Micah 5

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

A Prediction of the Birthplace of the Messiah

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BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem at His first coming.

  2. The Messiah will deliver Israel at His second coming.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Have you received the bread from Bethlehem?

QUESTIONS

  1. Read the quote in Matthew 2:6. Where is this found in the Old Testament?

  2. By whom was this prophecy quoted in Matthew 2:6, and for what reason?

  3. What is the meaning of the phrase, “They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek?” (Micah 5:1)

  4. Who was the judge of Israel in this passage? How was he stricken with a rod on the cheek?

  5. When the Lord returns, He will deliver Israel in four different ways. List these ways.

  6. What is the meaning of the name of Bethlehem?

ANSWERS

  1. Micah 5:2.

  2. It was quoted by the chief priests and scribes to Herod in reference to the request of the wise men as to where the king of the Jews was born. Herod relayed this message to the wise men and they went and found the Lord in Bethlehem.

  3. It is a sign of greatest humiliation.

  4. King Zedekiah, the last king of Judah. The Babylonians killed King Zedekiah’s sons before his very eyes, and then they blinded him and took him as a prisoner to Babylon. Read about this in 2 Kings 25.

  5. The Lord will deliver Israel from the the coming Assyrian

  6. Bethlehem means house of bread.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Bethlehem was a small, unremarkable town, yet from it came the Messiah.  God delights in using the obscure—people or places—for His glory.  Do you feel small or insignificant?  If you yield yourself to Him, He can accomplish great things through you.

  2. “…He shall give them up until…” (Micah 5:3; see also Romans 11). Israel has been temporarily set aside while the Gentiles share in God’s favor. How should this reality shape the way we view God’s plan for both Jews and Gentiles today—and what does it challenge us to do in our own faith and witness?

CHALLENGE

  1. Matthew 2:6 quotes Micah 5:2, showing that the chief priests and scribes knew God’s Word but did nothing with it.  The wise men, however, believed and acted on it—and they found the Lord.  Will you go beyond simply knowing God’s Word?  Will you believe it, act on it, and live by it this week so that you can experience His presence in a deeper, more personal way?

KEY VERSES

  • “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose going forth are from of old, from everlasting.” Micah 5:2

  • “Then the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst…” Micah 5:7

  • “You shall no more worship the work of your hands…” Micah 5:13



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