Promises of a Messiah: Micah 5:2

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
(Mic 5:2)

Of all the many prophecies of the Old Testament, this is probably one of the most familiar.  So familiar, that we may miss some of the fascinating surprises hidden in it.  So let’s take a look…

A little background

Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah, writing about 700 years before Christ.  He prophesies against Samaria and Judah for their unfaithfulness to God and social injustice.  He predicts destruction and captivity.  He also predicts ultimate deliverance, including of course the coming of the Messiah.

At the point of the above prophecy, Micah is comparing the horrible judgement coming on Israel with its coming salvation.

Looking at the verse…

What is Bethlehem Ephrathah?  Well, there were two Bethlehems – Ephrathah, an older name for the area, is used to differentiate.  When Matthew talks about this verse in Matthew 2:6, he instead says,"in the land of Judah".  He’s probably just updating the term so his current hearers would again understand which Bethlehem he was referring to.

We’re going to see Matthew make more than one change to the verse – we’ll talk about those as we go along.  This one is pretty easy to understand.

What about this Bethlehem?  Well, it’s small and insignificant.  King David’s line of course had been scattered everywhere, and was going to be more scattered with the captivity.  It’s incredibly unlikely, humanly speaking, that another great King in David’s line would come from Bethlehem.

Much of the difference in wording probably simply comes from the translation of the Old Testament that Matthew was using.  And another note – Matthew is actually quoting from the chief priests and scribes, so was it them, a translation, or Matthew who made the changes?  It’s not clear.

Looking out over modern Bethlehem

But at this point there’s a surprising twist – he (at least, this is as it’s written) completely changes the meaning of the next line, saying are by no means least among the rulers of Judah.

So is it the least, or isn’t it?

First, the change from clans to rulers may simply be a different way of saying the same thing.

But the key is in the next phrase, where Matthew says for from you shall come a ruler.

So Matthew is parallelling the rulers of Judah with the Great Ruler who was to come (same word).  And he’s not contradicting Micah in meaning – for though Bethlehem was small and insignificant, it became significant through the birth of the Messiah.  It’s a contrast – now that the prophecy was fulfilled, Bethlehem would be famous!  And it is, isn’t it?

In Micah, we see the amazing statement whose going forth is from old, from ancient days.  Of course, the Messiah, being divine, was ancient even in the time of Micah.  He’s the Alpha and Omega (Rev 22:13-16), the Word who was God from the beginning (John 1:1).

The Good Shepherd

But Matthew leaves out this final phrase, and apparently borrows from later in Micah chapter 5.  Verse 4 says:

And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.
(Mic 5:4)

Matthew writes:  for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.

As with many prophecies we’ve looked at, Micah looks not only at the first coming of the Messiah but looks ahead to the second.  What is begun at the first is completed at the second.

Jesus claimed to be the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-30).  He would actually lay down His life for His sheep.  Interestingly enough, at the same time Jesus declared His unity with the Father – and the Jews picked up stones to stone Him.  Were they not familiar with Micah 5?

Of course Matthew points out that the Jews did know Micah 5 (see also John 7:40-43).  The Targum of the Minor Prophets also clearly points to this passage as referring to the Messiah, as does Jewish literature even after the time of Christ.

We will talk more about the Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep later.  For now, let’s remember His birth in Bethlehem – the little town that was insignificant, but now has become the opposite – one of the world’s most famous.  In 1867, Phillip Brooks wrote the now familiar words: