John Calvin Commentary Micah 5:1-2

"Now shalt thou 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. But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting." — Micah 5:1-2 (ASV)

To encourage the faithful to patience, the Prophet again reminds them that a hard and severe time was near; for it was necessary to remind them often of the approaching calamity, lest terror should completely discourage them. Since there was danger from despair, the Prophet often repeats what he has already said of God’s judgment, which was then impending over the people of Israel.

And this mode and order of teaching should be observed. When the Prophets threaten us, or denounce the punishment we have deserved, we either become numb, or grow angry with God, and murmur; but when they present anything of comfort, we then indulge ourselves and become too secure.

It is therefore necessary to connect threatening with promises, so that we may be always ready to endure temporal evils, and that our minds, sustained by hope, may, at the same time, depend on the Lord and rely on him. It was for this reason that the Prophet again mentions what he had already several times stated—that the Jews would be surrounded by a siege.

How do these two things agree—that the enemies, assembled together, would be like sheaves which are taken to the floor to be trodden by the feet of animals, and that the Jews would be besieged? I answer, that these things harmonize, because the temporary punishment, which God would inflict on his Church, would not prevent him from restoring it again whenever it pleased him.

Therefore, lest security should creep into the minds of the godly, the Prophet designed often to remind them of that dreadful calamity which might have completely overwhelmed them, if no support had been given to them, that is, if God had not sustained them by his word.

Now then you shall assemble yourself, he says, O daughter of a troop. The verb התגדדי, etgaddi, and the noun גדוד, gadud, sound alike, as though he said, You shall be collected, O daughter of collection. The Prophet addresses Jerusalem, but we must see why he calls her the daughter of collection.

Some think that by this word is designated the splendid and wealthy state of Jerusalem, as though the Prophet said, “This city has been until now populous, but now it shall be reduced to such straits that none shall dare to go out beyond its gates, for they shall on every side be surrounded.”

But the Prophet calls Jerusalem the daughter of a troop in another sense—because they were accustomed to cause great troubles. As thieves agree together and meet in troops for the purpose of committing plunder, so also the Prophet calls Jerusalem the daughter of a troop, for its citizens were accustomed willfully to do great evils and, like robbers, to use violence.

You then, he says, shall now be collected; that is, you shall not send out your troops, but enemies shall assemble you together by a severe siege, so that you shall contract yourself like a bundle.

There are, then, two clauses in this verse: that though the Lord resolved to help his Church, he would yet put her in straits for a time; and then the Prophet shows the reason, lest they complained that they were too severely treated. “You have been until now,” he says, “without a cause oppressive to others: the time then has come when the Lord will repay you your recompense.”

As Isaiah says:
Woe to you, plunderer!
Shall you not also be exposed to plunder? (Isaiah 33:1)

So also in this place: “You have assembled in troops, that you might pillage innocent men; therefore other troops shall now encircle you; indeed, you shall be beset by your own fear.” The verb is in Hithpael: he says not, “You daughter of a troop shall be now encircled;” but he says “You shall gather yourself.”

He then adds, A siege has he set against you. This may refer to God, but it must be understood only of enemies, for the Prophet immediately adds, They shall strive with the rod, etc., in the plural number—They shall then strike with the rod the cheek of the judge of Israel.

He means that the Jews would be subdued by their enemies, that their judges and governors would be exposed to every kind of scorn and dishonor, for to strike on the cheek is to offer the greatest indignity; as indeed it is the greatest contempt, as Demosthenes says, and is so mentioned by the lawyers.

We now then perceive that the Prophet’s object was to show that the Jews in vain boasted of their kingdom and civil constitution, for the Lord would expose the governors of that kingdom to extreme contempt. The enemies then shall strike their judges even on the cheek.

But there follows immediately a consolation: we therefore see that the Prophet, at one time, humbles the children of God and prepares them for enduring the cross; and then he mitigates all sorrow, indeed, and makes them rejoice in the midst of their afflictions.

You Bethlehem Ephratah, are small, that you should be among the thousands of Judah. As Matthew quotes this passage differently, some think that it should be read as a question: And you, Bethlehem Ephratah, are you the least among the provinces of Judah? Matthew says, “You are by no means the least; you excel.”

But what need is there to distort the words of the Prophet, as it was not the design of the Evangelist to relate the expressions of the Prophet, but only to point out the passage? As to the words, Matthew considered the condition of the town Bethlehem, such as it was at the coming of Christ.

