to 5a King of Zion

So we're going to be talking about the king of Zion. This is Micah, chapter 5, verses 2 to the first part of verse 5a. It's interesting to note that this will be the first time we've actually taken a look at who the king is going to be, where he was born, where he came from, who he is. and what its mission is and what the result of that will be. As a review, let's look at what we learned up to this point. When studying Micah, it's important to put yourself back in Micah's time.

They didn't have all the information that we have today. So as we're reading Micah, we've got to divorce ourselves from knowing all that we know from the New Testament. They didn't know about the millennium. They didn't know that Christ would come and that he would be rejected by the Jews and that he would come a second time. They weren't aware of all that. So when we read this, we need to put ourselves in their place and realize that Israel, because of their disobedience, knew very little of their future. This was before Israel and Judah were exiled out of land because of their disobedience to God. Micah's name means, who is like Yahweh. And his message is a warning and not only a warning but also a blessing to Israel.

Let's look at an outline of the book up through chapter 5. I could show you the Hebrew chiasm Andrew provided But I'm not going to do that. Instead, I'm just going to give you its main points from that chiasm up till now. I'm sure we all know what a chiasm is. It comes from the Greek letter chi. And if you look at the left-hand side of that, this is a form of Hebrew poetry. This is the main points we find in a chiasm. Point number one, we have judgment against Assyria. That's in the first half of chapter one. We have the doom of the cities of Judah in the second half of chapter one.

Third, we have the social evils denounced in chapter two. In four, we have the wicked rulers denounced in chapter three. Finally, we have the restoration promised after the exile in chapter four, which Andrew gave us in the last two weeks. And then today we have the ruler from Bethlehem. Here's a better way to put it. In chapter one, we have the judgment of God against the northern kingdom and how it trickled down to the southern kingdom.

In chapters two and three, we saw how the social evils and the wicked kings were denounced. In chapter four, God promises Israel a fantastic kingdom, which Andrew told us last week. But that's not going to come easy. It's like giving birth to a wonderful baby, but it's not going to come without pain and suffering. Now in chapter 5, we're going to see how this is going to be accomplished. Let's read that passage. Starting in verse 2, it's going to go through the first part of verse 5.

But as for you, Bethlehem, of Pratha, too little to be among the clans of Judah. From you one will go forth for me to be a ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity. Therefore he will give them up until the time when she who is in labor has born a child. Then the remainder of his brethren will return to the sons of Israel. And he will arise and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord of his God, and they will remain, because at that time he will be great to the ends of the earth.

This one will be our peace. We're going to break this passage down into four different points. Point number one, the place of the king. This is where we find that he's going to be born. Number two, the going forth of the king. This is who the king will be. He's not going to be just a mere man. He's not going to be some good looking guy with wonderful personality like Wayne. But he's going to be much more than that. Point number three. the mission of the king, we're going to find out what he's going to accomplish when he's here, and then the last point is the outcome of the king. Let's go right into the place of the king, point one.

In this section, Micah prophesies that the one who will bring Israel back together again will come from a town called Bethlehem. He will also give insight into the nature of this town, reading the first part of verse two, but as for you, Bethlehem and Protha, please don't make me pronounce that word again. It's been a long time and I still don't get it right. There were two Bethlehems in Israel, one in the north near Nazareth and the other about six miles southwest of Jerusalem. The one in the south was in the Ephrathah area. This area surrounded Bethlehem and was rich in farmland and sheep.

As a matter of fact, the temple used this area for their grain and animal offerings. When the temple needed lambs for sacrifice, the shepherds would wrap them in swaddling cloths so they wouldn't be soiled or blemished on the trip to Jerusalem. And of course, when Christ was born, he was wrapped in these same cloths. It's interesting that he was born right in the middle of a shepherd's community. And what they had available where they were at were these strips of cloths that they wrapped the lambs in to ship off to the temple.

Moving on, Jesus' childhood was spent in three different places, Bethlehem, Egypt, and Nazareth. It might do us good to take a look at all these because this is where he grew up as a young child. Here's a map of what we're talking about. You see Nazareth way up in the north and Bethlehem down below Jerusalem. If you were to travel by crow, It'd be about 70 miles straight down.

But the early Jews during that time never went through Samaria. Samaria was kind of an enemy to them. There were Jews living there, but they were Hellenized Jews, and they didn't get along with the other Jews at all. So they would skirt that. This map shows us going right along the Jordan River, but actually most of the time they would cross the Jordan River, go clear over onto the east side and go down south and then come back over near the Jordan, just above the Dead Sea. And this is closer to 100 miles. It would take probably five to ten days if Mary was riding on a donkey. And then when Jesus was between one and two years old, the family had to flee to Egypt to get away from Herod.

