God doesn't give us what we deserve! Micah 5:3

Good morning, and welcome to the

preaching ministry of Dillingham Moravian Church. My name is Pastor Simon.

What a blessing it is to worship the Lord with you today as we study the Word of God together.

This past October, my family and I went down to Alberta, Canada to visit my family.

While we were there, we made a trip to see my aunt and cousin who live on the

Blackfoot Blood Reserve near the Rocky Mountains.

My aunt's native allotment overlooks a valley with a river running through it,

and far ahead is the majestic view of Chief Mountain and the Rocky Mountain Range.

While we visited with my aunt and cousin, we were reminded of this story where

years ago, many of my aunts had come to visit their sister's family and decided

one day to walk to the mountains.

Now, we need to understand that although the mountains look very close,

they're actually at least 60 miles away.

Well, my aunt set out on her expedition in the morning time,

and by lunchtime they came back all tired out and complaining that they were

never going to make it to those mountains. It was just too far.

My point is that when we look at biblical prophecy, it is easy to think that

the prophecy refers to one event or events close together.

Yet from God's perspective, one prophesied event can be quite distant apart

from each other. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we are so amnily grateful for your mercy, your love to us in Jesus Christ.

We're thankful that your Holy Spirit has written your word and is teaching us through it.

Lord, as we go to your word today, teach us, guide us, show us,

Lord, how to live in continual anticipation of your coming.

We praise you, we bless you, in your precious Son's name, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

Last week, here at Dillingham Moravian Church, we started a short sermon series

from Micah chapter 5 concerning the coming of the ruler who would deliver Israel.

Micah 5 · chapter mention

The book of Micah was given to Micah by God as a series of prophecies concerning

the continual sin of God's people and the upcoming attacks against Jerusalem by Assyria.

And the eventual uprooting of Judah into Babylon by the Babylonians, and the return of Judah.

From Babylon. Last week, we learned that God, through Micah,

ordained that a ruler from the line of King David would be born in Bethlehem,

which was too little to be cataloged by Joshua as a city in Israel.

Not only would the Messiah king come out of Bethlehem to rule over Israel forever,

but the Messiah would not be a man like other deliverers, but Almighty God himself.

And today we're going to start by reading last week's verse in Micah 5,

Micah 5:2

verse 2, and then go on to our passage today.

Micah 5, verse 2 through 3, where Micah prophesied, But as for you,

Micah 5:2–3

Bethlehem Ephrata, too little to be among the clans of Judah.

From you one will go forth for me to be ruler in Israel.

His going forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.

And here's where we are today.

Verse 3. Therefore, he will give them up until the time when she who is in labor has born a child.

Then the remainder of his brethren will return to the sons of Israel.

There are two overarching truths that I believe God wants to teach us today.

The first truth I want to point out to you is that God will give up Israel to

their sins until the child is born.

This winter has been a cycle of back and forth from snow to raining and the

melting of the snow, then cold, and then snow again.

The challenge with this kind of weather is that it's hard on children's snow clothes.

Almost every day, my wife and I tell our boys to not jump in the puddles or

not roll in the mud. And of course, what do they do?

They jump in the puddles. They roll around in the mud.

Inevitably, when the boys come into the house, we tell them to hang up their

wet and muddy clothes and put their wet gloves and boots on the boot dryers.

Do you think that they dry off their boots and gloves themselves?

Of course not. That would be too much work, Daddy.

You see, the natural consequences of Jonathan and Paul getting their gloves

wet and not putting them on the dryers would be to let them wear their gloves

or their boots that are wet out in the cold, right?

However, Abigail and I often intervene and take their wet clothes and put them

on the dryer and give them dry clothes and boots to wear.

And this concept of intervening into the state of natural consequences was what

God did for us in Jesus Christ.

As a result of Adam and Eve's sin, all human beings are depraved and tainted

by the effects and slavery of sin.

Without God's intervention, we could not do God's good on our own.

And we were always compelled by our old sin nature to sin against God.

According to the justice of God, the natural consequences for even one of our

sins was to be the shedding of all of our lifeblood to atone for that one sin.

Yet what did God do in Christ? He intervened into our natural consequences and

gave mercy that we did not deserve and still do not deserve.

Let's look at Micah chapter 13.

5, verse 3, where God told Micah, therefore, he will give them up until the

time when she who is in labor has born a child.

In Micah chapter 5, verse 3, Micah prophesied that God would give up Israel.

Micah 5:3

The question is, what would God give up his people to?

The word that Micah used for give up meant to deliver or to surrender someone

or something to one another, especially to an authority.

Some Bible teachers believe that this means that God gives Israel over to their

sin of unbelief in their rejection of Jesus the Messiah.

Some others believe that this word means that God gave up Israel to the authority

of other nations as they were dispersed throughout the world.

I see both views of this word at play here. Why?

Because God gave over Israel to be conquered and dispersed because of their sin of unbelief.

God gave up the Jews to their unbelief without a ruler or king and the king's

protection from their enemies until the time when Mary gave birth to the Messiah

child Jesus, the anointed king over Israel.

