Micah 5:13 Comentariu

In this chapter we have, I. A prediction of the troubles and distresses of the Jewish nation (Mic 5:1). II. A promise of the Messiah, and of his kingdom, to support the people of God in the day of these troubles. 1. Of the birth of the Messiah (Mic 5:2, Mic 5:3). 2. Of his advancement (Mic 5:4). 3. Of his protection of his people, and his victory over his and their enemies (Mic 5:5, Mic 5:6). 4. Of the great world by it (Mic 5:7). 5. Of the destruction of the enemies of the church, both those without, that attack it, and those within, that expose it (Mic 5:8-15).

INTRODUCTION TO MICAH 5 This chapter begins with a prophecy of the siege of Jerusalem, Mic 5:1; and then follows another concerning the place of the Messiah's birth, Mic 5:2; and of the case of the Jews, either before or after it, Mic 5:3; and of Christ's office as a shepherd, and of his grandeur in the world, Mic 5:4; and of his being a peacemaker, and protector of his people from their enemies, Mic 5:5; and of his people, the great increase of them, and their usefulness, and also of their courage, strength, and prowess, Mic 5:7; likewise that the Lord will remove from them their vain confidence, and all occasion of it, and whatsoever illicit arts and practices were found among them; and all idolatry, and the instruments of it, Mic 5:10; and the chapter is concluded with a threatening of vengeance to the Heathens, Mic 5:15.

Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee,.... The former were such as were made of wood or stone; the latter statues, such as were molten or cast, and made of gold, silver, or brass; Such as the Jews sometimes worshipped, and are now found in the apostate church of Rome; but will have no place in the Christian churches, or those so called, in the latter day. The Jews indeed have had no idols or idolatrous worship among them since the Babylonish captivity; and the prophet here speaks, not of what would be found among them, and removed at their conversion; but of what was in his time, or had been, or would be again, but should not be in future time, when they should turn to the Lord, and be like dew among the people; and so we are to understand some following passages. The Targum is, "I will cut off the images of the people, and their statues:'' and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands; as not to fall down to idols and worship them, so neither to trust in carnal privileges, ceremonial rites, observances of the traditions of the elders, or any works of righteousness done by them, which they had been prone unto.

