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When You’re Down to Nothing, God is Up to Something

December 15, 2019

Scripture: Micah 5:1-6

I. God is up to sending Jesus to rule on your behalf.

A. Israel at this time had indeed gone down to nothing. The events of Micah 5 take place in 701 BC. Twenty years earlier, the northern tribes of Israel were defeated and destroyed by the Assyrians. And now King Hezekiah was watching Assyria take one by one the different cities of Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel. Now, the only city left that has not been taken by the Assyrians is Jerusalem. And what is happening to Jerusalem according to Micah 5:1? We read there “siege is laid against us.” The city was under siege.

B. But God was up to something (verse 2). He was up to sending a king to rule over and save Israel. Yes, this king would come from the small town of Bethlehem, a nothing town five miles outside of Jerusalem. But do you know who else came from Bethlehem? Only Israel’s greatest king ever: King David! David had led Israel to its greatest heights as a nation. And now Micah is prophesying that the great David is going to have an even greater son: a Messiah, an anointed one, who would rule over Israel. This Messiah Jesus would take away Israel’s humiliation.

II. God is up to sending Jesus to restore what you have lost.

A. Think about all that Israel had lost. Israel was no longer a united nation. And 20 years before Micah’s prophecy, all of these people from the northern tribes of Israel had been defeated by the Assyrians. Many of these Israelites had been taken away into exile. What a great loss! Israel had also lost kings like David who were good shepherds (verse 4). But when Jesus came as king, the people of Israel would once again have a good shepherd who loved and protected the sheep. And when Jesus came all of Israel’s brothers would return (vs. 3) to be ruled by their Messiah.

B. In John 10:10 Jesus talks about the difference between him and Satan: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Satan is great at taking things from you that you really love. Jesus came to restore what you have lost. This is the story of the Bible. The story of the Bible can be summed up in four words. Creation. Fall. Redemption. Restoration. One great day Jesus is going to come again and restore to us all that we have lost. In fact, Jesus is going to make the new creation even better than the original.

III. God is up to sending Jesus to save you.

A. In verses 5 and 6 we see that the defeat of the Assyrians is promised through two different agents: Israel’s generals and king Jesus. These verses begin with a national war song that Israel knew well. But then Micah says in the middle of verse 6, “And he shall deliver us from the Assyrian.” He shall save us. And who is that He? The Messiah that Micah had prophesied. Jesus. Micah’s prophecy was fulfilled in Matthew 2:4-6: “(Herod) inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: “‘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.’”” Jesus did not just come though to defeat the Assyrians. He came to defeat and save you from every enemy. No matter when in your life that you are down to nothing, God is up to something in Jesus.

Application:
God is up to something by sending Jesus, the child born in Bethlehem, to you for your need.

Sources:
The prophecy of Micah
Commentaries on Micah by Gary Smith, Leslie Allen and Bruce Waltke.