It then indeed began to be eminent; but the Prophet represents here how ignoble and humble a place Bethlehem then was. You, he says, are the least among the thousands of Judah.

Some, not very wisely, give this explanation: “You are the least among the thousands of Judah”; that is, “Though there might be a thousand towns in the tribe of Judah, yet you could hardly have a place among so great a number.” But this has been said through ignorance of a prevailing custom, for the Jews, we know, were accustomed to divide their districts into thousands or chiliads.

As in the army there are centurions, so also in the divisions of every nation there are hundreds; there are also in an army tribunes, who preside over a thousand men. Thus the Prophet calls them thousands, that is, tribunes; for the districts are so arranged, that the town, which, with its villages, could produce three thousand men, had three prefectures; and it had three tribunes, or four or five, if it was larger.

The Prophet then, in order to show that this town was small and hardly of any account, says, You, Bethlehem, are hardly sufficient to be one province. And it was a proof of its smallness that hardly a thousand men could be made up from Bethlehem and its neighboring villages.

There were not, we know, many towns in the tribe of Judah, and yet a large army could be collected there. Since then the town of Bethlehem was so small that it could hardly attain the rank of a province, it is thus undoubtedly evident that it was but a humble town. We now perceive what the Prophet had in view.

You, Bethlehem, he says, are small among the cities of Judah; yet arise, or go forth, for me shall one from you, who is to be a Ruler in Israel. He calls it Bethlehem Ephratah, for they say that there was another Bethlehem in the tribe of Zebulon, and we know that Ephratah is nearly the same in meaning as Bethlehem, for both designate an abundance of fruit or provisions; and David was born there.

I will now proceed to the second clause: From you shall go forth for me one who is to be a Ruler. Here the Prophet introduces God as the speaker: go forth, he says, shall one for me. God declares in this passage that it was not his purpose so to destroy his people, but that he intended, after a time, to restore them again.

He therefore recalls the attention of the faithful to himself and to his eternal counsel, as though he said, “I have thus for a time cast you away, that I may yet manifest my care for you.” For me then shall go forth one who is to be a Ruler in Israel. Now there is no doubt that the Prophet at the same time recalls the attention of the faithful to the promise which had been given to David.

For from where does the hope of salvation for the chosen people arise, except from the perpetuity of that kingdom? The Prophet now says, “There is indeed a reason, according to the perception of the flesh, why the faithful should despond; for from where does their confidence arise, except from the kingdom of David? And from what place is David to arise?”

“Even from Bethlehem; for Bethlehem has been called the city of David, and yet it is an obscure and a small town, and can hardly be considered a common province. Since it is so, the minds of the faithful may be depressed; but this smallness shall be no hindrance to the Lord, that he should not bring forth from there a new king.”

Even before the time of David, Bethlehem was a small town and one of the most common provinces. Who could have expected that a king would have been chosen from such a hamlet, and then, that he should come from a hut? For David belonged to a pastoral family; his father was a shepherd, and he was the least among his brothers. Who then could have thought that light would have arisen from such a corner, indeed, from so humble a cottage? This was done contrary to the expectations of men.

Therefore, the Prophet sets here before the faithful a similar expectation for their comfort, as though he said, “Has not God once formed a most perfect state of things by making David a king, so that the people became in every respect happy and blessed? And from where did David come? It was from Bethlehem. There is then no reason why your present miseries should distress you too much; for God can again from the same place bring forth a king to you, and he will do so.”

You then Bethlehem, small are you, etc. The prophet doubtless intended here that the faithful should consider what kind of beginning that most perfect state had, when David was chosen king. David was a shepherd, a man in humble life, without reputation, without influence, and even the humblest among his brothers. Since then God had drawn light out of darkness, there was no reason for the faithful to despair of a future restoration, considering what had been the beginning of the previous happy condition of the people. We now understand the Prophet’s meaning. But the rest I cannot finish today; I must therefore defer it until tomorrow.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as we do not cease to provoke your wrath against us, and as it is necessary for us to be often chastised by your hand, that we may be humbled and learn to submit ourselves to you in true and willing obedience—O grant, that we do not faint under your scourges, but always raise up our minds to the hope of deliverance, which you give to us through our Mediator; whom you have once for all sent into the world, that you might through him reconcile us to yourself, and through whom also you bring help whenever we need it. May we at the same time learn to rely on your only-begotten Son, so that with courageous minds we may pass through all the miseries of this world, and never at any time grow weary, until, having at length obtained the victory, we come to that blessed rest and enjoy the fruit of our victory, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

We began yesterday to explain the promise by which our Prophet designed to sustain the minds of the faithful, lest they should despair in their heavy trial. He reminds them, as has been stated, of the commencement of the kingdom: as David had been raised as it were from nothing, and God gave in him an example of his wonderful grace, the Prophet reminds the godly that the same is now to be expected, that God will again raise up the fallen kingdom.

