Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: Micah 5: 1-5 Dec. 10, 2023

Message: “The Coming King!” by Pastor George Gnade

Intro.: 1. Last week, we studied Micah 5:2 and learned all about Bethlehem where this passage predicted that Jesus would be born. Today we will concentrate on vs. 1-3 where we will learn about the coming of Jesus as a great king.

2. In vs. 1, it begins by saying: “Marshal your troops, O city of troops, for a siege is laid against us.”

A. Let me share the background leading up to this siege.

1. Micah and Isaiah were both prophets in the southern kingdom of Judah around the same time. They served the Lord during the reigns of King Ahas and King Hezekiah, somewhere around 740. B.C. and 680 BC. 

2. Ahas was very wicked and would not listen to Isaiah. Israel to the north and Syria to the east were both attacking Judah, and Ahas was scared to death. In Is. 7:2, it says: “The hearts of Ahas and his people were shaking like the trees in a forest would shake from a strong wind.” 

a. So Isaiah was sent by God to encourage him. He told Ahas to have faith because both of his enemies would not even exit in less than 65 years (Is. 7:8).

b. But Ahas would not believe him. Instead of trusting in God to save them, Ahas was determined to ask the southern kingdom of Assyria to help him instead. God said that was the worst thing he could do. In Is. 7:9, God told Ahas: “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.”

3. Then Isaiah made a wonderful promise. “The Lord will give you a sign. ‘A virgin will conceive and bear a son, and you shall call His name Emmanuel.”’ God had plans for Judah, and all Ahas needed to do is trust Him.

a. But Ahas didn’t trust Him. He invited the Assyrians to help him anyway. They did! Everything seemed OK for a while until Ahas died and his son Hezekiah took his place. 

b. Meanwhile, Assyria conquered Israel and Syria as Ahas had asked him to. The bad news is , in 734 B.C.,  he then began to attack Judah also and captured one city after another.  Finally the Assyrians surrounded and laid siege to Jerusalem.

4. Most scholars believe that is what is referred to in Micah 5:1. God, speaking through Micah, was explaining what was going to happen.  Judah would be surrounded and unable to defend itself. 

5. So wicked King Ahas, who refused to believe, actually caused his godly son Hezekiah and his whole nation to be in trouble, all because of his lack of faith.

B. We learn more about this in Isaiah 36 & 37.

1.  Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, surrounded the city. Then he sent his field commander to mock Hezekiah.  

a. In Is. 36: 8, he stood outside the city wall and humiliated him, saying: “My master will give you 2,000 horses, if you can put riders on them!” 

b. This is what God predicted would happen in Micah 5:1.  It says: “Marshal your troops, O city of troops. ” He knew Judah didn’t even have that many soldiers to fight him.  In the second half of vs. 1, Micah continues: “They will strike the Ruler of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.” 

This is similar to our modern saying: “That was like a slap across the face!”  The field commander did everything he could to ridicule Hezekiah and humiliate their God. 

2. When Hezekiah’s officials heard these comments, they went and told the king what the field commander had said.

a. In Is. 37:1, it says: “Then Hezekiah tore his clothes,  put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord.” Meanwhile he sent his officials to Isaiah the prophet, seeking guidance from God.

b. Unlike Ahas his father who turned away from God, Hezekiah humbled himself before the Lord and begged for His help.

3.  And the Lord answered! In Is. 37: 39, He told the field commander : “I will put a hook in your nose … and I will make you return by the way you came.” So God delivered the king and saved Jerusalem at least till another day.

C. That is the background to the wonderful Christmas promises contained in Micah 5: 1-5.  Let us consider this promise in more detail.

1. Just as God raised up righteous Hezekiah to help God’s people in Micah’s day, so God raised up the Lord Jesus to help God’s people in the days of the Romans.

a. Just as the sins of others caused Hezekiah’s problems, so the sins of the nation caused Jesus’ problems.

b. In the same way, the trials of King Hezekiah reminded God of the trials of King Jesus. While Hezekiah was mocked and humiliated, the Lord Jesus would be mocked and literally slapped across the face in the process of dying for us and saving us.

2. It would all begin in the little town of Bethlehem. In Micah 5:2, it continues: “Out of you will come for me one who will be the Ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from everlasting.”

a. Jesus would be born and honored by the wise men as “the King of the Jews.” In Matt. 2, we are told how they even brought Him gifts worthy of a king, including gold, frankincense and myrrh.

b. They came from a far off land and traveled many days, following a star they saw in the sky, a star that they believed would lead them to the promised King of the Jews.  And when they found Him, “they fell down and worshiped Him.”

3. They were right to come and worship Him. I already shared how Isaiah’s prophecies were complimented by Micah’s prophecies.

a. In Is. 7:14, we were told about the virgin birth and how this baby would become known as “Emmanuel,” which means “God with us.”

b. In Micah 5: 2, we are told that Jesus’ “origins were from old, ever from everlasting.”  Yes, the One who actually created us chose to take on human flesh and to live among us.

c. As it says in John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

4. Now the wise men were Gentiles, the first to worship and honor Him. But they would not be the last. 

a. In Micah 5:3, God told the people in Micah’s day: “Israel will be abandoned until the time comes when she who is in labor gives birth, and then the rest of His brothers will return to join the Israelites.”

b. In 721 B.C. Israel was taken into captivity by the Assyrians, and in 586 B.C. Judah was taken into captivity by the Babylonians. Israel would appear to be abandoned by their God. The Jews would never have their own king again until “she who is in labor gave birth” and God became man in the person of His Son.

c. According to Micah 4:1-2, then many Gentiles from all over the world would come to worship Jesus along with those Jews who would also choose to love Jesus.  That includes us who are here worshiping Jesus today.

In conclusion: 1. Do you know the primary reason why so many have come? Jesus told us the answer to this question in John 12:32. He said: “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me.”

a. Today we learned how Hezekiah was mocked and ridiculed, but, because he trusted in God, God saved Him.

b. Before going to the cross, Jesus was also mocked and ridiculed and even slapped in the face, but He also trusted in God to deliver Him. After He was lifted up on the cross and died for our sins, even His own disciples thought their hopes and dreams were shattered. 

2. But Jesus knew the exciting end of the story. After He was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven, people from all nations would come to worship Him, including us.  Praise God for the King born in Bethlehem. Praise God He came and has saved us and delivered us.

3. While the key to this passage involved comparing good king Hezekiah to the Lord Jesus, it was also written to warn us of the dangers of unbelief and the power of faith.

Unbelief and sin will only cause us problems. But faith in the Lord Jesus and the power of prayer will ultimately lead us to victory.

4. As the apostle John once said: “This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith!” So if you have never given your heart to the Lord, please do not put it off. With Jesus in your heart and on your side, you will find God’s answer to all the challenges that we have to face down here as well as the promise of heaven up there.