Shalom, good to be together this Saturday, this Shabbat afternoon, and good to be under the sound of the word. So I would like you all, please, to take your Bibles and turn to the book of Micah, chapter 5, this ministry meeting. Micah, chapter 5. Again, to remind ourselves that we are in the study of the prophet Micha. Micha was a Hebrew prophet who prophesied to our nation Israel to both the northern kingdom, Israel, the southern kingdom, Judah. And he also gone beyond the time of the fact that both of these nations would be taken captive by the Assyrians, later on by the Babylonians. And he is also predicting a coming day when Israel as a nation will be restored.

And I think this is very dear to the heart of every believer in our Lord Jesus the Messiah, who loved the Bible and loved the Word of God, and loved the Lord Jesus, recognized that what's dear to the heart of the Lord ought to be dear to the heart of every believer. So we are going to go through ministry today on the fifth chapter of the book of Micah. And we begin with verse 1 of chapter 5, and please follow me. Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops. He hath laid siege against us. They should smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.

But thou, Bethlehem Ephrata, 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 going forth have been from of old from everlasting. Therefore will he give them up until the time that she which travaileth has brought forth, then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. 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 end of the earth. And this man shall be the peace, the shalom, 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.

And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrance thereof. Thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders. 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 men, nor waiteth for the sons of men. 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, tread us down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.

Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off, 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, and I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strongholds. And I will cut off witchcraft out of thine hand, and thou shalt have no more soothsayers. 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.

And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee, so will I destroy thy cities, and I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard. This is chapter 5 of the prophet Michah, and in this chapter you can clearly see without me even making any comments that here now the prophet micha the prophet Micah is speaking about the coming Messiah Mashiach of our people of all the people of Israel and as micha was a contemporary of Isaiah both of them about 700 750 years prior to the coming of our Lord Jesus the Messiah they were prophesying about the coming Messiah into this world a time where there will be the precious promises of God that the Messiah the deliver of Israel will come into this world and will be born into this world and the purpose of.

The coming of the Messiah ultimately is to pay the price for sin for the sin of the nation of Israel, for the sin of the nations of this world, and to provide redemption for the whole world. But I want you just to notice, beloved brothers and sisters, that the first verse of this chapter actually do not really belong to chapter 5. You can see that whoever divided the Bible, the Word of God, into chapters and verses, sometimes by misunderstanding or sometimes by a wrong way they have placed a divided the chapters we have it both also in the brita chadasha in the new testament John chapter 7 ended with the Lord being in the temple in chapter 8 the first verse belonged to chapter 7 and yet still the division in the brita chadasha in the new testament also have been done by men it's not divinely inspired and you can see that the one who divided the chapters here really didn't have the right way in the division by the way in the Hebrew.

Chapter 5 began with verse 2 of what we have here in the king James Scripture chapter 5 verse 1 in the Hebrew old testament really began with the verse but thou or bet lechem effrata though thou be little among the thousand of judea yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be a ruler in Israel who is going forth has been from of old even from everlasting so if you have a Hebrew Scripture in your hand you will notice that the masoretic text chapter 5 began with this verse that speaks about the coming of the Messiah and the first verse here in our Bible really belonged to the previous chapter and I want to show you this in a moment before we're going to go to the division of this chapter notice what it says in chapter 5 and verse 1 now gather thyself in troops or daughter of troops he hath laid a siege against us they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod.

Upon the chick now unfortunately whoever divided the Scripture in such a way should have realized is that this verse really belonged to the previous deliberation that we had in chapter 4. If you remember, in chapter 4 from verse 9 to the end, we have a prophetic message by Michah, first of all about the immediate dispersion of the Jewish people to Babylon, but it takes us beyond the time of the Babylonian captivity to the tribulation period. He takes us to the tribulation period, to the time where Israel will be as a woman that travailing in pain before the nation will be born as a nation in the tribulation period.

So, I presume the one who divided these chapters in such a way have read this expression, smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. And perhaps some do believe that that judge of Israel really is speaking about the Messiah. But it actually does not speak about the Messiah in the context here, because the context is Israel being taken to Babylon in the immediate context, But in the far away context, he speaks about the tribulation period. And if you remember, at the end of the book of 2 Kings, it was King Tzedekiah that was taken captive by the Babylonians, by Nebuchadnezzar to Babel. And if you remember, Nebuchadnezzar cut his eyes and blinded Tzedekiah and killed his sons.

You can read it in 2 Kings chapter 25. And then he carried Tzedekiah and the whole nation into Babylon. But Tzedekiah was really not of the line of Judah. Tzedekiah was actually the uncle of Jehoiachin, the last king of Judah that was carried to Babylon. And he was really not the true king of Israel. And that's why we know from this text that it's really speaking about Szedekiah, who was really only the judge of Israel. He was not the true king of Israel. And he was the one that was smitten. Jerusalem was ultimately destroyed. And the Jewish people, our own people, have gone to Babylon and they have spent 70 years in the land of Babylon.

