Micah 5:2

Micah 5:2

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

1. “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel…”

a. This is a prophetic utterance that declares the Messiah will come out of Bethleham and fulfilled of course in the birth of Jesus.

1). Matthew 2:1-6 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

2). It is interesting here that all of the Jewish leaders in Israel knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem citing the Scripture in Micah. The twist in this of course comes after the family came back from Egypt, fully intending to move back to Bethlehem where they lived before fleeing into Egypt, Joseph was warned in a dream to go back to Nazareth, Mary’s home town.

a). Matthew 2:19-23  But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.

And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:

And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

3). This move back to Nazareth would throw a monkey wrench in the thinking of the Jewish leaders causing them to doubt whether Jesus was the Messiah. A powerful example of this is shown in the gospel of John, when Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Feast Tabernacles.

a). John 7:37-43 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.

Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?

Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?

So there was a division among the people because of him.

4). I can’t help but think that surely somebody did a little deeper bit of questioning and found out that although Jesus lived in Nazareth for most of his life, he was born in Bethlehem and lived there a short time after he was born.

2. “…whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

a. From the eternal past, from everlasting, this is the description given to the one who is to be ruler in Israel, the Christ Jesus. The description clearly says He has existed from eternity past, from everlasting. This description is also only given to Almighty God.

1). Psalm 90:1, 2 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.