CHAPTER 5

1 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.

The instructions to Judah from God (through Micah) are to marshal the troops and prepare for a siege. Soon Jerusalem will be totally surrounded with foreign troops. The nation and its capitol will fall and the king will be humiliated.

This also begins a two-fold prophecy of Messiah. The night when Jesus was arrested, He was humiliated (Matt. 26:68, Matt. 27:30). They struck him in the cheek with their hands and a rod.

2 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.

Even though God KNEW He would be humiliated by sinful man, He STILL chose to be born. And WHERE He chose to be born was in Bethlehem.

The One to be born was GOD, "...ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."

3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

God was going to withdraw His protection from the nation, and they would fall. Their fall would continue a great while! "She which travaileth" is obviously the nation of Judah. In object form, she is the "mother" of the Messiah-Christ. She would be in "travail" until Messiah was born.

THEN, He Who chose to be born of them will call them "brethren." And there will be a "remnant" who will return to God by coming to the Christ. In every generation since Christ was born, many have RETURNED to God by coming to HIM! And He is "not ashamed to call them brethren." (See Hebrews 2:11)

4 And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. 5 And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. 6 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.

The immediate fulfillment of this prophecy came when God saved Hezekiah from the invading armies of Sennacherib. 2Kings 19:32-35 tells the story of this incident.
"32 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. 33 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. 34 For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake. 35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses."

Notice that God said HE Himself would defend (vs 34). Then verse 35 says "THE angel of the Lord..." To me, that is a theophany, a special advent of God Himself.

And this is the same manner in which God will save the church from all invasions of Satan. He, Christ, stands in the strength of the Lord, and in the majesty (power) of the Name of God. He stands to protect and is filled with the full power and authority of God (Matthew 28:18). Because He stands we stand, because He lives we live.

Christ is our "peace" (verse 5). Jesus said in John 16:33 "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation : but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

When Satan and all his devices of the world make onslaught against the church, Christ is our strength and peace!

Christ is always treading in the palaces of our heart today, and is raising up a certain number of leaders to help the church.

And one day, my friends, Christ Himself will come to "deliver us" just as He delivered Hezekiah from Sennacherib!

7 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men. 8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.

Here, again, God refers to the remnant. We must remember that this is a reference to those who "live by his faith" (Habakkuk 2:4). And it is helpful to also remember that the church today (born in and of Christ) are PART of the "all Israel" which shall be saved (Romans 11:26).

This remnant may be scattered among billions today, but they are as the "dew" bringing the refreshment of the Gospel to the world. And they are as the "lion," bold in witnessing and strong to overcome.

9 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off. 10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots: 11 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds: 12 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: 13 Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands. 14 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities. 15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

Israel and Judah had lived in prosperity and relished in prolifity. They trusted in power (Psalm 20:7). They dabbled in sorcery and witchcraft listening to palm readers and soothsayers.

But God's people have no need for those things, for we are fed and kept by the power of God Himself through Christ. God took away those things from Israel and Judah when they were overcome by the Assyrians and Babylonians. Yet the remnant STILL continued, and were productive in faith!

The church today needs no zodiac signs, palmreaders, or idols of other kinds such as power and prosperity. Christ sustains us. He grants us grace to continue in faith, being productive to bring others to a saving knowledge of Him.

One day, our Lord will come and "execute vengeance" in this earth and show that there is no need for trusting in idols. For we then shall sustain all strength from Him and all needs will be provided.

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