Introduction

I’ve only ever lived in a country that has known the benefit of stable leadership and is generally good! We might not have liked the prime ministers who have led our nations over the years, nor their policies—and let’s be honest, we’re rarely enamoured with the other choices either. Yet, when an election comes, we know we have a real opportunity to change government, whether local or national, and we trust that those voted out will go. We’ve known stability so well that we rarely even think about it.

But recently, we’ve witnessed the rapid collapse of the Assad regime in Syria. For nearly 50 years, this brutal autocratic family dynasty seemed untouchable, surviving every storm thrown at it. Yet, in weeks, the tension holding Syria together unravelled. Security and stability crumbled live on television as armed groups advanced towards the government strongholds. The military simply vanished. For the first time in half a century, the Syrian people face a future with no clear leadership—and no certainty.

I’m not here to make a political point but to ask you to think about this from the perspective of someone who’s lived their whole life in Syria. Imagine what it’s like when all you’ve ever known is a government that doesn’t change, where nothing about your situation, challenges, or future feels like it ever could change. You long for something different, but it seems impossible. Then, in just two weeks, everything changes. There is hope for the first time amid the confusion and uncertainty. And why is there hope? Because everything is now possible.

A Mirror of Longing

This mirrors the longing of God’s people in the time of Micah, 800 years before Christ’s coming. The people of God had suffered centuries of corrupt kings, poor leadership, and foreign domination. Soon, they would fall under the might of the Assyrian Empire, which would later give way to Rome. They longed for something different, yet most likely didn’t expect to see it. Imagine how these words of Micah would have struck a people crushed by sin, surrounded by enemies, and waiting for God to act to deliver on His promise of salvation. “A ruler will come from Bethlehem to bring peace and restoration.”

How powerful these words of hope must have been, spoken into the deep despair of people who were worn down by waiting. Yet, even as these words were proclaimed, their fulfilment would not come for another 700 years.

Advent reminds us of the beauty of waiting, but it’s not passive waiting—it’s active. God’s people in Micah’s time waited passively, but we are called to wait actively. As we long for Christ’s return, we don’t sit idly by; we live in the hope of His promises, trusting in His faithfulness by living out our faith daily. Advent calls us to embody this hope in our waiting as we prepare our hearts for the final Advent of our Lord.

1 A Ruler from Humble Beginnings (Micah 5:2)

Exposition:

The people of God have been waiting a long time; so long have they been waiting that they probably do not even know what they are waiting for. God is gracious in acting for his people in both the positive and the negative. We all know the sounds that mean you are to get ready; it might be as simple as the dreaded alarm clock on a Monday morning ringing at 6 AM. It is not a sound we want to hear, but when we listen, we know it’s time to get up and face the day. When we think about sounds calling us to get ready, we drift to World War Two, when the air sirens might ring, and the city would know what was coming. Some sounds call us to action, commands that bring us to a ready footing. Here, Jerusalem is called to Marshall her troops as the city of soldiers – it is an image of war mongering. And, the implication seems to be that Jerusalem, as the city that has become so corrupted and sinful as she has waged war on the less fortunate and poured out injustice against the least, is now to stand trial for what she had done – a siege for her wrongdoing. So powerful will the enemy be that will lay siege that they will be able to strike the Ruler of Isreal on the cheek. An act that was the most extreme of insults and once marked Israel’s victory over her enemies, 1 Kings 22:24.

Yet, now the King here is called judge to show the judicial nature of his role and how far he has fallen from it. He was to rule and judge the people, yet the city he is in has fallen into sin so that God will act against the people’s sins. Yahweh is not an inactive, distant, far-flung deity who makes a world and has little concern for it. No, our God is sovereign and invested in the world he has made, working to bring about what he has promised – redemption. Thus, in the picture of the corrupt city and her corrupt ruler, as God speaks judgment, he also speaks of hope. Where the people have failed in their behaviour, and the elders they have appointed – The Lord will also act.