One commentator wrote, Israel's oppression would continue until the birth of the Messiah.

She who is with child must be the virgin who would conceive and bear a son called Emmanuel.

The Emmanuel's promise was uttered about 30 years prior to the present passage,

and thus the future king's birth would signal the beginning of the end of the nation's oppression.

Another viewpoint that some Bible scholars hold to is that Israel,

or Zion, is the woman in childbirth.

According to another commentator, as Micah had written earlier,

Israel's spiritual pain in being dispersed or abandoned was like a woman's physical pain in labor.

But a time will come when the labor will end and birth will come.

This refers not to Mary's giving birth to Jesus, but to Israel's national regathering,

likened here to a childbirth when his brothers or fellow Israelites will return

and join other Israelites. Christ will be one of them.

One of the passages that those who hold this view use to explain this understanding

is found in Micah 4, verse 9, 5-1. Now, why do you cry out loudly?

Micah 4:9

Is there no king among you? Or has your counselor, which is another word used for king, perished?

That agony has gripped you like a woman in childbirth. And here it is, verse 10.

Writhe and labor and give birth, daughter of Zion, like a woman in childbirth.

For now you will go out of the city, dwell in the field, and go to Babylon.

There you will be rescued, and there the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.

I want you to notice that Israel in captivity was depicted as a woman in terrible

pain of labor who gives birth to a child.

The child, metaphorically speaking, according to this view, was the deliverance

and return of Israel to their homeland and to faith in God through Jesus Christ.

Regardless of who you understand as the woman giving birth to a child is,

God's point through Micah was that God gave Israel over to the consequences

of their sin and has temporarily cut them off from his deliverance.

As Paul confirmed in Romans 11, verse 12 through 20, for if their rejection

Romans 11:12–20

is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also, and if the root is holy, the branches are too.

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive,

were grafted in among them and became partakers with them of the rich root of

the olive tree, Do not be arrogant towards the branches.

But if you are arrogant, remember that it's not you who supports the root,

but the root supports you.

You will say then, branches were broken off so that I may be grafted in.

And please listen to this, verse 20.

Quite right. They were broken off. And here it is.

For their unbelief. But you stand by your faith.

Do not be conceited, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches,

he will not spare you either.

There are two ways that I believe that we can apply this verse to us as Christians.

The first way is that God can give us over to our sins just as he did Israel.

Yes, we who believe in Christ as Yahweh Lord are Christ's bride,

the church, and we are secure in our ultimate salvation.

But that doesn't mean that God can't or won't take away his blessings and His

protection over us if we slide into unbelief.

This is a great warning to us as local churches and as part of the universal

church worldwide to convict us to cling strongly to our faith in Christ,

to obey the Lord and not to give up.

If we do sin and trespass against the Lord, then we confess our sins to the

Lord and repent and turn away from them.

As John in 1 John 9 promised, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous

to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The second truth that we can learn is the point that Paul brought up,

that we as Christians must not be conceited and proud and look down on the Jews

or others that reject Jesus.

Our response is to fear God. For as Paul wrote in verse 21, for if God did not

spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

It is quite a common temptation for believers in Christ to not only look down

on the Jews for their lack of faith, but also to look down on those around us

who do not have a saving relationship with the Lord.

The idea is this somehow.

We as believers are better or more important than everyone else.

It is so essential that you and I eradicate this arrogant and prideful attitude from among ourselves.

Yes, we as Christ children and the church are beloved by God and tremendously

valued by him, yet God has always loved and valued Israel as his chosen people.

God so loved the entire world that he sent his only begotten son,

Jesus Christ, to die on that cross as an atonement for all the world's sins, not just ours.

God gave us the example of humbling himself and luring himself in his own perspective

and raising up the entire world as more valuable and more important than himself.

This is why Jesus went to the cross.

Are we better than Christ? I want to encourage all of you who are listening

and are believers in Christ, myself included, to not consider ourselves as more

important than we ought, as Paul in Romans chapter 12 warns us.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

Rather, you and I have to consider and view God and others as way more important

or better than ourselves, because that is what Christ our God did.

So far, we have learned that Micah prophesied that God would give up his people

Israel over to their unbelief in Christ and to the authority of other nations.

Yet God has given us in Israel hope because the remnant of Christ's brothers will return to Israel.

When my two sons, who are five and eight years old respectively,

collectively are fighting with each other or disobeying Abigail and I,

we will sometimes take away the toy or the object that they are fighting over

or something that they value until they have shown my wife and I that they are

repentant and are going to be obedient.

Although this is not a perfect illustration, due to their rejection of Christ,

God has taken away something from Israel, what they valued the most.

Their position or salvation is part of God's chosen people.

Praise God that there is still great hope for Israel because God has promised

to restore them when they return to faith in Him.

Let's continue on in Micah 5, verse 3. Therefore, he will give them up until

Micah 5:3

the time when she who is labor has born a child. And here's where we are now.

Then the remainder of his brethren will return to the sons of Israel.

As we have learned, Micah prophesied that God would give up his people Israel

over to their unbelief in Christ and to the authority of other nations.

