Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Pre-exilic Prophets 4 (3)Pray Psalm 28.8, 9.
The LORD is their strength,
And He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
Save Your people,
And bless Your inheritance;
Shepherd them also,
And bear them up forever
Sing Psalm 28.8, 9.
(Angel’s Story: O Jesus, I Have Promised)
Our strength are You, O Savior, our strong defense and sure.
Anointed with Your favor, we rest in You secure.
Save us, and bless us, Jesus, upon us turn Your face.
With shepherd’s care, LORD, keep us forever in Your grace.
Read Micah 5.1-8; meditate on verses 2-4.
Preparation
1. Who will be born in Bethlehem?
2. How is He described?
Meditation
The promise of restoration, which began in Micah 4, continues here, focused on the coming Shepherd King of the people of God.
Israel’s fate is to be struck down by the judgment of God, (v. 1) but she will ultimately prevail over her foes. The eternal King will be born in Bethlehem (v. 2), and He will be a mighty Shepherd for His people (vv. 3, 4). He will protect them from the ravages of their foes—here symbolized by Assyria—and His people shall be dispersed among the nations to build up (v. 7) and to tear down (v. 8; cf. Jer. 1.10). All the nations that persist in idolatry, not hearing the Word of the Lord, will be destroyed (vv. 9-15). It is fair to assume that some of this “destruction” will come as nations repent of and forsake their idols and turn to the Shepherd King of Israel.
Verses 7 and 8 offer two powerful images that should guide the people of God in thinking about their place among the unbelieving peoples of the world. Like dew, we are to refresh everything around us (cf. Ps. 110.3) We wait on no man to give us permission or grant us authority. We run on the Lord’s schedule and bring a blanket of heavenly refreshment to the peoples of the world and all aspects of creation and culture.
And like a lion in the forest, we rule everything and everyone around us. God’s people, following their Shepherd King, are the movers and shakers of the world; all others defer to us, and fear our presence. For, like our King before us (Matt. 12.22-29), we also ravage the devil’s holdings, plundering, taking captive, and destroying the rule of darkness so that the light of Christ can prevail in every place.
To refresh, rule, and ravage: This is our calling as the people of God. This is where our Shepherd King leads us in these last days.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162Our confidence to be overcomers is directly related to our utmost faith in God and His fulfilled Promise.
“Yet out of you, Bethlehem, shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler…Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” (Mic. 5.2).
“Concerning Your testimonies, I have known of old that You have founded them forever” (Ps. 119.152).
Jesus, the Wisdom of God, said of Himself:
“The LORD possessed Me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old.
I have been established from everlasting, from the beginning, before there was ever an earth.
When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no fountains abounding with water.
Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was brought forth;
while as yet He had not made the earth or the field, or the primal dust of the world.
When He prepared the heavens, I was there,
when He drew a circle on the face of the deep,
when He established the clouds above,
when He strengthened the fountains of the deep,
when He assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters would not transgress His command,
when He marked out the foundations of the earth.
Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; and I was daily His delight,
rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in His inhabited world,
and My delight was with the sons of men” (Prov. 8.22-31).
So it was while Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem to be registered at the command of Caesar Augustus, “the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son” Jesus, the “Savior, Who is Christ the Lord” (Lk. 2.4-7, 11).
“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through Him,
and without Him nothing was made that was made.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
And the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not overcome it” (Jn. 1.1-5).
“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.
And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 Jn. 5.4, 5).
I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today;
I know that He is living, whatever men may say;
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him He’s always near.
He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.
(Alfred H. Ackley, 1934)
Reflection
1. What does it mean to say that Jesus was eternally the Son and Word of God?
2. Why do we say that Jesus is both Shepherd and King?
3. Whom will you tell about our eternal Shepherd King today?
The Prophet shows here that the kingdom of Christ would be durable and permanent. It will then proceed; for Christ will not only rule his Church for a few days, but his kingdom will continue to stand through unbroken series of years and of ages. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Micah 5.4
Pray Psalm 28.1-7.
Thank the Lord for His shepherding care. Call on Him to lead you today, to help us remain faithful through every temptation, and to help and strengthen you to serve Him.
Sing Psalm 28.1-7.
(Angel’s Story: O Jesus, I Have Promised)
I cry to You, our Savior, O, be not deaf to me!
LORD, speak to me with favor, lest I should dying be.
Hear now my supplications when for Your help I cry.
Receive these, my oblations, before Your throne on high.
LORD, count me not among those who walk in sinful ways.
With words of peace their tongue glows while evil fills their days.
Your works they disregard, LORD, while evil fills their hands.
Destroy them by Your Word, LORD, and let them no more stand.
Blessed be the Name of Jesus, for He will hear our prayer.
His strength protects and shields us with mercy and with care.
In You our heart rejoices; You help us by Your Word.
To You we raise our voices to praise and thank You, LORD.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