You have to listen to the previous message to understand that this verse 1 belonged to the previous chapter. Notice one more thing to mention here before we're going to go to the actual verses here. In verse 13, we see the verse says, Arise and thresh. This is speaking about Israel in the future day. In verse 1 of chapter 5, it says, Gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops. It really is speaking in two ways on the one hand Israel will be taken to Babylon the judge of Israel will be destroyed but when we are speaking about the tribulation period God will use the nation of Israel to defeat the armies and the Antichrist and those that would come against the nation of Israel but now let's go through the passage that we have before us here in the actual text itself of chapter 5 there are three things that i want to highlight here today in our ministry meeting the first thing i want you to notice here is the promise of the coming of the Messiah that Micah is telling the Jewish people now just previously the judge of Israel was smitten Israel was carried into Babylon and it seemed to be that there is no hope for the nation it seemed to be outwardly that the nation is defeated and the promises of God of the coming of the Messiah have been totally eliminated but here's Micah saying and God speaking through the.

Prophet and he said but you notice in verse 2 here's the promise of the coming Messiah here's the contrast yes Israel were defeated and were taken captive to Babylon but the promises of God will remain true and he's saying but thou Bethlehem efratah though thou be little among the thousands of Judah yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me God is saying that is to be ruler in Israel the Hebrew word is moshel be Israel whose going forth have been from of old from everlasting. Now we know very well because we just read earlier in Matthew chapter 2 that this verse is specifically speaking about the promised Messiah that the Jewish people have anticipated for the coming of the Messiah.

And there are four things that we learn here from verse 2 of Micah 5. The first thing is the place of his birth you notice it says thou beth lechem efrata now do you know in Israel we have two beth lechem there is beth lechem in the south in efrata what is known today beth lechem today near Jerusalem six seven miles out of the city of Jerusalem but there is also another beth lechem that is in Galilee if you travel through Galilee you will notice that there is a sign that says Bethlehem, Galilee. This is another town, another village that is found in the north of Israel, in Galilee.

But God had predicted that when the Messiah will come, he will come out of the city of Bethlehem, but not Bethlehem of Galilee, of the Galil, but Bethlehem of Ephrata. Ephrata is the area of which is outside of the city of Jerusalem and the promise of God that the Messiah will come from that place that is called Bethlehem Ephrata. By the way, Bethlehem, if you remember from the book of 1 Samuel, was the place of the birth of King David, HaMelech David. His father was Yishai, and if you remember when Shmuel Samuel went to anoint the king for our Jewish people Israel, he went to the city of Bethlehem, and he called Jesse Yishai to present before him all his sons, and the last son that came was David, and David was anointed in the midst of his brethren.

And so this promise of the coming of the Messiah will be truly that he will come to the city of Bethlehem, not Galilee, but Bethlehem Ephrata. The second thing that we learn here about this verse, and I think it is very precious, because it says here in verse 2b, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah you know Bethlehem at the time that the prophet micha was prophesying was really an insignificant city it was not an important city and it was a little city seems to be insignificant and it was as he says here though there be little among the thousands of Judea. There were many cities and towns and very important cities.

One of the most important cities of Judea is the city of Yerushalayim. And you might say, if God is going to bring a king, a leader of the nation Israel, he will be born in the city of Yerushalayim. But the promise of the Messiah that he will come into this world was not to be born in Jerusalem, in Jerusalem, though Jerusalem is very important, but the promise was that the Messiah will be born in the city of Bethlehem, which was really little among the thousands of. Judea. There were many, many towns and villages and cities that were much more important than Bethlehem. And yet the Messiah will come out of the city of Bethlehem that is little among the thousands of Judea.

And then now, the third thing that we find out that I think is very, very precious, that when the Messiah will come to redeem the people of Israel, he will be born as a human being. He will become a man, a man just like you and I, sin apart. And that's why this chapter 5 verse 2 here verse 1 in the Hebrew Scriptures present before us number one the humanity of the Messiah and also number two the divine nature of the Messiah so look what he says here in verse 2 see out of you shall come he forth to me that is going to be the ruler of Israel now here's God promise a man that will be coming from the city of Bethlehem that he will end up to be the ruler.

In Hebrew the word mosheel be Israel he is going to come to become the ruler of the nation of Israel but he's calling him a he he's a person it is a human being if you remember beloved brothers and sisters again micha and yeshayahu were contemporary they presented the message to Israel at the same time and if you please for a moment turn the Bible to the prophet Isaiah look what Isaiah is saying about the Messiah that will come into this world in Isaiah we read in the seventh chapter Isaiah is speaking in verse 14 he's speaking about the fact that God will give Israel a sign he's going to give the tribe of Judah the house of David a sign it says in verse 13 first of all and he said here ye now all house of David is it a small thing for you to weary men but i will weary my God also therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign behold the virgin.

Shall conceive and bear a son and she will call his name Immanuel this is the two Hebrew words with us el means God the virgin the almar shall conceive and bear his son here's the humanity of the Messiah he will come forth out of the virgin of the almam Miriam now turn to chapter 9 of the same prophet Isaiah and you notice what Isaiah continued to speak about the coming Messiah and i want you to notice that he make a distinction between the word child and son Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6 he says for unto us a child is born in other word as a child he was born but then notice the second half of the verse but unto us a son is given when it's come to his humanity he was born when it's come to his divine nature he was given we just sang together in John chapter 3 for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish but have.