“Go forth then from Bethlehem, he says, shall one who is to be a Ruler in Israel, though it was but a humble town. He calls him a Ruler in Israel, for he had before declared that there would be such a dreadful judgment that the enemy would strike with the hand the face of the judge; and this was the same as though the Prophet had said that no honor would be shown to the people, for the chief himself would be beaten.

He therefore now promises a new Ruler; he promises that there would be again some civil order to be found among the people, for a governor could not have been struck on the cheek unless all authority and honor had departed. We then see what the Prophet intended by mentioning the word Ruler; it was to show that God would again cause a new Prince to arise to govern the people. It was therefore a remedy for their devastation.

But the Prophet adds, His going forth is from the beginning, or from far antiquity, and from the days of ages, that is, from the days of eternity. He intimates here that it would not be a sudden thing that a prince should arise to govern the people, for it had already long ago been determined by God.

This is the plain meaning. Some, I know, persistently maintain that the Prophet speaks here of the eternal existence of Christ; and as for myself, I willingly acknowledge that the divinity of Christ is here proved to us. But as this will never be allowed by the Jews, I prefer taking the words simply as they are—that Christ will not come out unexpectedly from Bethlehem, as though God had previously determined nothing respecting him.

His goings forth, then, are from the beginning. But others bring a new refinement—that the Prophet uses the plural number, his goings forth, to designate the twofold nature of Christ. But there is an absurdity in this, for the Prophet could not properly nor wisely mention the human nature of Christ with the divine with reference to eternity.

The Word of God, we know, was eternal; and we know that when the fullness of time came, as Paul says, Christ put on our nature (Galatians 4:4). Hence the beginning of Christ as to the flesh was not so old, if his existence is spoken of; to set them together then would be absurd. It is a common thing in Hebrew to use the plural for the singular number.

He says then that the going forth of Christ is from eternity, for he will not come out suddenly from Bethlehem, as one who rises unexpectedly to bring help when things are in a hopeless state, and so rises when nothing had been foreseen. But the Prophet declares that the going forth of Christ would be different—that God had from the beginning determined to give his people an eternal king.

At the same time, we must reject that interpretation with which the Rabbis are pleased; for they say that the Messiah was created before the creation of the world, and also the throne of eternity, and the Law, and other things; but these are insipid fables. The Prophet shows simply that even before the world was made Christ was chief; indeed, he is also called the Firstborn of every creature, for by him all things were created (Colossians 1:15), and the same Word of God, by whom the world was created, is to be the Head of the Church, and by him what has been lost is to be recovered.

We now then comprehend what the Prophet meant by saying, the goings forth of Christ are from eternity. But I would not concede to the Jews that only by the perpetual appointment of God has the going forth of Christ been from the beginning, or from all ages.

Rather, we must notice two things: first, that Christ, who was manifested in the flesh that he might redeem the Church of God, was the eternal Word by whom the world was created; and second, that he was destined by the eternal counsel of God to be the first-born of every creature, and especially to be the Head of the Church, that he might restore a fallen world by his grace and power.

We now then see the reason why the Prophet connects together these two things: that one would go forth from Bethlehem who would rule among Israel, and yet that his goings forth have been from eternity. For if he had only said what I explained yesterday, an objection might easily have been made, and this might have come into the mind of some: “Why do you say that one will come from Bethlehem who will govern the chosen people, as though God were to contrive a new remedy on seeing that it is all over with respect to the deliverance of his Church?”

The Prophet here anticipates this objection and reminds us that his goings forth have been from eternity, that they have been already decreed, even from the beginning. For with God there is nothing new, so that he should stand in need of holding any unexpected consultation, as is the case with us when anything happens which we in no way anticipated; we then find it necessary to devise some new measures.

The Prophet shows that nothing of this kind can happen to God. Instead, all this—that people are reduced to nothing, and that they are again restored by Christ—all this is overruled by his secret and incomprehensible providence. His goings forth then are from the beginning, and from the days of eternity. Let us proceed—