Micah 5:4,5 - For He will be highly honored.

When I wrote on Micah 5:3 I was aware that Micah's train of thought continued beyond verse three, however, for the sake of brevity, I tried to remain focused on verse 3 alone.

Now, as I move forward, I am struck with another vague reference, as the NLT uses the word “he.”
Micah 5:4 NLT  And he will stand to lead his flock with the LORD’s strength, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. Then his people will live there undisturbed, for he will be highly honored around the world.

This word is in contrast to verse three, which also has an undefined reference to a “He.” Vague character references need to be revealed. As I have stated before there are numerous Bible translations, and it is wise to compare by checking words. Here is one of the examples.

Micah 5:2-3 NASB "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity." (3) 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.

In Micah 5:3 the reference to “He” is a reference to Jehovah, while in Micah 5:4 the “he” is denoting Yeshua/Jesus.

In Micah 5:2, Bethlehem was being addressed when it stated that, “One will go forth for Me “The “Me” in this passage is Jehovah. But who is being referred to when it says, One? If you have been a follower of Christ for a reasonable length of time, your mind should be screaming out; this is talking about Jesus. You and I both know that, but what of the person that doesn't? Some passages that point to Jesus are:

Numbers 24:19 NASB "One from Jacob shall have dominion,

Psalms 78:71 NASB From the care of the ewes with suckling lambs He brought him To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance.

Daniel 9:25 CEV  ... from the command to rebuild Jerusalem until the coming of the Chosen Leader, it will be seven weeks and another sixty-two weeks...

All of these events have happened, and yet there is no peace in the world.

If I were looking for peace as the marker could I see it with my physical eye? No, you can see the evidence of peace, and the world has none. However, Jesus brought peace into the hearts of all those who seek Him. What does all this mean? It means that a day is coming, soon, in which the Messiah, the One who will go forth for the Father, will slay all those who choose to fight with Him; and, he will bring about an eternal peace for those who live on the earth.

What do I do with the phrase from verse 3, “Therefore He will give them up until the time When she who is in labor has borne a child.”

God, with frequency and clarity, told Israel through the prophets, that He would send them into bondage and captivity if they did not change; evidently, they refused to listen. This refusal on Israel's part has been a problem for them since they came out of Egypt. However, Jesus reiterated many times, and, in many ways, that He and the Father are one. Therefore we cannot separate the two and their actions.

With that introduction let's get into Micah 5:4

Micah 5:4 NASB And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain Because at that time He will be great To the ends of the earth.

Notice how Micah 5:4 says, “He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the LORD .”
Now I have to determine who the “he” is. There is an obvious answer, and it comes from the context I just mentioned when I spoke about verses two and three. With our minds already focused on keywords such as Bethlehem, shepherd, and flock, these are none other than Jesus. Aside from the context, there is an immediate association that my mind makes with Jesus. Matthew's gospel quoted Micah 5:4, but there are many that do not make this association. So, let's look at the phrases that might make up our apologetic.

• “Born in Bethlehem.” Micah 5:2 lays that scenario out before us, but it was discussed again in John's gospel.
• “out of you, He shall come forth.” We have established that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but I could also understand this to mean He will come forth out of Israel.
• “to become One ruling in Israel.”
  The problem many of us have is that we look at this in an immediate and literal sense. The Jews would not accept Him as the Messiah they looked for; and yet, when Herod begins to panic at the sight of the Wise Men – along with their entourage, he immediately calls in the Chief priests and elders to explain why these men have come. While the answer given by the chief priests and elders was correct and to the point, they also acknowledged that they would not serve Him. Notice Herod's reaction. It tells us that he ignored their foolishness and accepted the words of the Wise Men; the result is that killed all the male children in that region from age two and under. Why do that? Because wiser men than the elders knew that the ruler had been born.
• His goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity.

All these are representations of Jesus.

Micah 5:4b NLT tells us,
“Then his people will live there undisturbed, for he will be highly honored around the world.

Two things stand out to me:

• Israel may think they are undisturbed, but they are not,

and,

• Yeshua is not highly honored throughout the world.