Everlasting life and so beloved brothers and sisters when micha was prophesying concerning the coming Messiah the Redeemer of Israel and the Savior of this world he speaks of the fact that he will be born in a special city betlechem efrata he will be born in that city which was little among the thousands of judea but when he's going to enter into this world he will take union humanity with divine nature he will be a man this is amazing when you think about it he says here out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be a ruler in Israel so the Messiah will come in his humanity he's going to be a ruler of our people of all the people of Israel he's going to rule all this world in the coming day and now fourthly we find out in the very same verse the divine nature of the Messiah see this is our own problem i must say our own Jewish problem when.

Somebody told me that Jesus that Yeshua was the Messiah i said to them how can you believe in a mere man that was our problem today as well when i talk to my mother when i talk to my family and i tell them listen Yeshua is the Messiah they say how can you believe on that man that they put him on a tree and they crucify him how can you worship him how can you praise him how can you believe we Jewish people do not believe in a mere man we believe in God in the true and living God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob but Micah help us here he says listen not at the end of verse two says not only that the ruler will come to rule Israel at the end of verse two it says who's going forth have been from of old from everlasting now that is an amazing truth to grasp in our own hearts that this baby that was born in a city of betlechem is the one that he's going forth was from of old.

From everlasting in Hebrew it says me me olam mozaotav mi kedem me me olam in other words he never had a beginning in eternity past he was ever existing he was the eternal son the eternal son of God that's why Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6 says and to us a child was born humanity and to us a son is given he was not born he was given as the eternal son of God he was given unto men for the benefit of redemption now please put your finger here in Micah chapter 5 and turn to the brit hachadashah to the new testament and please read with me the gospel of John the Hebrew apostles of all tried sought with the help of the Spirit of God to present this before the new testament readers and look what John said in the gospel John chapter 1 in verse 1 In the beginning was the Word And the Word was with God And the Word was God The same was in the beginning with God All things were made by Him.

And without Him was not anything made which was made In Him was life And the life was the light of men And the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not. Verse 14 of John 1 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, the glories of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. You see, Yochanan, John, the evangelist, was used by the Spirit of God to give us this gospel. He went beyond the birth of the Messiah here in this world and he takes us to eternity past and he says in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God the divine nature of the Messiah you know this is so precious because if we are going to receive sins forgiven if we are going to be able to stand before a holy God as sinners we must have someone who is able to deal with the problem of sin and that could only be a perfect one a perfect man a son he was given as a child he was born to the virgin Miriam in the city of Bethlehem so by the way brothers and sisters you can see how prophecy is so beautiful in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15 he's called the seed of the woman in Genesis chapter 12 and verse 3 he's the seed of Abraham in Genesis chapter 49 and verse 10 he's a descendant of the tribe of Judah in second.

Samuel chapter 7 he is a descendant of the family of David in Micah 5 and verse 2 verse 1 in the Hebrew text his birthplace is in the city of Bethlehem and Micah 5 tells us of his humanity and also of his divine nature what a love God had towards us that he was willing to send his son the son of God who loved me Paul said and gave himself for me and all was in the prophecy of the Hebrew prophet by the name of micha so go back to Micah chapter 5 and you can see once again let me read this text again and i'm going to connect this as well with what we have just read earlier in Matthew chapter 2 let me just read this one more time what micha was saying to the people of Judah and the people of Israel and you're saying to them but thou even though Judah have been taken captive by the Babylonian even though they have been seemingly destroyed and hopeless.

Yet God says but thou bet lechem afrata though there be little among the thousands of Judah yet out of thee shall he this is the Messiah shall come forth to me this is God that is to be a ruler in Israel who's going forth have been from of all even from everlasting you remember when Yeshua was born we read it in Matthew chapter 2 herod the king was really troubled when he heard that the king of Israel the king of the Jews was born the wise men that came from the east ask where is the one that's going to be born and so herod the king heard these things and he was troubled and what happened that he gathered all the chief priests and the scribes and together and he demanded from them Matthew chapter 2 and verse 4 to know when the Messiah will be born or where so the chief leaders of Israel said to him in the Bethlehem of judaea this is Matthew 2 and verse 5 for thus it.

Is written by the prophet and thou Bethlehem in the land of Judah art not the least among the princes of Judah but out of thee shall come the governor that shall rule my people Israel herod was troubled but the leaders of Israel though they did not accept the Messiah in his first coming they understood that the Messiah was going to come to the city of Bethlehem and everything is taken from Micah chapter 5 and verse 2 so this is the first point that is very important to understand here concerning the promise of the coming Messiah of Israel in Micah chapter 5. Now, let's move on in our chapter.

