Our Constant Star: Day 16

Read & Journal

Read Micah 5:1-5. Take some time to journal and reflect on what you’ve read. 

• What do these verses teach you about Jesus? Add them to your growing list in your journal. 

• Judging from the descriptions and phrases used in this passage, what do you think the situation was like in Judah and Israel at the time Micah was prophesying? 

• Reread verse 2. How did Micah point to the Messiah? What do we learn about Jesus in this verse? 

• Bethlehem’s most famous resident was David, a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14) and the king whose line God has promised would also sit on the throne (2 Samuel 7:11-16). Why is it important that the Messiah would be born there too? 

• Judging from the beginning of verse 3, was Israel going to win the battle Micah was prophesying about? Why or why not? 

• Compare and contrast the chaos of verse 1 to the descriptions found in verses 3-5. How are they different? 

• How has Jesus been your peace? Think of specific ways Jesus has created wholeness, completeness and security in your life. Journal your prayer of thanks. 

Ponder

For from the Father's throne You came,

His banished children to reclaim

What’s your definition of peace? Is it a sense of calm? An absence of conflict? Freedom from distractions or war? Go ahead, write your definition in your journal. 

You might be surprised that while the biblical definition of peace can and does encompass all of those meanings, the word is more generally focused on a sense of wholeness, completeness and security. In Scripture, peace isn’t necessarily an emotion, but an overall sense of wellbeing. It’s the idea of myriad parts being brought back together, like the scattered pieces of a puzzle forming the whole, and the world being set to rights. 

The passage we read today features Micah 5:2, a Messianic prophecy that points to Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. The mention of Bethlehem, also known as the City of David, would have piqued the interest of Micah’s original audience. The prophecy, it seems, is that another David is coming to rule—and this king is rooted “in the Israelite monarchy if not all the way back to eternity.”1  

While all hope is lost for Israel in Micah’s time (v. 3), the prophet goes on to describe the ruler’s reign. The Messiah will shepherd his people (v.4); he will allow them to live securely (v. 4); and his greatness will extend to the ends of the earth (v. 4). He will be their peace (v. 5). 

The peace Jesus the Messiah brought into the world (and into our lives) isn’t just an outward sense of calm or the absence of conflict. In fact, Scripture seems pretty clear that we will face suffering and hardship as followers of Christ. The peace Jesus gives us is first about wholeness. He wants to restore the broken relationship between us and God, and only Jesus, the only sinless one, can do that. Our sin oppresses and binds, but Jesus invites us to wholeness and freedom. While sin will ultimately destroy us, Jesus calls us to be restored—and that restoration can only be found in Him. 

Long before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Micah was prophesying about him, telling us of a ruler from the line of David who would set the world to rights. The Messiah would bring all the scattered pieces back together, reclaiming his people. In him, his people would be safe and secure, cared for gently as a shepherd cares for his sheep. 

In Jesus, all who are far away have been brought near (Eph. 2:13). Rest in his peace today. 

Source: Trent C. Butler, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, ed. Max Anders, vol. 19, Holman Old Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2005), 336.