The Future King of Zion
Well, you can turn with me in your Bibles to the prophet Micah, Micah chapter 5. Our focus will be on verses 2 to 5a, which is the promise or prophecy concerning a future king in Zion. But I want to go back to chapter 4 and begin reading in verse 1, because Israel's blessing is predicated upon the Savior that would come in the fullness of the time. So beginning in Micah chapter 4 at verse 1, Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways and we shall walk in his paths for out of Zion, the law shall go forth. and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples and rebuke strong nations afar off. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. For all people walk each in the name of his God, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. In that day, says the Lord, I will assemble the lame, I will gather the outcast and those whom I have afflicted. I will make the lame a remnant and the outcast a strong nation. So the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion from now on, even forever. And you, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to you it shall come. Even the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem. Now why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in your midst? Has your counselor perished? For pangs have seized you like a woman in labor. Be in pain and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in birth pangs. For now you shall go forth from the city. You shall dwell in the field, and to Babylon you shall go. There you shall be delivered. There the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies. Now also many nations have gathered against you, who say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord, nor do they understand his counsel. For he will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor. Arise and thrash, O daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hooves bronze. You shall beat in pieces many peoples. I will consecrate their gain to the Lord, and their substance to the Lord of the whole earth. Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops. He has laid siege against us. They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek. But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to me the one to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. Therefore he shall give them up until the time that she who is in labor has given birth. Then the remnant of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel. And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God, and they shall abide. For now he shall be great to the ends of the earth, and this one shall be peace. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our God and Father, we thank you for this Lord's Day. We thank you for the privilege to gather together corporately to worship you, to come to the Father through the Son and the power of the Holy Spirit. We confess that you are most high, from everlasting to everlasting. And we confess with great joy and thanksgiving that you've not only made the world, not only do you sustain the world, but you've redeemed your elect out of the world. And we praise you for that grace that you have given to us, to call us out of darkness into marvelous light, and to proclaim your excellencies. And even now we pray that the ministry of the Holy Spirit would be here amongst us, that you would guide us and lead us as we consider this prophecy concerning the coming King of Zion, even our Lord Jesus Christ. Forgive us for all sin and all unrighteousness, wash us in that precious blood of the Lamb, and give us receptive hearts and minds now to the truth as it is in Jesus. And we pray in his most blessed name, amen. Well, as I said, our focus is in chapter five, verses two to five A, and it prophesies the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. But it's very helpful to understand this prophecy or this section of prophecy in connection to the rest, that section that we read, and then what follows after. If you go back to chapter four, you're probably familiar with verses one to five, but not in the prophet Micah. You're probably familiar with Isaiah too. Micah was a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah. They both prophesied at a unique time in redemptive history. They prophesied toward the Southern kingdom of Judah, and they prophesied prior to the fall of the Northern kingdom. And they also included prophecy concerning the fall of the Southern kingdom. So they lived at a very interesting place in the history of the world. So in Isaiah 2 and here in Micah 4, we have this promise of the future glory of Zion. And then following on the heels of that in chapter 4 verses 9 to 13, we see the future might or power of Zion. The section we're going to consider deals with the future king of Zion, and then subsequent to that, the future peace of Zion, the vindication of Zion, and then ultimately her purification at the hand of God Most High. So all of this glory, all of these good promises, all of these good things, they're not as a result of the repentance of Israel. They're not as a result of the people coming to their senses and getting themselves right with God. They come as a result of God Most High. It is the Lord who in grace sends the Son of His love to save us from our sins. And that's the accent in this section of Holy Scripture. And there's just two things that I want to consider this morning in verses 2 to 5a. First, the identification of the king in verse 2, and then secondly, the mission of the king in verses 3 to 5a. Two simple observations on a most wonderful passage of scripture. I should just note that verse 1 basically reminds the children of Israel of their condition at this time. It could refer to the siege under Sennacherib and the Assyrians relative to the Northern Kingdom, or some other commentators see it relative to Babylon. and their siege of Jerusalem with reference to the fall in the southern kingdom. So either way, verse 1 basically is a report of what's happening now. It isn't great in Israel at the time that Micah wrote, at the time that Isaiah preached, It wasn't good conditions. They were oppressed. They were persecuted. They were being ultimately brought to subjection to foreign powers. And again, because they had revolted against and transgressed the covenant that God had made with them. So verse 1 is a present reminder of the difficult circumstances that Israel finds herself in, and on the heels of that, this promise of a future king that would right the wrongs, that would subjugate their enemies, and would bring victory and peace and blessing. But as we look at the identification of the king in verse 2, there's two emphases we need to appreciate. We just sang an amazing section of a wonderful hymn that we use at this time of the year. We sang, Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see, hail the incarnate deity. We're studying the Gospel of John in our morning worship, and we've seen John 1-1. