Insignificance in the Midst of Worldly Values
Micah 5:1 likely speaks of Zedekiah, the ruler under whom Jerusalem
finally fell to Babylon. Babylon took
Jerusalem by siege. Zedekiah was
captured, his sons were killed before his presence, and immediately his eyes
were put out before he was dragged to Jerusalem. Zedekiah was a king who thought himself much;
he was a king humbled before God.
Micah 5:2 shifts to a new ruler over the people of God. This ruler is to be born in Bethlehem – a most
unlikely of places. In fact, Bethlehem
is not even included in the list of towns when Joshua takes the Promised Land
originally (Joshua 15) or when Nehemiah returns after the Babylonian conquest
to rebuild the land (Nehemiah 11). According
to the world’s perspective, leaders come from the wealthy, the elite, the
popular, the charismatic, are the traditionally powerful. Leaders aren’t typically looked for among the
unknown. God’s Messiah, however, would
come from people and places easily overlooked.
Another interesting point within these opening verses is the
stress upon the middle of verse 2. The
Messiah will come from Bethlehem to do work for God. Here we see one of the greatest virtues of
the Messiah. Here’s is God’s anointed. Here is God’s chosen one. Here is the greatest leader to come to
earth. What is His greatest trait? He understands His place. He is here to do the will of God.
Now, when we speak about the Messiah, this may seem like it’s not
the world’s deepest thought. After all,
we know that Jesus was the Son of God so it makes sense that He is able to
follow God closely. Where the wisdom in
this thought comes into play is when I begin to look at my own life. When am I in the most trouble? When am I most likely going to mess things
up? When am I most likely to need God to
save me from myself? Simply put, when I’m
going off on my own and no longer bending my will to the will of God. Yes, that’s right. What makes the Messiah great points directly
to where I need the most help. Life is
better when I am about the will of God.
In the Midst of the Nations
Micah takes us back to look at the remnant. Now that Micah has spoken about the Messiah
who would lead the remnant, it is time to look at the remnant proper. This is why the understanding of verse 7 is
so neat. We hear that the remnant should
be in the midst of many peoples. In
verse 8 we hear that the remnant will be among the nations.
Of course, it is natural to think historically about these verses. The Hebrew people were under the captivity of
the Assyrians and Babylonians. The
Persians governed over them but allowed them to return home. The Greeks dominated over them. The Romans dominated over them and absolutely
crushed their culture. It’s easy to hear
of these empires and think of this process as the fulfillment of these verses.
However, I think there is an even better understanding here. If Christ is the Messiah, then it makes sense
to see the remnant as His followers. And
what has happened to the followers of Christ?
The Gospel has been spread throughout the entire world. Every continent has people upon it who
proclaim Jesus as Lord. The remnant is
indeed in the midst of all the nations.
Following God
As we look to the ending verses here in Micah 5, we understand all
of the things that God will cut out. We
start with horses and chariots. Turn to
Deuteronomy 17:16. It’s clear that these
verses are meant to indicate that God will take away the worldly influence of
Egypt from within them. What does Egypt
represent but the bondage of the world?
In verses 11 and 12 we hear about God’s desire to take away the
cities and the strongholds and the sorcery and the fortune-telling and the
carved images and the Asherah poles. These
are the trappings of civilization, especially the original inhabitants of the
land. The Canaanites were not purged
from the land, and the Hebrew people succumbed to the sins of the people. God is telling the remnant that they will
learn to focus on God and God’s ways and not the trappings of worldly life.
I think this is an awesome point within this chapter. What is the traditional worldly understanding
of the Messiah? The belief was that the
Messiah would come and make the Hebrew people rule the world. But what is God actually saying in these
verses? The Messiah will come and lead a
remnant into a life that is focused on God’s ways and not the ways of the
world. The Messiah isn’t about making us
great in the world. The Messiah is about
refocusing us on God and away from this world.
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