I invite you to turn with me tonight to the prophecy of Micah. Micah, as we read together a portion of the last part of chapter 4 and the first part of chapter 5, the text being chapter 5, verses 2 through the first phrase of verse 5 of Micah 5. The prophecy of Micah, beginning at verse 6 of chapter 4. This is the Word of God. In that day, declares the Lord, I will gather the lame. I will assemble the exiles and those I have brought to grief. I will make the lame a remnant of those driven away a strong nation. The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever. As for you, O watchtower of the flock, O stronghold of the daughter of Zion, the former dominion will be restored to you. Kingship will come to the daughter of Jerusalem. Why do you now cry aloud? Have you no king? Has your counselor perished? Does pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor? Writhe in agony, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor. For now you must leave the city to camp in the open field. You will go to Babylon. There you will be rescued. There the Lord will redeem you out of the hand of your enemies. But now many nations are gathered against you. They say, let her be defiled. Let our eyes gloat over Zion. But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord. They do not understand His plan. He who gathers them like sheaves to the threshing floor. Rise and thresh, O daughter of Zion. For I will give you horns of iron. I will give you hoofs of bronze and you will break to peace as many nations. You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth. Marshal your troops, O city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel's ruler on the cheek with a rod. Now the words of our text, 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 old, from ancient times. Therefore, Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. 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. Beloved in Christ the Lord, I've got bad news and I've got good news. Which would you like to hear first? You see, beloved, that's a phrase, a question that we don't like to hear, right? Especially when we hear it from our doctor. That's one of the first questions that my doctor said to me on the telephone on my path to diagnosis some years ago. I've got bad news. I've got good news. What do you want to hear first? You see, when you and I are faced with a question like that, then we must decide then whether or not we think the good news will relieve of the bad or whether the bad news will cancel out the good. Micah seems to say this throughout his prophecy over and over again if we were to read it from beginning to end. I've got bad news. I've got good news. Like many other prophets, Micah prophesied both of judgment against God's people and of the restoration of God's people. He was called to speak out against the sin of God's people. He was called to speak out against the false prophets who led Israel astray. And he made it clear that the near future was captivity for the covenant people. For those who stood in arrogant pride against God and against His commands, those who abused their privileged position as a chosen nation, He prophesied that they would be brought low. In fact, in verse 10 of chapter 4, He plainly says that you will go to Babylon. Yet, He always brought good news. He always brought news of restoration even in that very same verse. You will go to Babylon. There you will be rescued. There the Lord will redeem you out of the hand of your enemies. That was His sequence, you see, throughout this prophecy, yet every time He gave good news, there was always more bad news to come. He brought bad, He brought good, He brought judgment, He brought hope. But then you see, we come to this particular text in chapter 5. And there's no doubt about it, beloved, it is good news. But it is good news unlike the rest of the good news. This is good news that far outweighs the bad news. It will not be canceled out. It will not be replaced by bad news. As Micah prophesies of the coming Messiah, coming from an insignificant place, coming for a suffering people, coming with a powerful purpose. He prophesies of the coming Messiah. First of all, coming from an insignificant place. Verse 2 begins again, 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 of old, from ancient times. The insignificant place is Bethlehem. Now boys and girls, Bethlehem doesn't seem insignificant to us. We've learned about it from the day we can remember. We sing, O little town of Bethlehem. Certainly it's not insignificant. But at that time, indeed, insignificant. Yet not unknown. Already, Bethlehem was on the map of history. Certainly at the time of our Savior's birth and during His life, Bethlehem was on the map of history. We think of Matthew 2 when the Magi, the wise men, come into Jerusalem and they announce, where is the King who has been born? The King of the Jews. We've seen a star. Where is He? And of course, it disturbed the people. It disturbed Herod and the chief priests and the scribes. They run to the Scriptures. And they come back with this verse, Micah 5, verse 2, and say, Bethlehem. And in John 7, verse 42, as the crowds are trying to figure out if this Jesus was indeed the