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. So you have one that is distinct from the Father, you have one that is equal with the Father, and then dropping down to 1-14, it tells us that that Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Well, how do we explain this union of natures in the one person? Well, in the history of theology, it's been called the hypostatic union. It's not going to be a quiz after, so don't worry about this terminology necessarily. The hypostatic union refers to the person of Christ. He's unique. He's one person, two natures. He is true humanity and he is divinity. And rather Micah chapter five, verse two sets forth both of those aspects or sets forth both of those natures of our Lord. Notice in the first place, the true humanity of the king. You see that in the first part of verse two. It says, but you Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to me, the one to be ruler in Israel. So we have indicated here the place of his birth. And this isn't a mystery to any of us at this time of the year. We know the prophets have told us that this one would come from our Lord. We see that Micah says he'll come specifically from Bethlehem, Ephrathah, when the wise men are searching out the child. In Matthew chapter two, it's this particular passage that is quoted with reference to Herod to describe what city the Savior would be born in. So Bethlehem, Africa, notice it is little among the thousands of Judah. That means it wasn't prestigious, it wasn't popular, it wasn't a place of renown and glory. It was rather insignificant in terms of the land of Israel. But when we look at that language, Bethlehem, Ephrathah, there's also not only the place of his birth, but it also underscores the Davidic connection. This is the city of David. 1 Samuel 17, 12 tells us that David himself hailed from Bethlehem, Ephrathah. And one commentator has made the blessed observation with reference to Israel, that Jerusalem's past and future greatness originates from a cradle in Bethlehem. So David was born there and went on to do great and glorious things for the nation. Christ was born there and went on to do great and glorious things, not only for the nation, but for the world. And so we see this emphasis on the place of birth, but then we see the emphasis on the purpose of his birth. Notice, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to me, the one to be ruler in Israel. I think the backdrop here is theological. There's the covenant of redemption. We see the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is in the first place God-word in its reference. In other words, He comes forth to me, the Father says. We benefit We rejoice, we reap many blessings as a result of his having come into the world, but the reality is that this underscores divine initiative. It's not we who saved ourselves, it's not we who decided to save ourselves, it's not we that tried to help save ourselves, but it's God who sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law. And so this prophetic text makes that obvious. Notice again, yet out of you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah, shall come forth to me. And then notice the specific purpose in view. The one to be ruler in Israel. The one to be ruler in Israel. At this time of the year, you often hear people refer to Matthew and Mark. And well, they should. It describes the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. As I said, in our studies in John's gospel, there's not a birth narrative per se. We have the theology behind the sayings in John 1 and John 1.14, and then we have the explanation as to why he came in John 1.29. It says, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. But Jesus does refer to his birth one instance in John's gospel, and it's when he stands before Pontius Pilate. And in that particular section, listen to what the Lord says concerning his mission. John 18 verses 36 and 37. He says to Pilate, my kingdom is not of this world. And that does not mean it doesn't encompass the world. It doesn't mean it doesn't entail the world. It doesn't mean that there is something autonomous from the blessed reign of our Jesus. My kingdom is not of this world. It doesn't originate from the world. I'm not voted in. I'm not, you know, just kind of, you know, hopefully the ballot box, you know, tends to my favor. No, he is the one that has the authority over all things, but his kingdom is not of this world. He says, if my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight so that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here. And then Pilate therefore said to him, are you a king then? It's a great question. He's referring to a kingdom, referring to himself as a king. So Pilate asks the obvious, give him points for not being that foolish that he didn't see the implications. Are you a king then? Jesus answered, you say rightly that I am a king. And then he says, for this cause, I was born. As our brother mentioned, at this time of the year, we see our, it was in the prayer meeting in the last hour, this gentle Jesus meek and mild, this helpless babe in the manger that we're easily able to control and detain. For this purpose I was born. It was to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords and ruled by the power of his might to advance his kingdom, not with military might and authority, but rather with the truth. And that's what he goes on to emphasize to Pilate in John 18. Jesus answered, You say rightly that I am a king, for this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. It's truth, brethren, that we need as the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's truth that's going to advance the cause of Jesus Christ on this earth. As Brother Cam read, Jude says, I want you to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Why is that? Because that's the vehicle, that's the mechanism, that's the tool by which our Savior advances His cause on the earth. He says, I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And so way back in Micah 5, verse 2a, we see this emphasis on the true humanity of our Savior. Yet out of you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, shall come forth to me, the one to be ruler in Israel. C. H. Spurgeon preached this passage on December 23, 1855. That's not a random fact I just happen to know. Our brother read this portion of the sermon at the prayer meeting, and this is something that Spurgeon says, commenting that men are born princes, but never kings. For this cause I was born, Jesus says to Pontius Pilate. Spurgeon says, the moment that he came on earth, he was a king. He did not wait till his majority that he might take his empire, but as soon as his eye greeted the sunshine, he was a king. From the moment that his little hands grasped anything, they grasped a scepter. As soon as his pulse beat and his blood began to flow, his heart beat royally, and his pulse beat an imperial measure, and his blood flowed in a kingly current. He was born a king. He came to be ruler in Israel. And that's where the accent falls relative to the humanity of our blessed Savior. You trace this theme throughout the New Testament. You see that Jesus was a prophet. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear him on the Mount of Transfiguration. He was a priest. The whole ministry of Christ culminates in his death at the cross. He's not only a priest, but he's the victor. He's not only the offerer, but the offered. But it's not just prophet and priest, he's also a king. And he has rule. He has universal empire. He has absolute authority. He ends Matthew's gospel on that high note. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations. We saw that in Ephesians 1, in our study, through that wonderful epistle of Paul the Apostle. Christ is head over all things. Christ is king of kings and Lord of lords, as John tells us in Revelation 19. Well, again, this isn't an afterthought. It's not accidental. This isn't a happy coincidence. Wow, it's just lucky that he became the king that Micah prophesied those several hundred years before that he would become. He is and has always been determined by God in the coming into this world to function as a ruler of Israel. But then notice the divinity of our blessed Savior. The last part of the verse goes this way. So we have, yet out of you shall come forth to me the one to be ruler in Israel. And then it says, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. So it's the same subject, The one that comes forth to God in incarnation to be ruler over Israel is the same one spoken of at the last part of verse 2. His goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. So the first part of the verse deals with the incarnation. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God, and this Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Why? To be ruler of Israel. Now, in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God speaks to something other than the incarnation in verse 14. Well, the language here at the end of verse 2 speaks to something other than the incarnation. And notice the language, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. We might translate this from the days of eternity. We might translate it from ancient days. But what we should see here is what theology has called the eternal generation of the Son. The eternal generation of the Son. We have the incarnation of the Son in the first part of the verse. But the Son isn't simply human. The Son is also divine. This King that will come and have worldwide empire is unique. He is the one person of Christ with two natures, true humanity and divinity. And this idea of eternal generation simply means, from all eternity, the Father communicates the one, simple, undivided, divine essence to the Son. Our creed, the Nicene Creed, our creed, because we confess it along with the ancient Church, says, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. consubstantial with the father. Again, the same essence, the same substance. All that the father is, the son is, and the father communicated that to him in eternity. Now, when we get to this doctrine, sometimes it can puzzle people, because when we think of generation, the new baby, when we think of the generation of creature from creature, it's very much in line with how we know things to be. But when we go to Creator, when we go to the infinite, that's why we modify generation with that word eternal, from all eternity. Persons will say, well, I don't quite understand that. You're not supposed to because you're finite. You're not going to because you're creature. You should listen to that wise church father who says, the begetting of God must be honored by silence. It is a great thing for you to learn that he was begotten, but the manner of his generation, we will not admit that even angels can conceive, much less you. Shall I tell you how it was? It was in a manner known to the father who begat and to the son who was begotten. Anything more than this is hidden by a cloud and escapes your dim sight." Now he's not calling you foolish, he's not calling you a moron, he's not saying that your sight is dim and everything, you don't know what 2 plus 2 is, but he is highlighting this chasm that exists between the infinite creator God and the finite creature that comes from his hand. And when we speak about the triune God, there is distinction among the persons. And those distinctions are in what we call the eternal relations of origin. The Father is unbegotten, the Son is begotten by the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. That's what not only distinguishes the persons in the Godhead, but it also secures consubstantiality. And so the prophet here is talking about this seven centuries before the birth of the Messiah. Yes, he's going to be truly human. Yes, there's going to be this Davidic connection. Yes, he's going to be a ruler in Israel, but he's also much more than that. Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting, from ancient of days. John's gospel talks about the begotten Son of God. Again, John 1 and then 1.14 tells us the Word became flesh. And then John 1.18 says, no one's seen God at any time, but the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. John 3.16 and 3.18, we refer to the Lord Jesus, or John, refers to Him there as the only begotten. Again, He is begotten by the Father from all eternity. And then 1 John 4.9 refers to Him as the only begotten as well. Interestingly, in the early church, these weren't their primary proof texts for the doctrine of eternal generation. One was Micah 5.2, but also the book of Proverbs. You can go to Proverbs 8 to see the emphasis on the eternal generation of the Son. These are some passages we have covered in the past. They bear some repetition as we consider the glorious person of our blessed Savior who came for us men and for our salvation. Well, in the book of Proverbs, We see the personification of wisdom specifically here in Proverbs 8. Notice in verse 12, I, wisdom, dwell with prudence and find out knowledge and discretion. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance in the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate. Counsel is mind and sound wisdom. I am understanding, I have strength. By me, kings reign and rulers decree justice. Now brethren, the large majority of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ has seen this as a reference to Jesus speaking as wisdom. In fact, a famous commentary on the book of Proverbs written by Charles Bridges, he makes this observation. It must be a perverted imagination that can suppose an attribute here. So glorious are the rays of eternal, supreme deity, distinct personality, and essential unity that the mysterious, ever-blessed Being, the Word, who was in the beginning with God and was God, now undoubtedly stands before us to receive His own revelation of Himself is our reverential privilege. Again, you may not understand the significance or all the nuts and bolts concerning eternal generation, but the point in Micah 5, verse 2, is that not only will he be truly man, but he will be truly God. This is not an isolated incident in the Old Testament. Psalm 110, verse 1, David says, Yahweh said to my Lord, Adonai, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. We see that passage everywhere applied to our blessed Savior in the New Testament. And so now as we move through this particular passage, we see this emphasis on the reality of eternal generation. Notice in verses 22 to 26, the Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way before His works of old. I have been established from everlasting. from the beginning, before there was ever an earth. When there were no depths, I was brought forth. When there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was brought forth. One of the things that, I don't know if bugs me is a good way to say it, but it bugs me when people treat December 25th as if it's Jesus' birthday. Oh, happy birthday, Jesus. That gets half of it. That gets one aspect or one particular point. That gets to A in Micah chapter 5. But it doesn't do justice to Micah 5 to B. He's not just man. He is God from God, light from light, true God from true God. And this emphasis is evident here. He's before the created order. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God. And then in 1.3 of John's Gospel, by Him all things were made. There's nothing that has come into being apart from Him. Now, it's not talking about Him first and then everything else, vis-à-vis Jehovah's Witnesses. That's just heretical. It is Arian. It is wrong. It is blasphemous. But back to verse 28, I'm sorry, 25. Before the mountains were created, before the hills I was brought forth. While as yet He had not made the earth of the fields or the primal dust of the world, when He prepared the heavens, I was there. When He drew a circle on the face of the deep, when He established the clouds. See, He moves from Before creation, to creation. Before creation, Jesus is there. During creation, Jesus is there, John 1, 3. Notice, when he established the clouds above, when he strengthened the fountains of the deep, when he signed to the sea its limit so that the waters would not transgress his command. when he marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was beside him as a master craftsman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him, rejoicing in his inhabited world. And my delight was with the sons of men." So there is this consubstantiality with the Father in the creation of the world, and in the redemption of men out of the world. Jesus didn't come to be on that day back whenever. Jesus has always been. As the second person of the triune God, He is most glorious, most wondrous, most excellent, most awesome, and this underscores the most excellent character of the Incarnation. It's not as if God, you know, fetched out an angel, a good angel, a blessed and a wonderful angel and said, hey, I want to clothe you with humanity. I want to send you into the world to be the redeemer of the sons of men. That would have been awesome. He doesn't do that. He takes the son, the son of his love, his only begotten son, and he sends him forth on this mission. who for us men and for our salvation has come down from heaven. He took on our humanity with all the essential properties, all the common infirmities thereof, and yet without sin. Hail the incarnate, veiled in flesh, the Godhead seed. Hail the incarnate deity, pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel. This is why John 20 ends again on the high note of the deity of Christ. Starts off in John 1, 1, the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God, and ends formally with Thomas' confession, my Lord and my God. So going back to Micah chapter 5, the promised victor, the promised redeemer, the promised savior and Lord would be Jesus Christ, the one who has true humanity and divinity. John Gill says, it speaks of his eternal generation and sonship. And notice what Gill says in the 18th century, as commonly interpreted, Brethren, I'm not sure this is the common interpretation anymore. I'm not sure this is the way the church continues to go in terms of commentary on Micah 5, 2, whose goings forth are from of old, even from everlasting. But in the 18th century, Gil says, of his eternal generation and sonship as commonly interpreted, who is the only begotten of the Father, of the same nature with him, and a distinct person from him. The eternal word that went forth from him and was with him from eternity and is truly God. So when we ponder for just a moment on the incarnation of the Son of God, hopefully when we think through these things, it will cause us to rejoice even more. cause us to delight in worship even more. The word who was with God, the word who was God, took on our humanity, came into this world, came to his own, but they received him not. We saw recently in Matthew's gospel where the son of man had, you know, he says that the foxes have their holes and the birds have their nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. You talk about the humility of Christ. We see that in his life. We see that come to full appreciation at the crucifixion of our Savior. Matthew pull on Micah 5.2, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting, whose generation as he is the son of God equal with his father is eternal. This asserts the eternity of his divine nature. I've told you before, there's an old, you've probably all heard of Dennis Prager now. Dennis Prager, PragerU, we see that all over social media, you see it all over YouTube. Well, Dennis Prager was a talk show host in Los Angeles on the radio. Yeah, that's that thing that we used to have a long, long time ago, the radio. It wasn't Spotify, it wasn't iTunes, it wasn't a podcast, it was radio. Well, Dennis Prager had three men on his show one time. He had a Protestant. I know it sounds like the workup to a joke, but he had a Protestant, a Jew, and a Roman Catholic. And the question that he posed for each of them was, what is that fundamental aspect of your faith that someone has to imbibe to be considered part of your faith? That was an interesting dialogue. Well, the Orthodox, or the Jew, had denied that there was a promise in the Old Testament that the Messiah would be divine. Well, the Protestant was a man by the name of Greg Bonson, and Greg Bonson says, oh no, the Old Testament promised the Messiah, but it promised he would be