Digging Deeper Days
Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out Bethlehem!
The Questions
1) Such vivid imagery and dramatic beginning of this passage (verse 1)! What does this mean?
2) How does the promise in verse 2 connect with “therefore Israel will be abandoned….” in verse 3?
3) Why is “ruler of Israel” (verse 2) significant and how does it relate to the other benefits prophesied about that would come with the Messiah??
Micah 5:1-6
Now, daughter who is under attack,
you slash yourself in grief;
a siege is set against us!
They are striking the judge of Israel
on the cheek with a rod.
2 Bethlehem Ephrathah,
you are small among the clans of Judah;
one will come from you
to be ruler over Israel for me.
His origin is from antiquity,
from ancient times.
3 Therefore, Israel will be abandoned until the time
when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of the ruler’s brothers will return
to the people of Israel.
4 He will stand and shepherd them
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majestic name of the Lord his God.
They will live securely,
for then his greatness will extend
to the ends of the earth.
5 He will be their peace.
When Assyria invades our land,
when it marches against our fortresses,
we will raise against it seven shepherds,
even eight leaders of men.
6 They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
the land of Nimrod with a drawn blade.
So he will rescue us from Assyria
when it invades our land,
when it marches against our territory.
Original Intent
1) Such vivid imagery and dramatic beginning of this passage (verse 1)! What does this mean?
The Jewish nation was struggling to maintain the title “nation”. They had suffered much already at the time of Micah’s prophecies, but would endure much more in the years ahead. The nation had split between Northern Kingdom (Israel) and Southern Kingdom (Judah) following King Solomon’s reign, which was immediately following King David. During Micah’s lifetime, the Northern Kingdom would fall and be dispersed, never to be a nation again. Still to come for Judah was a 70-year exile at the hand of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. Micah’s short book is packed full of warnings to Judah of all the destruction that was still to come, while also woven through with hope that the punishment would one day end. The “daughter under attack” is the nation of Judah, or Zion, as also referenced in this book. So great was the devastation coming towards her as punishment, that Micah calls for her to “slash herself”. This isn’t intended to read like modern-day “cutting” or suicide, rather it was a call to awareness of how great Judah’s sin was in the eyes of God. A siege was coming (from Babylon), and there was nothing they could do to stop impending judgement from God. Babylon would strike the “judge (or king) of Israel on the cheek with a rod”, meaning it would be shameful for Israel to be conquered and taken captive.
2) How does the promise in verse 2 connect with “therefore Israel will be abandoned….” in verse 3?
The timing of the Lord is perfect, flawless, and wholly wise. He waited for “just the right time” in the grand timeline of history to send Jesus as an infant. (Romans 5:6) Nothing about His actions were either slow or rushed; they were precise and intentional. Micah had laid out the warning of judgment their sinful actions would bring about. He told of the coming, rightly deserved, punishment on Israel. He had also delivered the word of hope that one day, the Messiah, God wrapped in flesh, would come and rule and shepherd Israel, bringing about peace. Now, God would give space. God would wait. He would wait until the perfect time, for Mary and Joseph to be born and raised waiting for hope, engaged to be married with no expectation for what and how exactly God would intervene. God waited for Caesar Augustus’ call for census so Mary and Joseph would travel to Bethlehem, the prophesied about city of Jesus’ birth. He would wait for Rome to build roads across the eastern world so that missionaries like Paul and Peter could easily reach more people with the message of the cross. He would wait for Greek to be the common language so the gospel would spread quickly. Yes, it looked like God “abandoned” Israel, but He hadn’t, He was waiting. The Hebrew word used for “abandoned” in this verse literally means a setting aside for specific work. God intentionally set Israel aside, deferring their coming salvation, until that very moment when history would forever be divided.
3) Why is “ruler of Israel” (verse 2) significant and how does it relate to the other benefits prophesied about that would come with the Messiah?
Where verse 1 mentioned “the judge of Israel”, meaning the human king, verse 2 speaks of One who would be “ruler over Israel for Me”. The “Me” here is God speaking through Micah. This would not be a human who would speak for God like a prophet, this Ruler would BE God whose “origin is from antiquity”, meaning, exactly like God, He had no beginning, but has simply always existed like John speaks of Jesus (the Word) in John 1:1. This ruler would “stand” with authority, He would “shepherd” Israel with tenderness and care, and all He would do would be done with the strength of Yahweh and all would be done in the Name of Yahweh, which would come to pass by Jesus’ own words of Himself, “So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.” (John 5:19) He would bring security without fear for His people, and His “greatness” or fame will be endless and known by all. (Isaiah 52:10, Isaiah 45:22) He would be Israel’s peace, their final victory, and mighty rescuer against strongest foes. No human king could attain such lofty goals. Even if someone was able to bring about peace and all these other wonderful things, there is no possible way it would last forever, yet that was exactly Micah’s prophecy. One human being who would come from Judah’s lineage, but was somehow also God, was intended to fulfill each of these incredible prophecies!
Everyday Application
1) Such vivid imagery and dramatic beginning of this passage (verse 1)! What does this mean?
Micah prophesied of an extremely grievous scenario for Judah, but at the time of prophesy, things didn’t seem that bad. They enjoyed relative wealth, and they felt they were “getting away” with their sinfulness. (Micah 2:8) Yet, every act was seen by God, and their debt against Him must be paid. We are not Judah, but the scenario is the same for us! How easy it is for us to justify our sin, to feel like we can get away with it, to ask forgiveness later, and ignore the reality of sin incurring a debt against a holy God. Like Micah warned Judah, telling her to grieve deeply, so should we grieve over our sin. Punishment for our sin must take place, but we could never pay it, which is why God planned to send the Promised One, the Messiah, Jesus Christ, to take our punishment for us! Babylon would attack Judah and take what was left of the divided Israeli nation into captivity just as Micah said they would. For us, without surrendering everything to Jesus and trusting Him to pay our debt caused by sin, we too will face a captivity. Ours will be eternal, however, and death will have the final word. There is only one hope, God wrapped in flesh, living our life perfectly for us without sin, and then sacrificing Himself as an atonement for sin, followed by a victorious rising from the dead so that life would have the final word for those who believe in Him! Don’t ignore the warning! Grieve over your sin, and let that grief bring you to repentance! (2 Corinthians 7:10)
2) How does the promise in verse 2 connect with “therefore Israel will be abandoned….” in verse 3?
We are quite familiar with waiting, in fact, it often feels as if that’s the majority of how we spend our lives. Waiting to grow up, waiting to graduate, waiting for the right spouse, waiting for children, waiting for achievement, waiting to be noticed for that position, waiting to be loved well, or waiting for that loved one to turn from their erring ways. Rarely do we consider how God also waits. He waited for just the right time for Jesus’ birth, and only He knew when that fullness of time had come, and all of the intricate reasons why that time was perfect. But that’s not the only time He has waited. Every single time someone turns from darkness, away from their sin, and chooses to walk in the light and love of Jesus, God has been waiting for that moment. He’s been waiting to pour out His Spirit into their hearts and fill them with knowledge of Him. As that person grows in understanding and takes more steps of obedience in Christ, God waits at every pause, holding every tear, celebrating every victory, and waiting patiently while we keep growing. We wait in line, we wait at the microwave, we wait in our relationships, but so does our God. While our waiting can seem pointless and frustrating, His is always intentional and pregnant with purpose. Next time you’re waiting for something, anything, remember God waits too, and He has a set aside, specific purpose for that wait!
3) Why is “ruler of Israel” (verse 2) significant and how does it relate to the other benefits prophesied about that would come with the Messiah?
With such wondrous promises at stake, it’s no wonder that Bethlehem kept holding onto the hope of being the birthplace of “the one”. As the years stretched into decades and centuries, I wonder how many people scoffed at the prophesies made by a long-ago prophet named Micah. But, then, I think about today, and my life, and our time. We wait for the same coming King. Yes, the Ancient One, the Word become flesh, has indeed arrived in insignificant little Bethlehem just as God foretold through Micah, but we wait for another coming Day. The same Jesus will come back again! “This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven. (Acts 1:11) It’s been over 2,000 years since this Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and though no one knows the day or the hour when He will come back to “stand” with authority, to “shepherd” His people with kindness we’ve never imagined, and bring a “peace” that will last for eternity because He is God, we know He absolutely will. So, we, like Bethlehem of old, wait with anticipation!
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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!
1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!
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Why Dig Deeper?
Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.
In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!
Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.
Study Tools
We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.
Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!
Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))
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I’m reminded of the Christian song, While Were We’re Sleeping”
Bethlehem (and the Israelites) had fall asleep waiting for the coming Messiah. So asleep they didn’t recognize him when he came.
And we as a nation as a church have fallen asleep, we’ve let our lights burn out, or low. And we are no longer prepared to see the Bridegroom coming.
Seek him out. Let’s make this new year the year of Awakening and discipleship. Let’s prepare our hearts and prophesy to the people to repent of their sins.
Such good encouragement here, Mandy! Thank you for this!