These locations weren't random. All three of these places were actually prophesied in the Bible. And that's why I want to bring all three of these up. The first place, Bethlehem, which is our passage today, was fulfilled in Matthew 2, 6, where we read, And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah. For out of you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.

And when we take a look at Egypt, This was fulfilled in Matthew 2 verse 14. Now Hosea wasn't talking about Christ. Hosea was talking about Israel coming out of Egypt. We read there in Hosea 11, 1, When Israel was a youth, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.

And then we come to the third prophecy, all of which are found in Matthew chapter 2, concerning Nazareth. In Matthew 2, 23, he left for the regions of Galilee and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets. He shall be called a Nazarene.

Now, if you search the Old Testament, you're not going to find that prophecy anywhere. You can look all you want. It's just not there. So let's take a moment and take a look at the different types of prophecy in scripture. First three of these are found in Matthew 2. Prophecies were presented, maybe more, but at least in four different ways in scripture. We have what's called direct fulfillment. That's where a prophecy in the Old Testament says something will definitely happen in the New Testament, and it is direct, literal fulfillment.

That's our Bethlehem passage. We also have typical fulfillment, which we find concerning Egypt, and that's a literal historical event applied typologically. This is where we find that Israel was the type of coming out of Egypt and Jesus was the anti-type coming out of Egypt. Now these last two are a little bit harder to understand. Summary fulfillment, no actual event, it's prophesied, but the fulfillment represents a summation of Old Testament prophecies. This is what we have when Christ was called a Nazarene coming out of Nazareth. And then the last one, application of fulfillment. This is probably the hardest to understand. This is an historical event used to draw out an application with reference to a future event. A good example of this is in Acts 2 and Joel 2. This is when Peter quotes Joe on the day of Pentecost.

I don't want to take time to talk about it. If we have time later, if we don't run out of time, we can talk about that because the covenant theologians, they will take this passage in Joel and they will try to prove that we are living in the kingdom today. So understanding what's going on in Joel and that prophecy is really pretty important. But we'll leave that for later. Let's get back. to our passage.

He shall be called concerning Nazarene. Remember, there's no actual prophecy in the Old Testament stating this. Notice the word prophets in this passage. It's in the plural. There are many passages in the Old Testament depicting the Messiah as being despised and rejected. This is what a Nazarene was to the Jew. And this is where we find this prophecy fulfilled all through the different prophets of the Old Testament.

He was known as despised and rejected, a Nazarene. As a matter of fact, when John the Baptist was talking to his disciples the day after Christ was baptized. He was telling them about Jesus, where he came from, all about him. And Nathanael asked John the Baptist, can anything good come out of Nazareth? So we find here that if you're a Nazarene, you're not looked upon very well as a Jewish people.

Now let's get back to what Micah has to say in verse two. concerning Bethlehem, too little to be among the clans of Judah. Today, next to Jerusalem, Bethlehem is probably the most well-known city in Israel, and that's because of Christmas. But this was not always the case. After David became king and built his city in Jerusalem, Bethlehem was basically forgotten. In Joshua 15 and Nehemiah 11, This is where all the great cities of Judah and Benjamin were listed. Bethlehem wasn't even mentioned in any of those passages.

Like I said, too little to be among the clans of Judah. Notice here, Micah states in Micah, too little to be among the clans. But if you read the fulfillment in Matthew, he changes it a little bit. Bethlehem, you are by no means least. And that's pretty significant because now Matthew has seen the risen Savior and realized that Bethlehem is little more important than what we thought.

A few other interesting points about Bethlehem. Jacob's wife, Rachel, she died in childbirth on the way to Bethlehem and was buried there. Also Ruth the Boabite, who married Boaz and bore the grandfather David, lived there. David was born in Bethlehem, grew up there, and Samuel anointed him king there. After that, Bethlehem became a small, insignificant city surrounded by farmland and sheep. Now we've looked at the place of the king. Let's go to part number two. It's going forth. Micah has related the place where this would happen. Now in our second point, he will show them exactly who this one is by describing him.

We read from you, one will go forth for me to be a ruler in Israel. Israel had many rulers, but this one specifically will go forth for me. That's God's choice. You know, God didn't really appoint too many kings after Solomon. There were kings that he allowed to be there, but not necessarily appointed by him. If you look at that verse from one will go forth to be a ruler in Israel, it's important to know who the players are here. Like Roger always says, you can't tell the players without a program. So we could rephrase this from Israel.

The Messiah will go forth for God to be a ruler of Israel. This is only going to take place in the future. We will see later that this ruler will take place at the second coming of Christ before the millennium. Now remember, Micah is talking to people who have no idea that this is going to happen. Fortunately, we do. Reading on in verse 2, His going forth are from long ago from the days of eternity.