divine. on a literary reading of the text. You may not accept it theologically, it may go against everything that you're in tune with in terms of your commitments, but to deny that the Old Testament predicates of the Messiah that he would be a divine being, that is to misread the Old Testament. That is to misread Psalm 110.1, Yahweh said to Adonai, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. It is to misread Isaiah 9, verses 6 and 7, everlasting father, prince of peace, this child that is born. How is it the case that a child born and a child given is described or characterized as being everlasting? Well, as Owen says, without the hypostatic union, we couldn't make heads or tails out of that particular statement. Well, Micah 5.2 is another one, brethren. We see the emphasis on the incarnation of the blessed Lord Jesus to be the ruler over Israel. But that's not his origin story. That's not where he originates. His goings forth are from of old, from everlasting, from ancient days, from eternity, by way of eternal generation, from the Father. The Lord Christ is God of God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father, through whom all things were made. So that's the description, that's the identification, that's the king that's going to come to sort out Israel, to subjugate her enemies and foes, and to bring in this period of great blessing and peace that is described in the prophet at chapter 4, verses 1 and following. Now that brings us to the mission of the king in verses 3 to 5a. There's two things here. First, He will be the Savior of His people. And secondly, He will be the peace of His people. Notice the Savior. There is this remnant referred to in verse 3. Therefore, He shall give them up. That's divine judgment. That's divine chastening. That's Yahweh's justice exhibited on the people of Israel. When you read these prophets, you can't say, well, that doesn't seem fair. I mean, was, you know, Sennacherib and Babylon and these various foes, they were just superior mightily and had better military savvy? No, this was as a result of Israel's unfaithfulness to her God. The prophet, or rather the book of Leviticus 26 and then Deuteronomy 27 and 28 made it very clear. Here's your laws. Here's how you're supposed to live when you go into the land. If you live like this in the land, you will be blessed. But if you don't live like this in the land, you'll be cursed. It was a very simple proposition. Now, of course, what does Israel do? They go into the land and they disobey. They go into the land and they transgress. This evokes the wrath and judgment of God Most High. We see it in the 8th century BC. At 722, the Assyrians decimate the northern kingdom of Israel. And then Judah, you think, would learn the lesson. In fact, this is Jeremiah's emphasis in Jeremiah 3. You saw what happened to your sister. You saw what happened to the northern tribes. You saw what happened in the northern kingdom. Not only did you not repent, but you're even more wicked than they were. You're more vile and wretched than they were. So what happens? In the 6th century BC, around 586, 587, we have Babylon, captained by Nebuchadnezzar, who comes in to decimate the southern tribes. And so verse 2 prophesies the coming ruler, the coming king. Verse 3 reminds us they've still got problems. They've still got issues, just like verse 1 reminded us. Though these things are coming in the future, it doesn't mean automatically, with the snap of the divine finger, everything's going to be clean for you. And brethren, I think there's a very important lesson here. It's not always the case that God acts according to our time frame. There's no promise that God's going to act according to our time frame. Humble yourself in the sight of God, and in due time, He will lift you up. Well, what's due time as far as you're concerned? Well, right now. I shouldn't be bowed down. I shouldn't have agony. I shouldn't have sorrow. I shouldn't have any hardship, or affliction, or trial, or whatever. But it's God's time, brethren. If the Son of God learned obedience through suffering, then the sons of God are going to learn obedience through suffering. And there is affliction, and there is hardship, and there is trial. And when God, through the prophet Micah, announces the coming ruler of Israel, it doesn't mean that immediately all the enemies are vanquished, all the foes are reduced to ash. This is a prophecy for encouragement to the children of Israel to keep on being faithful, to keep on persevering, to go forward in the fear of the Lord. Now, in our present age, we read in the last hour of several episodes of persecution of the people of God all throughout the world. And it might rise up in some of those brethren from time to time to say, what are we doing suffering? We confess Jesus Christ as Lord of Lords, as King of Kings, as the Savior. Well, again, because we have that confession, because we have that present possession, it's not been fully realized what it's going to be in the future. There's this already, we enjoy the taste of heaven, but not yet. We don't have as much a taste of heaven as we will one day have because of God's goodness and grace. So in verse 3a, there is a reminder of the fact that God has them in the place where they are as a result of their unfaithfulness. Therefore, he shall give them up until the time that she who is in labor has given birth. Now here, I think, again, the idea being is that we're in that time frame of God. The Apostle Paul puts it in Galatians 4.4, in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son. Wasn't an hour earlier, wasn't an hour later. There's no haphazard with God. God does according to His good pleasure. God does according to His good will. And at His time, He sent forth the Son, that one who would come to Him in order to function as a king over Israel. So I think the emphasis here is on that same reality. The Lord gives up Israel as a result of their sin, judgment until God's purpose is fulfilled. But then notice, on the heels of that, there's a promise of deliverance. If you don't read the Old Testament, may I encourage you to read the Old Testament? He always does this. Yeah, I probably always will. We're starting a new year. What a good resolution. You might not be into resolutions. You might be into resolutions. This is a manageable one. I mean, you may not be able to lose 100 pounds by May. It's probably not gonna happen, but you can read a chapter or four out of the Old Testament each and every day. You say, well, I don't have that kind of time. Why is it that we have that kind of time for just about every other activity from Dan to Beersheba? When it comes to reading God's Word, I just can't find that time. Then maybe get up earlier. Stay up later. Deny yourself. That's part of being a kingdom citizen. I'm not saying you gotta go set out in the snow to do it. You gotta