The King of Israel - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my heart and mind in Micah 5:4,

"He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in
the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live
securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth."

"He" in the above verse is the ruler over Israel that is prophesied in
verse 2. He will come from Bethlehem, but his "origins are from of
old, from ancient times." This ruler over Israel that Micah prophesied
about is Jesus Christ. Verse 4, above, is a prophecy not yet
fulfilled. Jesus has not yet ruled over Israel and the "greatness" (a
military and political greatness) that will reach to the ends of the
earth has not yet taken place. This greatness is the greatness of a
ruler who will not only rule over Israel, but also "shepherd his
flock", both in the strength and in the majesty of "the Lord his God",
verse 4. The greatness of Jesus Christ will not be confined to just
Israel, however, as "his greatness will reach to the ends of the
earth."

Jesus Christ will be Israel's peace when the Assyrians invade Israel
at some point coming. When this takes place he will deliver Israel
from Assyria, verse 6, and will rule this aggressor after vanquishing
her. Assyria was Israel's immediate enemy in Micah's day that would
eventually destroy the northern ten tribes of Israel, and here we read
of a future Assyrian enemy that will be vanquished, preventing a
future overthrow of Israel.

Jesus Christ came to offer himself on the cross two millenia ago. At
that time he did not come as a conquering military/political figure.
Israel, as a nation, rejected Jesus Christ as the Messiah at that time
because they were looking for a conquering military/political leader.
However, Jesus Christ is coming back. And when he does, he will return
as precisely that: an insurmountable and invincible military and
political ruler who will extend his rule to the ends of the earth.

We see this in the vivid, dramatic and breath-taking portrayal of
Jesus as he returns to conquer his enemies in Revelation 19:11-16:

"I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse,
whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and
wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many
crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.
He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of
God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses
and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is
a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. 'He will rule
them with an iron scepter.' He treads the wine press of the fury of
the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this
name written: king of kings and lord of lords. And I saw an angel
standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying
in midair, 'Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that
you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses
and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great
and small.'"

Put on your seat belts!! Stunning, astonishing and breath-taking
events are headed our way at some point! Israel, as a nation, will
embrace Jesus Christ as her king and the day continues to draw ever
closer when he comes to vanquish the earth and establish his rule from
Jerusalem.

This is what Micah is telling us, and given his track record for
prophecies fulfilled, only a fool to his peril will question the
remainder of events Micah spoke of.

Fascinating, isn't it?!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

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Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com