(Verse 7 onwards) And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples, like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for man or delay for the sons of men. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if it goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver. Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots: And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strongholds: And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands. And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities. And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard. LXX: And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, in the midst of many people, as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, in the midst of many people, as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off. And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, I will kill your horses from your midst, and I will destroy your chariots, and I will overthrow the cities of your land: and I will take away all your fortresses. And I will take away your sorceries from your hand, and those who speak, they shall not be in you: and I will destroy your carved images, and your statues from your midst, and you shall no longer worship the works of your hands. And I will cut down your groves from your midst, and I will demolish your cities, and I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the nations, because they did not listen. When Assyria comes upon our land and rises upon our borders, we shall be freed by the Lord who raised up seven shepherds and eight attacks of men against him, the remnants of Jacob, whom we understand as the apostles, and the first Church of the Jews, will be among many peoples like dew falling from the Lord. For the hearts of the people burned with the fiery arrows of the devil, and all the nations, being unfaithful to God, had hearts like a furnace kindled with fire (Hosea 7). Where the dew falling from the Lord, the health of the sick was made. And just as we read in Daniel (Dan. 3), that the spirit of the roaring dew extinguished the fiery furnace, let us generally understand this of all nations, that the doctrine of the Apostles was like dew from the Lord in the midst of all nations. But what follows: And like lambs on the grass, so that no one gathers and is not among the sons of men, let us receive this concerning those who from the nations did not want to believe, that they are the heavenly Apostles and the remnants of Jacob, like lambs grazing on grass, and gathering grass with their teeth. And they shall do this, so that those who did not want to be angels, receiving the spiritual dew, are by no means gathered among men, nor are they assigned to a rational part, but it is said of them: They are not in the toil of men, and they shall not be scourged with men (Ps. 73:5). And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of the nations like a lion among beasts in the forest, and like a young lion among flocks of sheep. For the Lord Jesus, of whom it is prophesied in Genesis: Judah, you have ascended from the offspring, my son, you have laid down to sleep as a lion and as a young lion (Gen. 49:9). And in another place, reclining as a lion, and like a lion's cub, who will rouse him? He also gave to his apostles, to whom he said: Go, baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19): so that just as no one can resist a lion among beasts, and a lion's cub among sheep, in the same way, those who have been freed from the hand of Assyria and from the hand of the devil would snatch away cattle and livestock; for the Lord will save both men and animals (Psalm 36:7). And they ravaged, not to kill, but to divide, that is, to separate from the infidels, and there would be no one to resist them. But with the lion and the lion's cub wandering among the livestock and the sheep, the hand of God is exalted over those who either troubled God or the relics of Israel before. And all his enemies will be scattered, not because the enemies perish and stop existing, but because they perish as enemies. As it is written to the Thessalonians: Whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth (II Thes. II, 8). This killing does not signify abolition, but rather the cessation of a wicked life, which they were living badly before. Finally, it concludes: And he will destroy with the brightness of his coming. However, he would never destroy if the killing signified abolition, since it would have already ceased to exist: thus the destruction of enemies here is understood, according to the Proverbs of Solomon, in which it is written: The destruction will lodge with the wicked: it will not be perpetual, it will not reduce them to nothing; but it will lodge with them as long as the wickedness that is in them is consumed. For God created man, so that he would not perish, and He did not make death. After this follows: And it shall come to pass in that day, when your hand is lifted up against your enemies, O Israel, and all your enemies are destroyed, I will kill your horses from among you, that is, the principal (ἡγεμονικῷ) impulses of your heart's lust, like horses breaking loose from their chains, rushing forward, and your chariots in which you delighted in your vices, and associating sins with sins, as if triumphing you were carried in triumphal chariots. And I will destroy the cities of your land. For you have not built a city that delights in the rushing of God's river (Psalm 49), nor the heavenly Jerusalem that is situated in the mountains (Matthew 5), but rather the city that Cain built (Genesis 4). Hence, the cities of the earth are said to be built with earthly works. And I will take away, it says, all your fortresses, your wealth, indeed, and the pomp of the world, and the eloquence of orators, and the arguments of dialecticians, in which you trusted as in fortresses. And I will take away the evil deeds from your hands, by which either you yourself were deceived by others, or being deceived, you deceived others. And those who speak or pronounce will not be to you. Now the world is full of those who speak and pronounce: they speak what they do not know, they teach what they have not learned: they are masters, when they have not been disciples before. Therefore, when God teaches man knowledge, false presumptions will cease, and perverse teaching will be removed. And I will destroy your idols and your statues from your midst. Our idols are those that are made by those who speak, or that we ourselves create for ourselves. Hence it is commanded in the Law (Exodus 20) , that we do not make idols for ourselves, and do not place statues in our land (Leviticus 26) : and you shall not worship the works of your own hands (Deuteronomy 5) . Unfortunate is the human condition, full of foolishness and error, knowing that doctrines are composed from one's own understanding, not ignorant that it is a simulated idol created by oneself, and worships the works of one's own hands as God, and man bends down, deceived to deceive. It is added in the promise that is directed to the remnants, that is, the remnants of Jacob: And I will cut down the woods from the midst of you, and will destroy your cities, so that all the trees of the forests, and the woods that were prohibited to be planted in the temple of God, and the badly constructed cities, which previously were called cities of the land, may be destroyed and consumed. But after he has done this to the remnants of Jacob, then he will turn to the nations that the Apostles, like lambs, have grazed. And because they did not want to receive the dew of speech, he said, 'I will make vengeance in anger and fury upon the nations, because they did not want to hear.' Hence the prophet says: 'Lord, do not rebuke me in your fury; nor chastise me in your anger.' (Psalm 6:1). According to the Septuagint interpreters, this is because it is a spiritual understanding, and we ought to connect the meaning with the previous chapters, as has been discussed. However, the Hebrews dream such delusions: After the seven whom they imagine, and the shepherds whom they want, and the eight princes of the Assyrians whom they have conquered, and they have fed the land of Nimrod with their swords, and this has happened when the Assyrian came into the land of Judah, then, they say, when Christ comes, all the remaining descendants of Jacob who can survive among the nations will be in blessing, like dew coming from the Lord, and like rain upon the grass, and they will not hope in men, nor in the sons of men, but in God. And they will be among the nations and peoples, bloodthirsty and cruel, seeking vengeance against their former masters, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, and like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, and there will be no one who can resist their strength. Then, O God, or O Israel, your hand will be exalted over the Assyrians and all your enemies who now possess you will perish. On that day, when you are liberated from the nations, I will remove your horses and chariots that are in your midst cities. Not because Israel had horses and chariots at that time, but rather the horses and chariots of the Assyrians that are in the midst of your cities. And I will destroy all your cities and the fortified places that you have dedicated to idols. And I will remove sorcerers and fortune-tellers from your land, and I will cause all your sculptures and statues to perish, and you will no longer worship the works of your hands. I will also uproot and overthrow all your groves, and the cities that you have dedicated to idols. And when I have done this to you, and have been appeased in this way, so that whatever evil is in you may be removed, then I will also avenge you in my fury and indignation against all the nations that have refused to listen to my word. Let the fleshly Israel respond here, whether it speaks of past or future events. If it mentions past events, let it provide a history and cite the authority of ancient books: let it teach all nations that Assyria was once subject to Israel. But if someone thinks that he will be secure while indulging in sinful pleasure, when Christ comes, what idols of Israel will be removed, which are not currently worshipped? What lights will be extinguished, which it does not have? What cities will be destroyed, which were once destroyed? What soothsayers will be taken away, whom it does not have, and should not glory in having? Yet for so long, the daughter of Zion has been abandoned, and she sits without an altar and without priests; while others enjoy the fruits of their labor, they themselves promise themselves a future with dry throats, not knowing what it will bring.

