A Long History, in Brief

“The Remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from Jehovah, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of man” (Micah 5:7).

— David Rice

Micah the prophet was a younger contemporary of Isaiah. Sometimes in the book of Micah we have close similarities with the writings of Isaiah, on occasion in almost identical language, evidently Micah borrowing from his elder’s prophecies.

One of the most well known prophecies of Isaiah provides an example of this. “It shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. (3) And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:2, 3).

This lovely prophecy of the Kingdom of God is repeated in Micah 4:1, 2. “In the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. (2) And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”

The parallel is greater than the two pairs of verses quoted above, but this suffices to show a connection between these two prophets.

Isaiah also prophesied of a later time when Babylon would control Judah and carry away captives. Isaiah chapter 39 is about this, but one verse will suffice to express this. “And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon” (Isaiah 39:7).

Micah expressed the same, in Micah 4:10. “Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there Jehovah shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies” (Micah 4:10). We will refer to this text later, as we examine the first six verses of Micah chapter five.

Micah 5

The opening verses of this chapter give a very brief but engaging summary of the history of Israel from the days of Zedekiah to Jesus, through the Diaspora, the exaltation of Jesus, the deliverance of Israel, and a sweet, refreshing introduction to Christ’s kingdom, emanating from restored Israel.

Verse 1

“Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek” (Micah 5:1). The “judge of Israel” in this verse refers to Zedekiah, the last king of Israel before Nebuchadnezzar removed the Israelite kingdom entirely.

There were three captivities of Israelites imposed by Nebuchadnezzar. (1) In an early year of Jehoiakim, numbered as year 4 in Kings, Chronicles, and Jeremiah, but as year 3 by Daniel, while in Babylon, where the common count for rulers was by the accession-year method. (Where the year beginning one’s reign is numbered to the predecessor, but not to the new successor.)

(2) The beginning of the reign of Jehoiachin, the son and successor of Jehoiakim. Jehoiachin reigned but three months, he lived in captivity throughout the remainder of the long reign of Nebuchadnezzar, but was elevated by Nebuchadnezzar’s successor, Amel-Marduk (2 Kings 25:27, where his name is given as Evilmerodach). It was this captivity in which Ezekiel was taken to Babylon.

(3) The close of the reign of Zedekiah, ending the kingdom of Judah, and thus the kingdom of Israel. Zedekiah had reneged on his pledge of loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar, counter to the advice of Jeremiah, and he suffered deeply. When taken captive he witnessed his sons slain before him, then his eyes were put out, and he died in captivity (2 Kings 25:7).

Verse 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.”

This text jumps forward more than five centuries to the birth of Jesus, the next king to rule Israel. This text is cited in Matthew 2:6 as applying to the birth of Jesus, when the wise men from the east sought the birthplace of Israel’s new king.

Israel as a nation would not receive Jesus properly. The relatively few that did were able to receive the wonderful heavenly calling, opened at Pentecost. But the nation as a whole was cast off, for giving up their destined Messiah to the Roman power for crucifixion. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her children under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate” (Matthew 23:37, 38).

Verse 3

As a consequence, Israel would be cast off for many centuries, before their recovery at the end of the age. “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.”

Notice the reference, that they would be given up, until she that travailed had brought forth. This is a reference to the earlier mention of travail in Micah 4:10, quoted earlier in this article. In that case Israel was to go forth to Babylon, and be reborn later in their release from Babylon, and reinstatement in their land.

However, in prophetic fulfillment, Micah 5:3 is long after the literal Babylonian captivity. For Micah 5:2 is clearly about Jesus at his first advent, long after ancient Babylon was no longer a leading power.

However, Revelation is clear that a new, spiritual Babylon, would dominate in the Christian era. Papacy would have 1260 years of high authority in the Christian world. Papacy is represented by an illicit woman in Revelation 17:5, and the name Babylon is applied to her. “Upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots.” Israel would be scattered in various places, most of them governed by countries that were allied to Papacy. Thus Micah 5:3 speaks about the long centuries of Israel’s Disapora, or dispersion.

Verse 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.”

