

“cut off witchcrafts...no more soothsayers” - which they currently used

v. 13

“Thy graven images also will I cut off...thy standing images...no more worship the work of thine hands” - no idolatry

v. 14

“pluck up they groves...destroy thy cities” - in worship of a Canaanite goddess of fertility, love, and war - “groves” and “cities” are parallel

v. 15

“such as they have not heard” - the idea is those that have not obeyed the Lord