In the next verses, verses 3 and 4, we see that for some period of time, the Messiah will give up on the nation of Israel temporarily, and then ultimately he will restore Israel back to himself and in this we see the two comings of the Messiah the first coming he was rejected he was despised the second coming he will be accepted and embraced by Israel and he will restore them. To himself so notice now how the verses are being read notice that verse 3 says therefore or will he give them up he the Messiah that will be born in Bethlehem will give them up that them here is the Jewish people the nation of Israel now notice that the giving up of the nation is temporary the reason that he gave the nation up is because the nation rejected the messiahship of Yeshua.

Up till today, when we speak to our own brethren, our own nation Israel, as far as our people are concerned, Jesus is not the promised Messiah. As far as Israel is concerned, the religious leaders of Israel say that Yeshua is not the Messiah. Yes, we always have those believers such as those of us here who are Jewish, who are coming from a Jewish background. We have embraced the Messiah earlier sooner than the rest of the nation so it says therefore will he the Messiah give them up but notice it used the word immediately after until notice the word until. Here it is a very important word that mentioned many times in the Scripture in Psalm 110 and verse 1, God the Father, speak to God the Son, and he said to him, sit down on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

When the Messiah was rejected in his first coming, and he was crucified by the Romans, but rejected by all men, he died, and he was buried, and he rose, and he was placed in the pinnacle of the universe and God said to the Messiah sit down on my right hand until i'll make thine enemies thy footstool so there will be a season a time when God will give Israel up temporarily in order to drive them to recognize that there is a day coming that they will need to acknowledge that God sent the Son and that this Son is the Messiah. But I want you to notice this in other two passages of Scripture, and this time it is a New Testament passages in Matthew.

Please. Turn to Matthew chapter 23. Yeshua was here on earth before he died on the tree, before he was crucified. Yeshua, the Messiah, was appealing to the city of Jerusalem. And you remember in verse 37 of Matthew chapter 23 Yeshua is speaking Jesus is speaking and he said oh Jerusalem Jerusalem thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee how often would i have gathered thy children together as a hand gathereth her cheeks under her wings but ye would not and then he said in verse 38 behold your house shall be left unto you desolate see this expression your house shall be left unto you desolate will he correspond with verse 3a of Micah 5 therefore will he give them up your house shall be left unto you desolate but then he continued in Matthew chapter 23 and verse 39 and he said for i say unto you that ye shall not see me henceforth and here's the word until again until ye shall say baruch haba b'shem Adonai blessed is he that.

Cometh in the name of the Lord you see how Micah when he was speaking concerning the birth of the Messiah he understood prophetically that Israel in the first coming will not accept the Messiah and when Israel did not accept the Messiah they were temporarily being as it says here in Micah 5 and verse 3 given up temporarily but it's only for a season because God have intended that Israel as a nation will be gathered and that Israel will be the one that will be a priestly nation that will testify here to his glory among the nations of this world so the Lord himself said this in Matthew 23, verses 37 to 39, ye shall not see me henceforth until ye shall say, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

I need to read one more verse in connection with the word until that is found in Romans chapter 11, and please turn with me to this verse as well. Romans chapter 11 is a very important chapter because there the Apostle Paul is explaining to Christians to Gentiles believers in the body of Messiah that Israel has a future that Israel will be restored as a nation and in Roman chapter 11 and verse 25 he said to the believers at Rome for i would not brethren that you should be ignorant of this mystery lest ye should be wise in your own conceit. Listen to this. The blindness in part happened to Israel until, here's the third time the word until, the fullness of the Gentiles become in, and then verse 26 says, and then all Israel shall be saved.

You see, Micah's prophecy to Israel the north, to Judah now to be carried to Babylon beyond the time of his preaching to the end time where he is speaking about Israel restoration but for a season Israel will be in a sense given up and they will not accept the Messiah for such a long time and Christians need to know that it is only for a season until the full number of Gentiles become in when the church age will come to a conclusion and the rapture will occur the church will be taken then God will begin a direct dealing with the nation of Israel and all Israel he said in Romans 11 26 shall be saved so now please go back to Micah chapter 5 and so we find out now that in verse 3 the Messiah will give up on Israel temporarily but in verse 3b and verse 4 the Messiah will restore Israel eventually he will restore the people of Israel to himself because it says in verse 3b in verse 4 until when until.

The time that she, this is Israel, the travailers have brought forth. Then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel, and he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in a majesty of the name of the Lord his God, and they shall abide, for now shall he be great unto the end of the earth and so verses 3b and verse 4 is speaking to us about the last days of the tribulation period when Israel as a nation will be travailing as a woman and will bring forth finally will be born as a nation there is coming a day that Israel will be born as a nation and you notice the word travailing it mentioned a few times when a woman is giving birth to a child she goes through the process of labor it is very similar to the experience of the nation of Israel Israel have gone through much labor and sorrow and pain throughout our history.

When the Messiah was going to be coming through the nation of Israel, how much persecution the people of Israel have experienced over the generations by many nations. Satan have always sought to destroy the coming of the Messiah by inflicting persecution upon the Jewish people. I don't have to tell you this you just have to look at the history but not only this also when Israel is going to be becoming a nation also there will be an infliction of suffering upon the nation of Israel by the world by Satan by the enemies of God but Israel ultimately will be born as a nation as she which travaileth brought forth then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel there is a verse in Isaiah 66 verses 7 and 8 at the end again Isaiah contemporary of Micah he said before she travailed she brought forth before her pain came she was delivered of a man child who has heard such a thing verse 8 who has seen such a thing shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day or shall a nation it is Israel be born at once for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.

