He Shall Stand and Feed Micah 5:4

As Micah continued his discourse concerning the LORD's dealings with Israel, he shared concerning the birthplace of the Messiah. “Bethlehem” was to be where He would be born, and the effect of it would be that Israel would be dispersed after He was smitten “with a rod upon his cheek”. This “ruler in Israel” was promised to come, and in chapter five and verse four of his prophesy Micah shares how He will “stand and feed” when He comes to reign. We read:

And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.

The verse begins, “And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God;” As a continuation of his discourse on the Messiah, Micah employs the word “And” and declares, “he shall stand” which means “set, appoint, ordain and establish” “and feed” or “pasture, tend, graze” “in the strength of the LORD” which refers to “the might of Yehovah or Jehovah”. He will not be as an ordinary man, but will set forth an order and provision that is backed by the LORD's strength rather than man's. Micah continued to describe Him by adding, “in the majesty” or “exaltation, pride and excellence” “of the name” or “reputation, fame and glory” “of the LORD” which refers to “Yehovah or Jehovah” “his God”. Rather than using the usual phrase “our God”, Micah declared the Messiah to have “his God” which literally means “a oneness in relationship”.

The verse continues, “and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.” Micah went on to say, “and they shall abide” which refers to “the returning remnant of Israel”, and the reason they shall be so is because, “for now shall he be great” or “grow, become great or important, promote, make powerful, praise, magnify, and do great things” “unto the ends” or “finality and ceasing” “of the earth” or “land”. In other words, the “remnant of Israel” shall be provided for and protected because the glory and greatness of the Messiah shall spread throughout the entire Earth, and his reign will last until the Earth ceases to exist.

When we take a few moments to reflect upon Micah's description of the Messiah, we may be inclined to desire that He return to the Earth today. We can only imagine a time when the LORD is in charge, and all the Earth not only knows His glory, but is subject to His reign. Jesus Christ of Nazareth was declared to be the Messiah, smitten by “a rod on the cheek” in the crucifixion”, killed, buried and raised to life again, and ascended to His Father in Heaven. The promise given by angels when He left was that He would return again, and this time He will rule and reign on the Earth. In other words, He will “stand and feed”, and all the world shall be subject unto Him. May the LORD help us to realize the significance of Micah's words, and may we live in righteousness as we patiently wait for His return.

Next time Micah shares how this man shall “be the peace”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.