Long before Christ appeared as a man, He interacted with men throughout history. We would call these appearances Theophanies. That's where Christ appeared before his birth as a man to different people in the Old Testament. There are several illustrations of this.

Christ walked with Adam and Eve in the garden. That's a Theophany. Christ also appeared to Abraham several times in the book of Genesis. Jacob wrestled with Christ and was renamed Israel. Nebuchadnezzar saw an extra man in the fire furnace. This was a theophany. This was Christ.

There were many other appearances of Christ before his birth as a man. Not only did Christ appear throughout the Old Testament, he was with God and he was God in eternity past. These are all very important things to know concerning the Messiah that the people in Micah's day probably weren't aware of.

We read in John 1.3, all things came into being through him, and apart from him, nothing came into being that has not come into being.

Now if you take a look at that verse there, that's pretty poor English to say, into being, into being, into being, repetition. English writers would condemn this sentence. But the Greeks, they use repetition for emphasis. There are too many times that English translators have taken the repetition out to make the English sound better. And they've actually done an injustice to God's Word.

Another passage, Colossians chapter one, for by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on the earth. All things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And then one more passage in John 8, 58. Jesus said to the Pharisees, truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am. So the Messiah is coming as the God-man. He isn't just a good-looking guy that's got a wonderful personality like Wayne. He's much more than that.

Now, let's go on to part three, the mission. What's this? Come on. Heidi, I told you to keep my dog out of my study when I'm not around. He likes to go in there and mess with my computer. I apologize for all that. Let's get rid of that. Part number three, the mission of the church. In this third section, Micah will take us from Israel's captivity of Babylon and Assyria right up to the time they will enter the kingdom prophesied by Abraham in the future millennium. Let's read that passage.

Therefore he will give them up until the time when she is in labor has born a child. Then the remainder of his brethren will return to the sons of Israel. And he will arise and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God, and they will remain, because at that time he will be great to the ends of the earth. Notice in this first verse here, this phrase born of a child. This is not a reference to Christ's birth. But it's a reference to that of Israel being set aside until the second coming.

If we jump back to chapter 4, verse 9, we can read, Why do you cry out loudly? Is there no king among you? Or has your counselor perished? That agony has gripped you like a woman in childbirth. So we're not talking about the birth of Christ here, we're talking about Israel going into exile. Israel's abandonment is like a woman's pain and labor until the child is born, the regathering of Israel by Christ.

Continuing on in this verse, this will only happen in the fullness of time when Christ returns at his second coming. Notice the phrase up there, give them a until the time. Unknown to Israel, there would be two comings of Christ. The first in his birth and the second later because of their unbelief and rejection of him. I want to take a look at the time.

I'd like to compare this to Jesus, when he entered the synagogue in his hometown in Nazareth in Luke 4, and he reads from Isaiah 61 and what he actually reads, but I don't think I'm going to have time to do that. So I'm just going to run through this section and let's move on to this part.

Then the remainder of his brethren will return to the sons of Israel. This, of course, will happen when Christ returns at the end of the tribulation and gather his remnant together and sets up his kingdom. Going on to verse three, and he will arise and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord. He will be the great shepherd who gathers his flock together in one place and brings them into his kingdom at his second coming.

Let's take a minute and look at a concept of the shepherd and his sheep in the Bible. This is something that not too many people think about. Christ as our shepherd is used in scripture mainly for the gathering of Israel to himself. This is not necessarily church doctrine.

The term shepherd, it's only used 19 times in the New Testament, and 16 of those times are in the Gospels. It's used in the Gospels, once in Hebrews, once in 1 Peter, and once in Revelation. It is only used in reference to Israel or Jewish believers. Neither Paul, James, John, or Jude ever used the term shepherd in any of their epistles.

There is a derivative of the term used in Ephesians chapter 4 to denote a pastor elder. So in that sense, our church leaders are our shepherds. This is an important distinction between the church and Israel. In Judaism, God is seen as watching over, protecting, caring, and leading his people just as a shepherd would. In the church, Christ's role is different. We have been crucified, buried, risen, and seated with Christ at the right hand of the Father. We are in Christ, not around, not behind, not out in some field following him, but we are actually in him.

I was very impressed with Bob Ecko during our Philippian study twice at two different times, he brought this out. He turned sideways and started walking sideways. And the people on Zoom, where did he go? And he said, Christ isn't out there. We're not back behind here, but we're actually with Christ.

We're actually in Christ. And I've been impressed by that illustration ever since. Before you all get upset at me, am I saying Christ is not our shepherd? Before you get all bent out of shape, this is a critical doctrinal distinction in theology. Now, we as believers, we don't live up in those high majestic doctrinal theological castles in the sky. We'll say that for people in seminaries.

