Let us turn then to God's Word
in that chapter that we read, Micah chapter 5. And I direct
you for our text to the words that we find in the second verse. Micah chapter 5 and the second
verse. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah,
though thou be literal among the thousands of Judah, yet out
of thee shall he come forth unto me. that is to be ruler in Israel,
whose goings forth have been of old from everlasting. It is a prophecy, a promise of
course, of the coming, the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. But
thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands
of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is
to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been of old
from everlasting. First of all I want us to consider
something of the context here, the historical setting, those
things that we see as preceding the fulfilment of this promise. We know that Micah was contemporary
with the prophet Isaiah. The opening words of the book,
we read the word of the Lord that came to Micah, the Morestites
in the days of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which
he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. And if you read the
opening words of Isaiah, you'll see that he was also God's messenger,
God's prophet during those same years, the same kings were reigning
when Isaiah was also exercising his ministry. Remember, in the book of Isaiah we are
certainly told some detail with regards to the reign of King
Hezekiah. In fact in Isaiah chapters 36
through to 39 we have a great deal of historical detail concerning
the besieging of Jerusalem by the armies of the great Assyrian
Emperor Sennacherib. And yesterday a goodly number
of course were at the anniversary service of Hagen and our attention
was indirected to the prayer of Hezekiah in the 14th year
of his reign, when the Assyrians had come and laid siege, and
then God had heard and answered his prayer. He'd received that
awful letter from Rapshakei, the Assyrian general. He'd been
taunting and mocking the men who were upon the wall as the
Assyrians were besieging Jerusalem and a letter had been sent to
King Hezekiah and he'd taken that letter and he'd spread the
matter before the Lord as he went with it into the temple
of the Lord and God had heard prayer and the Assyrians had
been diverted, they'd broken off the siege But then he'd received
a terrible message at Hezekiah. The prophet Isaiah had gone to
tell him that he must set his house in order because he would
die, he would not live. There in chapter 38 of Isaiah,
and he's not able now to take this matter as he'd done previously
and spread the affair before the Lord in the temple, but he
turns his face to the wall, we're told. and he prays, as it were,
to the silent wall, but his prayer penetrates and reaches the very
throne of God, and God is pleased to hear him, and the prophet,
before ever he's left the royal court, is sent back to tell the
king that his prayer has been heard, and 15 years are going
to be added to his life, and then he makes that remarkable
prayer, a prayer of thanksgiving that we were being directed to
yesterday afternoon and those words, by these things men live
and in all these things is the life of my spirit. All these terrible providences,
these sad reverses, the besieging Assyrians and the hand of death
that had been upon him, these were the very life of his soul
and as I say, Micah is minishing at exactly the same time. And we can understand in words
of this fifth chapter in terms of that army of the Assyrians
that did come up against Jerusalem. Now gather thyself in troops,
O daughter of troops, he hath laid siege against us, They shall
smite the Judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. Now, this is the setting, you
see. These troops, the Assyrians,
they're all about Jerusalem. And yet, all of this, according
to the words of the Prophet, is under the hand of God. But besides the historical context
and the armies of the Assyrians coming, we can also understand
this prophetically, it's a prophetic word that might be said to have
reference to events that came somewhat later, because after
the Assyrians came the Babylonians. The Assyrian Empire fell, and
then it was replaced by the Great Empire of Babylon, And now there
was another mighty monarch called Nebuchadnezzar. And he also came
and he laid siege to Jerusalem. And this time Jerusalem fell.