Christ, we read, does not Scripture say that the Christ will come from David's family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived? See, Bethlehem was on the map of history at the time of Christ's birth and the time of His life. But it was on the map of history already before that, it was on the map at the time of Micah's prophecy. Remember, in Genesis chapter 35, verse 19, where was Rachel buried? She was buried in Bethlehem, Ephrathah. In Ruth chapter 1, verse 2, we read of Elimelech and Naomi and their two sons, and they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem. And in Ruth chapter 4, verse 11, when Boaz redeems Ruth and takes her as his wife, the people and the elders say of Ruth, may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. The history of Revelation, the Scriptures that God has given us, Bethlehem is there throughout the Old Testament. It was not unknown. As well as it was a good small fortress on the road to Jerusalem about six miles from Jerusalem, it was, we might say, an outpost, a lookout station for Jerusalem. Bethlehem was not unknown. But Bethlehem was unlikely to serve as a supplier of a ruler. You see, to these captive people, Micah says, you're going into captivity. And to a captive people in their lowest state, certainly, certainly they would need a powerful ruler from a power city, a city of size and influence. They would need a ruler from a ruling family that was already in power. And certainly you would not find a ruling family in power living in Bethlehem and ruling from Bethlehem. Bethlehem was unlikely because of her small size. Micah says, though you were small among the clans of Judah, she was small in number. Militarily, she was insignificant. She herself was dependent on those around her for her protection. Bethlehem was void of any ruling power and was simply not influential. And something else that didn't serve in Bethlehem's favor was the fact that Bethlehem was a reminder of apostasy. It was a reminder of the apostasy of David's family. Chapter 5 verse 1 says again, Marshal your troops, O city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel's ruler on the cheek with a rod. I believe pointing to Jerusalem. Pointing to Israel's king. It points to the family of David, which had lost the throne and Jerusalem was overtaken. And we know that in the day of Christ's birth, it was all true. Herod the Edomite was on the throne and he was there because he was assigned by Rome. Rome was ruling. Rome was in power. And the Jews, although they were at home in Jerusalem, they were still, we might say, in captivity. In captivity to Roman rule. Bethlehem represented the humility of God's people and represented the fact that rescue for God's people depended not on the power of man, but it depended on the power of God. Yet this insignificant place was unmatched. Because insignificant Bethlehem, we might say, was not as insignificant as she might seem on the surface. This was the town of David. That's what the angel said to the shepherds. Today is born to you in the town of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. Bethlehem was the town of David. And therefore, the very utterance of the name Bethlehem would recall to the people David's calling. A man whom God Himself described as a man after God's own heart. This one whom God raised up from a humble beginning. this one who was the youngest and the least and the forgotten one in his own family. God took him and made him to be the greatest and the most beloved of Israel's kings. And therefore, just hearing the name Bethlehem as well, would recall God's promise to David that he would always have a son to sit on his throne. Indeed, beloved David, sons were unfaithful. Indeed, God's people were handed over to the enemy. Yet this announcement of a ruler from Bethlehem, Ephrathah, would bring Israel's eyes back to David and back to God's promise to David and a reminder, a blessed reminder to them that God had not forgotten His people. Again, the people did not need a powerful city. They did not need a powerful earthly ruler, but they needed a powerful God. They did not need earthly or physical power, but they needed true power to conquer their true and their fiercest enemy. And this powerful God Himself promised a future deliverer of Israel that this one would resemble His royal ancestor David and He would come not from the royal city of David, namely Jerusalem, but He would come from royal David's town in significant Bethlehem. And Micah makes it clear that He would come for a suffering people. Clearly before what we read, but also in the part that we read. The first verse of chapter 6 that we read, And that day declares the Lord, I will gather the lame, I will assemble the exiles, and those I have brought to grief. And in verse 1 again, Marshal your troops, O city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel's ruler on the cheek with a rod. And verse 3 begins, Therefore Israel will be abandoned. He would come for a suffering people. People who were suffering because of their own apostasy. As we said a moment ago earlier in Micah's prophecy, he chastises the leaders for their failure to do what God had commissioned them to do. They had failed to give