John Calvin Commentary Micah 5:3

"Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she who travaileth hath brought forth: then the residue of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel." — Micah 5:3 (ASV)

The Prophet here again so moderates his words, so that the Jews might understand that they were to endure many evils before God relieved their miseries. He therefore wished here to prepare the minds of the godly to bear evils, so that they might not despair in great troubles, nor be depressed by extreme fear.

He then states these two things: first, that the people, as they deserved, would be heavily afflicted; and second, that God, notwithstanding such severe punishment, would be mindful of His covenant, so as to eventually gather some remnants and not to allow His people to be completely destroyed. He therefore promises a middle course between a prosperous state and destruction. The people, says the Prophet, will not continue intact. How so? For God will cut off the kingdom and the city; and yet He will provide relief to the miserable. When they think that they are given up to complete ruin, He will stretch out His hand to them. This is the sum of the whole matter.

He then says that they will be delivered up, that is, forsaken by God, until she who is in travail bringeth forth. There are those who apply this to the Blessed Virgin, as if Micah had said that the Jews were to look forward to the time when the Virgin would bring forth Christ; but everyone can easily see that this is a forced interpretation.

The Prophet, I have no doubt, in using this analogy, compares the body of the people to a pregnant woman. The analogy of a woman in travail is variously applied. The wicked, when they promise themselves impunity, are suddenly and violently seized; thus their destruction is like the travail of a pregnant woman.

But the meaning of this passage is different, for the Prophet says that the Jews would be like pregnant women for this reason: though they would have to endure the greatest sorrows, yet a joyful and happy outcome would follow. And Christ Himself employs this example for the same purpose:

He says, A woman has sorrow when she brings forth, but immediately rejoices when she sees a man born into the world (John 16:21).

So Micah says in this place, that the chosen people would have a happy deliverance from their miseries, for they would bring forth. There will indeed be the most grievous sorrows, but their outcome will be joy; that is, when they know that they and their salvation had been the objects of God’s care, when they understand that their chastisements had been useful to them. Until then, she who is in travail bringeth forth; God, he says, will forsake them.

There are then two clauses in this verse: first, that the Jews were to be forsaken for a time, as if they were no longer under the power and protection of God; and second, that God would always be their guardian, for a bringing forth would follow their sorrows. The following passage in Isaiah is of an opposite character:

We have been in sorrow, we have been in travail,
and we brought forth wind (Isaiah 26:18).

The faithful complain there that they had been oppressed with the severest troubles and had come to the birth, but that they brought forth nothing but wind; that is, that they had been deceived by vain expectation, for the outcome did not prove to be what they had hoped. But the Lord promises here by Micah something better: that the end of all their evils would be the happy restoration of the people, as when a woman receives compensation for all her sorrows when she sees that a child is born.

And he confirms this statement by another, when he says, To the children of Israel shall return, or be converted, the residue of his brethren. The Prophet then intimates that inevitably God would not only scatter but also tread underfoot His people, so that their calamity would threaten an unavoidable destruction. This is one thing; but in the meantime he promises that some would be saved.

But he speaks of a remnant, as we have observed elsewhere, so that hypocrites would not think that they could escape unpunished while they were trifling with God. The Prophet then shows that such a calamity would come as would nearly extinguish the people, but that some would be preserved through God’s mercy, and that beyond ordinary expectation. We now perceive the intention of the Prophet.