It wasn't the days of Hezekiah, it was later. And there was a
man who'd been set upon the throne who was given the name of Zedekiah. And we read of these things at
the end of the second book of Kings. In the last chapter, in
2 Kings chapter 25, we're told how he came to pass in the ninth
year of his reign, that is Ezekiel's reign, in the tenth month, in
the tenth day of the month of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon
came and all his host against Jerusalem and pitched against
it and they built forts against it round about. and the city
was besieged until the 11th year of King Zedekiah. They came towards
the end of the 9th year of his reign and all through the 10th
year the city is under siege even until the 11th year of King
Zedekiah and the city fell and Zedekiah was taken Verse 6 there,
so they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon
to Riblah and they gave judgment upon him and they slew the sons
of Zedekiah before his eyes and put out the eyes of Zedekiah
and bound him with fetters of brass and carried him to Babylon. It's not just an historic word
then referring to the events that were contemporary in the
days of Micah and Isaiah, the besieging of Jerusalem by the
Assyrians, but it's also prophetic, it speaks of events later. Under
the Babylonians, now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops,
the afflicted siege against us. They shall smite the judge of
Israel with the rods upon the cheek. This is the terrible situation
the degrading circumstances that stand as the background to the
promise, the promise that we have here in the text. There will be a remnant, and
that remnant, taken into Babylon, will be preserved. Verse 3, Therefore
will He give them up, until the time that she which provideth
hath brought forth, then the remnant of his brethren shall
return unto the children of Israel." Those who are taken into exile,
those who were removed when Jerusalem fell and taken into captivity
after 70 years there in Babylon, as we were saying this morning,
there would come restoration, there would be another empire. the empire of the Medes and the
Persians. You see these great empires came
one after the other. First the Assyrians, then the
Babylonians, then the Medes and the Persians. And it was under
the Persian Emperor Cyrus that the decree was passed that Jews
were to return. And there was the rebuilding
of the city, of course, in the days of Ezra. And then subsequently
also Nehemiah returns and there's the rebuilding of the Temple
of the Lords. But it's what precedes the promise
that I'm interested in here. Oh, how dark the situation was. How degrading for God's people. that awful judgment that came
upon them when they were removed and taken into exile. Now gather thyself in troops,
O daughter of troops, see a flag siege against us, they shall
smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But, see how the promise is introduced
by that little word, but. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah,
though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of
thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel,
whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Ultimately we have to see this
whole chapter really in the context of the Lord Jesus Christ. We
have to interpret this chapter in a spiritual sense. Though
we take account of the history of the period when Micah was exercising
his ministry, we are not to disregard that, we are to see it in that
context, but ultimately it's a spiritual world. These things
are written for our learning, upon whom the ends of the world
are come. The Old Testament belongs to
Christian believers, there's some profit we trust for us in
every part of the Word of God. And so here we see that in the
midst of great darkness, God is pleased to give to his people
a gracious promise. When his people are in perplexity,
when his people are in what we might term great pain, Look at
the previous chapter, verse 10, Be in pain, and labor to bring
forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail. For now shalt
thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field,
and thou shalt go even to Babylon. There shalt thou be delivered.
There the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.
Oh, there's pain, you see, but there's the promise of God. And
this is not true also in the experiences of the people of
God. When God takes us in hand, when
God begins with us, it is a painful thing. When God shows us what
we are, when He reveals to us something of our sad condition
as sinners, when there's that work of conviction, when we see
ourselves before the Holy Lord of God and we are transgressors,
and we fall short of His glory and there's nothing good in us.
And yet, to such a people as his, God sends his gracious promise. This is then something of the
context that precedes the promise that we have in the words of
our text tonight. But in the second place, look
at the place of Christ's birth, Bethlehem. Bethlehem, Ephratah. Though thou
be little among the thousands of Judah, it says. What are we
to understand by this reference to the thousands of Judah? Well, it seems to speak of the
towns in Judah that were made up of a thousand or more inhabitants. And yet Bethlehem is not included,
though thou be little. in comparison with these towns,
though they be little, among the thousands of Judah. So insignificant. And yet the amazing thing is,
of course, that God takes account of little Bethlehem, Judah. What
a remarkable spot was Bethlehem. It is associated with men and
women of fight in the Scriptures. It was the place where Rachel
gave birth to Benjamin. In Genesis chapter 35 and verses
16 to 20 you can read that. Remember how Rachel had been
barren, how grieved she was, and then God was pleased to grant
the favour of a son Joseph was born. and then she's with child
again and Benjamin is born but in the birth of Benjamin, Rachel
dies. It was a sad event that occurred. She called his name Ben-Oni.
