November 3

Micah 5
Micah switches gears back to the future. In chapter 4 we began looking at the Millennium. Then he digresses back to the great battle which will usher in the Messianic kingdom where the nations that oppose the Messiah are crushed. Then in 5:1 he shifts further back to the future when Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem and finally strikes Zedekiah with a rod bringing a permanent end to the line of kings until the Messiah would appear. But He leaves Judah with hope. He catapults back to the future 582 years. Out of little Bethlehem, the birth place of David and only five miles from the temple in Jerusalem, he announces the birth of last and great ruler. Out of you Bethlehem, a little insignificant town, a town so small that it is not listed in the list of cities conquered by Joshua. Its only significance is that when the nation was on the verge of subjugation to the Philistines a young man came forth to lead the nation into victory and lead the nation to the status of a world power of the time. But that was the past. Micah takes us back to the future when the world is on the brink of being destroyed by those who follow the powers of darkness. A ruler will step forth from Bethlehem, and he will intervene.
I felt compelled to consult a commentary on this passage and came across something of great interest to me. This phrase, ”Yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel,” what does it mean, “shall come forth to Me?” Listen to this from the commentary:
Willis, while maintaining the MT, offers an unusual interpretation based on parallels: “From you [a city] will come to me [a person],” meaning that the Messiah will come out of Bethlehem as an inferior king to meet Yahweh, his superior king, in order to submit himself to him. Renaud (La Formation, p. 224) objects that, among other arguments, all of Willis’s invoked parallels are located in a clear context of surrender, whereas here the context is one of victory, not surrender. Besides, none of the parallels use “l.” (to)
I suggest that they are both correct as long as we understand that the words ‘inferior’ and ‘superior’ do not refer to quality of person but to the concept of submission. The result would be that unlike other kings of Judah, the Messiah, Jesus, comes out of Bethlehem to submit Himself to the will of the Lord which results in overwhelming victory! Thus Willis is correct in terms of submission, and Renaud is correct in terms of victory. Jesus’ path to victory is through submission to the Father.
This one who submits to the Father is the One who is from everlasting. Immediately the words of Moses in Psalm 90:2, “Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” He who submits to God the Father is God, God the Son! Clearly this is one of the mysteries of the Universe! God the Son eternally submits to the will of the Father, God the Holy Spirit eternally submits to God the Son and God the Father. The love of the Son for the Father is proven by His submission to His will. The love of the Holy Spirit for the Father and the Son is proven by His submission to their will. The love of God the Father for God the Son is proven by His exaltation to His right hand, being given a name that is above all names and given as His inheritance those for whom He died. What great glory is seen in this eternal love affair, of which He has made us part!
This all sounds very cerebral, but there is a very practical side to this. Jesus’ submission is plastered throughout the New Testament. He Himself said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be serve, but serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Who was He serving? Us? Yes. The Father? Yes. He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does.” His submission was moment by moment and dependent upon the Father. His eyes were clearly fixed upon what the Father was doing.
His evening with the disciples before His crucifixion was filled with this, “So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” What was He doing? He was cleaning them. He was talking about spiritual cleansing. Jesus’ death brought the cleansing that they needed. One among them was not clean, Judas. Did Jesus wash Judas’ feet? Yep. He served the one whom He knew would betray Him. The others were clean, except. Except what? Except the dirt that had come upon them from living their daily life. Think spiritually.
How do we clean each other’s feet? Think spiritually. If cleaning each other’s feet is at all possible, it is only possible if we are in total submission to the Lord Jesus Christ and to each other. What does that look like? It looks like Jesus
Philippians 2:1-111 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Does this look anything like our church, or the church in America? Where is the submission to one another? We approach church from a consumerism mentality. Does this church meet my needs or my family’s needs? Oh, I will take this entrée from this church, this dessert from this church, this fruit from that church. But am I committed to the people of this congregation? What if this congregation does not have a menu which I like? If they do not, then I will just go to one that has the right menu. Lord forbid if someone should point out my sin! If they do, then I’ll just go to another congregation. Am lowly minded enough that if my brother points out my sin, I won’t be defensive? Will I truly consider his point? Submission to one another is a forgotten concept much less work.
Yet, this is the glory of Jesus. He submitted to the Father. He calls us to do the same and to submit to each other, and in so doing, we reflect His glory. Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john