Corona Devo 1030

“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 of old, from ancient times.” 

(4) He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.  And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.  

(5) And he will be our peace...  ~Micah 5:2, 4-5  

Bethlehem was a small town, but it was the birth-city of something BIG.  But "big" doesn't (quite) do the description of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ justice, does it?  What word could?

Powerful.  Foretold.

Foretold?  Yes.  These verses in the Book of Micah were spoken (and written) over 700 years before Mary experienced the Immaculate Conception.   

Foretold.

The prophet Micah spoke of a ruler over Israel that would come, but whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2).

What?  

It seems a riddle unless we know the Bible.  That God...who formed the earth and its inhabitants (For this is what the Lord says—he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited—he says: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.  ~Isaiah 45:18)

That God made the world...that He began everything....This is the origins...from of old "part".  Micah foretold of the past.

Micah foretold of the future: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah...out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel (Micah 5:2).

And while this might seem a bit spiritually-intellectual for us...very theological, historical, even complicated... There is more to what was foretold by Micah, and it is for us today.  

Not just for ancient times, not just for the time of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem...but now...today, and it is a jackpot for us today.

Micah foretold also of the peace that Christ would bring us today.

He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.  And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.  (5)  And he will be our peace...  ~Micah 5:4-5  

There's the "jackpot" portion of this verse for me (us) today!  

  • The history and origins part blows my mind: “But you, Bethlehem...out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2).  Micah foretold the birth of Jesus WAAAAAYYYY before anyone could have "known" it (He!) was coming.
  • The on-par description (so many generations before Jesus was to be born) of Jesus as our shepherd and King is uncanny: "He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.  And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth" (Micah 5:4).
  •  But the "jackpot" portion of this verse for us today (in the chaos of today/in the lack-of-control that we have today/in the injustice of today/in the unrest of our minds and hearts today/in the "busy" of today...)...the jackpot that we receive from Jesus Christ today is...His...peace.  

 And he will be our peace...  ~Micah 5:5

Micah foretold of our peace to come from Christ.

Lord, help us to accept and relax in the truth that You stand and shepherd us today.

And he will be our peace...

You have us, Lord!   

And he will be our peace...

You will stand and shepherd us (Your flock) in the strength of the Lord today...  

And he will be our peace...

In the face of WHATEVER we are facing: You will stand and shepherd us (Your flock) in the majesty of the name of the Lord today...  

And he will be our peace...

And we can live securely today...  

And he will be our peace...


Jesus, for all of the worries and tangents that steal our security, we can stand on Your Word and Your promises today, which were foretold to us long ago, and we will live securely if we will choose You and accept Your peace today.  And then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.  

Almighty, all-knowing, all-powerful Lord, You will be our peace.  And You know (as foretold)--we need You.  Amen. (Micah 5:4-5)

He will stand and shepherd his flock... (5) And he will be our peace...  ~Micah 5:4-5  

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com

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