Mic 5:2 | KingComments | STEP | After the deep humiliation of Zion and all the distress that will befall the people in the future as a result of smiting “the Judge of Israel” ( ), Micah is speaking about this Judge in more detail here. This abused and rejected Judge will go forth from Bethlehem as a Ruler. He will not only save His people from the power of the enemy, but through Him there will be blessing for the whole world. The greatness of the future Ruler over Israel, the Lord Jesus, contrasts sharply with the earlier humiliation. The announcement of the birth follows all promises of a glorious future, because that future lies in Him, because He is the One who makes up that future. Micah first mentions the birthplace of the Messiah. That is seven centuries before His birth. Just as Micah announces the place of birth, so his contemporary Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah is born of a virgin. The special thing is, that this virgin becomes pregnant without the intervention of a man ( ; ). Bethlehem means ‘bread house’ and Ephrathah means ‘fertile’. The Messiah will be the true food of His people ( ) and everyone connected with Him will bear fruit for God ( ). This is not something for the people of the world to become enthusiastic about. Likewise, the place of birth is not an attractive place. There is not much to enjoy. But He Who is born there is a Ruler Who will carry out the intention of God ( ; ). The fact that He is not born in Jerusalem, but in the insignificant Bethlehem, shows the decline of the royal house of David. Bethlehem may be an insignificant place for people, but for God this place has the greatest significance. It is the place of the birth of His Son. The Messiah will come forth from there, in accordance with the announcement of the prophet Micah. And He will come forth there “for Me”. The LORD thus says that the Messiah will be there for Him, to fulfill the promises made by Him. The place of the birth of the Messiah is also clear to the spiritual leaders of the people when the Messiah is actually born. When Herod hears of His birth, he inquires with the chief priests and scribes about the place of Christ’s birth. They then quote this verse from Micah ( ). It is remarkable that Matthew in his quotation replaces ‘Ruler’ with ‘Leader’ (Darby Translation). Of course, this is not a mistake. Matthew, like all other biblical writers, is led by the Holy Spirit ( ). God’s Spirit inspired him ( ) to quote the translation of the Hebrew text from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, in which the word for ‘Ruler’ is translated by ‘Leader’. That fits exactly with the way He was born. He is certainly the born King and it is certain that He will rule. But if He had appeared as Ruler, the people would have been lost. Now He comes first to be their Leader and to shepherd them as His people (cf. ). There is another difference. Here it says “Bethlehem-Ephrathah”, while Matthew writes about “Bethlehem, land of Judah”. Ephrathah is reminiscent of the birth of Benjamin, ‘the son of the right hand’, and of the death of Rachel ( ). In Micah the thought seems to be that while all hope of life for Israel – in the picture of Rachel – is gone, the Christ – in the picture of Benjamin – appears. In Matthew, the Gospel representing the Lord Jesus as the King, it is about Judah, the tribe from which the King comes. The false leaders of the people at the time of the birth of the Lord Jesus examined and knew the Scriptures, but they did not allow the Scriptures to examine and guide them. If our familiarity with the Word of God is only rational, intellectual, it will increase our guilt because it has no effect in our lives. For example, it is a small thing to print your initials on your Bible so that everyone knows that Bible is yours. But it is something completely different to let the Bible print its mark on you, and that is no small thing. Then you don’t have a mouth full of Bible texts, but your life shows the contents of the Bible. So you must have knowledge of the Bible, because otherwise there can be no life that is in accordance with the Bible. In this verse Micah presents the Lord Jesus as born in Bethlehem and at the same time as the Eternal One. His origin is twofold: from Bethlehem and from the days of eternity. This indicates that He is Man and God. He has become Man, He is God eternal. Although He was born at a certain time, He is not subject to time ( ; ). This is where the preexistence of the Messiah is taught, i.e. that the Ruler born on earth is the same as the eternal God. Isaiah also indicated His Godhead ( ).

