The Bible

 

Micah 5:1

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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.

Commentary

 

Exploring the Meaning of Micah 5

By 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.

The Bible

 

Micah 5:10-15

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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.