When you read about the apostasy taking place, an event you can find in 2 Thessalonians 2:3,
“Don't let anyone deceive you in any way. For the Day will not come until after the Apostasy has come and the man who separates himself from Torah has been revealed, the one destined for doom.” CJB 

Apostasy, according to Strong's, is the Greek word apostasia and means the defection from the truth; a falling away, or the forsaking of what you know to be the truth.

You come to realize that this world we live in is neck deep in apostasy. How do I know that? I frequently sit with representatives from the subset we know as the church, and I am telling you, we, in general, fit into every category of apostasy.

We have seen that the Messiah came in Jesus Christ. He was born in Bethlehem, just as Micah said, and yet there are several other huge aspects.

• And they will remain because at that time He will be great To the ends of the earth.

What does it mean to remain – steadfast or secure in their land? How about Jesus being honored to the ends of the earth? Neither of those scenarios will take place until Jesus returns, and then there will be a thousand years of peace.

We have to cover one more verse before we go.

Micah 5:5 NASB This One will be our peace. When the Assyrian invades our land, When he tramples on our citadels, Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.

“This one will be our peace.”
One of our prime examples of Jesus being that peace comes from the Prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah 9:6 KJV  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son, is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

If you are not convinced, then perhaps this will help.
Isaiah 14:2-3 KJV  And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.  (3)  And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,

Isaiah 14 sounds like so many of the passages we have already discussed, and yet having rest from your sorrows; from fear, and from bondage, sounds like peace to me.

Jeremiah, though, shows us the heart of the Father, and it is peace.
Jeremiah 29:11 KJV  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

“When the Assyrian invades our land,”
We are told, “This is a title of the Antichrist, who will come from the same general geographical territory.” The Ultimate Cross-Reference Treasury We are not looking for an Antichrist that comes out of Rome, as many have taught.

You should be asking yourself, where does this man come from?
The Assyrian territory ranged as far North as Armenia; West into Asia Minor; East through Iraq and Kuwait, and South into Egypt. All these nations are now Muslim or heavily influenced by Islam.
Speaking of a time to come the Psalmist had this to say.

Psalms 79:1 KJV  ... O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.

Although the psalmist called them heathens, the theme is the same. Whether they are called Assyrians or heathens, they are all still the nations or Gentiles to the Jew; and these, have defiled the holy temple and laid Jerusalem on heaps. Since there is no temple currently, it either talking about 70 AD or a future time, after the last temple is built. Jerusalem too was laid in heaps, however, under the leadership of Nehemiah, it was rebuilt. Will it be laid in heaps once again? Yes.

“When he tramples on our citadels,”

Revelation is speaking of a time in the near future when it speaks of the holy city being tread underfoot.
Revelation 11:2 KJV  But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

“Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.”
For myself, this makes no sense on a casual read, however, I give you this.

Eight. As seven is the symbol of a sacred whole, so eight, when united with it, is something beyond it (Pusey). The spiritual significance of the number eight often includes the thought of a new beginning (for the first day of the week is the eighth day, a new beginning), resurrection, and regeneration. The Ultimate Cross-Reference Treasury

Ecclesiastes also speaks in terms of sevens and eights; let's see if it helps our understanding.
Ecclesiastes 11:2 CJB  Divide your merchandise into seven or eight shares, since you don't know what disasters may come on the earth.

Micah 5:5b NLT conveys a rather negative image; does it make sense?

“When the Assyrians invade our land and break through our defenses, we will appoint seven rulers to watch over us, eight princes to lead us.”

Without additional pressures, it is much easier to make good decisions; having the enemy trample your land and sacred buildings does not help, nor is the time to make those decisions. So I have not answered the question of what the eight means, and may have only clouded the issue.

That new beginning addressed above in the comments of the UCRT, is the Millennial reign with Christ sitting on the throne as the head over all.


 I was trying to bring Micah 5:6 into this study as it fits with the context, but I was pushing seven pages. And, it was making me crazy, so next time. God Bless.