MICAH: GOD’S PUNISHMENT AND HIS RESTORATION

VIII: Messiah’s Second Advent

(Micah 5:4-15)

I. Introduction

A. Micah, who was “a Judean from Moresheth in the SW of Palestine, preached to the common people of Judah.” (Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, p. 1283, “Introduction to the Book of Micah: The Prophet.”)

B. The message of Micah’s prophecy was that God’s coming judgment for Judah’s sin would be unavoidable and severe, but in the end, His Abrahamic Covenant would be honored, and Israel would be blessed.

C. Though Micah 5:2-3 predicted Christ’s first coming, since Israel rejected Him as Messiah, Acts 1:6-8 reveals that the Messianic Kingdom was postponed until after the Church era, and Micah 5:4-15 then predicted Christ’s Second Coming and the Kingdom for Israel. We view the passage for our insight and application:

II. Messiah’s Second Advent, Micah 5:4-15.

A. At Christ’s Second Coming, in vast contrast to hapless king Zedekiah when Judah fell to Babylon and went into captivity as mentioned in Micah 5:1, Christ will come to power, taking His stand as King, and He will shepherd His people in the strength and majesty of the name of the Lord His God so that Israel will remain in the Promised Land in security because Christ as the Messiah will be great and rule the whole earth, Micah 5:4.

B. Consequently, Christ will embody the peace of Israel, Micah 5:5a. If any invader, here illustrated in Israel’s current enemy of Assyria, invades the land, trampling on her citadels, Israel will raise up seven shepherds and eight leaders of men, numbers that picture an adequate number of rulers, and they will shepherd the land of their invaders with the sword, and Christ will deliver His people from the invaders, Micah 5:5b-6.

C. After the destruction of Israel’s enemies, the godly Hebrew remnant will be refreshing and influential like dew and showers among many Gentile people groups, Micah 5:7. “As the dew and rain come from God in His timing (they do not wait for man), so God will refresh the nations in His own timing, apart from man’s doings.” (Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 1487)

D. However, the godly remnant will also be like a lion, dominating and powerful in ruling other nations of the world in Israel’s worldwide empire, Micah 5:8. Israel will have victory over all of her enemies, Micah 5:9.

E. However, the Lord will also purge Israel of her sins that were so prominent in Micah’s time, Micah 5:10-14:

1. Christ will purge Israel of her ungodly reliance on human military might: He will destroy her chariot army upon which she had trusted in violation of Deuteronomy 17:16 together with the cities where Israel had built fortifications for protection against invaders in place of relying on God, Micah 5:10-11; Ibid.

2. Christ will destroy false worship from Israel in which she had trusted in place of God, Micah 5:12-14:

a. He will destroy sorceries, what “suggests seeking information from demonic sources,” Micah 5:12a; Ibid.

b. Christ will destroy tellers of fortunes, occultism and magic arts, Micah 5:12b; Ibid.

c. He will destroy all idols the people had worshiped in place of the Lord, Micah 5:13-14a.

d. All the cities where “Israel had practiced idolatry or relied on her military strength” would be demolished, for they had become idolatrous crutches upon which the people had relied in place of God, Micah 5:14b.

F. Finally, Christ will execute God’s vengeance in great anger and fury on the Gentile nations who had not obeyed the Lord, Micah 5:15.

Lesson: In Christ’s Second Coming and the institution of His Messianic Kingdom, opposite the plight of Judah and her hapless king Zedekiah, Christ will arise in power as Israel’s King, He will shepherd His people in the strength and majesty of the name of the Lord His God so that Israel will dwell in security. If Gentiles seek to invade the land, under Christ, Israel will have a sufficient supply of great leaders to crush the invaders and rule the homelands of the invaders themselves. The godly remnant will be both refreshing and powerfully influential as Israel rules the world. Christ will also purge Israel of every form of idolatry, be it military might, fortifications, false religion, or occultism, and He will administer fierce vengeance upon the Gentiles who did not obey Him.

Application: (1) May we submit to God’s will as revealed in His Word to enjoy His blessing of security and stability in living. (2) May we submit to God’s will that He might bless us with adequate, good leaders, for such leaders are the product of godliness itself. (3) May we repent of all forms of idolatry, every imaginable “crutch” that we use in place of God for fulfillment, all to avoid His severe discipline, for God is a very jealous God Who wants our undivided loyalty to Him alone as God. (4) May we also avoid every form of witchcraft or the occult that leads to demonic activity, what God abhors, and cleave to the Lord alone.