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Bethlehem
Ephrathah! (Micah 5:1-9)
2 “But you,
Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The one to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting.”
3 Therefore He shall give them up,
Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth;
Then the remnant of His brethren
Shall return to the children of Israel.
4 And He shall stand and feed His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord
His God;
And they shall abide,
For now He shall be great
To the ends of the earth;
5 And this One shall be peace.
When the Assyrian comes into our land,
And when he treads in our palaces,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight princely men.
6 They shall waste with the sword the land of Assyria,
And the land of Nimrod at its entrances;
Thus He shall deliver us from the Assyrian,
When he comes into our land
And when he treads within our borders.
7 Then the remnant of Jacob
Shall be in the midst of many peoples,
Like dew from the Lord,
Like showers on the grass,
That tarry for no man
Nor wait for the sons of men.
8 And the remnant of Jacob
Shall be among the Gentiles,
In the midst of many peoples,
Like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
Who, if he passes through,
Both treads down and tears in pieces,
And none can deliver.
9 Your hand shall be lifted against your adversaries,
And all your enemies shall be cut off.
Intro)
1. Prophet Micah was Judas prophet who was active for 60 years around
8th centuries in b.c. His
mission was spreading words of God’s salvation and God’s judge for sinner. (body
part of today’s sermon is about prophet Micah is
giving prophecy about messiah’s birth
Body)
A) Identity and background of when messiah arrives
Today’s verse 1-4is about the place where messiah will be born and
about what he will do when he arrives. It is vision. 2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The one to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting.”
Then when will he be born? In Micah
5:1 says, “Now gather
yourself in troops,
O daughter of troops;
He has laid siege against us;
They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the
cheek.”
In history this is the time when Rome is about to invade Israel.
2. Where Messiah will be born? Verse 2
says, ‘2 “But you,
Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The one to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting.” The meaning of Bethlehem is bread
house and Ephrathah means fruitful. Two places were put together because in
other state there was town called Bethlehem as well, so it was to specify
exact place.
In
one of province of Ephrathah there is Jacob’s loving wife’s tomb and located in southern Israel (Gen 35:19, 48:7)..
Bethlehem is called small village (John 7:42), and even now it’s still a small city. Jesus didn’t pick
no superior class or place to have easy start. He picked small town and
servant form to arrive in this land. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, so it has
meaning to it, which is through Jesus, soon everyone will gets the bread of
life.
If then, what is he? Messiah is
ruler of Israel, king, and his existence was present since the first day
God created this world. He is son of God. We believe in trinity God.
Meaning in book of genesis God called himself we, father, son, and holy
spirit. Messiah was there since the beginning (John1:1), and Isaiah said
Messiah Jesus is eternal father (Isaiah 9:6).
B) Messiah’s reign and feature
Let’s check His reign in 4 ways
1) Divine rule
Micah 5:4 “4 And He shall
stand and feed His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord
His God;...”
Jesus said he stands by God’s power and his name.
John 10:30 =“30 I
and My Father are one.””
2) Pastoral rule
Micah 5:4 “...And they shall abide,;”
John 10:11= “11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the
sheep.”and none can take it away from him.
God guarantees eternal life. John
10:28 “28 And
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone
snatch them out of My hand.” Messiah rules as shepherd of righteous, ability, life, and
salvation.
3) Global rule
Micah 5:4 “For now He shall be great To the
ends of the earth”meaning the power will spread all
over the world. Matthew chapter 28 says it effect to all tribes, and Mark
chapter 16 says Messiah’s governing power will
spread to every people all over the world. In Revelation 7:9 says, “ After
these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could
number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the
throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in
their hands,
4) peaceful rule
verse 5 says, “5 And this One
shall be peace.
When the Assyrian comes into our land,
And when he treads in our palaces,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight princely men.”
Assyrian is against Israel, so it means nation that is against people of
Christ will fall.
C) Characteristic
of people God who earn salvation
verse 7, 8= “Then the remnant of Jacob
Shall be in the midst of many peoples…”the features
in these verses are.
1)first , verse 7 “ 7 Then the remnant of Jacob
Shall be in the midst of many peoples,
Like dew from the Lord,
Like showers on the grass,
That tarry for no man
Nor wait for the sons of men.
”=becomes a supplier who gives life to all
2)secondly , verse 8 “8 And the remnant of Jacob
Shall be among the Gentiles,
In the midst of many peoples,
Like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
Who, if he passes through,
Both treads down and tears in pieces,
And none can deliver.” Becomes strong like young lions.
C) Becomes a winner. Verse 10 “10 “And it shall be in that day,” says the Lord,
“That I will cut off your horses from your midst
And destroy your chariots.” By the time
Jesus arrives again the war in this world will come to an end.
D) Serves true God. Verse 12,13.
“12 I
will cut off sorceries from your hand,
And you shall have no soothsayers.
13 Your
carved images I will also cut off,
And your sacred pillars from your midst;
You shall no more worship the work of your hands;” hallelujah!
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