Micah · chapter 5 of 7
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Micah 5 announces that from Bethlehem Ephrathah, small among the clans of Judah, will come forth for the Lord one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origins are from of old. He will shepherd in the strength of the Lord, will be great to the ends of the earth and will be peace. The chapter also pictures the remnant of Jacob as dew and as a lion, and Israel's cleansing from its chariots and idols.
Chapter 5 contains one of the best-known messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. In English and Spanish Bibles Micah 5 has 15 verses; in the Hebrew text, the first verse corresponds to Micah 4:14, so Micah 5:2 appears there as 5:1. Matthew 2:5-6 quotes Micah 5:2 to point to the birthplace of Jesus.
The chapter opens with the city under siege: enemy troops besiege Jerusalem, and they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek with a rod. Then the text changes tone with a contrast: but you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
Therefore the Lord will give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth, and the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. He shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God, and they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace.
When Assyria comes into the land and treads on its citadels, seven shepherds and eight princes of men will be raised against it, and they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword and the land of Nimrod at its entrances. He shall deliver us from Assyria when it comes into our land.
The remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass,. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations like a lion among the beasts of the forest. In that day, declares the Lord, I will cut off your horses from among you and will destroy your chariots; I will cut off the cities of your land and throw down all your strongholds, and I will cut off your carved images and your pillars, and you shall bow down no more to the work of your hands. And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
From Bethlehem Ephrathah, small among the clans of Judah, will come the ruler of Israel, whose origin is from of old. Matthew 2:5-6 quotes this verse in answer to the wise men asking where the Messiah was to be born.
This ruler will shepherd in the strength of the Lord, his people will dwell secure and his greatness will reach the ends of the earth. The promised king exercises his authority as a shepherd, not as an oppressor.
The text declares that this ruler will be peace. Facing the threat of Assyria, the people's security will come not from armies but from the very person of the king God will send.
The remnant of Jacob will be among the peoples like dew from the Lord and like showers on the grass. The image shows a blessing that comes from God and does not depend on human resources.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Bethlehem Ephrathah. — Micah 5:2
Answer: As too little to be among the clans of Judah. — Micah 5:2
Answer: That his coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. — Micah 5:2
Answer: He will shepherd in the strength of the Lord, and his people will dwell secure. — Micah 5:4
Answer: That he will be their peace. — Micah 5:5
Answer: With dew from the Lord and with a lion among the beasts of the forest. — Micah 5:7-8
Micah 5:2 reminds us that God often works through the small. Bethlehem was not an important city, yet from it the promised ruler would come. In a Sunday school class you can reflect on how God uses places and people the world overlooks, including us, and on how to value what is humble.
The chapter also invites us to put our security in the shepherd and not in chariots or strongholds. God says he will remove what makes them feel safe, horses, chariots and idols, so that they trust in him. For Christians, Jesus is that shepherd who is peace, and Micah 5 invites us to rest in him more than in what we can control.
Micah 5 presents the ruler from Bethlehem as the hope of a threatened people. In chapter 6 the Lord will call his people to judgment and remind them what he really asks of them.
Matthew 2:5-6 quotes it when the chief priests and scribes answer Herod that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea. John 7:42 also recalls that the Christ was expected to come from Bethlehem. Christians see Jesus as the fulfillment of this promise.
The expression indicates a very ancient origin, from remote times. Christians usually understand it as pointing to Christ's existence before his birth in Bethlehem, though in its original context it stresses that this king is no improvised novelty but the fulfillment of a plan God has always had.
The text does not say. Some understand her as Zion or the people in labor pains before the ruler's birth, others link her to the Messiah's mother, and many Christians connect it with the birth of Jesus. It is a debated detail.