Week 31 Micah
In chapter five Micah predicts: but you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village in Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past.
That verse has a NT cross-reference in my bible. King Herod asked the religious teachers in Jerusalem: where did the prophets say the Messiah would be born?
I don’t know how Herod knew about the Messiah. But when he asked the religious teachers they knew who he was referring to and told him the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem – they quoted Micah: O Bethlehem of Judah, you are not just a lowly village in Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd of my people Israel. This means that by NT times people were calling the unidentified person in Micah The Messiah.
Micah says some things about the Ruler that are a bit vague and could refer to other people. That he’ll work for the Lord. That he’ll lead people. That he’ll bring peace. But Micah also says one thing that is a definite geographic test. He’ll be born in Bethlehem. Micah’s Ruler has to be born in Bethlehem.
Since I got to the prophets in April I’ve read a lot of forecasts that might be read one-way-or-another. But this one in Micah is solid – The Messiah has to be born in the little town of Bethlehem.
Note: quotes from Micah 5:2 & Matthew 2:4 & 6 (NLT).