Bible Commentaries
Micah 5

Verse 1

The Siege (5:1)

One obscure verse depicts the moment of defeat at the end of a siege. Whether the city concerned is Samaria (in 722 B.C.) or Jerusalem (as perhaps anticipated for 701 B.C. by Micah, or as actually realized in 587 B.C.) cannot be determined. The reference to the "ruler" or judge of Israel suggests the Northern Kingdom, though the term "Israel" may refer to what remained of the once united kingdom in later periods.

The verse serves as a transition from the sufferings of siege and defeat found in the latter part of chapter 4 to the topic of leadership with which chapter 5 will be concerned. In the transitional verse the people are in dire straits; they have not been able to "arise and thresh" their enemies. Instead their leader, here seen as one of the ancient judges, is powerless (like Samson?) to defend them against the foe.

Verses 2-4

Promises of Leadership and Purifying Activity (5:2-15)

The Leader from Bethlehem (5:2-4)

Having introduced the subject of leadership, to which he has not previously referred, the editor of the Book of Micah now inserts a fragment of prophecy regarding "one who is to be ruler in Israel." The fragment points to the origin of the expected ruler, and then indicates the nature of the leadership he will provide. Like the other fragments which make up this section of the book, it is not easy to date precisely, and it’s very ambiguity serves to make possible its attachment to more than one historical setting. (For its use in the New Testament see Matthew 2:6 and John 7:42.)

What is said is clear enough. Bethlehem of the district of Ephrathah, the home of Ruth’s first husband (Ruth 4:11), is addressed as little among the clans of Judah and is told that a ruler for Israel will arise from her midst. This ruler is from ancient times; thus the fragment indicates the depth of the historical perspective, pointing to the time of the origins of the dynasty of David. In this ambiguous way the prophecy refers to the whole dynasty of David from David himself to the scion of the moment or of the future.

The moment of particular concern in the prophecy is a time of distress when the people as a whole are awaiting deliverance (thus is to be understood the figure of the woman in travail). A part of the people have become separated from the rest, and the end of the period of distress appears to coincide with an anticipated reunion of the separated brothers. Locating such a moment in Hebrew history with any certainty is not easy. The editor evidently considered that it referred to the time of Micah, and thus that it concerned the division between northern and southern tribes and a reunion which was possibly expected after the fall of Samaria during the distress under Assyrian pressure on Judah. It could almost as well apply to a return of exiles to Jerusalem. Or it may have originated even earlier in the period, when the line of David was reinstated on the throne of Jerusalem under Joash about 837 B.C.

Whatever the setting from which the prophecy actually arose, its important feature is the promise of leadership for the people. The Davidic ruler will arise to feed his flock, that is, to be their leader in international and internal political life. Only through the "strength of the Lord" and "in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God" will he be able to accomplish his work of establishing peace and security for his people. He is God’s earthly deputy, exalted to greatness because he represents God.

Prophecies such as this one formed the ground from which arose the postexilic and pre-Christian Messianic hope. Originally concerned with some specific historical situation from which deliverance by a great leader was expected, these prophecies came to be reinterpreted for new crises, and ultimately they were understood as referring to a great Anointed Deliverer, the Messiah.

Here the accomplishment of deliverance is seen as the work of a descendant of David who will serve his people as a shepherd, strengthened by the power and name of the Lord. Out of the suffering of a period of distress, as a result of the leadership he will provide, the people will come to security. Where the ancient Hebrew saw this security largely in terms of material blessing, the New Testament would interpret it mainly as a spiritual blessing, but for both the security would be the work of God’s Anointed, the good shepherd, now identified as Jesus of Nazareth.

Verses 5-6

Deliverance from Assyria (5:5-6)

In these two verses there appears a declaration regarding deliverance from Assyria under the leadership of "seven shepherds and eight princes of men." Taken literally, "the Assyrian" would refer to the invaders of Micah’s time, but the term may be a later cryptic name for "Persians." Neither the seven shepherds nor the eight princes can be identified; the combination may simply represent a succession of family leaders. What is important is the declaration that deliverance from the invader will be accomplished by leaders raised up in the midst of God’s people.

As in the preceding section, the religious aspect of leadership for the people of God is eclipsed by attention to the political and practical side. It is the drawn swords of men leading the people which are central. Almost inevitably when the prophets centered attention on the practical question of how God would deliver his people, they thought in terms of military victories under heroic leaders. Thus was prepared the soil of the Messianic ideal which led many of the people of Jesus’ day to expect him to be a military leader against the Romans.

Verses 7-9

The Remnant Among the Nations (5:7-9)

A brief fragment centering around two figures of speech characterizes the remnant of Jacob as it exists scattered among the nations.

The Remnant will be like the dew and like showers. These come at God’s command, and cannot be stopped by men — even if harvest is delayed or seed is not in the soil. The prophetic figure may easily be extended to suggest the fertilizing effect of the Remnant’s presence among the nations or the quiet way in which the scattering of Jews throughout the world took place, but primary emphasis is on the will of God which sent the Remnant abroad among the nations.

Further, the Remnant will be like a lion among the other animals, both the wild and the domesticated. As the lion tears in pieces, "and there is none to deliver," so the Remnant, scattered among the nations, will triumph over all adversaries. Again the editor has centered on the means by which the vindication of God’s people will take place, and has thus expressed the common desire for vengeance. The distant goal of a world at peace has receded into the background, and attention now centers on the obstacles in the way, and upon possible means of overcoming these obstacles.

A Christian may properly interpret the fragment to emphasize the natural quietness and the powerful effect of the Church scattered among the nations of the world. Both figures emphasize aspects of God’s ways of working out his will.

Verses 10-15

Purification (5:10-15)

The final fragment of chapter 5 has very little connection with the rest of the chapter. If it has any connection it is with the end of the preceding section where the term "cut off" appears. Working from this link the editor uses the fragment to shift attention from the destruction of the enemies of the people of God to the purification of the people. The fragment he inserts at this point leads back to the original theme of Micah’s work, God’s controversy with his own people. The date of this fragment is exceedingly difficult to determine, and it may well be the work of Micah himself, though it lacks the social and moral note of the earlier chapters of the book and would thus represent a phase of Micah’s prophetic work not otherwise recorded. The emphasis on removing idolatrous practices makes it appear to be earlier than the Exile.

Whatever the precise date of the fragment, its theme of purification is quite clear. In that expected, but here undefined, "day of the Lord" to which most of the prophetic books make some references, the Lord will cut off certain specific focal points of evil in the land: horses and chariots, cities and strongholds, sorceries (for sorcerers) and soothsayers, images and pillars, and the Asherim. The association of horses and chariots with idolatry (paralleled in Isaiah 2:7) is enigmatic: are these associated directly with pagan sun worship (as in 2 Kings 23:11), or was the development of chariotry in Judah an economic and social burden resented by the lower classes? Or did the horses and chariots represent a sort of spiritualized idolatry like the modem dependence on large standing armies or the possession of world-dominating fleets of bombers or submarines armed with the weapons of mass extinction? Whatever the significance of the horses and chariots, the prophetic oracle anticipates their complete removal, along with the more conventional forms of idolatry current in the last century of Judah’s independent existence.

In addition, an editor assures the readers of the fragment that all nations will likewise feel the wrath and vengeance of God for their disobedience (Micah 5:15). Purification must come to Judah, but it will also reach to all the nations. Of what elements of idolatry should modern nations be purified?