Bible

 

Micah 5

Studie

   

1 4:14 Now troop together, O daughter of troops; he has set a siege against us; with a scepter they shall smite the jaw of the judge of Israel.

2 1 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet from thee shall He go·​·out to Me to be ruler in Israel; and His goings·​·out have been from ancient times, from the days of eternity.

3 2 Therefore will He give them up, until the time that she who is giving·​·birth gives·​·birth, and the remnant of His brothers shall return to the sons of Israel.

4 3 And He shall stand and shepherd in the strength of Jehovah, in the excellence of the name of Jehovah His God; and they shall sit·​·down, for now shall He be·​·great, even·​·to the ends of the earth.

5 4 And this shall be peace, when Assyria shall come into our land; and when he shall tread in our palaces, and we shall raise·​·up against him seven shepherds, and eight princes of man.

6 5 And they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in her entrances; and He shall rescue us from Assyria, when he comes into our land, and when he treads our borders.

7 6 And those who·​·are·​·left of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples as a dew from Jehovah, as the raindrops on the herb, that waits not for a man, nor waits·​·with·​·hope for the sons of man.

8 7 And those who·​·are·​·left of Jacob shall be among the nations in the midst of many people, as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young·​·lion among the droves of the flock, which, if he pass·​·through, both tramples and tears, and none can rescue.

9 8 Thy hand shall be exalted above thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut·​·off.

10 9 And it shall be in that day, says Jehovah, that I will cut·​·off thy horses from among thee, and I will make thy chariots perish;

11 10 and I will cut·​·off the cities of thy land, and I will break·​·down all thy fortresses;

12 11 and I will cut·​·off sorceries from thy hand, and there will not be wizards for thee;

13 12 and I will cut·​·off thy graven images, and thy statues from among thee; and thou shalt no more worship what·​·is·​·made by thy hands.

14 13 And I will pluck·​·up thy groves from the midst of thee; and I will blot·​·out thy cities.

15 14 And I will do vengeance in anger and fury upon the nations, such as they have not heard.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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 5:1

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.