do it, you know, under a flashlight. I'm just saying do it. What do you get? This constant theme in the prophets. This acknowledgment that they're reaping God's wrath and judgment for their sin against Him in terms of the covenant obligations stipulated of them. But then these promises, these announcements, these encouragements, these blessed provision that God is going to deliver them. That's what God uses to keep His pilgrim people faithfully persevering in the world. If we're not feeding ourselves on those promises, if we're not glutting ourselves upon those statements of faith and fact and reality, then we're going to languish. We're going to be tempted to say, well, I don't know if I can do this anymore. Yeah, because you're not tapped into the source. As we saw in Jude 20, 21, you keep yourself in the love of God. That's not a statement by the writer there that we have the wherewithal to make ourselves lovely and good so that God will love us. I think the more of the emphasis is keep the love of God that he has for you first and foremost in your mind. It's kind of like in Ephesians 3. Paul wants you to know the love of Christ. Not the love that you have for Christ, because let's face it, that's not really encouraging, but it's the love that Christ has for us. Brethren, we have to do these things. We have to keep ourselves in the love of God. How do we do that? By building ourselves up on our most holy faith. What do you think that means? Do we have to go to conferences? Do we have to, you know, surround ourselves with the best preachers of the day? No, it means to read your Bible. It means to come to church, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, brethren. It's not subjective. It's not mystical. It's not experiential. It's taking the time to read the scriptures and hide that word in your heart. And then he says, praying in the Holy Spirit. So we're to keep ourselves in the love of God. That's not a mystery. Oh, I don't know how I'm going to do that. That's very simple. Read your Bible and pray. Read your Bible and pray. If you're not doing that, if you're not reading your Bible and you're praying, then you're not keeping yourselves in the love of God. I'm not saying you're reprobate. I'm not saying you're going to get cast off. I'm not saying you're going to go to hell because you didn't read enough Bible in your life. Praise God, we're justified freely by his grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. But for our health, our stability, our stick-to-itiveness, our perseverance in the Christian faith, it does, to much degree, depend on how much we read our Bibles and pray, that degree of comfort we enjoy. Shouldn't be mysterious, the guy that goes to the weight room, the guy that eats the proper diet, he's the guy that's fit. It's the guy that reads his Bible, the guy that prays, the guy that uses the means that God's ordained. Those are the guys that typically grow. It's not rocket science. It's not, you know, quantum physics. We're not splitting the atom in the church. Read your Bibles and pray. And you'll see this theme throughout the Old Testament prophets. Though you're being judged, Though the world, as it were, is crumbling around you, be of good cheer. I'm sending the son of my love. The son of his love ends the upper room discourse on that note. In this world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I've overcome the world. The book of Revelation starts off on earth. Revelation chapters 2 and 3, the letters to the seven churches in Asia Minor. What's life like on earth? Well, it's not great. I mean, there's persecution, there's oppression, there's heresy, there's challenges from within, there's challenges from without in terms of the health and life of Christ's bride. But where does it go from there? It goes to chapters 4 and 5, which is a heavenly perspective, which causes us to move our frame of reference from this present evil age to the Lamb on the throne. Revelation 13 is similar. Revelation 13, you'll know, is the chapter of the beasts. Foreboding, terrifying creatures, these beasts. You've got two, one from the land, one from the sea. Well, who are they? That's a subject for another time. But they're menacing, they're vile, they're bad, they're powerful. The book doesn't end there, brethren. It shifts from this view on earth, Revelation 13, of the beast from the land and the sea to the lamb and his fair army on Mount Zion. The prophets function similarly. The apostles function similarly. They know and they never promise that everything's gonna be a life of ease and joy and happiness and health, wealth, and prosperity for your life in this present evil age. No, it's not gonna be that way. But be of good cheer, Christ has overcome the world. So God promises, not only will there be a giving up of Israel, but the Lord will deliver Israel. Notice back at verse 3. Therefore he shall give them up until the time that she who is in labor has given birth. Now this is a easy, you know, low-hanging fruit. We'd apply that to Mary. into Christ. It's probably not that, it's probably a description, I mean it is that, generally speaking, but it's also with reference to the historical, typological sort of deliverances that they're going to experience, already referred to back in chapter 4. Same language, verse nine. Now, why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in your midst? Has your counselor perished? For pangs have seized you like a woman in labor. Be in pain and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in birth pangs. For now you shall go forth from the city. You shall dwell in the field, and to Babylon you shall go. There you shall be delivered. There the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies. That's the emphasis here in verse three. Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth. See, there's two phases in pregnancy. There's the in-pain-labor phase, and then there's the giving-of-birth-happy phase, right? So that's what he's saying. There's going to be this in-pain-labor phase, but there's going to be this give-birth-happy phase. Now again, generally speaking, it is connectable to the coming of Messiah through Mary, his mother. The emphasis is that God will, in fact, after a time, bring them to blessing. Again, typologically, there were advances, there were deliverances. Assyria decimated the Northern Kingdom. Southern Kingdom went into Babylon. What happened in Babylon? They were there for 70 years. There were prophets that would prophesy that this 70 years will conclude, and after this 70 years, you will return to your land. There were these promises built in. The prophet Isaiah speaks of Cyrus. Interestingly, Cyrus, the king of Persia, is referred to by God as Messiah. as Christ, as anointed one. Now, he's functioning typologically. The antitype, of course, is our Lord Jesus, but he's the anointed of God