Micah 5:2 -
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.
O little town of Bethlehem, you are the chosen place! It’s an insignificant place, a place not in any tourist guidebooks of the ancient world. And yet this is the place where God chose to bring forth the ruler of Israel, the king who would sit on David’s throne. It fits into the plan of Christ’s meekness, his upbringing in a poor family, born of a nobody in a nothing town. He wouldn’t come triumphantly, but with a childhood that matched his eternal purpose - to die as a substitute for sinners. When he would enter into Jerusalem in that final week of his life, he would do so with tremendous irony. Kings entered into cities on war horses, mighty steeds where patrons could look up at them towards the skies. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, a donkey that had never been ridden on before.
Micah writes the prophecy about 400 years before the birth of Jesus - God is carrying out his plan, a plan that goes all the way back to Genesis 3:15 - there will be an answer to sin, and he will be the perfect, spotless lamb, whose whole purpose would be to be the sacrifice. Micah acknowledges the length and depth of this plan when he says “whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” But it’s also true of Jesus, the eternal Son of God, he was with God in creation (John 1); he would make the wood for the trough that he would be born in, he would make the wood for the cross he would die on - and he did it all willingly for you, so that you could be saved and spend eternity with him.
Hymn for Reflection: Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Here’s a Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsinjDvpKQY