Bible

 

Micah 5

Studie

   

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.

2 (And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall he come forth unto me [who is] to be Ruler in Israel: whose goings forth are from of old, from the days of eternity.)

3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time when she which travaileth shall have brought forth: and the residue of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

4 And he shall stand and feed [his flock] in the strength of Jehovah, in the majesty of the name of Jehovah his God. And they shall abide; for now shall he be great even unto the ends of the earth.

5 And this [man] shall be 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 princes of men.

6 And they shall waste the land of Asshur with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof; and he shall deliver [us] from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.

7 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples as dew from Jehovah, as showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, neither waiteth for the sons of men.

8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and there is none to deliver.

9 Thy 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 Jehovah, 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 overthrow all thy strongholds.

12 And I will cut off sorceries out of thy hand; and thou shalt have no soothsayers.

13 Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy statues out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more bow down to the work of thy hands.

14 And I will pluck up thine Asherahs out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy cities.

15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and in fury upon the nations, such as they have not heard of.

   

Komentář

 

Exploring the Meaning of Micah 5

Napsal(a) New Christian Bible Study Staff

In Micah 5:1, a troop means the good that comes from truth. But... what is a good that comes from truth? Here's a mundane example: you know that it's true that it's safer to buckle your seat belt, so you do it; it's a good action that comes from knowing a truth.

In this verse, a daughter means affection, so it's talking about an affection for doing such good actions. A siege against that would be bad ideas trying to get in, and to smite on the jaw with a rod means to destroy falsities. The prophecy in verse 2 has this in mind. This is what Jesus is being born to do, to lift the siege of false ideas.

In Micah 5:2, we find the familiar prophecy about where the Lord will be born.

Then, in Micah 5:3, 4, there's reference to the Lord gathering the people of His church and teaching them. The term used for the people of the church here is "brothers", as they all address the Lord as Father. The same is true of “the sons of Israel”. "She which travails" is a reference to the woman clothed with the sun spoken of in the book of Revelation.

In Micah 5:5, 6, Assyria means reasoning. Reasoning from the truths taught, as meant by the feeding in verse 4, can bring agreement and peace. But reasoning from the falsity that Assyria brings in must be destroyed. The seven shepherds and eight princely men means a total deliverance from their falsity. Seven means something holy, and eight means complete conjunction.

In Micah 5:7, some of the people left behind were good and had stayed apart from the idolatry of the Israelite kingdom. These remnants could come to the new church the Lord was establishing, where they could be saved. But the vast bulk of the people were led away to captivity not only to physical slavery, but - spiritually - to reasoning from falsity, which becomes a form of slavery, too.

Micah 5:8. The lion and young lion, trampling and tearing are the evil and falsity of the kingdom of Judah, and there will be no support there for the church the Lord will establish.

Micah 5:9. The Lord’s church will win.

Micah 5:10-15. The Lord will establish a new church when He "bows the heavens and comes down" but He will not destroy the physical things that are listed here. It will really be a desrtuction caused by people who operate from selfishness, greed, ignorance, indifference, and love of power.

Horses mean someone’s understanding, and chariots their own false doctrine. Cities mean more general doctrine, and fortresses symbolize their strong opinions. Graven images are idols, i.e. false gods.

The Lord’s anger and vengeance are only appearances in people's imaginations. It's the way they feel when they want what is evil. When evil loves conflict, everyone is going to get angry with everyone else. The Lord would greet them with love if only they would mend their ways.

Bible

 

Micah 5:4

Studie

       

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.