Week 19 Matthew 2
A delegation of astronomers / astrologists came to Jerusalem in search of the baby Jesus. When they arrived they asked king Herod: where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? (they obviously had some knowledge about the OT and had made a connection between their astronomical observations and the Jewish scriptures).
Herod also knew something about OT prophecy because he asked the priests where the Messiah was to be born. The Answer: Bethlehem. The priests knew the specific geographic location because Micah had said: you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.
Micah’s prophecy was pretty definitive. And it was testable. The Messiah (the Christ) – Israel’s heroic ruler – would be born in Bethlehem.
Micah’s prophecy is the kind that I like: Event A – an actual & specific & observable event – will happen at some future time. So what I have to do is wait around to see if Event A actually happens.
Not everything that Micah said was a future forecast (for example he told people: to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God). But the thing about the Messiah being born in Bethlehem was an unqualified Event A prediction.
Note: quotes from Matthew 2:2 4 6 Micah 6:8 (NIV)