That's what we read there in Genesis 35. As she gave birth,
she died in childbirth. She called his name Ben-Oni,
son of my son. But Jacob gave him the name Benjamin,
son of my right hand. That's the name that he goes
by, the son of my right hand. But he was born at Bethlehem. He was born at Bethlehem. And
Bethlehem of course is also spoken of in the book of Ruth, that
lovely book of Ruth. And Bethlehem was the place,
was it not, where Boaz met with Ruth. the gracious kinsman redeemer
who takes Ruth the Moabitish damsel for his wife when she
was there in his field about Bethlehem. When he comes and
he enquires after this woman who is gleaning amongst his fields,
it's at Bethlehem. And then again, little Bethlehem,
little among the thousands, of Judah was the birthplace of David. Bethlehem is the city of David,
but more than that, more than that, it is of course the birthplace
of David's greatest son. It's the birthplace of the Lord
Jesus Christ. John 7.42, Hath not the scripture
said that Christ cometh of the seed of David? and out of the
town of Bethlehem where David was. This is where Christ had
to be born and so God in his inscrutable sovereignty so appoints
things that the Caesar makes a decree that there's to be a
census of all the peoples and all are to go to the place of
their nativity, and this is what brings Joseph together with Mary,
who is great with child, and brings them from Nazareth to
Bethlehem. And it's there in Bethlehem then
that the Lord Jesus Christ was born. Jesus was born in Bethlehem of
Judah. O God, delight yourself in the
small the unimportant, the insignificant. That's the God that we're dealing
with, is it not? Thou, Bethlehem Ephratoth, O thou belittled among
the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto
me that is to be ruler in Israel. God takes account, you see, of
that that the world would despise. And we see it, of course, in
the divine sovereignty in the decree of election, as Paul reminds
the Corinthians. For you see your calling brethren,
writes in the first chapter of 1 Corinthians, you see your calling
brethren, that not many wise men after the flesh, not many
might, not many noble are called, but God has chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise, and God has chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the things which
are mighty, and base things of the world, and things which are
despised as God chosen. Yea, and things which are not
to bring to naught things that are. How God takes account, you
see, of that that is small, that that is insignificant. We're
not to despise the day of small things, are we? Sometimes I fear,
and it's true in my own case, we almost despise the day in
which we're living. We read something of church history,
and we read of those remarkable times, and God has had such a
favour to our land, and we can read of these things, gracious
visitations, the time of the Protestant Reformation, and then
the great period of the Puritan Divine, And then when we come
into the 18th century and that evangelical awakening that came,
multitudes being converted, even into the 19th century we can
come and see that there were great works, there were great
ministries being exercised. And when we come to our own day,
oh how we lament it. Do we despise the day of smorthing? says the Prophet Zechariah, we
are not to despise small things. We sang just now, and I chose
the hymn for this reason really. That second verse, a favour so
great, we highly should praise, nor murmur, nor fret, nor small
things despise. But what call we small things,
since all cancelled sumpt is greater than all things, except
those to come. If we know the pardon of our
sins, if we know peace with God through the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and are we not told here in verse 5, this man
shall be the peace. For if we know that, if we are
reconciled to God, that's a great thing. We are not to despise
the day in which we live. It is yet the day of grace. For
it is still the acceptable time. It is even the day of salvation.
the place in where Christ was born Bethlehem Ephratah though
thou be little among the thousands of Judah but look at the person
the person who was born in that insignificant spot yet out of
thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel
whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Two things with regards to this
person. His nature. He has a human nature
and he has a divine nature. He is one person. It is the great
mystery of godliness, is it not? That God was manifest in the
flesh. All these mysteries that we find
here in the scriptures, the mystery of God himself, the doctrine
of God, that God is one and God is three, three persons, three
distinct persons in the Godhead, and yet one undivided essence. Here, O Israel, the Lord our
God is one Lord, but the one Lord is Father, Son and Holy
Ghost. And then this mystery, when the
eternal Son of God is manifest in the flesh. Here in verse 3 we are told,
She which provideth has brought forth. She which provideth. Remember the promise that was
given when Our first parents fell in the Garden of Eden when
sin enters into the world in Genesis chapter 3. In that very
chapter again God gives a great promise. And the promise centres
of course in Him who is the seed of the woman. That's the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's who He's spoken of. He
is the seed of the woman. He has no human father, but he
has a human mother. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth his son, we are told, made of a woman. It was the woman who was first
in the transgression, was it not? As Paul says to Timothy. And it is by the woman that the
Saviour comes. What does the angel say to that
woman, to Mary, the virgin? Oh, she was a virgin. She'd never
known a man. But she was a sinner who could
rejoice in God her Saviour. But when the Holy Ghost comes
to her, what does he say? where the angel comes to her
and speaks to her concerning that visitation from the Holy
Ghost. The Holy Ghost shall come upon them, the power of the highest
shall overshadow them. Therefore also that holy thing
that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. In the womb of that sinful woman,
the Virgin Mary The Holy Ghost conceived such a human nature
as was free from every taint of original sin. That holy thing,
that is the human nature. That is the body and the soul
of the Lord Jesus Christ. While they were there at Bethlehem,
