In our reading from the Book of Micah we step back in time before the prophets we have read so far in Advent. Micah is usually dated to the eighth century BCE (Mic. 1:1), about a century before Zephaniah and Jeremiah. No doubt Mic. 5:2-5a has been chosen for Advent 4 because of its mention of Bethlehem, which anticipates the story of Jesus’s birth in that town. We will read of that on Christmas Day (Luke 2: 4). Mic. 5:2 is also quoted in Matt. 2:6 where Bethlehem is identified with the prophecy of a coming Messiah. Micah is the only prophet to refer to Bethlehem.

Old Testament texts which can be considered ‘messianic’ in some way should not be ‘blindly’ co-opted to our later Christian understanding. We should give thought to their meaning for ancient Israel and for the living faith of modern Judaism. It can be helpful to enter into the spirit of Jewish rabbinic scholarship and explore the possibility of a range of interpretations of any one text, and today of Mic. 5:2-5a in particular.

The prophetic vision of Micah, an ordinary rural man from the small village of Moresheth in Judah (1:1), offers us a challenging and inspiring perspective. Like others around him, Micah saw the injustices of oppression by the rich (e.g. 2:1-2), the false prophets (3:5), the indifference of rulers (3:11), commercial malpractice (3:9) and the wickedness of priests (3:11). He also observed the hegemony and military might of the superpower of the region, Assyria. But in his visions, he opens up for us a ‘God’s-eye view’ of things that sees beyond the immediate human circumstances to a different future.

The first word of Mic. 5:2, ‘but’, indicates a transition from the earlier theme of judgment to that of salvation. This transition from judgment to salvation focuses on Bethlehem, with the prophet addressing the little town. This transition parallels two other points of transition in the Book of Micah, each introduced by a strong ‘but!’ These three points of transition are distributed across the three major sections of the book: one in Micah 1-3 which consists mostly of oracles of doom; one in the visions in chs 4-5; and one in chs 6-7, which cover issues of contention and conciliation. The transition points are in 3:8; 5:2 and 7:7. In 3:8 and 7:7 the prophet compares his own faith and possession of God’s spirit to those whom he critiques. These points of transition point to the deeper reality that with God there is hope for the unexpected reversal of circumstances.

Such a reversal of circumstances is a vital element in many Older Testament texts, especially in the prophets. With God, we encounter the unexpected and the paradoxical. Hope arises out of devastation. Suffering embodies salvation. This is a profound element of our faith which we share with our Jewish brothers and sisters, as we all look with hope for the advent of God. In preaching in Advent, we may want to consider what this cycle of judgment and salvation means in our present world. How can we maintain a sense of divine irony and reversal when we preach of hope and waiting in Advent season?

The new circumstances Micah sees are linked to God’s coming ruler (5:2). The Hebrew word for ‘one who is to rule’ (moshel) does not speak so much of dominion or of control as of wise declaration. Elsewhere the same root is used for the word ‘proverb’ (mashal). Surprisingly, and in keeping with a sense of divine irony, the new ruler will arise from one of the least of the clans of Israel. The ruler’s origin in Bethlehem evokes thoughts of King David (cf. 1 Sam. 16:1) whose dynasty ruled over Jerusalem and Judah for almost 500 years. However, David is not identified as this ruler in Micah, nor does Micah refer explicitly to the ‘anointed’, i.e. the messiah. While Matthew quotes this text reasonably faithfully (Matt. 2:6), John 7:42 reveals another Jewish reading and tradition that clearly brought the Micah reading together with a reference to a Davidic messiah.

Mic. 5:3 speaks of a woman in labour, a theme found also in Isa. 7:14 and 9:6 and elsewhere. This reference to labour and the birth process echoes the reference in Mic. 4:9-10, but differs from that passage which envisages ‘the pains’ of exile to Babylon. There is no reference to pain in 5:3, and the emphasis seems to be upon the timing and expectation of a birth. There is an eschatological allusion implicit in this reference, as in other prophetic books. The phrases ‘the time’ (Mic. 5:3) and the more common ‘that day’ (e.g. Mic. 4:1, 6; 5:10, 7:11 etc.) direct our thoughts not so much to a particular time of divine intervention, but to hope in the final victory of a loving God.

The ruler will be a majestic figure and shepherd-like (5:4) but he is identified as ‘the man of peace’ (v. 5). The title becomes more explicit later in Isa. 52:7: ‘the one who announces peace’. Micah also envisions a universal rule: ‘to the ends of the earth’. (See also Isa. 45:22; Jer. 16:19). This raises the interesting question of how to make sense of the reign of God in a world where God does not rule. What peace can we preach?

The return of the people of Judah from captivity in Babylon is a major theme in later prophets. But Micah even touches on this in 5:3, where he refers to the return of the people of the northern kingdom, Israel, which was captured almost 140 years before Judah and Jerusalem were overcome by the later Babylonians. This theme of reconciliation in Micah is one that we as Christians understand in the context of the reconciling Christ who offers unity to people divided in space and time. It is also a hope which we share with Jews, who in their own way await the coming Messiah.

Micah is one of the few prophets who is mentioned elsewhere in the Older Testament (cf. Jer. 26:18, quoting Mic. 3:12). There we find some leaders of Judah with the viewpoint that, as a result of Micah’s prophecy, Jerusalem was spared at the time Samaria fell to the Assyrians. The psalm for Advent 4 laments this fall of Samaria (Ps. 80:2) and, like Micah, affirms the shepherd care of the God of Israel. The Gospel (Luke 1:39-55) speaks of the blessing of the baby conceived in Mary. In that text, Christians see evidence of the timely advent of God of which Micah first spoke.

Return to OT Lectionary Reading