To the judgement of verse one, the Lord speaks of hope in verse 2. Contrasted to the might and size of Jerusalem, the Lord will call up from little Bethlehem a ruler. It is to be the clearest of contrasts – Jersulam, with all its might and spoilers, would be the city where the human heart would look for power and authority. Still, the Lord works in his ways and will raise the most significant person from the most insignificant places. The New Living states that Bethlem is “only a small village among all the people of Judah.” the ESV phrases “who are too little to be among the clans of Judah.” Bethlehem Ephrathah is not a place of political or military significance; it is not where the people look for a King; yet, that is the place where God will call for his promised King because our God often works in unexpected ways. Here, the Lord calls someone from the most insignificant places to do the most significant things.

The Lord uses insignificant places and unexpected people to do his work because even in his work, he confronts the world’s ways. We are to see the smallness of Bethlehem in contrast to the size, power and judgement that awaits Jersulam – what happens when you follow the ways of the world? Yet, through Ephrathah and her humble people, the Lord will raise a ruler “whose organs will be from ancient times.” From the town where David was born (1 Samuel 17:12) would come one of his lines, whose origins are from the distant past – but whose purposes are future-orientated. The prophet of God, Micah, is drawing people to God’s redemptive plan that has been unfolding since Genesis 3, as he points to this Messianic hope that is so to be fulfilled (Matthew 2:6).

Bethlehem reminds us of the essence of Christ’s Kingdom. God does not choose to work through the powerful and mighty, but rather the humble and lowly – those who know their sin and need of a saviour. God chooses to work through people like you and me to build his kingdom and confront the powers of the world. People like John the Baptist stood outside the city and judged it in hope, pointing to Jesus. That is the type God worked through then and continues to work through today, so we can always trust that he will do what he said he would as we might ponder: How might God call us to participate in His work, even in our humble circumstances?

2 A Shepherd for God’s People (Micah 5:3-4)

To the hope that has been promised, a warning is given. In essence, verse 3 of this short passage is God’s offering of his people, which they have chosen. Yes, one will come who will deliver the people of God into the eternal Kingdom of God, but because his people have turned away from him to idols and selfishness; because they have looked inward rather than upward – he will give them the fullness of their choice. They have chosen sin, an iso for a time; the people of God will feel the absence of God as they experience the fullness of their choice and its folly. They will feel the absence of Yahweh until the time “when she who is in labour gives birth.” Micah is warning about what is ahead when his and the final prophets’ ministry are finished: the 700 years of silence when God’s people will be overrun by foreign powers and feel their isolation; yet, even in judgment, there is hope! Great acts of God are always accompanied by miraculous births in the Old Testament period; the miraculous birth of Isaac marked the Covenant of Abraham, and so on. Thus, when the prophet Micah mentions that Israel will be abandoned until she who is in Labour gives birth, he points to a significant work of God. The work that we know will be of eternal significance.

This ruler shall stand and Shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, and all his brothers (people) will be united under him. There will be only unity in the Kingdom as God comes to rule. This speaks not simply to unity in the Kingdom of Isreal; Micah is speaking about the great Kingdom unity that Christ would achieve – Pentecost. And what a ruler he will be whereas before the Shepherd imagery was often used to condemn the poor spiritual and Kingly rule that Isreal had been subjected to, as men relied on their strength and turned away from God; here we see a glimpse of the Good Shepherd. He will stand and shepherd the flock, not on his strength but on the strength of the Lord. There is no other strength on which we can operate.

