Mic 5:3 | KingComments | STEP | can be seen as an intermediate sentence. Then connects to and gives the result of the smiting of the Judge of Israel. The beginning of the verse, “therefore”, refers to the reason for giving them up. Israel is given up to its enemies because of their rejection of the Messiah. Israel, and more specifically Judah, is given up, but it is only for a certain time. That period of time is compared to a period of childbirth. This refers to the great tribulation, the time of the many soul-exercises, the fears and difficulties that Israel goes through at that time. Israel has to go through all those deep ways, the fear, the judgments and the chastisements of God, in order to make them accept and acknowledge that it has earned those punishments because of its iniquity. The people will be like Naomi, who will be brought back to the land by grace and to whom it is given that the King will be born of her ( ). When we look at Revelation 12 with this verse, we see that Micah is talking about the end time. From the description given by John, it becomes clear that the woman who gives birth is the people of Israel ( ). The contractions of labor of which Micah speaks are still future and look forward to the great tribulation. In the first verses of Revelation 12, John describes that the Lord Jesus was born of Israel. When He is born, the great red dragon in the person of Herod is ready to devour Him ( ; ). That fails because God takes Him up into heaven ( ). This is visible in the ascension of the Lord Jesus. And then suddenly John moves us into the time of the great tribulation ( ). Contractions of labor overwhelm the people. That time is described in the rest of Revelation 12. But at the same time it is the announcement of the (second) coming of the Lord Jesus. When the Lord Jesus returns, His brethren (cf. ), the Judeans, His ‘tribesmen’, ‘His own flesh and blood’ (cf. ), will return to the land. They will convert to the LORD, together with the other tribes of the land, who are still in the scattering all over the world.

‏ Micah 5:3

The Remainder of His Brethren

Mic 5:2 can be seen as an intermediate sentence. Then Mic 5:3 connects to Mic 5:1 and gives the result of the smiting of the Judge of Israel. The beginning of the verse, “therefore”, refers to the reason for giving them up. Israel is given up to its enemies because of their rejection of the Messiah.

Israel, and more specifically Judah, is given up, but it is only for a certain time. That period of time is compared to a period of childbirth. This refers to the great tribulation, the time of the many soul-exercises, the fears and difficulties that Israel goes through at that time. Israel has to go through all those deep ways, the fear, the judgments and the chastisements of God, in order to make them accept and acknowledge that it has earned those punishments because of its iniquity. The people will be like Naomi, who will be brought back to the land by grace and to whom it is given that the King will be born of her (Rth 1:6 ; Rth 4:17).

When we look at Revelation 12 with this verse, we see that Micah is talking about the end time. From the description given by John, it becomes clear that the woman who gives birth is the people of Israel (Rev 12:1-2). The contractions of labor of which Micah speaks are still future and look forward to the great tribulation.

In the first verses of Revelation 12, John describes that the Lord Jesus was born of Israel. When He is born, the great red dragon in the person of Herod is ready to devour Him (Rev 12:4; Mt 2:16). That fails because God takes Him up into heaven (Rev 12:5). This is visible in the ascension of the Lord Jesus. And then suddenly John moves us into the time of the great tribulation (Rev 12:6). Contractions of labor overwhelm the people. That time is described in the rest of Revelation 12. But at the same time it is the announcement of the (second) coming of the Lord Jesus.

When the Lord Jesus returns, His brethren (cf. Mt 25:40), the Judeans, His ‘tribesmen’, ‘His own flesh and blood’ (cf. 2Sam 19:13), will return to the land. They will convert to the LORD, together with the other tribes of the land, who are still in the scattering all over the world.