Isaiah was prophesying of the pain that Israel will experience during the tribulation period. But at the end of the tribulation period. Beloved brothers and sisters, a nation shall be born at once. And the nation of Israel, at the end of sorrow and challenges, ultimately will return to the Lord and verse 4 he will stand there and he will 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 end of the earth so the he here has to do with the Messiah who will remain he will feed the nation of Israel he will be like that good shepherd who will feed the nation a restored nation the Bible teaches us many times especially also in the new testament about the Lord Jesus he's called in John 10 the good shepherd in Hebrews chapter 13 he's called the great shepherd in 1st Peter chapter 5 Yeshua is called the chief shepherd he is a good shepherd he is a great shepherd he is a chief shepherd he is the shepherd of Israel that is found in Psalm 80 verses 1 and 2.

And 3 and so here we can see how there is coming a day when Israel as a nation will ultimately be restored but the only way of restoration will be through the coming of the Messiah who was born in little among the thousands of judea yet he was born to the virgin Miriam but his going forth is from eternity me may olam from everlasting so we talked about two things so far verse two the promise of the coming of Messiah verse 3 and 4 the temporarily giving up Israel until Israel will accept the Messiah and ultimately Israel will be restored now i want you to notice at the last verses of this chapter is really the main bulk of the chapter the Messiah will bring about shalom and peace for the nation of Israel and for all the nations of the world.

Who of us can say today that we are not looking for the day where there will be true peace here in this world? What a miserable world we live in. There's constant wars, constant friction, constant animosity. You cannot open the television without to see who was killed by this nation or that nation. You cannot help it you open the newspaper and you read about the hatred and animosity that existing in this poor and miserable world but the only one that is going to bring shalom to the hearts of men shalom among the people of this world can only be that one that who's going forth is from everlasting from the one from eternity past the Messiah that was born in Bethlehem is the only one that can bring peace here into this world so verse 5 to verse 15 the Messiah will bring shalom to bring peace to Israel and to the nations of this world notice those things are very interesting here in this chapter first of all in verse 5 and 6 the Messiah will defend Israel from their enemies it says in verse 5 and this man shall be the peace in Hebrew it says the haya the shalom this man the only man that can bring peace that can bring shalom is this man this man in fact he is called in the prophets the prince of peace sal shalom.

This is the only one that can bring peace between brethren between friends that once were enemies he is the only one that can bring shalom between nations he is the only one that can bring peace and how he is going to defend Israel verses 5 and 6 it says first of all in verse 5 he shall be the shalom and he will provide protection notice that it says when the assyrian shall come unto our land the assyrian here has also a reference to the future counterfeit Messiah and his armies who will gather against Israel against Jerusalem it is also the immediate time in the time where Micah was preaching where the assyrian was taking Israel captive as well but he takes us beyond the time of Micah to the tribulation and to the end of the tribulation and he said this man shall be the peace when the assyrian shall come to our land this is Israel's land and then he shall tread our palaces notice.

The he is the Assyrian he will tread in our palaces he will take over the homes of the nation of Israel and the palaces there and then he says then we will rise against him seven shepherds and eight principal men in other words God will enable Israel at the end of the tribulation to be able to fight against the one that have come against them it says and shall we raise against him seven shepherds and eight principal men a shepherd is a leader in other words in a future day God will enable Israel to defeat their enemies and it says here the number seven shepherd and eight principle the number seven in the Scripture is a complete number it speaks about fullness of number full strength full protection but he had even the word eight in other words he is really saying that God will provide more than enough protection for the nation of Israel the seven shepherds are leaders and the eighth principle that's speaking about beyond the number.

Seven more than sufficient protection will be provided for the nation of Israel this is verse five notice in verse six it says Israel will waste the land of the assyrian and they shall waste the land of the assyrian with the sword and the land of nimrod if you remember nimrod one of the rebels in the time of the building of the tower of Babel by the way his name mean we will rebel that's the meaning in Hebrew of the name nimrod so Israel will waste the land of Assyria with a sword and the land of nimrod in entrance thereof thus shall he this is the Messiah deliver us this is Israel from the assyrian when he the counterfeit Messiah comes into our land and when he treadeth within our borders you know there will be a time in the tribulation period this is really connecting us with the war of Armageddon or Har Megiddo when the armies of the Antichrist will come against Israel and they will gather in the area that is called the valley of Jezreel there will be the.

Gathering of the nations and then he will pull all the way to Jerusalem we'll take over the city of Jerusalem and ultimately we'll go after the Jewish remnant who have fled to Petra to Bozrah at the end of the tribulation period so ultimately Israel will be successful to defeat the armies of the Antichrist because the Messiah this man who will be the peace he is the one that will defend Israel from all their enemies verses five and six that is the first thing that the Messiah will accomplish in a future day in the protecting and providing for the nation of Israel. Secondly, verse 7, the Messiah will strengthen the remnant of Jacob.

