Word of Salvation – Vol. 35 No. 46 – December 1990

 

Bethlehem, Birthplace Of The King

 

Sermon by Rev. S. Bajema on Micah 5:2-5a

Reading: Luke 2:1-14; Micah 4:6-5:5a

Singing: 339,340,346,341,331,337, H.201

 

Note: Our Sermon is broken up into three parts:
            1. Micah 5:2 The Prophecy, followed by Ps.H. No. 341.
            2. Micah 5:3a The Punishment, followed by Ps.H. No. 331:1,2,3.
            3. Micah 5:3b-5a The Portent, followed by Ps.H. No. 337.

 

Beloved Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

What we have before us is a beautiful dream.  All the fondest and greatest of Israel's dreams are gathered before us.

The prophet Micah has joined together all the nostalgia that was in the people's minds, and which surrounded the throne.

And, considering the situation of that time, it certainly did seem like wishful thinking.

Breathing down the necks of the Judeans were those barbarians, the Assyrians.

That race of people that were so harsh, so cruel in their fighting, and in the punishment they inflicted afterwards.

It was these Assyrians who had already defeated the northern tribes of Israel.  Now, it seemed, it was Judah's turn.  Indeed, a thorny situation.

Yet, in the midst of these thorns a rose would soon appear.

Verse 2:

Listen to verse 2,
            But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
            though you are small
            among the clans of Judah,
            out of you will come for me
            one who will be ruler over Israel,
            whose origins are from of old,
            from ancient times.

A bud would soon appear among the many thorns.

And look!  It's such a small bud!

That little town of Bethlehem would be the place from where the promised Messiah would come.

Yes, this small clan that could hardly supply a respectable army unit!

How strange that God would summon the man of His choice from such a lowly place!

But haven't we met this same thing in the Old Testament already?

Didn't Gideon and Saul also come from insignificant backgrounds?

So what's God trying to do?

Think about it.

It isn't the way we would go about things!

Yet God can take a small acorn, and turn it into a mighty oak tree.

Though Jerusalem and her king had become low in the eyes of the world; though the royal power was a tiny fraction of what it once was; yet God can restore and give new greatness.

And the way that God will do this, is through the same covenant He already has with the people.

For, wasn't it David himself who had come from Bethlehem?

He hadn't been born in Jerusalem, in the lap of luxury.

No ... he'd been born the eighth son of a farming family.

Not for him the ease of palace living.

The LORD had taken him from obscurity to fulfil His purpose.

Now Micah tells of One who will be even greater than David.

Soon there would come:
...one who will be ruler over Israel,
            whose origins are of old,
            from Ancient times.

Who else could this be than the 'Mighty God'?

Already, thirty years before, Isaiah had pointed to this.

He prophesied then:
            ...he will be called Wonderful Counsellor,
            Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
            Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.
            He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom,
            establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness
            from that time on and forever.

God would come.

And He would reign as a descendant of the house of David.

What better words could there be for those desperate people of Judah?

Could there be a greater hope shining beyond that gloom which surrounded them?

Let's sing now, while seated, the words of Hymn 341...

Brothers and Sisters

...isn't it marvellous?

Yes, we know of this Messiah!

We can come and adore Him, Christ the Lord!

And those words of verse 2 have shown us that this was the real hope of the Old Testament believer.

Soon, oh so soon, the Messiah would come.

Yet not as soon as they might have hoped for.

Verse 3 begins:
            Therefore Israel will be abandoned...

Israel would be abandoned!

What a downer after those tremendously uplifting words we heard before.

Why, we wonder.

The very plain fact was that the people had disobeyed.

They who had had the Law spelt out so clearly time and time again, had gone against those words.

In chapter 4 we read:
            Writhe in agony, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labour,
            for now you must leave the city
            to camp in the open field.

And later, in chapter 7:
            The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants,
            as the result of their deeds.

The Israelite people had only themselves to blame.

They knew well enough from the five books of Moses what would happen if they went against their God.

In Deuteronomy, when dealing with these punishments, Moses had said:
            The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away,
            from the ends of the earth,
            like an eagle swooping down,
            a nation whose language you will not understand,
            a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old
            or pity for the young...
            Then the Lord will scatter you among all nations,
            from one end of the earth to the other.

If only they had fully obeyed the Lord their God.

If only they had carefully followed those commands he set out for them.

Those commands summarised for us in the Ten Commandments.

So many “if-onlys”!  But it was too late.

The past had shown up clearly enough where the people were going.

And it certainly wasn't God's way!

Therefore Israel will be abandoned... until...

Can't you hear the sigh of relief?

This punishment could have been for ever.

But, no, it will only be until a certain time.

The punishment had to come.