Ezekiel was once told to prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?” (34:2) because this was how bad things had gotten. The kings of Isreal only cared for themselves, and the kings of Judah were no different, bar a few righteous ones. Then, sadly, the Priests who were meant to know God and call His people and rulers back to him – they were no different. All the leadership of Israel had failed. This is the contrast for the Ruler who will Sheperd God’s people in the Lord’s strength and majesty and secure them in safety and peace. He will be great until the end of the earth and rule in a way that the world has longed for. Notice that He will be their peace, not that he will win them peace. He will be their peace because the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, perfectly embodies Micah’s prophecy as the one who leads, protects, and provides for His people. In John 10:11, He declares, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” This is not mere imagery but a profound truth fulfilled in Christ’s sacrificial love. Unlike the self-serving leaders of Israel condemned by the prophets, Jesus came to serve and to save, giving His life so that His flock might find actual safety, unity, and peace in Him. His care is not limited to Israel but extends to all who trust Him, drawing people from every corner of the earth into the security of His eternal Kingdom. Here in Belfast, we know the value of shepherding—of leadership that genuinely seeks the good of others. In Jesus, we see the perfect Shepherd, who does not merely lead us to peace but is our peace, restoring us to God and one another.

John the Baptist became the voice who would speak after Micah and the final prophets. He was, in a sense, the last prophet before the Messiah; he was the whisper that ended the silence of the Lord for some 700 years. What did he do? He pointed people to Jesus, the one who would come after him as the one who would bring about eternal peace. Jesus is the good Shepherd who walks with us in every season of life, whether it’s the dark valley or green pastures – he is our security and peace, our example and hope. This morning I wonder if he is yours. Can you say with hope and confidence that you hear the Good Shepherd’s voice among all the world’s noise?

3 A Peace Beyond Circumstances (Micah 5:5a)

Peace will not come by the sword nor by the political sphere. Nor will peace come through some tremendous social or legal reform. No, in the shortest of sentences, we see the most eternally significant revelations – and he shall be their peace. Not only will this longed-for Messiah be the King that the people have longed for, one who will rule in the strength of the Lord – he will be their peace. The Sentence at the beginning of verse 5, “And he shall be their peace,” clearly implies that the Ruler being prophesied of will be the source of true peace, not simply the absence of conflict and war, of political stability and secured borders. Instead, the Shalom being spoken of here is wholeness and restoration. This ruler will undo the curse of Eden. Jesus is the prince of peace that Isaiah spoke of (9:6), the one of whom the angles would say:

“‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.’” – Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬ ‭NIVUK‬‬

In Jesus, we see the Ruler that Micah foretold and find the peace we have been searching for our whole lives. The peace that gives us calm during the storms of our lives, a peace that passes all understanding. A peace that is the fulfilment of our hopeful longings and will find its fulfilment when Christ comes again. This is the peace that Micah speaks of, a peace that we can see only in Christ. The blessing that would come through Abraham, and in our call to be a blessing, we are called peacemakers. Those who extend Christ’s rule and reign as the Holy Spirit moves us out into the world so that others can know the wonder of the peace we have found and our eternal hope in Christ.

Conclusion: Hope in the Waiting

Micah’s prophecy reminds us of a God who works through the humble and unexpected, shepherds His people with care and brings peace that transforms lives. The promise of a ruler from Bethlehem, a shepherd for God’s flock, and peace beyond circumstances was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and it is a promise that holds for us today. As we wait for His second coming, we are called to live in the hope of His faithfulness, trusting that He will bring about His purposes in His perfect time.

In this Advent season, we are not called to wait passively but to live out an active hope. Like John the Baptist, who broke the silence of 700 years to point people to Christ, we are called to prepare the way for others to encounter the Prince of Peace. In a city like Belfast, where divisions still linger and hearts long for true peace, we have the opportunity to show people that true peace will not be found through political means or human powers – true peace comes in Christ, by faith and repentance, which we share as an act of faith and hope. Through our words and deeds, we can reflect on the shepherding care of Jesus and offer a glimpse of the restoration and unity found in Him.

Advent is a season of waiting, but it is also a season of preparing and proclaiming. As we look to the manger and anticipate the final Advent of our Lord, may we trust in God’s faithfulness, embody His peace, and point others to the eternal hope we have in Christ. As we reflect on Micah’s words and our call to live as people of hope this morning, let us proclaim with confidence and joy, Hope in the Waiting.

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