A birth foretold
Micah 5:2-4
Advent 4, Series C
by Pastor Jim Kreft
It seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Many people just want to get drunk. “Binge drinking” is increasing on college campuses. More people end up spending hours drinking at bars. And all too many of these folks drink and drive, often with deadly consequences.
Second, many people in this rich country of ours pamper themselves. They seek more jewels, more glamorous clothes, more and more of everything while others have less and less. They care only about themselves — not one bit about the poor and needy we find all around us.
In addition, there is a basic a neglect for and an ignorance of God’s Word. Most homes have many, many Bibles in them. They’re all in languages the inhabitants can read, too. Yet today, most Bibles end up closed and gathering dust.
Another essential element of our society is that money talks. There’s a greed for money. Those who have it want more. Those who don’t have it want it. Money is the driving force today. And many people are driven to do just about anything to get it.
And how could we forget the old saying: “Let the buyer beware.” The scales are tipped — but not in the consumer’s favor. They are set dishonestly. How often we hear of these practices!
Finally, many argue that today’s courts are not blind. Justice is for sale. If you have enough money to buy the best legal counsel, you can beat any charge.
The statements are true in our nation today. What’s funny is that they describe spiritually dead Israel of the 8th Century B.C. God’s people then had these same problems: alcoholism, self-pampering while others went without, a neglect for and ignorance of God’s Word, greed for money, dishonest business practices, and corrupt courts.
That’s what Micah, the last of the great 8th Century literary prophets, had to say. Due to these sins—and others—God promised to judge His people. Micah prophesied,
Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house [that is, the Temple] a wooded height (3:12).
Since Israel had turned away from God, God would turn away from them. They would be destroyed.
That’s the bad news Micah brought Israel. Yet he had more to say than condemnation. There was good news to come in the future. God promised to restore His people. There would be hope after doom. They would again become God’s own people.
All this would occur due to One to be born. It would be accomplished through a new, perfect King who had yet to be born. Micah puts it this way:
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too small to be among Judah’s clans—from you there will come out for Me One who is to be Ruler over Israel, whose origins are from the past, from ancient days. Therefore He will give them up until the time when a mother will have a Child; then the rest of His people will return to the people of Israel. He will arise and shepherd His flock with the strength of the LORD, with the majesty of the Name of the LORD His God.
We remember these words since Matthew records the chief priests and teachers of the law using them to tell King Herod the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem.
That part is true. That is what it means. Yet there’s even more to it than that. He would also be “from the past, from ancient days.” This points to two important scriptural facts.
First, the Messiah would come from a long-established family. He would be of the house (“family line” or “lineage”) of David and the house of Judah. God had promised to send a Savior through Abraham’s descendants. That’s where the house of Judah comes from. The origin of the promise and the family through which it comes is of ancient origins.
Even more to the point is this: the Messiah Himself is of ancient origins. He is eternal. These words help show that Messiah would be God Himself since only God can so be.
This future King will be a Righteous Ruler. To be righteous is to be holy, perfect, and without sin. That’s something that no human being can be like. Neither King David nor Solomon was ever called a “righteous ruler.” But the King to come will be. This is another point that shows this special King is God Himself.
So let’s put this text together. Micah proclaims that God will send a Messiah to save His people. He will be born in Bethlehem and be of ancient origins. He will be a righteous Ruler. He will be the Messiah (Savior), the One promised to save this people from their sin.
That’s why Israel’s religious leaders tell King Herod to send the Wise Men to Bethlehem. This King was to be born there. This King born would be the one through whom God would save His people. Here in Micah we have a birth foretold.
This birth is what Christmas is all about. It’s about the birth of this Person long promised to save all people from their serious sinful condition.
The illustrations we looked at in the beginning of today’s sermon apply to the people of Micah’s time and Jesus’ time. They apply even today. We all need a Savior.
That’s what Christmas is about. At Christmas God sends us a Savior, through a birth foretold. And the Christmas Good News is that …
- We will live securely. We will live in peace with God
- due to the grace God has shown and given to us. This grace comes to us
- through the birth of His Son who was born, lived, died, and rose again to save us from eternal death.
- We gain the benefits of what Jesus Christ purchased for us simply through faith in Him as our Savior and Lord.
That birth is what Christmas is all about. A birth vital to all people. A birth that brings life to us. The birth of the world’s Savior.
May you, through faith in this same Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, be prepared for His coming to you this Christmas and every Christmas to come until life everlasting. May you focus in on His birth. For that is the real reason for this Christmas season. Amen.