And the people would never be able to forget it.

You see, every time they would read, or hear, the name, Bethlehem Ephrathah, they'd be reminded of their humility.

This was no name of a city set up upon a hill.

Just a small agricultural village.  Nothing to boast about!

Yet David came from Bethlehem!

And so would the coming Messiah!

In the midst of darkness there's a light!

The people have a real hope!
            'O come, O come Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel,
            That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear.
            Let's sing this hymn, No.  331, the verses 1,2, and 3 ...

We've sung of a glorious hope!

Those Old Testament saints could look to the Messiah coming soon.

But was this all they were to know about God coming to earth?

Our text says "...until...!’  Yet, until when?

For this we need only to continue with the words of the text.
            Until the time when she who is in labour gives birth
            and the rest of the brothers return to join the Israelites.

With this statement we're placed right into the New Testament.

The one who was in labour, and who gave birth, was Mary.

This is the significant sign, that marvellous thing.

As Isaiah prophesied:
            Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:
            The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son,
            and will call him Immanuel.

When this special sign had taken place, then Israel would no longer be abandoned, and the other tribes would return and be restored.

Yet, as we look back over history, it seems that this hasn't happened.

Christ Jesus did come.

He ministered, He suffered, and He died for His people.

But there's been no return or restoration of the tribes of Israel!

We might think that modern Israel is a fulfilment of this.

But only the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, are represented there.

The others have become lost in the obscurity of history.

So we ask... what's the point?

Why those words?

What we need to see here is the relation of these brothers to the Messiah.

It's only with that link that this phrase makes sense.

In the letter to the Hebrews we read of Christ described as our brother.

Yes, an older brother to those who have faith!

Those who trust in His work are tied into Him in the way that is described here as a brotherly relationship.

Hebrews 2 says:
            he had to be made like his brothers in every way,
            in order that he might become a merciful
            and faithful high priest in service to God,
            and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

So it's in the spiritual sense that our text will be fulfilled.

The brothers of the Messiah, like the true sons of Israel, are those, who, by faith, are children of Abraham.

This thought of the spiritual further extending the physical, also makes us look again at the labour, which is leading to the birth.

We can easily think that it's just Mary being spoken of.

Mind you, this is correct!

Mary, bearing and delivering the Christ child, is in this.

But isn't Israel itself in labour?

Hasn't the Old Testament church always strained under the pressure of one whose time hasn't yet come?

It's only in that time of fulfilment that there would be a true restoration.

Then, with the coming of the Royal Brother, there would be the resources available to bring together God's people from all over this world.

But is there true unity already?

Looking at the physical external side of the church we would have to say that there is no such unity as yet.

Yet, in the believer's union with Christ, there is a true unity.

Christ's work has been all-sufficient.

We now stand completely right before God.

We also live, though, in that time that our brothers are being restored to Israel.

Now is the time of repentance and restoration.

Now the call to worship God goes out, not only to the Jewish people, but to everyone upon the face of the earth.

And, then, when all the elect have come in, the Messiah Himself will return.

Upon the clouds of glory He will assert the finality of His victory.

But even now the strength is His.

That last verse of our text describes it:
            He will stand and shepherd his flock
            in the strength of ́the LORD,
            in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
            And they will live securely, for then his greatness
            will reach to the ends of the earth.  And he will be their peace.

What a wonderful provision!

Here there's no king who is a despicable tyrant, oppressing his people by fear.

Instead ... here's the Shepherd King.

A shepherd who leads His sheep with all the gentleness that's so much a needed part of His task.

Despite being surrounded by enemies, we feed upon the strength of the LORD.

As much power as there is in God, so much protection will there be in Christ.

When the Church needs to be defended, or guarded against its foes, the strength is there.

And what an amazing strength it is.

Founded firmly upon the majesty of the name of the LORD God.

God Himself is in Christ, and even more, Christ is God.

That first Christmas morning, nearly two thousand years ago, is the pivotal point of history itself.

When God came to earth, it was the accomplishment of something far more than we

can ever imagine.

Truly Christ Jesus is our peace.

The apostle Paul wrote:
            now in Christ Jesus you who were once far away
            have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
            For he himself is our peace.  (Ephesians 2:13, 14a)

We haven't spoken much at all about the Nativity scene.

Not because it is of no importance, but because we are interested in its significance for us today.

My friend, do you dream as Micah dreamed?

Are you looking forward to the completion of this prophecy?

Christmas isn't only a nice time for the family.

It's much, much more: A time to reflect on Christ Jesus, who has come to bring peace and who will come again to bring peace for good.

Christmas is a time to reflect on the truth and power of God's word.

May the Light of Christmas be your light!

May Christ be your security forever.

AMEN