From Death to Birth

Micah 5:1-2

Do you know why some people from Glennville get excited when they get the chance to mention that Sterling and Shannon Sharpe are from Glennville? Because this is Glennville. There are not a lot of famous people who have come from here. It is not like Atlanta, Athens, or even Savannah. The population pool from which to draw someone famous is much smaller. So, when we have someone to get excited about, we tend to stay excited for a long time. If you are from a small town you understand.

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Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; He has laid siege against us; They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”

Micah 5:1-2

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Bethlehem had already beaten the odds of having someone famous come from its population. This little village had one of the most famous Hebrews ever born to come from it. King David was from Bethlehem. When it came to kings, he was the man! The only other famous Hebrews had never been part of the nation of Israel (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses). This was certainly something they could hold their heads up high about. What are the odds that another famous ruler would come from Bethlehem? Honestly, they were pretty low. So, when God said that there would be another ruler from Bethlehem, this was big news. It did not go unnoticed that this ruler would be "the One"! This next famous ruler would be THE MESSIAH promised from God!

Perhaps you are wondering what the title of the devotion has to do with famous rulers. It has to do with this peculiar prophesy we find in Micah. Many of us are familiar with verse two; if for no other reason because of Christmas cards. However, you cannot get to verse two without first passing by verse 1.

Verse one begins as a normal verse about exile, but then it turns to something different. Micah prophesies that "they will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek". Matthew tells us this, "And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!  And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.  And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him" (Matthew 27:29-31). While Nebuchadnezzar abused King Zedekiah and ultimately gouged out his eyes, this prophesy of Micah ultimately speaks of Jesus, the true judge of Israel. It speaks of the time leading up to His death on the cross.

Then we get to verse two. While many from Israel missed it, this verse speaks of the birth of the promised Messiah. He would be born in Bethlehem. The religious leaders knew that He could come from Bethlehem, but somehow they did not gather that it would be from humble beginnings as a baby. We have the luxury of having the full Bible, and so we understand the full story. God sent us His Son, born of a woman, in Bethlehem. This little small town had made prophetic and Biblical headlines again!

As much as we love Christmas, which will be here before we know it, there is no point in the Christmas story if there is no Easter story. His passion and resurrection were the goal, but the race started in Bethlehem. I am so glad He ran His race!

"Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7).

Father we are so thankful that You revealed Your secrets to us through the prophets. We are grateful that if we take the time to look, we can see Your plan was clearly established and proclaimed from the foundations of the world.