Question
Questions for Micah 5:2-4
Key verses 5:2
JESUS WAS BORN IN BETHLEHEM
- What is the historical context in which the prophet Micah wrote this book (1:1, 1:6, 1:15, 2:2, 3:11, 5:1)? What is the message of hope God gave in this situation (2)?
- What kind of place is “Bethlehem Ephrathah” (2a, 1 Samuel 16:1, 12, Genesis 35:19)? What are the origins of the ruler over Israel who will come out of Bethlehem (2b)? What time period does “from of old” and “from ancient times” refer to?
- In what ways is Micah 5:2 reflected in the New Testament (Matthew 2:5-6, John 7:42)? Who is the ruler that was born in Bethlehem according to the prophecy of Micah (Luke 2:4-7)? What does the humble birth of the Son of God in Bethlehem reveal to you about God’s character and His way of working (Zechariah 9:9, Philippians 2:6-8, 1 Corinthians 1:26-31)?
- When will the restoration of Israel occur (3)? How will the ruler care for and lead his people (4a, Psalms 23:1-6, John 10:11)? To what extent will His greatness reach (4b)?
- What message does this passage give to you and your community?
Message
JESUS WAS BORN IN BETHLEHEM
Micah 5:2
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
Introduction:
Merry Christmas! Christmas is Jesus’ birthday. It’s his DAY! But sadly it’s more associated with Mr. Santa and Christmas trees. Even the word “Merry Christmas” is replaced with “Happy Holidays.” The world is excited, but the main character, Jesus Christ, is missing!
Before sharing my Christmas message, I would like to share an interesting myth. It happened in the year 2,333 BC after Noah’s flood judgment. A son of god came down on top of a mountain to establish a theocratic kingdom. One day, a bear and a tiger came to him and wished to become a human. Then he instructed them to stay 100 days in a cave eating nothing but garlic and mugwort. Both of them challenged, but only the bear completed. So the bear became a beautiful woman and married the son of god. She gave birth to a son, and the son became the founder of Korea. What do you think about this myth? At first, I believed it without thinking. After I became a Christian, I thought that it was a crazy myth. But now, I see that in some ways, it’s very similar to the Bible story. The Koreans believed that a son of god came down and established their kingdom. It’s amazing that they tried to find their national root in a god. But where did they get such an idea? I guess it’s from the Bible.
Today, I will tell you the REAL story of the Son of God who DID come down to this world and DID establish his kingdom on earth. Prophet Micah prophesied this.
Part I: The Earthly Kingdom
Do you know what the name of Micah means? “Who is like Yahweh?” It means “There’s no god like Jehovah.” Micah’s name has a powerful message to the confused people in his time. Yahweh God cannot be compared to any idol. Amen!
Micah declared the word of the LORD in the times of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Jotham and Hezekiah were good kings, but Ahaz, in my opinion, was the 2nd worst king in Judah. He defiled the holy, priestly nation with idols and the holy temple of the LORD by bringing idols into it. He even offered his sons to these idols. To him, idols were greater than Yahweh God. At his time, the leaders oppressed the poor and took bribes. The priests taught for a price. The prophets practiced divination for money. The leaders, the priests, and the prophets all worked for money. The sole motive of all their services was money. Money became their god. Nevertheless, they said, “Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No disaster will come upon us” (3:9-11). Even though they were doing evil, the false prophets declared peace and security.
Likewise, prosperity gospel preachers say that if we believe in Jesus, God makes us rich and healthy, and never makes us suffer. That’s not true. Jesus never made his disciples rich. Paul had a chronic health issue. When he was stoned, he said, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22). This is the truth. The true prophet Micah prophesied the impending judgment of the LORD on Samaria and Jerusalem (3:12). But they did not listen. Micah’s prophecy indeed came true. Samaria was destroyed by Assyria and Judah by Babylon. Micah saw their endings and did not put any hope in the earthly kingdoms. We're not supposed to put our hope in America. America will surely end in destruction too. Then where should we put our hope?
Part II: The Messianic Kingdom
Let’s read verse 2 all together. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (5:2) This is about the birth of the Son of God. The whole Old Testament is talking about the coming of the Son of God. Only Micah revealed his birthplace. It’s not Korea, nor New York, but Bethlehem. Jesus could have been born in Nazareth, but the LORD made him born in Bethlehem.
First, Why was the Son of God born in Bethlehem?
Bethlehem has a sorrowful history. Rachel, Jacob’s beloved wife died there in labor. She named her son, “Ben-Oni” which means “a son of sorrow.” Then Jacob changed his name to “Benjamin”, meaning “a son of the right hand.” This has a gospel message. Jesus was born in the sorrowful town so that he could make sorrowful people joyful and victorious!
David was born in Bethlehem. He is a shadow of the Christ. So the Christ, the Son of David, was born in Bethlehem.
The word Bethlehem means “a house of bread.” Ironically Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” The living bread was born in the bread house. And another name of Bethlehem was Ephrathah, meaning “Fruitful.” Therefore “Bethlehem Ephrathah” means “a house of fruitful bread.” Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10). Do you want to have an abundant life! Jesus can make our life abundant and fruitful. Why? Because Jesus Christ is the reservoir of life. Love, joy, peace and hope come from Jesus Christ, not video games, YouTube, drugs, girlfriends or boyfriends.
In the time of Micah, Bethlehem was a small town in Judah. Archaeologists estimate that the population was fewer than 500. Compared to Jerusalem, it was very insignificant. The most glorious God chose a small town as his birthplace. Not only the small town, but also he was born in a stable and even laid in a manger. This shows his humility. He could have been born in Jerusalem in a luxurious palace. He purposely chose this small town, the lowly stable and the manger. Apostle Paul describes his humility like this: “Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God… but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” (Phil 2:6-8). Our life is a kind of finding Jesus and worshiping him and serving him. Where should we go to find the Son of God? To the One World Trade Center? No! We should know that humble Jesus is always in a lowly place even today. To find him, we should go down, down, and down to the lowly place. The more we go down, the more we can taste his grace.
While I was preparing for this message, the humility of Jesus really touched my heart. I was born in pride. I always tried to be on top. When I entered a competitive high school, I could not be the top student. So I became fatalistic and felt miserable. My future looked very dark. So I was never satisfied and never happy with myself. This was because I was going in the wrong direction. From today, instead of going up to elevate myself, I’ll go down.
Second, the purpose of Jesus’ birth
What did Jesus come for? “...from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel.” (2b) All human kings are manufactured ones. But Jesus is a born king. He was a king from his birth. Kings exercise their absolute power. So who rules is critical to their people. King David ruled Israel with justice and righteousness. So his people were happy and enjoyed peace. But King Ahaz with his absolute authority defiled the nation. So his people suffered. David-like kings are extremely rare. To establish an everlasting kingdom, we need a perfect king who can rule with perfect justice and perfect righteousness. David is the greatest king in human history, but even King David is not qualified. Only Jesus, the Son of God, fits for the everlasting kingship. For this purpose, Jesus came and redeemed his people through his death and resurrection. He ascended and sat on the right hand of God, and is now ruling with his perfect justice and perfect righteousness.
Jesus rules over us with his truth. We long for freedom. How can we be free? Jesus said, “The Truth will set you free” (Jn 8:32). Those who hear the words from our king and put it into practice will enjoy freedom. King Jesus commands us to forgive others, but if we say, “No, I will never forgive that guy”, then we live as slaves of a vengeful spirit. May God give us courage to simply obey Jesus’ words so that we may experience freedom by his truth.
Third, the Origin of Jesus
We began to exist starting from our birth. Yet, what about Jesus? Micah says his origin is from ancient times. This means Jesus exists in eternity, beyond time. Before his birth, Jesus appeared to Joshua. Before Joshua, Jesus appeared to Abraham with his two angels. Before Abraham, Jesus walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Before Adam and Eve, Jesus created the universe. Jesus is far greater than we know and can imagine.
I have been teaching for 37 years that Jesus is God, but this year, it deeply touched my heart. So whenever I open my mouth, I declare that Jesus is our God. When I fish sheep, I boldly say that Jesus is God and pray with them in the mighty name of Jesus. I became more brave. I feel like I am born a third time.
Fourth, Jesus, the Good Shepherd
Jesus is our shepherd. Verse 4a reads, “He will shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord…” (5:4a). Some of us might think we are not like sheep. But to God, we are exactly like sheep: dumb and vulnerable. We don’t know which way we should go. And we are very vulnerable to temptations. We need a shepherd who can help us, and lead us to the right path. Our one and only good shepherd is Jesus Christ. He said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (Jn 10:11). Jesus takes care of us in the strength of mighty God. Do you believe this? Our life is like walking through the valley of the shadow of death all alone. We are fearful, sorrowful, painful, and lonely. That’s not only us. The whole world is in this situation. The Ukraine-Russia war lasts almost three years. And the war between Israel and Hamas in Palestine expanded to Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran, Syria, and Houthis in Yemen. Regardless of winning or losing, the war victims are suffering. Though we are not involved in the wars, we too suffer! We all have big or small unsolvable life problems. How can we overcome our problems? As you know, our situation does not matter. The real matter is our faith. Jesus chose us before the creation of the world, and has already prepared everything for our needs in advance. This Jesus is with us. If we believe this truth, we can overcome fear, worries, pains, and sorrows. Even if we feel like walking in the shadow of death, we can shout by faith, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalms 23:1-6).
I am very thankful that you are still hanging in Jesus. I can say, you are indeed heroes of faith. Please never ever doubt that we are not alone. Jesus, our God is always with us. He suffers with us. He cries with us. Let’s arise by faith, endure all hardships, and continue our spiritual journey with Jesus Christ our Good Shepherd until we meet him face to face. To give this blessing to each of us, Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem. Merry Christmas!