Micah Chapter 5
Showing all 15 verses for Micah Chapter 5.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. "
"Get ready for battle, city under siege - an enemy has surrounded us, and Israel's ruler will be struck on the face with a rod, a deliberately humiliating blow."
I know what it's like to be struck and mocked, and I tell you: don't let humiliation define you, because whatever brings you low can become the very doorway through which something better arrives.
"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. "
"But you, Bethlehem, though you are small among Judah's towns, out of you will come a ruler for Israel - one whose origins go back into the ancient past, from long before recorded time."
I chose the smallest town on the map to begin the biggest story, and I'm telling you now: your background, your obscurity, your unimpressive circumstances were never a disqualification - they might be exactly where something extraordinary starts.
"Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. "
"So God will let the people go through hardship until, like a woman in labour, the promised deliverance is finally born - then the scattered survivors of the nation will return home and be reunited."
I understand that the hardest waiting often comes right before the breakthrough, so don't mistake your current struggle for abandonment - it may be labour, not punishment, and what's coming is worth it.
"And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. "
"This ruler will stand firm and care for his people with God's own strength and dignity, and they will live securely under him, because his greatness will reach every corner of the earth."
True leadership, as I showed it, is service, not control - I stood among people not to be served but to give my life so others could stand secure, and that's the kind of strength I invite you to trust and to practise.
"And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. "
"This ruler himself will be their peace when Assyria invades; even if the enemy marches right into their palaces, the people will raise up more than enough capable leaders to meet the threat."
I am often called the Prince of Peace, not because trouble never comes, but because when it does, you're never left without enough - inner strength and support will rise to meet what threatens you, so don't panic.
"And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders. "
"These leaders will overpower Assyria itself, the land associated with the legendary conqueror Nimrod - and this is how deliverance from the invading army will actually happen."
Whatever 'empire' is currently marching through your life - an overwhelming fear, a toxic situation, a power that seems unstoppable - I promise you it does not get the final word; deliverance is real, and it comes.
"And the remnant of Jacob shall be 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. "
"The surviving people of Israel will be scattered among many nations like refreshing dew or rain on grass - something that comes from God alone, not dependent on human permission or timing."
You don't need everyone's permission to bring good into the world - be like dew, present and life-giving simply by being who you are, wherever you find yourself, without waiting for applause.
"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. "
"But among the nations, the surviving people of Israel will also be like a lion among forest animals, a young lion among a flock of sheep - if it moves through, it tramples and tears, and nothing can stop it."
I taught gentleness, but I also confronted injustice head-on when it needed confronting - you can be both soft-hearted and immovable, and knowing when to be which is a mark of real maturity, not contradiction.
"Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off. "
"Your strength will rise above those who oppose you, and everyone working against you will be brought to nothing."
Don't spend your energy trying to personally defeat everyone who opposes you - trust that things get set right in the end, and put your energy instead into living well now.
"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: "
"On that day, says the LORD, I will remove your war-horses and destroy your chariots."
I want you to notice what you're actually relying on for security - if it's stockpiles, status symbols or shows of force rather than integrity and trust, I'm inviting you to let some of that go.
"And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds: "
"I will tear down the cities of your land and demolish all your fortified strongholds."
The walls you build to keep yourself safe can also keep out the very connection and trust you need - I'm not asking you to be reckless, just honest about which walls are protecting you and which are just isolating you.
"And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: "
"I will remove the occult practices from your hands, and you will no longer have any fortune-tellers."
I don't want you living in fear of the future or paying anyone - literally or emotionally - to control your anxiety about what's coming; peace comes from trust, not from manipulating fate.
"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. "
"I will also destroy your carved idols and sacred pillars, so you will no longer bow down to things your own hands made."
Anything you've built with your own hands - your reputation, your bank balance, your five-year plan - makes a poor object of ultimate trust, because it can crack under pressure exactly when you need it most; put your foundation somewhere sturdier.
"And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities. "
"I will uproot your sacred poles from among you and demolish your cities."
Sometimes fixing your life isn't about small tweaks but about uprooting whole structures and habits that have quietly organised themselves around the wrong things - I'm with you through that kind of deep change, not just the easy kind.
"And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard. "
"And I will execute furious judgement on the nations who have not obeyed me."
I judge unfairness and cruelty wherever it's found, not just among people who claim to know me - so don't assume that being an outsider to any particular faith puts you beyond mattering to me.