the days came that she brought forth her firstborn son. The miracle, you say, of that
virgin giving birth to a child, giving birth to a son, was a
miracle, it's a mystery. The incarnation, God manifest
in the flesh, Out of Bethlehem shall he come forth unto me. He comes forth, does he not,
as that one who is to accomplish all the will of God. It is God
who has sent him in the fullness of the time. That that was agreed
between the persons of the Godhead in the eternal covenant, the
fullness of the time, we are told in Galatians 4. And he comes
of course to accomplish that work that he had covenanted to
fulfill. He must be about his father's
business. He must work the works of him
that had sent him. He must finish his work. This
is what the Lord Jesus Christ does. He comes into this world
as a real man. But we are also reminded here
of his divine nature, because he is never anything less than
the eternal Son of God, whose goings forth have been from of
old, from everlasting, or as the margin says, from the days
of eternity. Now, it's true that his goings
forth here could refer to the eternal covenant that he had
entered into with the Father, and all that he had agreed to
undertake and to accomplish as the saviour of sinners. There is some reference to that,
but surely here the primary meaning has to do with his eternal generation,
his goings forth. He is that one who is the eternal
Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father. There is that
relationship between the persons in the Godhead. Why is the Father
so called? Because He begets the Son. Why
is the Son so called? Because He is begotten of the
Father. Why is the Spirit so called? Because He proceeds from
the Father and the Son. Remember how Jesus breathed on
His disciples and said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. He proceeds
as the Spirit. But here we read of him who was
born at Bethlehem, and it wasn't God the Father, it wasn't God
the Holy Spirit, it was God the Eternal Son, who is going forth
and being from of old, from everlasting. We see it of course also in that
8th chapter of Proverbs where we see him as the wisdom of God,
And what does he say there? When there were no depths, I
was brought forth. He is going forth. He is brought forth, you see.
When there were no depths, I was brought forth. When there were
no fountains abounding with water, before the mountains were settled,
before the hills was I brought forth. He is eternally brought
forth. He is eternally begotten. It
is a great doctrine, you see. The eternal generation. of God the Son. He is not inferior
to the Father. He is equal to the Father. He
is equal to the Holy Spirit. The three persons are co-equal,
they are co-eternal. The three persons are God in
one undivided and indivisible essence. Without controversy, is the mystery
of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh
and he was manifest, he was born there in Bethlehem, Ephratah. Though thou be little among the
thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto
earth, that he shall be ruler in Israel. who is going forth
of being from old, from everlasting. He is the ruler in Israel. He
is the rightful king of Israel. He is David's greatest son, greater
than Solomon. Solomon is but a type of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And Solomon's name of course
means peace. And here at verse 5, this man
shall be the peace. And so finally, I want us to
consider that peace that the Lord Jesus Christ gives. This man, we are told, shall
be the peace. When the Assyrian shall come
into our lands, and when he shall tread in our palaces, Then shall
we rise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men, and
they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the
land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof. Thus shall he deliver
us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when
he treadeth within our borders. Now remember what we were saying
at the beginning with regards to the historical setting, the
context. that siege by the Assyrians which
occurred in the reign of King Hezekiah. And it was during Hezekiah's
reign that Michael was ministering. And that siege would be fresh
and would be raw in the minds of the people to whom Michael
is exercising his ministry, the people that Michael is preaching
to. They remember that terrible Assyrian siege. Previous to that,
of course, the Assyrians had come right through. The kingdom
of Judah and all the other walled cities had fallen. And it was
only Jerusalem that was there standing. How raw the memory
of these things would be in the minds of the people. And so,
here when we read of the Assyrians coming into the land, It's a
reminder of all the great enemies of the people of God. All the
great enemies. At that time it was manifest
through the Assyrians and that wicked emperor Sennacherib, a
proud, haughty monarch, representative of all the enemies of God's children. But Christ, Christ has spoiled
them all. This man, who was born in Bethlehem, this
man. He is the one who despoils Satan,
and despoils sin, and despoils all the enemies of the people
of God. He is that one who has come and
made peace. In fact, he is that one, of course,
who has reconciled the sinner to God, the sinner who himself
was in a state of enmity. And alienation, in a sense, is
it not a truth, friends, that our worst enemy of all is ourselves? I think it was Ralph Erskine
who said, oh, that I had not a myself. That I had not a myself. That old nature, that sinful
nature. Without the Lord Jesus Christ,
you see, as come Colossians. Here Paul speaks of it. In chapter
1 at verse 20, having made peace through the blood of his cross,
by him to reconcile all things unto himself, by him I say, whether
they be things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were
sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works,
yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through
death, to present you whole and unblameable. and unreprovable
in His sight. And then again, verse 14 in the
next chapter, we read of Him blotting out the handwriting
of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us,
and took it out of the wine, nailing it to His cross. For He has come, you see, and
the incoming has vanquished and overcome all the enemies of God's
people represented by the Assyrians who came into our land and were
treading within our borders. Christ has conquered all this.