We live here on earth with our oaths in nature, but when we realize that we are actually in Christ, our walk from day to day should reflect that. It should change the way we think about our walk. Our daily walk with Him, being led by Him, or following Him, takes on a whole new meaning. Our role in our daily walk is to be conformed to the image of Christ. We no longer follow a bunch of rules as Israel did, but we live by faith in God's promises.

Galatians 2.20 I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God. If we understand this distinction between being following Christ and being in Christ, we can take application from the Old Testament and we can apply it to our lives.

In 1 Peter, when Peter is speaking to the Jewish believers, he exhorts the elders to shepherd their flocks according to the will of God. Then when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Therefore, in application, not in doctrine, not in some seminary discussion, not necessarily doctrine, when we read Psalms 23, the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want, this psalm can bring comfort to all believers in all ages and all dispensation, including the church age. So, practically speaking, not doctrinally, practically speaking, Christ is indeed our shepherd. Now I hope nobody's mad at me here. Let's move on to verse four.

In the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God, they will remain, because at that time it will be great to the ends of the earth. Do I still sound congested? For 2700 years, Israel has prevailed in labor. All the human leaders, judges, rulers of Israel, monarchs, princes, Caesars, dictators, presidents, they have all failed miserably to bring peace into our land. Even today we can't accomplish that. Take a look at the United Nations.

At their entrance, they have this quote from Micah. But they can't bring peace in the Millennium, man. Outside of their entrance, they have a statue. Here's a man with a hammer pounding his sword into a cloud. They have some kind of idea that they're going to bring peace to the world and we're all going to be happy because of this.

But Christ Is the only one that can accomplish this when he gathers his sheep at the end of the tribulation notice the the phrase they will remain When the fullness of time comes that phrase he will be great on this earth and not only in the Millennium but also that phrase, to the ends of the earth. Only then will there be true peace, not just for Israel, but for all mankind. And this is going to lead us to our last point, the outcome of the king. That short phrase in verse five, In this last section, Israel will finally be at peace eternally.

The Hebrew word for peace is Shalom. Shalom is the common greeting of the Jews. Shalom means hello as well as goodbye. But it's much more than that. When something wonderful happens, the Jews say Shalom. Shalom is a feeling of wholeness and well-being. It's the absence of conflict. Shalom is complete and unbroken relationship with God. And this is what the Messiah is going to bring us there in verse five. Let's look at the word Shalom.

Shalom is made up of four letters or characters. Reading from right to left, we have a shin, a lamed, a vad, which is silent, and a mem. When we look at these four letters, the shin, it's pronounced as a sh, the lamed is pronounced like an l, the vad is silent, and the em is pronounced like an m, that's where we get the word shalom. The teeth of the shin represents teeth, the lamed represents a shepherd's staff, The vav, which is silent, represents a knell or a hook, and the mem represents a flood or tsunami. Now these actually depict, the teak depicts destruction, the shepherd's staff, authority, the knell or the hook, which is silent, is a connecting letter bringing all these characters together, and the flood denotes chaos and confusion.

We can best turn this into a sentence describing what Shalom really is. And that sentence is to destroy the authority connected with chaos and confusion resulting in peace. This is what Shalom is. This one, the Lord Jesus Christ, will be our peace. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful.

That's in Colossians 3.15. And that's where I'm going to quit. Any comments or questions? Yeah, can you say all that again once more, Bob? Let me see if I can back this thing up. Well done. That's great. Okay. So, I have a question here. Go ahead, Bob.

Across the pond here. So, is the conclusion that Christ is our shepherd even though it's not New Testament documented? He's not to be our shepherd? Yes. I'm confused here. I like the Old Testament application myself better than I do the New Testament, right? That's definitely our conclusion, but I think it's interesting to note that it isn't really mentioned in church doctrine as such. It's a Jewish idiom which we can apply to our lives today. You know, the interpretation of us being sheep, I think, falls far short of the position of truth we have in Christ Jesus. Is it not? I mean, it's... Yes, yes. And hopefully I pointed that out. We are in Christ. We're not in front of him like Bob Echo illustrated. We're right there in him. We are in Christ. That's our position.

But you know, so many times and this is a pet peeve of mine, we talk so much about physician, we forget about our lives from day to day, our condition, but we've got to take that position and apply it to the way we live in our daily life. Right, no question about that. Anything else? So, Roger? Do you want to close us in prayer? Sure.

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you so much, Lord. We thank you for the blessings we have in the Lord Jesus. Thank you, Lord. We can rest in the fact that we are in this permanent union with Christ, never to be separated. And you maintain it. And we trust you by faith as we walk by faith. We ask in his name. Amen.