‏ Micah 5:2

A Ruler From the Days of Eternity

After the deep humiliation of Zion and all the distress that will befall the people in the future as a result of smiting “the Judge of Israel” (Mic 5:1), Micah is speaking about this Judge in more detail here. This abused and rejected Judge will go forth from Bethlehem as a Ruler. He will not only save His people from the power of the enemy, but through Him there will be blessing for the whole world. The greatness of the future Ruler over Israel, the Lord Jesus, contrasts sharply with the earlier humiliation.

The announcement of the birth follows all promises of a glorious future, because that future lies in Him, because He is the One who makes up that future. Micah first mentions the birthplace of the Messiah. That is seven centuries before His birth. Just as Micah announces the place of birth, so his contemporary Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah is born of a virgin. The special thing is, that this virgin becomes pregnant without the intervention of a man (Isa 7:14; Lk 1:35).

Bethlehem means ‘bread house’ and Ephrathah means ‘fertile’. The Messiah will be the true food of His people (Jn 6:51) and everyone connected with Him will bear fruit for God (Jn 15:5). This is not something for the people of the world to become enthusiastic about. Likewise, the place of birth is not an attractive place. There is not much to enjoy. But He Who is born there is a Ruler Who will carry out the intention of God (2Sam 23:3; Jer 30:21).

The fact that He is not born in Jerusalem, but in the insignificant Bethlehem, shows the decline of the royal house of David. Bethlehem may be an insignificant place for people, but for God this place has the greatest significance. It is the place of the birth of His Son. The Messiah will come forth from there, in accordance with the announcement of the prophet Micah. And He will come forth there “for Me”. The LORD thus says that the Messiah will be there for Him, to fulfill the promises made by Him.

The place of the birth of the Messiah is also clear to the spiritual leaders of the people when the Messiah is actually born. When Herod hears of His birth, he inquires with the chief priests and scribes about the place of Christ’s birth. They then quote this verse from Micah (Mt 2:3-6).

It is remarkable that Matthew in his quotation replaces ‘Ruler’ with ‘Leader’ (Darby Translation). Of course, this is not a mistake. Matthew, like all other biblical writers, is led by the Holy Spirit (2Pet 1:21). God’s Spirit inspired him (2Tim 3:16) to quote the translation of the Hebrew text from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, in which the word for ‘Ruler’ is translated by ‘Leader’. That fits exactly with the way He was born. He is certainly the born King and it is certain that He will rule. But if He had appeared as Ruler, the people would have been lost. Now He comes first to be their Leader and to shepherd them as His people (cf. 1Chr 11:2).

There is another difference. Here it says “Bethlehem-Ephrathah”, while Matthew writes about “Bethlehem, land of Judah”. Ephrathah is reminiscent of the birth of Benjamin, ‘the son of the right hand’, and of the death of Rachel (Gen 35:16-19). In Micah the thought seems to be that while all hope of life for Israel – in the picture of Rachel – is gone, the Christ – in the picture of Benjamin – appears. In Matthew, the Gospel representing the Lord Jesus as the King, it is about Judah, the tribe from which the King comes.

The false leaders of the people at the time of the birth of the Lord Jesus examined and knew the Scriptures, but they did not allow the Scriptures to examine and guide them. If our familiarity with the Word of God is only rational, intellectual, it will increase our guilt because it has no effect in our lives.

For example, it is a small thing to print your initials on your Bible so that everyone knows that Bible is yours. But it is something completely different to let the Bible print its mark on you, and that is no small thing. Then you don’t have a mouth full of Bible texts, but your life shows the contents of the Bible. So you must have knowledge of the Bible, because otherwise there can be no life that is in accordance with the Bible.

In this verse Micah presents the Lord Jesus as born in Bethlehem and at the same time as the Eternal One. His origin is twofold: from Bethlehem and from the days of eternity. This indicates that He is Man and God. He has become Man, He is God eternal. Although He was born at a certain time, He is not subject to time (Psa 90:2; Pro 8:22-23). This is where the preexistence of the Messiah is taught, i.e. that the Ruler born on earth is the same as the eternal God. Isaiah also indicated His Godhead (Isa 9:5-6).