to bring deliverance to those Judahites that come out of Babylon. And so there are these deliverances that God is going to make good on. The obvious ultimate one is the coming of the Lord Jesus. But back to our text, therefore he shall give them up until the time that she who is in labor has given birth, then the remnant of his brethren shall return to or with the children of Israel. So after the 70 years of captivity in Babylon, they returned to Judah. They were given that permission. They were given that edict by Cyrus that they could return. They even took money from the pagans to build the temple. But we know that this points forward to that Messiah of Messiahs, that Christ of Christ, the Lord of Lords, that glorious one that is both man and God, that is revealed to us in chapter 5 at verse 2. The Lord brings back Israel, the remnant of his brethren. And then the remnant of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel. So that's the salvific purpose of our God. But then notice how this takes shape in verse four. Notice it says, he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord, his God. And they shall abide for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. If I hadn't made the point earlier to read your Old Testament, I'd make it here. How does Jesus feed his flock? How does Jesus tend to his sheep? How does Jesus give them the nourishment that they stand in need of? Again, it's not esoteric. It's not mysterious. It's not a formula that few have mastered. It's get up early and read your Bible. It's get on your knees and pray to God. It's come to church and hear the preaching of the word. Participate in the corporate prayer meeting. It's not magic that carries on the believer in the Christian life. It's the means that God has provided for our nourishment, for our growth in grace, for our maturation as the people of God. So the shepherd here, the ruler here, this king feeds his flock. But as well, he rules over the flock, and notice that he does so in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall abide, and notice, for now he shall be great. Isn't that our Savior? Isn't that our Lord? Isn't that how the New Testament describes Him? And not just the New Testament, the Song of Solomon. How does the bride describe her bridegroom? He's altogether lovely and he's chief among 10,000. He's the darling of heaven. He is the victor. He's the champion. He is the ruler over Israel. And he comes to feed us. He comes to protect us. He comes to defend us. I think our modern conception of monarchy is so far removed from the definition of monarchy that it's hard for us to embrace the thought of a king that actually is there to do us good. We think of monarchy today, we see it sort of paralleled in republics and whatnot, where it's not really a relationship of care and concern and advance you in your purposes. No, it's more, I'm the Lord, you're the subject, do what I tell you and obey. So if that's our concept with monarchy, we're gonna, We're going to have a bit of a difficulty with our Lord Jesus. He feeds us. He rules us. But what else does a king do? He defends us. He protects us. He leads us. He does care for us. He nurtures us. He cherishes us. This is the language that Paul says husbands are to use with reference to their wives. The whole parallel there is between Christ and His bride. You don't think Christ cherishes? You don't think Christ nourishes? You don't think that Christ cares for His bride? If Christ didn't care for His bride, there'd be no church in the world, brethren. If it was up to us to build His church, the gates of Hades would in fact prevail. But He builds it, and the promise is rock-solid and sure, it will not be prevailed against. by the foul fiends of hell. Matthew Henry makes this observation concerning the teaching ministry of Christ. The prophets preface their messages with, thus saith the Lord. But Christ spoke not as a servant, but as a son. Verily, verily, I say unto you, this was feeding in the majesty of the name of the Lord, his God. All power was given him in heaven and earth, a power over all flesh by the virtue of which he still rules in the majesty of the name of the Lord, his God. And as we conclude this brief section, notice how it ends. It ends on his universal empire. He's Israel's Messiah, but he's much more. Remember the servant songs of Yahweh, chapters 49 and 46 of the prophet Isaiah. It's too small a thing for you simply to go and rescue or redeem the lost tribes of Jacob. No, God says, I will give you as a light unto the Gentiles. The glory of God most high will shine through the face of the Lord Jesus to every tribe, every tongue, every people, every nation. Again, this isn't afterthought, this was prophesied. in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God, and they shall abide. For now he shall be great to the ends of the earth." Another reason for you to read your Old Testament and the New Testament, obviously, you get a lot of promises concerning Christ's dominion from sea to sea. The knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. The blessedness of God Most High is to manifest His Son as the Savior of a great multitude that no man can number, from every tribe, every tongue, every people, and every nation. As we sang, no more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make His blessings flow as far as the curse is found. As far as the curse is found. Far as, far as the curse is found. Is that good news? If I were to ask you today, what really bothers you? What really depresses you? You could have a long list. Oh, I don't like what's going on in the, you know, wherever. You name the place. There's just a lot of hot spots right now. Do you know if we really kept sort of poking and pressing, at one point you'd have to say, my sin. I don't like to sin. I mean, I do, obviously. The good that I wish to do, I don't do. The evil I don't want to do, I find myself doing. In that Romans 7 motif that the Apostle spoke of, Galatians 5, the flesh lusts against the spirit, the spirit lusts against the flesh. These are contrary to one another, so you don't do the things that you want. There's this battle going on. When you read the book of Revelation and you see the saints of God at the throne of God, day and night, worshiping the Lord, doesn't that make you happy? That's our lot. It's not going to be, well, I got to try to fight to stay awake for another 10 minutes in this sermon. I got to pinch my leg. That's my trick, brethren. If I'm a hearer and I start to get a little drowsy, I grab the inside of the skin and just give it a good squeeze. That typically, at least for a moment, gets the synapses firing and the blood flowing. It's just, at times though, it's tough, isn't it? I'm not here to blame anybody. This isn't a passive-aggressive way to tell you to wake up right now. It really isn't. Sin is wearying. Remaining