“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will come forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His times of coming forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity,” (5:2).

From out of the depths of their hopelessness, hope would arise. For though God’s people would be subdued and oppressed by their enemy, it would not be the end of their story. Micah’s prophecy paints a picture reminiscent of the way the sun consumes the darkness as it rises on the horizon, masterfully depicting the Messiah as Him Who Will Come Forth in His determined time.

Therefore He will give them up until the time
When she who is in labor has borne a child.
Then the remainder of His brethren
Will return to the sons of Israel, (5:3).

Today feels a bit like walking into an art gallery where hangs the most priceless work of art in all of history. Today is a day to study the Masterpiece of the Messiah. His Name is Jesus, and He is prominent in every stroke of Micah’s prophecy. And there are quite a few New Testament Scriptures corroborating Jesus as the One Micah revealed. So let’s ready ourselves and take our time to study this glorious privilege bestowed in the unveiling of Him Who Will Come Forth.

Consider Him Who Will Come Forth

• He Will Come Forth from seemingly small beginnings.
  •  “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    Too little to be among the clans of Judah…” (5:2)
    • Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, ⁵ in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. ⁶ While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn, (Luke 2:4-7).

• He Will Come Forth from God as the Ruler of His people.
  • “…From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel…” (5:2).

• • • For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father, (Philippians 2:9-11).

• He Will Come Forth from the days of eternity.
  • …His goings forth are from long ago,
    From the days of eternity,” (5:2).
    • In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God, (John 1:1-2).

• He Will Come Forth to shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord.
  • And He will arise and shepherd His flock
    In the strength of the Lord, (5:4).
    • Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, (Hebrews 13:20).

• He Will Come Forth in the Majesty of the Name of the Lord His God.
  • …In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God.
    And they will remain… (5:4).
    • in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. ³ And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (Hebrews 1:2-3).

• He Will Come Forth as our Great God.
  • …Because at that time He will be great
    To the ends of the earth, (5:4).
    • looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, (Titus 2:13).

• He Will Come Forth as our Peace.
  • This One will be our peace.
    When the Assyrian invades our land…(5:5).
    • For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, (Ephesians 2:14).

• He Will Come Forth to deliver us from our enemy.
  • …And He will deliver us from the Assyrian
    When he attacks our land
    And when he tramples our territory, (5:6).
    • He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, (Colossians 1:13 ESV).

• He Will Come Forth to firmly establish His remnant in His abundance.
  • Then the remnant of Jacob
    Will be among many peoples
    Like dew from the Lord,
    Like showers on vegetation
    Which do not wait for man
    Or delay for the sons of men, (5:7).
    • I pray that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power in the inner man through His Spirit, ¹⁷ and that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, ¹⁹ and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God, (Ephesians 3:17-19 HCSB).

• He Will Come Forth to cut off all our enemies.
  • Your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries,
    And all your enemies will be cut off, (5:9).
    • Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵ For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. ²⁶ The last enemy that will be destroyed is death, (1 Corinthians 15:24-26 NKJV).

• He Will Come Forth to cut off every misplaced hope for deliverance and to root out every false god, that we would abide by faith in Him alone.
  • “It will be in that day,” declares the Lord,
    “That I will cut off your horses from among you
    And destroy your chariots.
    ¹¹ “I will also cut off the cities of your land
    And tear down all your fortifications.
    ¹² “I will cut off sorceries from your hand,
    And you will have fortune-tellers no more.
    ¹³ “I will cut off your carved images
    And your sacred pillars from among you,
    So that you will no longer bow down
    To the work of your hands.
    ¹⁴ “I will root out your Asherim from among you
    And destroy your cities,” (5:10-14).
    • “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing,” (John 15:1-5).

• He Will Come Forth to execute His wrath against those who have not trusted Him for salvation.
  • “And I will execute vengeance in anger and wrath
    On the nations which have not obeyed,” (5:15).
    • He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. ¹⁵ From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. ¹⁶ And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS,” (Revelation 19:13-16).

How do we respond to Him Who Will Come Forth?

This glorious Masterpiece spoken about through Micah’s prophecy, overlaps between past, present, and future. As finite beings with a definite beginning and end in this world, we view time as a linear sequence of events, as though walking through an art gallery to study one piece of art at a time. But today, I had this feeling that rather than walking through His gallery, it was His Eternal Masterpiece moving and simultaneously bringing glimpses of His past, present, and future in unison.

So today, let’s allow eternity to carry us into the place of unceasing gratitude and awe as we consider what He came Forth to do in the past, What He Comes Forth to do in our present, and What He Will Come Forth to do in our future.

He Came Forth to save sinners that we would be secure in our hope in His undeserved grace.

It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost, (1 Timothy 1:15).

He Comes Forth as our Constant Companion that we would never walk in fear.

…for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you,” ⁶ so that we confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.
What will man do to me?” (Hebrew 13:5-6).

He Will Come Forth again, not to save us from our sins, but to bring us to be with Him forever in His Heavenly Kingdom.

And just as it is destined for people to die once, and after this comes judgment, ²⁸ so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him, (Hebrews 9:27-28).

As we eagerly wait for Him, let us live by faith in Jesus. Oh, that we would surrender to the crucified life, that it will be only His Life that Will Come Forth in us, to live each day, in the present and the future, as His created masterpiece to do His good things He planned from eternity past.

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me, (Galatians 2:20).

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago, (Ephesians 2:10 NLT).

Let’s Grow Together!