December 20, 2023

Christ, the fulfillment.

Micah 5:2-5

Maryann Adams
Wednesday's Devo

December 20, 2023

Wednesday's Devo

December 20, 2023

Wednesday's Devo

December 20, 2023

Wednesday's Devo

December 20, 2023

Big Idea

God with us.

Key Verse | Micah 5:2

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.

Micah 5:2-5

2  1 5:2 Ch 5:1 in Hebrew But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
    one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
    from ancient days.
3  Therefore he shall give them up until the time
    when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return
    to the people of Israel.
4  And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD,
    in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
    to the ends of the earth.
5  And he shall be their peace.

When the Assyrian comes into our land
    and treads in our palaces,
then we will raise against him seven shepherds
    and eight princes of men;

Footnotes

[1] 5:2 Ch 5:1 in Hebrew

S2:248 Micah 5:2-5

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | Micah 5:2-5

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is watching Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The characters are compelling! Scrooge miraculously transforms from a miserly, embittered man into a merciful, compassionate man as hope is birthed in him through three nighttime visions. Tiny Tim, a sickly little boy who walks with a limp and one crutch, resounds with a spirit of hope and purpose. He wants people who see him to remember who makes lame beggars walk and blind men see.  

What does hope mean to you? Are you in a hopeless situation? Maybe it's a "waiting room" lasting far too long. Or a sin pattern, and you feel there's no way out.

There is a way out. His name is Jesus! In today's passage, Micah proclaims the true hope for God's repentant people: the eternal One who would be sent by God Himself.

Micah prophesied in the late eighth century B.C., primarily to the Southern Kingdom of Judah, amidst rampant corruption of government, prophets, and religious leaders. His message was twofold: judgment and hope of restoration. Micah pronounced God's certain judgment for the unrepentant Israelites, but for God's repentant people, there was hope of promised rescue from the captivity of sin. God would fulfill His covenant promises and send Jesus! God always keeps His promises.  

Jesus would be born in Bethlehem Ephrathah, a little, obscure town; God so often uses the unlikely (1 Corinthians 1:27-29)! Bethlehem means house of bread. Ephrathah means fruitful. Not surprisingly, the region was rich with grain fields, vineyards, and olive orchards. Jesus will one day, once the full remnant is delivered, be the eternal Ruler of God's people, shepherding with God's majesty and power, in a secure dwelling place. Messiah will reign victoriously!

Christmas is coming soon. Will you prepare your heart, lifting up your eyes as the psalmist did (Psalm 121:1-2)? Ponder the reality that only God can provide victory over sin. Receive or renew your faithfulness to the greatest gift, Jesus. Surrender your will to God's will, allowing Jesus to rule your life today and bring you freedom.

Christ is our only true hope.

This month's memory verse

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.

– Psalm 51:10

Discussion Questions

1. Have you sung O Little Town of Bethlehem this Christmas season? If not, would you sing it before you sleep tonight?  

2. Who or what is ruling you? Would you pray now, asking God to give you a vision of hope and faith to trust Jesus to meet your needs?

3. Consider memorizing today's key verse. Expect God to give opportunities to talk about it in conversations.

4. If you haven't placed your trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and received His forgiveness with a repentant heart, why not? God gives us the chance to make a meaningful choice about His Son, and He directs those who trust in His Son to love Him (Matthew 22:37).

