Major Truths From Minor Prophets: Jesus Was Expected

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old from ancient times.

Micah 5:2

What a privilege Micah was given. Tucked back in the fifth chapter of this little book is the prophecy telling the birthplace of Jesus. We usually think of Isaiah and Daniel when we think of the prophecies of the coming Messiah. Here we have a major truth from a minor prophet.

Jesus’ family lived in the little village of Nazareth in Galilee. How could He be born in Bethlehem? It was all about taxes. Each family went to his own town to register. Joseph’s lineage was from the tribe of Judah, so he went to Bethlehem, the town of David, in Judea.

I am so glad that God included Jesus’ birthplace in the many Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah. When we sing Oh Little Town of Bethlehem ,we know that Micah told about it hundreds of years before Christ was born.

In this one verse Micah also gave us another great truth. He told us that the Messiah’s origins are from old. Jesus didn’t come into existence as a little babe in a manger. He was from the beginning. God’s Word tells us that in other places.

 On the sixth day of creation God was ready to create man. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground) (Genesis 1:26).

Who was the us and our? Genesis 1:2 reveals one of them.  Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

John begins his gospel by telling us about the other us and our. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning (John 1:1).That is Jesus.

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have always been. They were at creation and they will always be. What a great truth. The Trinity is not an easy concept to understand. As a Christian I have grown to know them better from studying the Bible and learning of their special tasks.

A simple way for me to explain a complicated concept is to say that God the Father could not look on sin. He is holy. He sent His only Son to Earth to give His life as a sacrifice for the sins of all men. When Jesus arose and went back to Heaven, God sent His Spirit to live in the hearts of every Christian. Thus you have the three in one in a nutshell. Praise God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Dear Father, Thank You for the two great truths from this Minor Prophet.

Janice Yandell