Micah 5

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

A Prediction of the Birthplace of the Messiah

Where would the Messiah be born?
Read the quote in Matthew 2:6. Where is this found in the Old Testament?
By whom was this prophecy quoted in Matthew 2:6, and for what reason?
What is the meaning of the phrase, “They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek?” (Micah 5:1)
Who was the judge of Israel in this passage? How was he stricken with a rod on the cheek?
When the Lord returns, He will deliver Israel in four different ways. List these ways.
What is the meaning of the name of Bethlehem?

In Bethlehem Ephrathah, located 5-6 miles south of Jerusalem.
Micah 5:2.
It was quoted by the chief priests and scribes to Herod in reference to the request of the wise men as to where the king of the Jews was born. Herod relayed this message to the wise men and they went and found the Lord in Bethlehem.
It is a sign of greatest humiliation.
King Zedekiah, the last king of Judah. The Babylonians killed King Zedekiah’s sons before his very eyes, and then they blinded him and took him as a prisoner to Babylon. Read about this in 2 Kings 25.
The Lord will deliver Israel from the the coming Assyrian
Bethlehem means house of bread.

Bethlehem was only a small town in Judah, yet out of Bethlehem would come the Messiah. It was not what man would consider to be a great place, a noted place. God loves to take the obscure and use it for His glory. Whether it be people or places, nothing is too small for the Lord to take up and make significant. Do you feel small and insignificant? The Lord will use you in great ways if you give yourself to Him in His service.
Notice how the full humanity and full deity of the Messiah is brought out in Micah 5:2. He would be born as a baby in Bethlehem. Yet this would not be His beginning. His goings forth are from old, including His pre-incarnate appearances in the Old Testament. Consider the humanity and deity of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There’s coming a time in the future when a godly remnant will be born out of the secular state of Israel and Israel will be restored once again to a position of the Lord’s favor. The “she” of Micah 5:3 is the nation of Israel and the birth of the godly remnant of Jewish believers in the future. When the Lord returns, He will deliver Israel from all her enemies, from all warfare and from idolatry. Praise Him!
“…He shall give them up until…” (Micah 5:3). See also Romans 11. Israel has been set aside temporarily from God’s place of favor, while the Gentiles are brought into a place of privilege. Discuss what this means for both the Gentiles and the Jews.

The name Bethlehem means house of bread. The Lord Jesus said in John 6 that He was the bread of life. Have you received the bread of life as the only means of satisfying your spiritual hunger?
Recall the reference in Matthew 2:6, where Micah 5:2 was quoted. These chief priests and scribes knew the word, but they didn’t act on it or live by it. The wise men, on the other hand believed the word and by faith acted on the word of God, and they found the Lord. This could be a lesson for us today. Know the word, believe by faith and act on the word and live by it. Then you will find the Lord.

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose going forth are from of old, from everlasting.” Micah 5:2
“Then the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst…” Micah 5:7
“You shall no more worship the work of your hands…” Micah 5:13