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Micah foretold the destruction of the armies of the Assyrians, which would have dealt a severe blow to Israel’s king (v.1). Then he immediately used the long-range telescope of God to state that Messiah was to come from the family and ancestral village of David.
Although it was small in comparison to the clans of Judah, Bethlehem, “house of bread,” and Ephrathah “fruitfulness,” was located five miles south of Jerusalem and would be an ideal place for Messiah to be born in God’s providential care (v.2). To this place wise men from the East would travel some seven hundred years later to find and see God’s Gift to humankind (Mt 2:1-7).
Without a king in the suffering that was to occur, Judah was told that the Messiah King as a shepherd over his flock would rule with strength and majesty in peace to the ends of the earth (v.4). The standing position of the Shepherd speaks of “the readiness, cheerfulness, and stability of the Christ, his government, and kingdom. His church, made up of converted Jews and Gentiles, shall continue; the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. For the church is so redeemed and established that Christ the Messiah might be glorified throughout the world” (Wesley, 384). The figure of seven shepherds and eight leaders of men carry the significance of an all-sufficient and more than adequate provision for every need (vv.5-6).
The king will be more than a match for Israel’s dreaded enemies, with a focus on the Assyrians. The Lord’s redeemed remnant of Jacob will be like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass (v.7). The remnant of Jacob will be like a lion among the beasts . . . like a young lion among flocks of sheep (v.8).
Micah speaks for Jehovah four times in rapid succession with the words “I will destroy your horses,”...“the cities,”...“your witchcraft,”...“your carved images,” and then adds that God will uproot the symbols of Asherah and take vengeance on the nations that have disobeyed him (vv.10-15).