justice. They had failed to speak the true Word of God. They had failed to rule the people as God had called them to do. And the kingdom was in chaos. The people rejected their covenant God. They rejected His covenant. They had gone their own way. They followed after the heathen nations and therefore they would suffer abandonment. And again, pointing to verse 1, they would be completely overtaken. Their ruler, their leader, gone. No one to rule them. No one to lead them. No one to fight for them. And as verse 3 begins, Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth. For a time, no longer would they be under the power and the protection of God's favor, but they would be heavily afflicted and suffer as a woman in labor. There are a couple of interpretations. given for that phrase as a woman in labor. There are many who believe that it's talking about Mary herself. Because as Isaiah says earlier in history, recorded in Isaiah 7 verse 14, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son. And if that's what Micah means here, then it means that Israel will be abandoned until the physical birth of Jesus Christ, until He is born, God with us, and Mary's labor pains are over. But another interpretation is that it stands for the suffering people. The suffering people. Their suffering is characterized as a woman in labor, which we know is a time of pain, a time of misery, discomfort. It is an ongoing time with no relief until the birth of the child takes place. And that then characterizes Israel's sorrow that she would experience. In fact, Micah says that already in verse 9 and 10 of chapter 4. Why do you now cry aloud? Have you no king? Has your counselor perished that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor? Writhe in agony, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor. This is what captivity would be like for God's people. A time of pain and oppression. Misery was seeming no relief. But even after captivity, during the 400 years of silence, that which we call the intertestamental time, that time in which the many tokens of God's nearness and the means of His communicating with His people, the Ark of the Covenant, the Urim and Thummim, prophets, gone. A time of silence. Yet, beloved, that time of agony and pain would result in the joy of birth. Christ's birth would indeed not only end the labor pains of Mary, but Christ's birth, beloved, would end the labor pains of God's people who had been waiting in silence. You see, Micah's prophecy is a prophecy of hope and joy that God's people would indeed be delivered from their sorrow. As the Messiah would come in the third place with a powerful purpose. And we can summarize that purpose very simply with the words redemption, joy, the assurance of peace, but not just from their earthly enemies. And Micah points out that He will come with a powerful purpose because of who He is. The last part of verse 2 says, of chapter 5, whose origins are from old, from ancient times. And verse 4 begins, He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God. This One to come would be God Himself. Micah points out His eternal nature. He is from ancient times. He is from everlasting. And he says He will stand. And the idea there is perseverance, permanence. His kingdom will have no end. And the power of this ruler would be the very power of God. He will stand in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And his glory and his authority, beloved, would not be only simply over one nation, but over the whole earth, as Micah says, his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And Paul echoes that, we know, in Philippians 2, when he says that every knee will bow before him, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Micah here supports, confirms the prophecy of Isaiah. As Isaiah said, this child to come would be God with us. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. You see, there was no doubt among God's prophets that God Himself, none other than God Himself, would come to rescue His people. As Micah also points to what He will do, not only because He comes with a powerful purpose because of who He is, but because of what He will do. He will gather His people. A remnant. Verse 3, Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. What a comforting word to these people that though abandoned for a season, they would not be abandoned for good. They would not be completely extinguished. They would be preserved. And Micah is pointing here to all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, Jew and Gentile alike. And not only would He gather His people, He would shepherd His people. Once again, they would have a ruler helping them, defending them, fighting for them, protecting them, ultimately saving His helpless sheep. As His power, His divine power, would be used on behalf of His sheep alone. And of course, that then spells disaster for the ungodly and the wicked. Against whom? Against whom? his power would be used as he would destroy his enemies. But also as a shepherd, he will feed his sheep. It's interesting, it's fitting. Bethlehem, we know, means house of bread. Ephrathah means fertile ones, the fruitful. And that, of course, described Bethlehem and the surrounding