This chapter begins, according to the opinion of some commentators, with a prophecy concerning the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and the great indignities which Zedekiah should suffer from the Babylonians, Mic 5:1. We have next a most famous prediction concerning the birthplace of the Messiah, "whose goings forth have been from of old, from Everlasting, Mic 5:2. See Mat 2:6. The Jews obstinately persisting in their opposition to the Messiah, God will therefore give them up into the hands of their enemies till the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled: and then all the posterity of Jacob, both Israel and Judah, shall be converted to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and, along with the Gentiles, be brought into the large and peaceful pastures of this Great Shepherd of the sheep, Mic 5:3, Mic 5:4. After this illustrious prophecy, the prophet goes on to foretell the downfall of the Assyrians, by whom are meant the enemies of the Church in general, the type being probably put for the antitype; the miraculous discomfiture of the great Assyrian army in the reign of Sennacherib strongly shadowing forth the glorious and no less miraculous triumphs of Christianity in the latter times, Mic 5:5, Mic 5:6. See Isa 11:16. Some understand this prophecy of Antiochus and the seven famous Maccabees, with their eight royal successors, from Aristobulus to Antigonus; and it is not impossible that these people may be also intended, for we have often had occasion to remark that a prophecy of the Old Testament Scriptures has frequently more than one aspect. The seventh verse was fulfilled by the Jews spreading the knowledge of the true God during their captivity, and so paving the way for the gospel; but will be more signally fulfilled after their conversion and restoration. See Rom 11:12-15. The remaining verses contain a prophecy of the final overthrow of all the enemies of pure and undefiled religion, and of the thorough purification of the Church of God from the corruptions of Antichrist, Mic 5:9-15.

Thy graven images also will I cut off - Thou shalt be no more an idolatrous people.

THE CALAMITIES WHICH PRECEDE MESSIAH'S ADVENT. HIS KINGDOM, CONQUEST OF JACOB'S FOES, AND BLESSING UPON HIS PEOPLE. (Mic 5:1-15) gather thyself in troops--that is, thou shalt do so, to resist the enemy. Lest the faithful should fall into carnal security because of the previous promises, he reminds them of the calamities which are to precede the prosperity. daughter of troops--Jerusalem is so called on account of her numerous troops. he hath laid siege--the enemy hath. they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek--the greatest of insults to an Oriental. Zedekiah, the judge (or king, Amo 2:3) of Israel, was loaded with insults by the Chaldeans; so also the other princes and judges (Lam 3:30). HENGSTENBERG thinks the expression, "the judge," marks a time when no king of the house of David reigned. The smiting on the cheek of other judges of Israel was a type of the same indignity offered to Him who nevertheless is the Judge, not only of Israel, but also of the world, and who is "from everlasting" (Mic 5:2; Isa 50:6; Mat 26:67; Mat 27:30).

graven images . . . cut off--(Compare Isa 2:8, Isa 2:18-21; Isa 30:22; Zac 13:2). standing images--statues.