corruption is wearying. Don't you long for the day that those blessings of Christ Most High will extend as far as the curse is found, even our own hearts? Even that remaining corruption will be vanquished. That's a foe that will be destroyed. It will be crushed by our blessed Savior. We will live in a place wherein dwelleth righteousness, where there's no more sorrow, there's no more tears, there's no more pain, no more hunger, there's no more thirst. No more anything negative. It's only going to be the presence of God most high. That is our future. That is our lot. What a most blessed provision of our God in the gospel of his son. And notice the last part, 5a, this one shall be peace. We recently camped on this doctrine in Ephesians chapter two, verses 14 to 18, where the apostle is very clear, Christ is himself our peace. Beautiful. It's the peace that you have in your hearts and in your lives today. Well, it's Jesus, right? It's not our, you know, wonderful stellar government. Boy, they just inculcated in me this feeling of peace and resoluteness. No, but in Jesus, he himself is our peace. But Paul doesn't stop there. He goes on to say that he himself made peace. How does he make peace? Well, paradoxically, he does it through the blood of his cross. If you were standing at the base of Calvary that day, you would have never thought, oh, this is the biggest peacemaking endeavor that's ever occurred. He was bleeding. He was being, you know, ridiculed. He's being blasphemed. It is, as it were, the son of man in our humanity being punished for our sins. It was a horrible and gross thing. And yet it's by that means he makes peace. But then in 2.17, Paul says, and he himself preaches peace. He didn't go to Ephesus, but through the ministry of the apostles, he preached to Ephesus. And so the prophet here in Micah 5, 5 tells us that he is our peace. This worldwide empire, this worldwide rulership, this worldwide kingdom is conducted by, executed by the one who is both God and man, who came to save his people from their sins. Well, in conclusion, I think we ought to appreciate, in the context, the mercy of God. The mercy of God. 700 years prior to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, this prophecy was made. 700 years, why is that? Because God knows how to bring comfort to His people. God knows how to encourage His people. God knows how to point them to those means that will provide blessing and stability for them in their lives. As well, we see the blessing of God, Most High, in terms of His provision. God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law. To think that it's somehow Jesus that has come to give us a better version of God is to bypass the reality that God sent forth his son. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. There's no odds or there's no, you know, differences in terms of the persons of the Godhead. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are united, not only in being, but as well in purpose to do his people good. And we have that provision of a gracious Savior, of a powerful ruler, and as of one who brings peace to his people. And then finally, we've got the glory of Christ in this passage. Again, don't let the terminology keep you away. Eternal generation is pretty simple. Generation in the world of man, we get pregnant, we have babies. That's generation. It's different when we apply eternal. It's different when it comes to infinite God, Creator God. The concept is the same, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, one in being with the Father through whom all things were made. That's the view the scripture gives concerning our blessed Savior. That's the view that stabilizes the saints of Christ as they navigate this pilgrim world. That's the view that you and I need to imbibe, that you and I need to, as Cam said earlier, hold not with a limp wrist, not with a weak hand, but we need to grab on and hold on for life. Because it's that doctrine that the church fought for, many in the church bled for, many in the church died for, many in the church advanced through their faithfulness and their perseverance and their emphasis on contending earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Let it not be with us to fumble that ball, to drop that ball and to make it, as it were, humanly speaking, go backwards in terms of advance. We have been given by God the blessed Christ, who is both God and man, the one person who brings salvation to his people. And if you're not a believer here this morning, this is the best gift, the best gift. God so loved the world that he gave. Isn't that wonderful? You've got people in your life that tell you, oh, I love you. but they typically back it up with some sort of action. I mean, somebody that says, I love you and then punches you in the face, but I really love you and punches you even harder. It's kind of hard to, you know, get that connect. God doesn't just say, I love the world, but God gave his only begotten son. Now notice the emphasis that whosoever believes in him, not changes everything in their miserable life and starts to do everything perfectly. You can't do that. We're in Adam. We're dead. We need to be awakened by God through the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to look in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ in whom there is salvation. It's the Protestant doctrine. of justification by faith alone. We look to Jesus in faith, we receive the forgiveness of sins, and we receive a righteousness by which we get to enter in to the presence of our God. The best gift has been given. By grace, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved. Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for this prophecy concerning the Messiah so many hundreds of years before His coming. We thank You that we live in light of these truths, that we see the connection between the old and the new. We see the blessedness that we have in that Word who became flesh and dwelt among us. I pray that You would go with us, that You would bless us, that You would help us to glorify and honor You And may you bless the proclamation of your truth throughout the earth today. May that word run swiftly and may it be glorified. And we pray through Christ our Lord, amen. You can take your Trinity hymn book and we'll sing number 568, praise to our triune God. 568, we'll stand as we sing together. ♪ It's time for me to go ♪ is you Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all, amen. Father, thank you for this time that we can have together. Thank you for your goodness to us as expressed preeminently in the gospel of our salvation. Go with us now and cause your face to shine upon us and may we know your peace and may we know the nearness of God as our good. And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen. Well, please be seated for a brief time of meditation.