area at that time for sure. Fields, vineyards, olive groves, fig trees surrounding that area. And therefore, this insignificant place points to a significant work as from the house of bread would come the bread of life. And Micah, in a beautiful way here, beloved, is pointing to the ongoing, never-ending nourishment, provision, and care that this ruler would give to those who partake of him by faith. He is speaking here of none other than the Lord of whom David speaks in Psalm 23 as he points to his bringing peace for his people. The last part of verse 4 says, 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 beautiful picture we have here. Because as this ruler stands in power, as he stands in power, his sheep live securely. It's also translated dwell. Or we might say sit in peace. He stands in power and His people sit in peace, peace from their enemies. As this ruler would protect His people from their enemies, our enemies cannot do us any eternal damage and that is because we also have peace with God. Ultimately, this ruler would bring us peace, reconciliation with our God. Beloved, the Messiah has come. Jesus Christ has been born. He lived righteously. He suffered the wrath and punishment of God for those abandoned from God because of sin. Our sin laid upon Him. He has reconciled with God those for whom He died and we have peace with God. And that means that His anger no longer is born against us. His anger is no longer born against us. And never again will we be abandoned from him. But instead, in Christ Jesus, we have eternal security. We will live with him forever and ever. And that reconciliation means that we have a guaranteed life. Jesus says in John chapter 6, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger. He who believes in me shall never thirst. He says, I am the good shepherd. He takes these words of Micah as his very own. This is Me. I am your Shepherd. And He feeds His people with His Word by the power of His Spirit as by faith we partake of God in the power. We partake of Him, of His body and blood by faith unto everlasting life. You see, beloved, this One who was insignificant in the eyes of the world, this One who came in an insignificant manner as a baby laid in a manger because there was no room for Him in the inn. This one who is foolishness in the eyes of the world is the wisdom of God and the power of God unto salvation for those who believe, every one who believes. And therefore, there is no greater news in a world of sin and shame than that God has remained faithful to His promise to send a Savior. He sent Him from the glory of heaven. He sent Him to be born in an insignificant place because our problem was greater than our earthly enemies. He sent Him for a suffering people. Suffering sin and shame because we were hell-bound as well. He sent Him with a powerful purpose to destroy the greatest enemy, Satan, and to transform His people from being enemies of God to becoming children of God. There's no greater news than that God has kept His promise to send a Savior. What comfort for you and me, beloved, because we have the assurance and the guarantee that all of God's promises are yes and amen in Jesus Christ. He has come to save us from all of our sins. He has come to rescue us from the eternal wrath of God in hell. He has come to provide us with eternal life-giving nourishment. He has come to preserve us forever in glory with Him. What a blessed Christmas story. You see, beloved, Christmas is indeed about family. The family of God, our Heavenly Father. Christmas is indeed about love. The love of God poured out upon us. Christmas is indeed about gifts. The greatest gift of God in Jesus Christ. Christmas is indeed about abundance. The abundance of God's peace unto eternal life. What a blessed Christmas story. And what a blessed motivation for you and me to rejoice in Him and as new creatures in Him to live and serve Him with confidence that we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. And beloved, this comfort is the very own possession. It is your very own possession for all who look to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith. You see, for them there is no longer and never again will there be any bad news. Only good news of Jesus Christ and His saving love. Jesus Christ is the eternal ruler born in the little town of Bethlehem to set His people free that we might reign with Him forever. And therefore, beloved, let us come and adore Him, Christ the Lord. Amen. Let's pray together. Father, we praise You for Your Word. Your Word which is filled with details. Details of what actually took place so long ago. Details of people and places and circumstances. And Father, details that have meaning for us still today. Especially the detail that You sent Your Son into this world. to give us life, to give it abundantly. We rejoice in Jesus Christ, our glorious King. We rejoice that You give to us the hope that You give to us for this life and the life to come. And may we be bearers of that good news for You in this world as long as You give us breath of life. May we praise Your most holy name. Thank You for Your Word. Thank You, O Lord, for such a great salvation. In Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.