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

HS

Hugh Stephenson

Good morning Mary Ann. Love your reference to A Christmas Carol. It’s one of my favorites. A more recent version is also enjoyable. Bill Murray is the head of a TV network that is trying to “own” Christmas Eve with their Christmas special. He’s got a lot of Ebenezer in him. It’s a good watch with a good ending. Also love this from you- “Bethlehem means house of bread. Ephrathah means fruitful.” A friend says, “The bread of life is from the house of bread”. And another - it is from Him that we bear fruit, (John 15:5). Q1. Love this. Will do. Q2. Who rules me? Well…the battle in the spiritual realm is ongoing, (Ephesians 6:10-20). I know who and whose I am - and that is my protection and the source of the Ful Armor of God that I need. Q3. Added to memory verse list. Q4. I have full and completely trusted Jesus. I tried everything else and came up empty every single time. --------------------------------------- Greetings all! Apologies and explanation. You'll see below that my comment is on Luke 2:33-40. The problem is that the devo for today is on Micah 5:2-5. What I learned late Tuesday is that there was a print error on the PDF copy. I usually post the day before. The realization was too late for me to do a 2nd comment for today. I hope you enjoy this one anyway. Hugh ----------------------------------------------------------------- Luke 2:29-32 is often called the Nunc Dimittis; in Latin “Now Let You Depart”. https://www.gotquestions.org/Nunc-Dimittis.html In the Episcopal church of my youth, it’s part of the liturgy of Daily Evening Prayer Rite ll in the Book of Common Prayer, (BCP). I grew up with it and loved it. In that service it’s paired with the Magnificat and the Apostle’s Creed. https://www.gotquestions.org/Magnificat.html https://www.gotquestions.org/apostles-creed.html It’s a wonderful way to end the day. ——————————————————————————————————————————————— What’s very interesting to me is that its paired in Luke 2 with the prophecy from Simeon that immediately follows in verses 34-35: “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” So, my wondering is about what Mary and Joseph thought when they heard this prophecy right after Simeon's first statement. The notes posit this- “Mary and Joseph understood that Jesus was the Messiah. However, they had evidently not connected some of the Old Testament revelation about Messiah, to which Simeon referred, with Jesus' ministry. Perhaps they understood Messiah to be mainly a political leader, as was the view of most of their contemporaries. God used a stranger to inform or remind them of their Son's significance for the Gentiles.” And offer this helpful comment- “As the predicted Stone, Jesus would be a source of stumbling to some, but a means of reaching heaven for others (cf. Isa. 8:14-15; 28:16). He would be the instrument of salvation for some but condemnation for others. However, He would pay a price, namely, suffering the antagonism of those who would reject Him. This rejection would wound Mary. The Greek word for the sword that would pierce Mary's soul is rhomphaia, which describes a long Thracian javelin (cf. Ps. 22:20). "Jesus is the magnet of the ages. He draws some, he repels others. This is true of all epoch- making men to some extent. The last two verses in this passage link me to some of Matthew’s text on some of the similar periods and events- 2:39 Luke again noted Mary's and Joseph's careful obedience to God's will as revealed in the Mosaic Law. He omitted their flight to Egypt, which Matthew recorded. Jesus' family's return to Nazareth was another fulfillment of messianic prophecy (cf. Matt. 2:23). However, the fulfillment of prophecy was not as important to Luke as it was to Matthew, so he did not mention that here. "There was a general contempt in Rabbinic circles for all that was Galilean." 2:40 Luke also noted Jesus' normal development as a human being (v. 40; cf. 1:80; 2:52). He was the object of God's grace (help, divine enablement). Luke mentioned Jesus' wisdom perhaps in anticipation of the following pericope. Verse 40 describes what happened to Jesus between His presentation in the temple and His return there when He was 12 years old (vv. 41-51). Here’s the major point for me- Luke was a very detailed and careful historian. I’m guessing he expected that there would be those who said Jesus was not fully man and fully God. So a decent portion of this passage addresses that expectation. I love the name for this - the hypostatic union; fully man and fully God. It’s a bit like the Trinity; foundational but hard to understand. A pastor explained it to me this way, (as I recall); Jesus voluntarily gave up some portion of His divinity so that He could experience and be a part of the human condition. (If I did not state this clearly then it’s my error, not the pastor’s.) Here’s a link to GQs- "In summary, the hypostatic union teaches that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine, that there is no mixture or dilution of either nature, and that He is one united Person, forever." https://www.gotquestions.org/hypostatic-union.html
MS

Michael Sisson

DIVE DEEPER SUPPLEMENT Q: What’s the best movie version of “A Christmas Carol”? A: 1951, starring Alastair Sim https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044008/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk Blooper: When Scrooge goes to open the window on Christmas morning, watch for the stage hand visible in the mirror behind Scrooge. COMMENTARY Re: Mic 5:2 Micah 5:1(2) “But as for you, >>>Bethlehem Ephrathah<<<, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.” As G-d sustain Israel in the wilderness with manna from heaven, so G-d sent the Bread of Heaven to give life to the world. (Ps 105:40; Jn 6:32-35). How fitting He should be born in Bethlehem. ("House of Bread")
SB

Sue Bohlin

Thanks, Maryann! And Merry Christmas Week! Micah's prophecy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem is one of my favorite evidences for the trustworthiness of the Bible as a supernatural book. Only God can record history hundreds of years in advance, before it unfolds in real time. And He preserved the scrolls containing the prophecy so that even wise men/magi from the East would know about the promise. And people in Israel would be able to answer Herod's question about where the Anointed One would be born. Sooooo many places God shows His hand!
AL

Amy Lowther

1. I have heard it on the radio. I have sung parts of it. The words are very good. 2. God is ruling me. Prayer: God help me continue to have hope and faith in trusting Jesus. Help me continue to see that Jesus is encouraging and resourceful in helping me see life so I get my needs met. God, please also help me share this with others as needed. Amen. 3. The key verse is interesting. It reminds me people can work together for the good like God prefers. 4. Placing trust in Jesus helps me see life clearly and understand what is possible in every situation I experience. Jesus loves everyone unconditionally. Maryann - Thank you for sharing your ideas. You make a great point in saying if a person is in a hopeless situation and feels there is no way out, Jesus can help them. Jesus works and encourages every person to do their best.
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Michael Scaman

A rap inspired by Micah 5 "Micah's Light in Bethlehem" This is what Micah spoke, no room for denial, From the house of bread's history, a mystery reveal. Shepherds feasted their eyes on life for the world, With a feeding trough for beasts still a story with style. The shepherds feasted their eyes on the shepherd, Who'll lead his people like a flock, undeterred. 'He shall be our peace,' 'His name shall be great in all the world', Guiding tired parents and us on life's winding road. In a little town, a child so sweet, A cosmic narrative, a rhythm so neat. A story for all the world to behold, In Bethlehem's night, where Micah's light is bold. (assisted by chatGPT)