Micah 5,2-5a 0522
Christvesper 05
Adam and Eve
24. Dezember 2021
1. ℣ Unto us a Child is born. Alleluia!
℟ Unto us a Son is given. Allelulia (Isaiah 9,6).
Help, dear Lord God, that we may become and remain partakers of the new birth in the flesh of Your dear Son and be delivered from our old sinful birth. Amen. (Luther 53,132).
2. »But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me one who is to be Ruler in Israel, whose advent is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore He shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of His brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And He shall stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of yahweh, in the majesty of the Name of yahweh His God. And they shall dwell secure, for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth. And He shall be their peace.«
3. Micah was a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah, Amos and Hosea; he prophesied from 737-696 bc during the reins of the Jewish kings Jotham (good), Ahaz (evil) and Hezekiah (good). Micah directs much of his writing to Jerusalem and says Judah will be exiled to Babylon, but later Yahweh will redeem them from their enemies (4, 10).
4. Micah sees beyond this redemption from Babylon to a time in the far future when deliverance will come forth once more from a little town called Bethlehem. »But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose advent is from of old, from ancient days.« This little town, literally the House of Bread, is located 10 km/6.2 miles south of Jerusalem. King David was from this town, and it is popular for the Tomb of Rachel and the Church of the Nativity. David was crowned king here and as Micah tells us the Messiah, the Son of David, would be born here too.
5. Like His ancestor, the Messiah would be a shepherd to His people. It is fitting that the first people to bear witness to His birth would be shepherds, and Luke points this out in his Gospel. This Messiah would be the Peace of His people. The angelic choir proclaimed this peace to the shepherds: »Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a Baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.«
6. Micah concludes his book by writing: »Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as You have sworn to our fathers from the days of old« (Micah 7,18-20).
7. 2000 years ago the angels proclaimed that the birth of Jesus is the fulfillment of this promise. Through Micah, yahweh promised that the remnant of Judah will remain and survive. This remnant would be among the nations (Micah 5,7-8). And among the nations, yahweh did His work to prepare the nations for the advent of the Christ. Micah exhorts the people to: look to yahweh and wait for the God of their salvation, for He will hear us (Micah 7,7). Our God removes our iniquities and passes over our wickedness. He delights in mercy. He has compassion upon us. God the Father shows this compassion and mercy when He sent His Only Son to this earth to redeem us back to Him. Tonight we remember and praise God for the gift of the little Lord Jesus, born this night in the town of Bethlehem.
8. Let the earth now praise the Lord,
Who has truly kept His Word
And at last to us did send
Christ, the sinner’s help and friend (lsb 352,1 Let the Earth Now Praise the Lord). This is most certainly true.
9. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7). Amen.
10. Let us pray. O Almighty and Eternal God, we thank You for seeing us in our sorrow and sending Your Only Son to become fully human. Graciously enlighten our hearts so that we may hold fast to His blessed comfort, rejoice greatly in the birth of Your beloved Son, praise and rejoice in You with all the holy angels, patiently endure all trouble and overcome all by Your grace. Amen. (The Pomeranian Church Order and Agenda, 1854 p. 282.3; Stratman 29).
To God alone be the Glory
Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm
✠
All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2019 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern.
VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2020 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands.
Luther, Martin. Luther’s Works, Vol. 53. Copyright © 1965 Fortress Press.
Stratman, Paul C. Prayers for the Evangelical-Lutheran Heritage. Copyright © 2017.
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