Micah 5:3

The Bible says in Micah 5:3-6, “Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.[4] And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.[5] And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.[6] And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.” The phrase in verse 3, “will he give them up,” refers to the captivity of the Israelites when God has given them to be taken captive by the Gentile nations. That was the immediate message to the Israelites in the day of Amos. But the question was, “How long would they be in captivity?” The answer is given in the very next phrase in verse 3. It says, “until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth.” “She” is Israel. The “travailing” refers to the time of Jacob’s Trouble: what Jesus called “great tribulation.” At the end of the Great Tribulation Jesus (the One born in Bethlehem) will come back, will defeat the enemies of Israel, and will restore Israel to its God-destined glory.

The last part of Micah 5:3 says, “then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.” The full re-gathering of Jews to Israel will not take place until after the Great Tribulation. We know the time-frame. We know God’s plan for Israel and for the world. Therefore, in the light of this truth, the intervening events are not so important. Let the politicians argue, and the nations go to war; but God’s plan will be fulfilled. Let’s look at the word “remnant.” It refers to a small amount compared to the whole. It refers to the fact that there will always be some left who belong to God. That is true for the nation of Israel, and that is true for Christians also. Yes, there will be a falling away. No, there may never be another great revival. But there will always be at least a few who know Jesus and who keep loving Him. No question about it: there will always be a remnant. The question is: are you part of the remnant?

Micah 5:4 is a description of the Messiah. It says, “And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.” Christ shall do two things: He shall “stand,” and He shall “feed.” To stand speaks of strength and steadiness and faithfulness. What a contrast to the weak-kneed leaders we seem to have. Christ will “feed.” To feed refers to His teaching. One of the greatest problems in this world is that people have been taught the wrong things, and what they have been taught becomes the basis for their future actions and for their priorities. No wonder our society descends further and further into the abyss. Once everyone has been taught error for years and years from every source, how can they possibly escape the entrapment in error and falsehood? There is always one great escape: come to the Great Teacher and hear Him. His name is Jesus. The teaching that Jesus does is “in the strength of the Lord.” Another reason for failure on the part of non-believing human beings is the fact that everything is based upon their own efforts without trusting in God. Effort is important, but effort without also trusting in the Lord is vanity. Jesus said in John 15:5, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” Jesus also said in Matthew 12:30, “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.”

The result of the strength of Christ and the teachings of Christ is the following: “they shall abide.” The current circumstance of Israel during the time of Amos was that they would not abide in the land. That was the near-term reality: loss and failure and judgment because of the sins of the people. But that was not the final story. That was not the last word. God has a plan. Jesus saves to the uttermost those that come to Him. God has a plan of salvation. He will save, and He will give eternal life to His chosen ones: the remnant of Israel and the believers in Jesus Christ. That is the way salvation works. Once you come to know Jesus as Savior, hopefully you will follow Him faithfully, but if you do not, H will be faithful to you. If you do not follow Him, you have a lot to lose. You can lose God’s opportunities in this life, you can lose your rewards, and your very life on this earth can be cut short; but you will never lose your salvation. The final story about your eternal existence is described by these words: you “shall abide.”

The last phrase of Micah 5:4 emphasizes one more truth about the reign of Christ from Jerusalem on the throne of David. It says, “for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.” Jesus will rule over the whole earth as King, not just Israel. Finally, the earth will have the leadership that it has always longed for. They may reject Jesus now, because now is the time of free choice. But the day will come when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Another statement that describes the Messiah is found in Micah 5:5 that says about Him, “And this man shall be the peace.” In what way is Jesus “the peace?” In every way. He is called the Prince of Peace. In the age of grace in which we live, peace in your soul with God can only be found through Jesus. Have you made your peace with God? It says in Romans 5:1, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus is also the only one who will bring peace to the earth. When Jesus described our current age in Matthew 24:6-8, “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.[7] For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.[8] All these are the beginning of sorrows.” People certainly desire peace, but they will not find it unless they look in the right place by bowing before the Lord Jesus Christ. It says in Jeremiah 8:11, “For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” It also says in Isaiah 57:20-21, “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.[21] There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.”

There is an important truth to notice at the last part of Micah 5:5, “when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.” Who are the seven shepherds and the eight principal men? We do not know, but we do know this: the Lord Jesus will be King, but under Him will be others with power and authority that He will give to them. The apostles knew that. That is why James and John said to Jesus in Mark 10:37-40, “They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.[38] But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?[39] And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:[40] But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.” Also, there is a reason that rewards for Christians are described as being “crowns.” A crown is a symbol of authority: kingly or princely authority. For example, it says in Second Timothy 4:8, “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” And it says in James 1:12, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” The Apostle Peter wrote in First Peter 5:4, “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” The Kingdom of Christ on earth (the millennial kingdom) will be well-organized with high positions of power and authority occupied by faithful believers. Do not lose your crown.

The Bible says in Micah 5:7-9, “And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.[8] And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.[9] Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.” God always has a remnant. If He did not at least have a remnant, He would get rid of the world. God prefers to have everyone as His children, but at least He has a remnant. He had a remnant back in the Old Testament times after He allowed Assyria and Babylon to come in and wipe out Israel. God has had a remnant made up of Jewish people over the centuries up to this very day. God also has a remnant among the Christians of the world. Even as the falling-away continues to unfold, God will have a remnant of Christian people no matter how small that remnant becomes. These last verses of Micah chapter 5 that we just read tell us one of the ways that God will use the remnant. It says in Micah 5:7 that the remnant will be “as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass.” Of course, the remnant people will be intermixed as they live among the people of the world around them, but the remnant will be a great blessing to the non-believers of the world in every way imaginable. “Dew” and “showers” are a tremendous blessing and relief to a parched land. That is partly what Jesus was talking about when He said to His disciples in Matthew 5:13, “Ye are the salt of the earth,” and in Matthew 5:14, “Ye are the light of the world.” We have a good effect on unbelievers because the Holy Spirit is within us. We will be examples of honesty, and good citizenship, and neighborliness, and generosity. Of course, we will be examples as followers of Jesus; and others will have a chance to believe also because of our example. God blesses the remnant. He makes them strong and brave in this world of weaklings and fearful ones. God says in Micah 5:8 that the remnant shall be “as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep.” A Christian will make a better person, a better citizen, a better neighbor, a better soldier, a better worker, a better everything. You will outperform yourself by far when you know the Lord Jesus and trust in Him.

The Bible says in Micah 5:10-15, “And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots:[11] And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds:[12] And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers:[13] Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands.[14] And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities.[15] And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.” God is talking to the Israelites in the first five verses of this passage, and God is addressing the last days. The Lord had promised in the previous verses that He was going to bless the remnant while they were in captivity, and God has done that through all these centuries. But the Jewish people are still in the captivity, and it is not always good to be a captive. This period of captivity that has lasted through the last four or five hundred years of the Old Testament and has continued into the age of grace in which we now live, will end at the time of the Great Tribulation. Micah 5:10-14 is describing the Great Tribulation as it will affect the Israelite people. It will be their worse time of suffering ever, probably allowed of God so that they will be prepared for the return of Christ and will finally believe on Him. The scriptures also call the Great Tribulation “the time of Jacob’s trouble” to emphasize how much Israel will suffer. But Micah 5:15 makes it clear that the other nations of the earth will also suffer even more than Israel in the Great Tribulation. It says that they will suffer “such as they have not heard.” Of course, this is the same truth that Jesus revealed about the Great Tribulation: that it will be the worse time of suffering ever upon the earth. Jesus said in Matthew 24:21-22, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor shall ever be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” Let this be a warning, and get saved by turning to Christ while you have time.

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