(Heb. Bib. 4:14). "Now wilt thou gather in troops, thou daughter of troops; they lay siege against us; with the staff they smite the judge of Israel upon the cheek." With ‛attâh (now) the prophet's address turns once more to the object introduced with ‛attâh in Mic 4:9. For we may see clearly enough from the omission of the cop. Vav, which could not be left out if it were intended to link on Mic 5:1 to Mic 4:11-13, that this ‛attâh points back to Mic 4:9, and is not attached to the ve‛attâh in Mic 4:11, for the purpose of introducing a fresh occurrence to follow the event mentioned in Mic 4:11-13. "The prophecy in Mic 4:11-13 explains the ground of that in Mic 4:9, Mic 4:10, and the one in Mic 5:1 sounds like a conclusion drawn from this explanation. The explanation in Mic 4:11-13 is enclosed on both sides by that which it explains. By returning in Mic 5:1 to the thoughts expressed in Mic 4:9, the prophet rounds off the strophe in 4:9-5:1" (Caspari). The words are addressed to the daughter Zion, who alone is addressed with every ‛attâh, and generally throughout the entire section. Bath-gegūd, daughter of the troop, might mean: thou nation accustomed or trained to form troops, thou warlike Zion. But this does not apply to what follows, in which a siege alone is mentioned. This turn is given to the expression, rather "for the purpose of suggesting the thought of a crowd of people pressing anxiously together, as distinguished from gedūd, an invading troop." The verb hithgōdēd does not mean here to scratch one's self or make incisions (Deu 14:1, etc.), but, as in Jer 5:7, to press or crowd together; and the thought is this: Now crowd together with fear in a troop, for he (sc., the enemy) sets, or prepares, a siege against us. In עלינוּ the prophet includes himself in the nation as being a member of it. He finds himself in spirit along with the people besieged Zion. The siege leads to conquest; for it is only in consequence of this that the judge of Israel can be smitten with the rod upon the cheek, i.e., be shamefully ill treated (compare Kg1 22:24; Psa 3:8; Job 16:10). The judge of Israel, whether the king or the Israelitish judges comprehended in one, cannot be thought of as outside the city at the time when the city is besieged. Of all the different effects of the siege of the city the prophet singles out only this one, viz., the ill-treatment of the judge, because "nothing shows more clearly how much misery and shame Israel will have to endure for its present sins" (Caspari). "The judge of Israel" is the person holding the highest office in Israel. This might be the king, as in Amo 2:3 (cf. Sa1 8:5-6, Sa1 8:20), since the Israelitish king was the supreme judge in Israel, or the true possessor of the judicial authority and dignity. But the expression is hardly to be restricted to the king, still less is it meant in distinction from the king, as pointing back to the time when Israel had no king, and was only governed by judges; but the judge stands for the king here, on the one hand with reference to the threat in Mic 3:1, Mic 3:9, Mic 3:11, where the heads and princes of Israel are described as unjust and ungodly judges, and on the other hand as an antithesis to mōshēl in Mic 5:2. As the Messiah is not called king there, but mōshēl, ruler, as the possessor of supreme authority; so here the possessor of judicial authority is called shōphēt, to indicate the reproach which would fall upon the king and the leaders of the nation on account of their unrighteousness. The threat in this verse does not refer, however, to the Roman invasion. Such an idea can only be connected with the assumption already refuted, that Mic 4:11-13 point to the times of the Maccabees, and no valid argument can be adduced to support it. In the verse before us the prophet reverts to the oppression predicted in Mic 4:9 and Mic 4:10, so that the remarks already made in Mic 4:10 apply to the fulfilment of what is predicted here. The principal fulfilment occurred in the Chaldaean period; but the fulfilment was repeated in every succeeding siege of Jerusalem until the destruction of the city by the Romans. For, according to Mic 5:3, Israel will be given up to the power of the empire of the world until the coming of the Messiah; that is to say, not merely till His birth or public appearance, but till the nation shall accept the Messiah, who has appeared as its own Redeemer.