It says in verse 7, And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people, as the dew from the Lord, and as the showers upon the grass that tarrieth not for men, no waiters for the sons of men notice what he's going to do for the remnant of Israel the Hebrew word for remnant is those that remain at the end of the tribulation period those that remain going to be the totality of the nation of Israel but what he's going to do he's going to use the remnant of Israel to be as a do and as showers to the nations of the world those that will accept the Messiah of the nations of the world Israel the Jewish people at the end of the tribulation going to be to them as a do as a refreshment to them that showers of blessing spiritually they're going to be a blessing to those people in the nations in the future day when Israel will be restored but you will notice here in verse 8 that there will be those who will.

Not submit themselves to the Messiah in verse 8 and the remnant of Israel shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest and as a young lion among the flocks of sheep who if he go through both tread us down and tear us in pieces and none can deliver so you can see Israel going to be a blessing to those who have acknowledged the Messiah and they're going to be a judgment to those who refuse to accept the Messiah either a dew or a lion remind me of two verses for example in Psalm 133 the Lord Jesus is typified there as the dew that come from the Mount Hermon upon the mountains of judea showers of blessings to the world but then we read about a lion that also in judgment the Lord is called a lion of the tribe of Judah so we see the Messiah in his two aspects we see Israel in these two aspects seen.

Here in Micah chapter 5 verse 8 verse 9 says thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries and all thine enemies shall be cut off immediately at the end of the tribulation when Israel will acknowledge the Messiah and restored all their enemies of Israel ultimately will be defeated will be cut off now let's conclude with this chapter here in verses 10 to 15 this is the third thing that the Messiah is going to do for the nation of Israel he will purify the Jewish people the nation he will make them suitable for the millennial age he will make them in such a condition that they will be able now to enter into the messianic age to the kingdom age and in these verses 10 to 15 there are five points that we see here the first thing that we see here in verse 10 the Messiah will remove all instruments of war today we have a lot of instruments of war being prepared whether it is in Israel or in north america or in europe.

Instruments of war are being prepared people are preparing for a big war that is going to come we know it will come but here we see the Messiah prepare Israel for a time of shalom and notice verse 10 says it shall come to pass in that day at the end of the tribulation says the Lord that i will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee and i will destroy thy chariots now i know it doesn't say i will destroy your tanks and i will destroy your missiles here it's talking about horses and chariots but in biblical time beloved brothers and sisters horses and chariots we use for warfare in fact the Bible the horse is really known to be as an animal that is being used in warfare it was Isaiah who warned Israel in chapter 31 and verse 1 he says woe unto them that go down to Egypt for help and stay on horses and trust in chariots because they are many and.

In horsemen because they are very strong but they look not unto the holy one of Israel neither seek the Lord there is a warning but in preparation for the messianic kingdom in the purifying of the nation of Israel God is going to remove all the vessels that have to do with the warfare activity he will remove all instruments of war in order that there will be peace in this world wouldn't it be wonderful when there will be a total removal of everything that we use today in order to kill and to hurt somebody else imagine what's going on today where there are so many instruments of warfare that are being developed and prepared even by people who are just terrorists they prepare all sorts of instruments shooting rockets against Israel in order to fight to cause hurt and harm but here even from among the nation of Israel is going to remove the horses to remove the chariots because God do not want Israel to have a time that any ammunition will be here in this world.

So the Messiah will remove all instrument of war that is verse 10 verse 11 the second thing that he's going to do he's going to remove every fortified city verse 11 says i will cut off the cities of thy land, and I will throw down all thy strongholds. You know, why do we have a fortified city? We put a wall around the city. We put bars in our windows. Why do we do so? Because we are concerned and afraid for our safety and security, because the enemies will come into the city and will destroy the city. So we make a high wall around the city, make it as high as possible to make it impossible for our enemies to enter into the city.

But in the millennial age, there is no need, beloved brothers and sisters, there is no longer a sense of fear from the enemy. You do not need anymore to have a city that is surrounded by walls and the fear of the enemy who comes against. You. You know, even today, it's not so much in Canada, but when I was visiting one of our missionaries in South America, I was walking with my dear wife Irene in the city of Johannesburg and we were going from place to place and you know what we noticed? Almost every window had bars to protect it from someone to come in every home we went to visit a Jewish man and in order to get to his home he's opening one door and then he opened another door by the time we got in we had to go through three doors and all bars and why because there's so much crime there's so many killing and pain and all these things that is existing because of the fear of enemies that will not be any longer doing the millennial kingdom, the messianic kingdom.

Turn with me to Jeremiah chapter 23 verses 5 and 6 in connection with this. Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise up unto David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper. And then he said and shall execute judgment and justice on the earth and notice verse 6 in his day this is the Messiah Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely and this is the name where with he this is the Messiah shall be called Jehovah our righteousness you see there is coming a day when Israel will dwell safely today we have something that is called iron dome if you remember that the iron dome is a machine if you will that shooting rockets that are intercepting rockets they're coming against our people Israel against especially in the southern part, close to the area of Gaza.

