Micah is one of the minor prophets in the Bible. Micah 5 presents seven specific Messianic prophecies:
First-Christ’s Mistreatment
“They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek” (Micah 5:1). This verse is a Messianic prophecy which tells of the ill treatment that Messiah was to get at the hands of His wicked enemies. Striking at the cheek was a great insult (1 Kings 22:24; Job 16:10; Matthew 26:67, 68).
Second-Christ’s Birth Place
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah” (Micah 5:2a). The Jews understood this prophecy as Messianic, and in response to Herod’s question as to where the Messiah was to be born, they recited this passage in Micah which referred to Bethlehem Ephrathah (Matthew 2:3–6; John 7:42).
Bethlehem was a town 51/4 mi. (8.4 km.) south of Jerusalem, the modern Beit Laḥm. The town was also called Ephrath (Genesis 35:19; Ruth 4:11) and Bethlehem-judah, to differentiate it from Bethlehem in Zebulun (Joshua 19:15, 16). Bethlehem was also the birthplace of King David (1 Samuel 16:1, 4; Luke 2:11).
Third-Christ the Ruler of Israel
“Yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel” (Micah 5:2b). Christ did not come to “restore again the kingdom to Israel” (Acts 1:6) as the Jews hoped. But He came to restore the dominion of God in the hearts of men (Luke 17:20, 21). Christ was the true spiritual King of Israel that was to save His nation and the whole world from the slavery of Satan and the bondage of sin (Matthew 1:21).
Fourth-Christ the Eternal
“Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2c). Micah without a doubt declared forth the pre-existence of the One who was to be born in Bethlehem. The “goings forth” of Christ reach to eternity in the past. The apostle John affirmed, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1–3). From the days of eternity, the Lord Jesus Christ was one with the Father.
Fifth-Christ’s Protection of His People
“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” (Micah 5:4a). As “the good shepherd,” the Messiah, Christ, would “stand” firm in the defense of His sheep. Physical death comes to both the righteous and the unrighteous and from this the “sheep” are not saved. However, they are given the promise that they will not be “hurt” by the second death (Revelation 2:11). “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28 and Hebrews 13:5).
Sixth-Christ’s Universal Dominion
“He shall be great to the ends of the earth” (Micah 5:4b). The Messiah’s dominion would be universal. “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:30–33 and Psalms 2:7, 8; 72:8).
People struggle for permanency and security; but these will never be accomplished until Christ sets up His kingdom—one that will “never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:44), one that will “not pass away” (Daniel 7:14), and one that will be “an everlasting kingdom” (Psalms 145:13)
Seventh-Christ the King of Peace
“And this One shall be peace” (Micah 5:5). The tile of Christ is peace which is similar to the title “Prince of Peace” given to the Messiah by Micah’s contemporary Isaiah (ch. 9:6). Jesus will not only rule in peace but is Himself the author of peace (John 14:27; 16:33; Ephesian 2:13, 14).
Jesus gives the inward peace of mind such as comes to him who is “justified by faith” (Romans 5:1), whose feeling of guilt has been erased by the cross, and whose worries about the future have been gone by his faith in God (Philippians 4:6, 7). Such peace the world, with all its power and riches, cannot give.
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
