'But you, Bethlehem-Ephrathah least among the clans of Judah, From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; Whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. 2 Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, Then the rest of his kindred shall return to the children of Israel. 3 He shall take his place as shepherd by the strength of the Lord, by the majestic name of the Lord, his God; And they shall dwell securely, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth: 4 he shall be peace (Mic.5:1-4a).'
The prophet Micah (c. 740 BC to 687 BC) preached about sin and punishment and his focus was social justice. Besides external threats from the Babylonians, internally the prophets, priests and judges accepted bribes and merchants cheated. The people were unfaithful to Yahweh as they worshiped Yahweh as well as other Gods. Micah was afraid of the consequences of apostasy
After warning the Israelites about being unfaithful to God (Mic. 4:9-13) Micah told the Israelites that a new ruler from ancient times (a new David), in whom they should place their hope, will come from the little town of Bethlehem, the city of David, to save Jerusalem. King David was born in Bethlehem, and it was also the site of the birthplace of Jesus Christ. The name Bethlehem means “House of Bread,” and Jesus said he is the Bread of Life (John Chapter 6). The evangelist Mathew interpreted this passage from Micah to be about Jesus (Mt. 2:4-6). The Israelites were to wait for “She who is to give birth (v. 2),” the mother of the Messianic king. The Messianic king will redeem his people and shepherd the flock in God’s name, and they will live in peace.
Almighty God, you foretold through your prophets of old that you would send a king to gather and save your people by turning their hearts back to you. Look with mercy upon our weaknesses and fill us with your Spirit that we may be renewed with the light of Christ and be ever faithful to you. This we pray through the same Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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