Micah 5:6, they never overcame the nations they were told to.

As I tried to get through Micah 5:4-6 I realized that I could not do this section justice in a short essay, and, when I got to verse 6, I was stymied by the phrase "they shall waste the land of Assyria." We have seen Israel since they became a nation, withstand attacks from Egypt Syria, and Jordan during the six-day war of 1967. I think it is safe to say that we have never seen Israel conquering any nations in our lifetimes. And, if you want to get biblical about this, they never overcame the nations they were told to, all those years ago. So why would things change now? I am not saying this to be derogatory, but I am trying to understand what God, through His word, is trying to tell us.
I am an advocate, and a believer in the idea that all this prophecy is understandable. If I can help in that understanding, then so be it.

Previously we were looking at:
Micah 5:3-5 (NLT)  The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies until the woman in labor gives birth. Then, at last, his fellow countrymen will return from exile to their own land.  (4)  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.  (5)  And he will be the source of peace. 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.

In verses 3-5 we learned that -

• “Israel will be abandoned to their enemies until the woman in labor gives birth.” For a similar verse we can look to the Revelation, and there the woman is Israel. The woman gives birth to two things: the nation, and the Messiah (although Israel still does not accept that.)
• We are told that after this birth, “his fellow countrymen will return from exile to their own land.” Since Israel became a nation. there has a steady influx of Jews returning to Israel.

Verse 4 is where things begin to get obscure. Since the NASB gives me a more defined picture, that is what I will use here.

• “And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the LORD.” Since I said Israel gives birth to two things, it should be clear at this point, that the reference is Yeshua, the Messiah. Ezekiel 37:24 NASB "My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd, and they will walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them. King David did reign, but Israel, or technically Judah, as for many years it was a split kingdom, did not wholeheartedly walk in God's ordinances, nor keep His commandments. Since they are still living like this today; and, Yeshua is not their shepherd. Then perhaps this reference is speaking of a future time. We see such a time when we look at the millennial reign. If we do not see Yeshua shepherding His flock, it is not for lack of effort.

• “Then his people will live there undisturbed, for he will be highly honored around the world.” NLT Israel, thinks they are safe, but they are not; and, Jesus, is not highly honored.

• “ And he will be the source of peace. When the Assyrians invade our land and break through our defenses.” First, the Assyrians, one of the earliest large scale entities to consume a continent, ranged from present-day Armenia in the North; West through Asia Minor; East into modern day Kuwait, and South through Egypt. That range makes any of the current Muslim nations encompassing the Mediterranean a contender to be the Assyrian. In my book, Recep Principe Erdoğan, the President of Turkey, is a front runner, and we see someone who looks fits that description when we read Ezekiel 38 and 39.

Because there are other possibilities, let's examine another.
The prophecies of Ezekiel mention the destruction of Egypt and it uses the Tower of Syene in chapters 29 and 30 as a landmark. That tower is an aspect of the Aswan Dam and did not exist until 1970. The dam was built with the assistance of the Russians who bragged of its bunker-like qualities. They openly stated that only a nuclear weapon could take down the dam. Israel's former defense minister has also remarked that a nuclear weapon would be the best option if they had to strike the dam in a retaliatory move against Egypt since Egypt could likewise be deemed the Assyrian. Suddenly Egypt has been thrust into my spotlight, and I must admit, I had previously never heard anyone talk about this event and the importance of this tower.

• “we will appoint seven rulers to watch over us, eight princes to lead us.” 

One of the techniques in interpreting scripture is to let scripture explain itself. So, what do we have that might explain this phrase?

Ecclesiastes 11:2 NET. Divide your merchandise among seven or even eight investments, for you do not know what calamity may happen on earth.

While Ecclesiastes is sound wisdom, it does not seem so profound when you are under attack and the enemy is wreaking havoc in the courts of your temples. So I am not sure this applies. You have to consider the number eight to get a substantial answer.

“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

Maybe what we should be considering when it comes to rulers watching over us is the Millennial reign. We know that there will be peace, security, and judges ruling over the earth.

Now, with all that being said let's look at Micah 5:6.

Micah 5:6 KJV  And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he comes into our land, and when he treads within our borders.

Since Assyria is non-existent as a nation, then the Assyrian, as represented here, has to be ancestral or symbolic; and, since we have covered the territorial range of the Assyrians, we know that he can come from one of many places, so let's move forward.

• “And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof.”

Finis Jennings Dake's commentary refers to this “they” as: “Whoever they are.” Obviously, that doesn't help me.
J Vernon McGee adds: “the confederacy of nations which will come against Israel.” He feels that Israel will repulse this battle and then take the battle back into the Assyrians land. But as I noted, Israel has not conquered any nations lately, so why start now?

Personally, what I see is commentators attributing this sentence to foolish ideas, or they are merely parroting each other as they try to describe Israel eliminating an aggressor nation, of which they have many.

J Vernon McGee may have the more correct assumption when he calls these nations a confederation. This confederation idea proves itself out when you look at the Muslim countries of the Middle East. A short list of those countries: Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the Northern African Nations, (and Russia, which we don't view as a Muslim nation.) All of these, in a confederation, surround Israel.

The prophet Daniel may have given us an explanation when he described the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar's dream statue.
Daniel 2:41,43 KJV  And whereas thou saw the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou saw the iron mixed with miry clay. (43) And whereas thou saw iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

The word mixed is the Hebrew word ‛ărab. What a coincidence as Genesis 16 in speaking of Ishmael and his offspring, tells us:
Genesis 16:12 NLT  This son of yours (Ishmael) will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.”

Hopefully, you got the point and can see that the potentialities exist for a Turkish ally to turn against them, even if they too are Muslims. If you have an understanding of Islam, then you know there are many sects within the ideology, and none of them get along. The two major factions are Sunni and Shiite, and they are perpetually destroying each other. They do, however, have a somewhat united goal of obliterating the little Satan, Israel, and the big Satan, the United States. Could it be that this turning against the land of the Assyrian, is strictly an Islamic venture? There are possibilities.

• “thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he comes into our land, and when he treads within our borders.”

 Contrary to popular opinion I do not see Israel getting pulled out of this morass that is coming their way. Numerous passages indicate that an Assyrian leader will be killed on the mountains of Israel; however, this terminology also applies to Gog of Magog, which we see in Ezekiel 38,39. In that story, God sends a firestorm upon Gog, his troops, his land, and all the Coastal regions. Some see this firestorm as utter destruction, much like Sodom and Gomorrah; apparently, that is not the case. Besides, I know this event with Gog (a leader within Magog,) as an event that happens either right before the catching away of the Church, or immediately after; after all, there is a temple to build and a Mosque in the way. What does the destruction of Gog do to the idea that the Assyrian and the Antichrist are the same person? The only way that theory can work is if we are talking about a demonic (fallen angel,) spirit that is overtaking several human beings contiguously. Most likely Gog is not the Antichrist, however, Recep Principe Erdoğan is a strong contender for either of those roles. It has been proven that is hard to lead a dominating force against Israel after your dead.

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.