But there is coming a day that there is no more any need of any walls around the city, any of the external protection, because the Lord, Yeshua, the Messiah, will be Israel's safety net, Israel's protector, and they will be totally removed anything that has to do with a fortified city. Ezekiel 38 speaks about that in verse 11. The Hebrew prophets speak about a day of safety and protection that we no longer will need anything that has to do with walls. I'm going to read verse 4 of chapter 2 of Zechariah. It says here, And say unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein.

Jerusalem is going to be as a town without walls in the Messianic Kingdom. So the Messiah will remove all instruments of war. He will remove all fortified cities. Thirdly, verse 12, the Messiah will remove also all witchcraft. Look at this, verse 12. And I will cut off witchcraft out of thine hand, and thou shalt have no more soothsayers. Now that tells us that there will be so much influence during the tribulation period, that all sort of witchcraft will exist in the land, but I don't have to tell you, you just have to go out in our city here where we are traveling and you will see somebody is ready to read your poem.

Somebody is going to be able to give you your future, all sort of witchcraft, all sort of soothsayers as we have. And this is existing today and will exist in the future. But the Messiah who is going to bring peace to Israel and peace to the world, he will remove everything that had to do with witchcraft in the coming day. By the way, when the Antichrist is going to be here in this world, he will also be influenced by satanic influence, by demonic activity. And he himself is going to produce and perform signs. We read about it in 2 Thessalonians 2 and in Revelation 13. He will make the image to be able to speak.

This is demonic and satanic. And that has to be totally removed if there will be a messianic kingdom that is pleasing to the Lord. The Messiah, the Sar Shalom, going to produce this in the coming day. Two more things here. Verses 13 and 14 of Micah chapter 5. The Messiah will remove all sort of idolatry. Thy graven images I will cut off. And thy standing images out of the midst of thee. And thou shalt no more worship the works of thine hand. I will pluck up the groves out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy cities. In other words, what Yeshua, the Messiah, is going to do is going to remove all sort of idolatry that will exist during the tribulation period by those who refuse the Messiah and those that will be influenced by the Antichrist.

But you know that you and I are also exhorted not to have idols. 1 John 5, verse 21 says, Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Idols is not only the little figurine that we have on the table somewhere, but idols can become many things in the life of God's people. And if there will be a messianic kingdom that will be pleasing to the Lord, There must be a total removal of any idolatry from the midst of the land, from the midst of the nation of Israel. Now, here's the concluding verse, beloved brothers and sisters, verse 15, and I will execute vengeance in anger and in fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

The Messiah will remove ultimately all the enemies of the people of Israel. So we can see in these last verses, verses 10 to 15, the purifying of the nation of Israel by removal of all instruments of war, removal of all the fortified city, removal of all witchcraft, removal of all idolatry, and removal of all the enemies of the people of Israel. Of Israel. What a day that will be, beloved brothers and sisters, and all wrapped up in the person of Yeshua, Jesus our Messiah. This is the eternal Son of God who loved us and came to this world in order to pay for the penalty of our sin.

May we worship Him and adore Him for what He has done for us and what He is going yet to do for the nation of Israel. So we see the Messiah in his two aspects, we see Israel in these two aspects seen here in Micah chapter 5 verse 8. Verse 9 says, thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off. Immediately, at the end of the tribulation, when Israel will acknowledge the Messiah and restored, all their enemies of Israel ultimately will be defeated, will be cut off. Now let's conclude with this chapter here, in verses 10 to 15, this is the third thing that the Messiah is going to do for the nation of Israel, he will purify the Jewish people, the nation, he will make them suitable for the millennial age, he will make them in such a condition that they will be able now to enter into the messianic age, to the kingdom age, and in these verses 10 to 15, the five points that we see here the first thing that we see here is in verse 10 the Messiah will remove all instruments of war today we have a lot of instruments of war being prepared whether it is in Israel or in north america or in europe instruments of war are being prepared people are preparing for a big war that is going to come we know it will come but here we see the Messiah prepare Israel for a time of shalom and notice verse 10 says it shall come to pass.

In that day at the end of the tribulation says the Lord that i will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee and i will destroy thy chariots now i know it doesn't say i will destroy your tanks and i will destroy your missiles here it's talking about horses and chariots but in biblical time beloved brothers and sisters horses and chariots we use for warfare in fact the Bible the horse is really known to be as an animal that is being used in warfare it was Isaiah who warned Israel in chapter 31 and verse 1 he says woe unto them that go down to Egypt for help and stay on horses and trust in chariots because there are many and in horsemen because they are very strong but they look not unto the holy one of Israel neither seek the Lord there is a warning but in preparation for the messianic kingdom in the purifying of the nation of Israel God is going to remove all the vessels that have to do with the warfare activity he will.

