A Christmas Peace Worth Waiting For Series

Merry Christmas to you all. I look forward to seeing a lot of our church family during tonight’s three Christmas Eve services. Take a Bible and find Micah 5 (page 989 in pew Bible) and Matthew 2. You could call our series Christmas in the Old Testament. Centuries before Mary and Joseph, the Wise Men, or the Shepherds … the story of Christmas was written across the pages of the Bible. Our story takes place seven centuries before the appearance of Jesus at Bethlehem. Bethlehem is living proof that, indeed, big things do come in small packages.

Today’s Scripture

“Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek. 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. 3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. 4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. 5 And he shall be their peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men; 6 they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod at its entrances; and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian when he comes into our land and treads within our border.” (Micah 5:1–6)

Note: “Ephrathah” is an older name for Bethlehem that dates back to Genesis 35:19 and Jacob’s wife, Rachel.

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel’” (Matthew 2:1–6).

This passage is famous because of the prediction of Bethlehem. The amazing thing about Micah is that he reasserts the certainty of this promise not at a time when Israel is rising to power but at a time when Israel is sinking toward oblivion.

Sermon Preview

1) A Bright Light for a Dark Time; 2) A Small Town for a Great King, and 3) a Big Head for a Small Heart

1. A Bright Light for a Dark Time

Deliverance comes at what seems to be the last possible moment: “Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek” (Micah 5:1). The prophet predicts a cataclysmic event known to historians as Babylon’s invasion & destruction of Judah in 586 BC. Look over to where you’ll find even more specific predictions: “Now why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished, that pain seized you like a woman in labor? 10 Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you shall go out from the city and dwell in the open country; you shall go to Babylon. There you shall be rescued; there the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies” (Micah 4:9–10). Babylon was about to bulldoze the nation of Israel in a little more than a century from Micah’s writing. In fact, at the end of verse one, God predicts that “with a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek” (Micah 5:1b). And that is exactly what took place when the last king of Judah, Zedekiah, was led off in chains only to die in prison. Hope was a rare commodity for God’s people as doom was looming on the horizon. God seems to wait until the darkest time to bring His brightest light. God doesn’t hit a grand slam in the middle of the third inning, for He often loves to wait until the bottom of the ninth with two outs. It seems as if all light is extinguished before God brings by His floodlight of hope. Deliverance comes at what seems to be the last possible moment. Deliverance comes when most think it is too late.