Micah 2:12-13; The King Bursts Forth and the Sheep Pass Through.

Class Outline:

Wednesday December 4, 2024

Intro: Assyrian invasion of Israel and Judah (722-701 B.C.):

 

The darkness has descended. The northern kingdom is gone. The cities that made up the gates of Jerusalem to the west are gone. Only Jerusalem is left. Sennacherib sent an envoy to tell them to surrender.

 

The deliverance of Jerusalem depended on the king’s prayer. 

 

ISA 37:14-20

Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed to the Lord saying, 16 "O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17 "Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God. 18 "Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have devastated all the countries and their lands, 19 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. 20 "Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, Lord, are God." 

 

Rather than depending on the Egyptians, as he had, he knows that his hope in the Egyptians was empty and now he has no other recourse but God alone. 

 

ISA 37:21-22

Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word that the Lord has spoken against him:

 

"She has despised you and mocked you,

The virgin daughter of Zion;

 

ISA 37:36-37

Then the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, all of these were dead. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh.

 

2KI 19:31 [same story]

'For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant, and out of Mount Zion survivors. The zeal of the Lord will perform this. 

 

“Go forth” is a theme of this next oracle, a salvation oracle.

 

What we have here is a near and far, already and not yet prophecy. The near is the deliverance of Jerusalem when the Assyrians are at the gates. The far is the deliverance of Jerusalem at the second coming of Christ.

 

Salvation oracle. The first, but not the last in Micah. 

 

MIC 2:12-13

12 "I will surely assemble all of you, Jacob,

I will surely gather the remnant of Israel.

I will put them together like sheep in the fold;

Like a flock in the midst of its pasture

They will be noisy with men. [“They shall be thrown into confusion with no man (to care for them)” Waltke]

13 "The breaker goes up before them;

They break out, pass through the gate and go out by it.

So their king goes on before them,

And the Lord at their head."

 

Yahweh unifies and protects in the fold (pen). The immediate reference is to the protection of Jerusalem by the Lord, just as Micah will prophecy in: 

 

MIC 5:5-6

This One will be our peace.

When the Assyrian invades our land,

When he tramples on our citadels,

Then we will raise against him

Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men. 

6 They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,

The land of Nimrod at its entrances;

And He will deliver us from the Assyrian

When he attacks our land

And when he tramples our territory. 

 

“Breaker” (MIC 2:13) refers to God as the one who is going to break out against the Assyrians. The King of Israel at her head, sheep behind. This is also the image used by Christ when He calls Himself the good shepherd in JOH 10:3. 

 

The King bursts forth and the sheep pass through. That is a nice epithet for the salvation plan of God. 

 

The sheep following their Shepherd-King is a timeless truth. 

 

PSA 23:1-4

The Lord is my shepherd,

I shall not want. 

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside quiet waters. 

3 He restores my soul;

He guides me in the paths of righteousness

For His name's sake. 

 

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 

 

PSA 80:1

Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel,

You who lead Joseph like a flock;

You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth! 

 

PSA 95:6-7

Come, let us worship and bow down,

Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. 

7 For He is our God,

And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

Today, if you would hear His voice, 

 

PSA 100:3

Know that the Lord Himself is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 

 

The Lord is my shepherd: 

He makes me lie down

He gives me peace

He restores me

He shines forth

Worship Him

He made us

 

False shepherds scatter sheep and feed themselves, not the flock. 

 

EZE 34:2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord God, "Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?

 

The Lord Himself will have to shepherd them: 

 

EZE 34:31

"As for you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God," declares the Lord God.”

 

JOH 10:1-18.

 

Theme: In spite of the rule of evil, the Lord will gather His remnant into His kingdom. 

 

Application: 

 

Rejoice now in your certain future. Christmas is coming. Rejoice. Do not for a moment let stress enter your soul due to material things. Picture yourself trapped in your pen, some around you are freaking out, but you are hearing the voice of your Shepherd saying “(your name here) come out and follow Me to some beautiful pastures.”

 

Love your Shepherd-King and invite all around you to believe in Him. Christmas is coming. It is a lonely time for some. Invite them. Reach out to them. Share with them. [Luke 14:13-14]

 

Know that you are to follow your Shepherd now, before you can do so physically. Follow your Shepherd’s way, truth, and life before you follow Him physically into His kingdom. It’s scary, yes, but the reward is great. Do all He tells you to do.