The paradox of Micah’s message of judgment and exile is that it was meant to prepare the people for the message of salvation and restoration (Mic. 4:1-13). In this prediction of restoration, the Lord prophesied of peace and prosperity (Mic. 4:3-4). In order for the people to come to a place of understanding their need for the saving grace of God, they needed to be brought to a place of brokenness over their sin.

In December 1865, the Rev. Philipps Brooks travelled to the land of Israel. As he stood and overlooked the town of Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, Brooks was so moved by what he saw that he penned the words of the celebrated Christmas hymn, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Writing home to his congregation about this experience, Brooks said,

“Last Sunday morning we attended service…After an early dinner, took our horses and rode to Bethlehem. It was only about two hours when we came to the town, situated on an eastern ridge of a range of hills, surrounded by its terraced gardens…Before dark, we rode out of town to the field where they say the shepherds saw the star. It is a fenced piece of ground with a cave in it…in which, strangely enough, they put the shepherds…somewhere in those fields we rode through the shepherds must have been, and in the same fields the story of Ruth and Boaz must belong. As we passed, the shepherds were still ‘keeping watch over their flocks,’ or leading them home to fold.”

The prophecy regarding the birthplace of the Savior comes out of the book of Micah—the eighth century prophet of Israel. This prophecy was so well-known among covenant people that when Herod inquired about where the Christ was to be born, the chief priests and the scribes instantaneously directed him to Micah 5:2, saying,

“In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

who will shepherd my people Israel’” (Matt. 2:4-6).

Although the religious leaders in Israel could quickly identify this prophecy, they failed to realize its spiritual fulfillment in Jesus at the time of His birth. Only the magi went to Bethlehem to seek out the child and to worship him. The original context of this messianic predication sheds light on the meaning of the prophecy as well as on the religious leaders’ antagonism to the one in whom it would be fulfilled.

A contemporary of the prophet Isaiah, Micah prophesied during the reign of “Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah” (Mic. 1:1). The Lord gave Micah a message of the impending judgment of His people.

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