This refers to Jesus, whose name would be “great unto the ends of the earth” during the Gospel Age when Israel was in dispersion. The word “stand” is used often in Daniel 11 to refer to a king coming to power. It is used also of Jesus himself, Michael, in Daniel 12:1, for the same purpose.

The word “feed” in Micah 5:4 is given in the NIV as “shepherd” his flock. This word in turn refers to a king ruling his people, as a shepherd rules his flock. The margin of the King James Cambridge edition for the word “feed” gives “rule.” In other words, during the Gospel Age Jesus would “stand [take kingly authority] and shepherd [rule] his flock in the strength of the LORD” (NIV). At the same time that natural Israel would be in dispersion, spiritual Israel would be led, ruled, shepherded, by Jesus our king.

Verse 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.”

This same ruler, Jesus, is then said to be the salvation of Israel in their last dire straight at the close of the age. Here the threat of the Assyrians is referred to, as that was the threat against Israel and Judah in the days of the prophet Micah. In 723 BC Assyria conquered Samaria, the 10 tribe kingdom of the north, and in 701 BC threatened to take Jerusalem in the days of Hezekiah, when he was threatened by Sennacherib, king of Assyria, who demanded the surrender of Judah.

However, in the fulfillment of verse 5, in the context of what the previous verses have said of Jesus, it is apparent that the literal empire of Assyria was no longer relevant. Assyria lost their power when Babylon under Nabopolassar and his son Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Assyria power. Yet Micah 5:2 takes us centuries later to the birth of Jesus, verse three through the diaspora of Israel following, and verse four to Jesus’ rule over spiritual Israel during the Gospel Age. Then verse 5 says of Jesus that he will be the one to provide peace against the Assyrian threat.

Thus it seems apparent that Assyria here is symbolic of another, much later, vital threat to Israel at the close of the age. That would be the assault referred to in Ezekiel 38, the opening verses, from which God, through Jesus and the church in glory, will rescue and preserve Israel. The seven shepherds — idiomatic for kings — would be the church developed through the seven stages of the Gospel Age. The eight princes, the Ancient Worthies raised at the opening of the Kingdom, will point Israel to their deliverer. (See comments on this in the following article on Zechariah, “Him Whom They Pierced.”)

Verse 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 fromthe Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.”

Notice the active forces mentioned in this deliverance of Israel. “They shall waste the land of Assyria.” This will not be Israel, fighting directly as in 1948, 1967, and 1973. In this case “they” are the intervening powers of verse 5 — the seven kings (Church) and eight princes (Ancient Worthies). Israel will not require to fire rockets, missiles, or send out deadly armies for this victory.

In past times it was so. In Micah 4:13, Israel would “thresh” their enemies with horns of iron and hoofs of brass, and “beat in pieces many people.” But not in this case. The influence of Israel in this case will not be as a military conqueror, but as a sweet, blessed influence of peace. “The remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from Jehovah, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men” (Micah 5:7).

When one awakes in the early dawn to the sweet aroma and fresh dew from heaven — or a gentle shower on the grass — it is a blessed, refreshing influence. So it will be with Israel.

Two Examples

Contemporary with Isaiah and Micah was the invasion of the Assyrian Sennacherib, against Judah during the reign of Hezekiah. The narrative is described at length in Isaiah chapters 36, 37, 38. Hezekiah brought the threatening demand from Sennacherib to the temple, prayed to God, and waited for a response through the prophet Isaiah.

The reply was reassuring. “Thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it” (Isaiah 37:33). So it was. “The angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians 185,000 … when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed” (Isaiah 37:36, 37).

Long before this, an earlier Judean king, Jehoshaphat, faced an enemy of three nations — Ammon, Moab, and Edom — gathered to war against Israel. The account is in 2 Chronicles “All Judah stood before Jehovah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children” (verse 13). Then the prophet Jahaziel replied on behalf of God, “The battle is not yours, but God’s. … Ye shall not need to fight in this battle … They rose up early in the morning … And when they began to sing and to praise, Jehovah set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir [Edom] … and they were smitten” (verses 15, 17, 20, 22).

So it will be with Israel in the great deliverance to come. The victory will be of God, above. The influence thereafter from Israel will be as “a dew from Jehovah.”