Another salient prophecy about the coming of the Messiah is in Micah 5:2. (I am using the ESV)
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.
And the fulfillment of that prophecy is not only in the verses that tell us of the birth of Jesus, but even more specifically the verses relating to his kingship as proclaimed in Matthew 2:1-6 with the arrival of the wisemen from the East.
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 “‘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.’”
Prophecy. Fulfillment. We see it made poignantly clear over and over in the Bible, and here it is abundantly clear, as Matthew even loosely quotes the Old Testament prophecy reiterating its truth.
It is estimated that the book of Micah was written between 735 and 700 B C. That was a long time before the fulfillment! I LOVE that God made His plan known, so we have both the prophecy and the fulfillment! It makes anticipating the approaching celebration this year even more noteworthy.
He's still shepherding - not just Israel - but all who are adopted in: those who have accepted His plan of salvation and have become part of 'the body of Christ'.
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