Remove all instruments of war in order that there will be peace in this world wouldn't it be wonderful when there will be a total removal of everything that we use today in order to kill and to hurt somebody else imagine what's going on today where there are so many instruments of warfare that are being developed and prepared even by people who are just terrorists they prepare all sorts of instruments shooting rockets against Israel in order to fight to cause hurt and harm but here even from among the nation of Israel is going to remove the horses to remove the chariots because God do not want Israel to have a time that any ammunition will be here in this world so the Messiah will remove all instrument of war that is verse 10 verse 11 the second thing that he's going to do he's going to remove every fortified city verse 11 says i will cut off the cities of thy land and i will throw down all thy strongholds you know why do we have a fortified.

City we put a wall around the city we put bars in our windows why do we do so because we are concerned and afraid for our safety and security because the enemies will come into the city and will destroy the city. So we make a high wall around the city, make it as high as possible to make it impossible for our enemies to enter into the city. But in the millennial age, there is no need, beloved brothers and sisters, there is no longer a sense of fear from the enemy. You do not need anymore to have a city that is surrounded by walls and the fear of the enemy who comes against you.

You know, even today, it's not so much in Canada, but when I was visiting one of our missionaries in South America, I was walking with my dear wife Irene in the city of Johannesburg and we were going from place to place and you know what we noticed? Almost every window had bars. To protect it for someone to come in every home we went to visit a Jewish man and in order to get to his home he's opening one door and then he opened another door by the time we got in we had to go through three doors and all bars and why because there's so much crime there's so many killing and pain and all these things that is existing because of the fear of enemies that will not be any longer doing the millennial kingdom the messianic kingdom turn with me to Jeremiah chapter 23 verses 5 and 6 in connection with this behold the days come sayeth the Lord that i will raise up unto David a righteous branch and a king shall reign and prosper and then he said and shall execute judgment and justice on the earth and notice verse six in his day this is the Messiah Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely and this is the name where with he this is the Messiah shall be called Jehovah our righteousness.

You see there is coming a day when Israel will dwell safely today we have something that is called iron dome if you remember that the iron dome is a machine if you will that shooting rockets that are intercepting rockets that are coming against our people Israel against especially in the southern part close to the area of Gaza but there is coming a day that there is no more any need of any walls around the city any of the external protection because the Lord Yeshua the Messiah will be Israel's safety net, Israel's protector, and there will be totally removed anything that has to do with a fortified city.

Ezekiel 38 speaks about that in verse 11. The Hebrew prophets speak about a day of safety and protection that we no longer will need anything that has to do with walls. I'm going to read verse 4 of chapter 2 of Zechariah. It says here, And say unto him, run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein. Jerusalem going to be as a town without walls in the Messianic kingdom. So the Messiah will remove all instruments of war. He will remove all fortified cities. Thirdly, verse 12, the Messiah will remove also all witchcraft. Look at this, verse 12, and I will cut off witchcraft out of thine hand, and thou shall have no more soothsayers.

Now, that tells us that there will be so much influence during the tribulation period that all sort of witchcraft will exist in the land, but I don't have to tell you, you just have to go out in our city here where we are traveling and you will see somebody is ready to read your poem somebody is going to be able to give you your future all sort of witchcraft, all sort of soothsayers as we have and this is existing today and will exist in the future but the Messiah who is going to bring peace to Israel and peace to the world he will remove everything that had to do with witchcraft in the coming day By the way, when the Antichrist is going to be here in this world, he will also be influenced by satanic influence, by demonic activity, and he himself going to produce and perform signs that we read about it in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and in Revelation chapter 13.

He will make the image to be able to speak this is demonic and satanic and that has to be totally removed if there will be a messianic kingdom that is pleasing to the Lord the Messiah the sar shalom going to produce this in the coming day two more things here verses 13 and 14 of Micah chapter 5 the Messiah will remove all sort of idolatry thy graven images i will cut off and thy standing images out of the midst of thee and thou shall no more worship the works of thine hand i will pluck up the groves out of the midst of thee and i will destroy thy cities in other words what Yeshua the Messiah is going to do is going to remove all sort of idolatry that will exist during the tribulation period by those who refuse the Messiah and those that will be influenced by the Antichrist but you know that you and I are also exhorted not to have idols 1st John chapter 5 verse 21 says little children keep yourselves from idols idols is not only the.

Little figurine that we have and a table somewhere but idols can become many things in the life of God's people and if there will be a messianic kingdom that will be pleasing to the Lord there must be a total removal of any idolatry from the midst of the land from the midst of the nation of Israel now here's the concluding verse beloved brothers and sisters verse 15 and i will execute vengeance in anger and in fury upon the heathen such as they have not heard the Messiah will remove ultimately all the enemies of the people of Israel so we can see in these last verses, verses 10 to 15, the purifying of the nation of Israel by removal of all instruments of war, removal of all the fortified city, removal of all witchcraft, removal of all idolatry, and removal of all the enemies of the people of Israel.

What a day that will be beloved brothers and sisters and all wrapped up in the person of Yeshua Jesus our Messiah. This is the eternal son of God who loved us and came to this world in order to pay for the penalty of our sin may we worship him and adore him for what he has done for us and what he is going yet to do for the nation of Israel.