After the Assyrian and Babylonian invasions and captivities,

the dispersed Israelites scattered amongst the nations.

And then later on, after the Roman general Titus destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD,

much of Israel was again dispersed all around the world.

Even today, Israel has not yet fully returned to the land of Israel,

and most do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yet I believe the two parts of the verse fit together. The verse fits together

because of the now and not yet principle of the Bible,

where so many Old Testament prophecies had Old Testament fulfillments and also

New Testament fulfillments, and where some,

prophecies were only partially fulfilled and would be completed in the future.

They are the same prophecy, but different aspects of it.

It's like when we look at mountains in the distance, they seem right next to

each other, and yet they're often hundreds of miles apart.

When we look at the prophecies like Micah's, they can be fulfilled in Jesus'

birth and life and death, but still can be fulfilled in the future as well.

One of the best scriptural supports for this is from Matthew chapter 2, verse 1 through 6.

Matthew 2:1–6

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king,

Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who was born, king of the Jews?

For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people,

he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

And they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what has been written by the prophet.

And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah.

For out of you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.

I want you to see that the chief priests and scribes, when they quoted Micah

5.2, they put together with Micah chapter 5, 4, and he skipped verse 3.

Micah 5 · chapter mention

Now, granted, these were the chief priests and scribes who quoted these verses,

but the verse goes to show that Israel saw this prophecy as one. And they were right.

Out of Bethlehem came the Messiah, King Jesus, and he will rule his people as

a shepherd, as the kings of Israel were supposed to do.

Both the first advent of Christ's coming and the second advent of Christ are one event.

Separated by time, yes, but one in the eyes of the Lord. And here's why I say this.

In 2 Peter 3, verses 8-9, Peter wrote concerning the future of the coming Christ.

2 Peter 3:8–9

But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord

one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.

And here's the point of God's perspective. Verse 9, The Lord is not slow about

His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient towards you,

not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.

Another popular view of this verse refers to Israel or Zion as the woman in childbirth.

Please turn with me to Micah 4.9-10.

Micah prophesied, "Now why do you cry out loudly? Is there no king among you?

Or has your counselor, another word used for king, perished?

That agony has gripped you like a woman in childbirth.

Ride and labor and give birth, daughter of Zion, like a woman in childbirth.

For now you will go out of the city, dwell in the field, and go to Babylon.

And there you'll be rescued. There the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.

I want you to notice that Israel in captivity was depicted as a woman in terrible

pain of labor who gives birth to a child.

The child, metaphorically speaking, was the deliverance and return of Israel to their homeland.

Now again, whether you theologically land on Micah 5 verse 3 and in the number

Micah 5:3

of views that were presented,

the most important truth that was that Micah was prophesying that Israel will

return to the land as many have already,

and there will be a great number of Israelites in the end times that will repent

of the rebellion and truly profess their faith in Christ as Lord.

What can we as believers in Christ learn from this second part of Micah 5.3?

We can live in gratitude that God doesn't give us fully over to what our sins deserve.

If it wasn't for Christ's death on the cross and the Holy Spirit leading us

to faith in Christ, we were worse off than Israel.

We weren't just rebelling. We didn't believe at all.

We weren't a part of God's people at all.

Israel had the light of God even though they were running from it.

We as non-Jews, we were completely enslaved in darkness and we didn't even know it.

We, you and I, deserve the immediate slaughter of all of our light blood and

to be tossed into hell forever.

Yet God has given us so much mercy in Christ. God will also give Israel mercy

as well. I want to encourage us.

Pray for the salvation of Israel. Scripture foretells of a remnant of Israel

to be saved, but the Bible doesn't tell us how many of Israel will actually be saved.

Our prayers can be used of God to save so many.

What then has God been teaching us today? The first truth that God has taught

us is that God gave up his people Israel over to their unbelief in Christ and

to the authority of other nations.

And that teaches us as Christians that we must be obedient to God by faith in Jesus Christ.

We're not to be arrogant and conceited about ourselves because we have been

chosen by Christ, because God can choose to discipline us as well.

Secondly, God has promised through Micah that there is solid hope for Israel yet.

God will return them to the land and faith in Him through Jesus Christ.

I wish to encourage us all that as we eagerly wait to celebrate the birth of

Christ, most of the prophecies not only foretell about the coming of the Messiah,

but also refer to Israel in their repentance and salvation as well.

We as Christians can live in thankfulness for the mercy that God has given us

and eagerly pray for Israel that they will receive the mercy of Jesus Christ

that is offered to them as we have. Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we are so grateful for the mercy that you have shown us in Jesus Christ.

We too pray for Israel, that you would save them, Lord.

Bring your original nation back to you.

May they repent of their sins, repent of their sin of disobeying you and not believing in Jesus.

And would they put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior?

Lord, we pray that for us, that we would walk in the truth of who you are,

Lord, and that you would always be our God and we would always trust you.

In your precious Son's name, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

I will leave you with a blessing from Romans 15, verse 13.

Romans 15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by

the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.