Where Will The Savior Be Born?

Micah was a prophet who warned the Israelites about both the Northern and Southern Kingdom’s destructions. He was a contemporary of Isaiah and Amos giving similar messages of destruction and renewal. Like Isaiah he wrote about a future savior.

Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops; siege is laid against us;
with a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek.
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel.
And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace. Micha 5:1-5

Micah gives a location but does not say anything about the future king being from the line of David. Instead, he speaks of a more ancient lineage. This passage is probably the one that helped in the confusion of a savior from the oppressors which ruled over them. How great a passage this is with a clearly obvious yet hidden message of the future time where the savior king shall have dominion over all the earth.

The people were looking for the temporary comfort of a king who would make them great again under their own rule and not under the dominion of another. When they had lost everything to the Assyrians and Babylonians they sought a defender king hoping for relief only to become subject to the Roman Empire. After the remnant was returned to Jerusalem they were still lost even though they had found comfort in their situation. Leaders rose up and were thought to be the messiah but their term was only temporary. The people still needed a saving of the spirit.

The peace of the people is the salvation of the soul. So many look for physical peace which is temporary. True peace is found in the Spirit. When inner peace is found then there can be peace among the nations. Jesus is the deliverer of that peace. He will come again to deliver a combination of physical and spiritual peace that will renew all people to the glory of God.

​As we enter this time of Advent, think of the hope this gave the people of the day who heard Micah as they anticipated the birth of their savior in Bethlehem. As they hoped for His arrival we await for His return.
Rob, Servant of God