And what is that peace? What is that peace that this
man brings? It's a certain peace. It's a
certain peace. Verse 4, he shall stand and feed
in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of
the Lord his God. Oh, he stands, you see, he's
victorious. And he's strong. He accomplishes
all that work that the Father had given him to do. He feeds
his people. Remember how Job, in the midst
of all his troubles, makes that great statement of faith, I know
that my Redeemer liveth and He shall stand in the latter day
upon the earth. Oh, how He stands, you see. How
He has accomplished a salvation that is so sure and so certain. He shall stand and feed in the
strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord,
is God. Not only is it certain, it's
permanent. It goes on here in verse 4, "...and
they shall abide." All this salvation, you see, it's sure for time and
for eternity. Calvin renders it, "...they shall dwell safely." They shall abide, they shall
dwell safely. It's the same truth that we have
in chapter 4. Speaking of this same man and
his blessed accomplishments. Chapter 4 verse 3 He shall judge
among many people and rebuke strong nations afar off and they
shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into
pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up a sword
against nation, neither shall they learn war any more, but
they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree,
and none shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of
Hosts hath spoken peace." Peace. Not political peace. That's not
the peace that the Lord Jesus Christ has brought. When He came
into this world there was peace, you know. There was the great
Pax Romana. There was the mighty Roman Empire.
And such were the legionaries of Rome that it ensured that
there was a great measure of political peace in every part
of the empire. Any uprisings were soon put down.
There was stability and peace. And yet it is coming what the
angels sing there in the fields as they visit these shepherds
who are watching over their flocks? Why the angels sing of peace
on earth, goodwill toward men? That's not political peace. It
was already a political peace. It's a spiritual peace. That's
what the Lord Jesus Christ has done. He has reconciled sinners
to God. And that's what's being spoken
of there in chapter 4 in those verses we just read. It's God's people abiding in
safety, dwelling quietly. Oh, what a blessed peace it is
that Christ brings into the hearts of sinners, those whose hearts
are, of course, by nature already sink of iniquity. And all that
is transpiring in the very depths of our being, surely if others
could see what we really are, we'd be greatly ashamed. And yet it's there that Christ
comes and establishes his reign, his peaceable reign of grace.
It's a certain peace, it's a permanent peace. And it's extensive, is
it not? It's extensive. The end of verse
4, Now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. Unto the
ends of the earth is the calling of the Gentiles. Look unto me
and be his side, he says, all the ends of the earth, for I
am God. And there is none else. But it's
not only the calling of Gentile sinners, it's calling also of
those sinners who sometimes feel themselves to be at the ends
of the earth. Maybe you've been there. You've found yourself
to be so very far off from God. So very far off from God. Is
there really any hope that you can be saved? You say to them? While Christ issues that gracious
word of invitation in Isaiah 45, Look unto me and be ye saved,
all the ends of the earth. When there at our wits' end we
are to look to him. For this man shall be the peace. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah,
thou be little among the thousands of Judah. Yet out of thee shall
he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose
goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. May the Lord be pleased to bless
His works to us.