“The Promise of New from the Old”

Scripture: Micah 5:1-5a, 8-15

Today is our last look at God’s unusual ways – at least the last before Christmas comes. Over the past 3 weeks, we’ve discovered that the Lord never lets our experience with him become an expectation, nor a norm, nor a predictable occurrence. The prophet Isaiah (55:8-9) gave us this to think about: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” And God tends to prove that saying over and over again.

Why does he have to keep us guessing so much? Wouldn’t it be easier for us if he acted more like humans do? It would certainly make more sense to us, but then, with the way we usually mess things up royally when we use our own “common sense”, why would anyone want God to do anything our way?

Praise God that he doesn’t!

Read Micah 5:1-5a

The prophet offers several thoughts for the people to ponder – 1) A siege will be laid against the city of God, and the ruler will be struck down. This is prophesy regarding Assyria and Babylon. 2) A new “ruler” is on the way, and he will be coming out of the smallness of Bethlehem, and not the might of Jerusalem. And if that isn’t odd enough, 3) this man’s origins go back to ancient times. And until the time of this new / old one’s arrival, 4) Israel will be left to their own designs. And the oddities continue.

Babylon and Assyria would see to it that the royal line of Judah would be wiped out, but another would, one day, come to pick up the scepter of power. And who would it be? It would be someone new to the kingly line, but one who had origins that went back to ancient times. Does this make any sense to you? Don’t feel bad - it doesn’t to most people!
And then the prophet tells the people that until this new ruler is born, the nation will be abandoned, presumably by God. They will not receive any more help, they will not receive any more advice or protection - they will be totally on their own. The “chosen people” of God appear to have been disinherited by their Father.

Is it any wonder that the people didn’t care much for the message that the prophets brought to them? No longer favored, no longer blessed, no longer honored among all the peoples of earth? Would their Jehovah Jireh really do that? Could he do that? Would Yahweh no longer provide for them? But then …, a new ruler would, apparently, be coming to them, but how long would they have to wait? And would this new ruler be any better than the old ones?
You can see their dilemma - nothing seemed to make any sense anymore! Defeated, abandoned, leaderless, and the promise for their future wasn’t looking all that bright, either. The only ways they had ever known where the ones they had lived with for over 600 years, and it seemed as though they were all being taken away.

Read Micah 5:7-9

Some good news, and some not so good news. First the bad – when the nation is defeated, there will only be a remnant of people left! The once glorious Israel will be decimated, her people will be slaughtered, and their future appears to be laid in foreign lands.
But the good news is that they will be both a blessing and a curse on these new homes. They will be like the rain, nourishing the earth and blessing the people who have enslaved them. And they will be strong in these new settings – they will be like a lion that hunts and feeds wherever and whenever it wants. They will be unstoppable!

Well, maybe life won’t be so horrible after all. But the prophesy is finished yet.

Read Micah 5:7-15

You will remember that the downfall of Israel was in their turning to false gods – the gods that were brought to them from surrounding nations; and their power and prestige was seen in their military might and economic well being. But God seems to have a different plan for their lives – He is going to make all things new!

All materials of war will be taken away – they will no longer need them when they return to the Lord’s protective side.
Their cities and other strongholds will be torn down – likewise, there will be no need for fortresses. They can live in and on the land without fear.
Witchcraft, graven images, poles and altars – those things that had once been used to honor the false hopes in their lives would be destroyed. The one true God would be all that there is.
And anyone who tried to continue making their own way in the world would experience the absolute judgment of God.

That new ruler must be quite the guy to be able to bring all of this to fruition. From the smaller of the two nations, from a small town located within a small tribe, this new King was to bring them into absolute peace and perfect glory. He wouldn’t be a warrior king, he wouldn’t be a fallible and human king, he wouldn’t be a king who could only bring about this ultimate peace for a short time – this new ruler of all the nations would be Jesus. It is only in the Christ that this prophesy can make any sense. He is the new that would come from the ancient, he is the great that comes from the small, he is the Prince of Peace and the Lord of Glory.
But until that coming, Malachi would be the last prophet for 400 years - there would be no divine guidance, no Godly word for their lives, and the heavens would be closed up tighter than a drum. God would be silent before the people of Israel. Not even a still, small whisper to comfort them.
And then on a dark and lonely night, in a small town located within a small tribe, Peace and Glory would be born. The New Ruler of heaven and earth, whose origin is in the Ancients of Old, the one who would lead us and would “beat our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks” (Isaiah 2:4-5; Micah 4:2-3), would be hated because his teaching didn’t fit our expectations. God’s voice would boom forth on that night, but the eyes and ears and hearts of Israel would remain closed, and they would miss Jehovah Jireh’s blessed provision once more.
And the perfect peace and glory would be put on hold again.

How long can the earth go on missing the promise of Almighty God? He has brought the “new day” right to our doorstep, and we refuse to open the door – not even a crack. He came into the lives of all on earth, and we killed him and forced him to leave us. He sent his blessed Spirit into our lives, and we laugh and loudly proclaim – “Ignore him. He’s drunk!”
The psalmists mourned over the delay just as we do – Psalm 4:2 “How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?” Psalm 6:3 “My soul is in anguish. How long, O Lord, how long?”
The prophets mourned over the delay - Habakkuk 1:2 “How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you ‘Violence!’, but you do not save?” And on through the Revelation, we see the cry repeated over and over – “How long, Lord? PLEASE come quickly!” This isn’t a recent plea – it’s been on the hearts and minds of God’s people for thousands of years, and the sure promise that he does hear and will do something soon is still with us.

You may have noticed by now that not only doesn’t God work in our ways, he doesn’t work in our time, either. But even as we wait, there is no reason for Christians to grieve; we are not alone and we have much to do. Christmas is the time for us to renew our commitment in his glorious promise. Isaiah 40:29 reassures us, in that “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”
We are not left alone. In Micah’s prophesy, Israel would be abandoned to their own means, but those who are in Christ Jesus have received the promise of the Holy Spirit – “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5-6) Shouldn’t we trust that?

The point of the last 4 weeks is this – The Lord may not be working out his plan in a way that we can fully comprehend, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t appreciate the plan and rejoice in it. Christmas is the day when the plan began to take form, Easter is the day when the plan would be guaranteed, and Pentecost is the day when the plan would be proven. Never again will the earth have reason to feel abandoned, and Almighty God’s strange ways have every reason to be a comfort to our lives. From out of the ancient will come the new.

The 4th verse of Charles Wesley’s hymn tells us to “Rejoice in glorious hope! Jesus the Judge shall come, and take his servants up to their eternal home. We soon shall hear th’ arch angel’s voice; the trump of God shall sound, rejoice!” (“Rejoice, the Lord Is King”, Charles Wesley, 1746 (Words) and John Darwall, 1770 (Music), The United Methodist Hymnal, pg 715)

Rejoice! The strange plan that God is working for us is complete. Just wait - its coming!