Micah 5:2
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.” (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Micah 5:1-9
We will wrap up Micah today by taking a look at the final prophecy found in Micah 5:2. This ruler over Israel, the Messiah, has origins from old and ancient times. While it may appear that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, he did not begin there.
We have a lot of Scripture that supports this claim. Let’s begin at the end and work our way backwards. Jesus speaks to John during his vision in Revelation and reveals his name:
“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Rev 22:12-13).
“’I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty’” (Rev 1:8).
Jesus himself tells us that he is the Beginning and the End. This puts him equal with the Father who goes by the same name:
“He [God] said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End’” (Rev 21:6).
“I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.
I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come” (Isa 46:9-10).
“God said to Moses, ‘I AM who I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: “I AM has sent me to you”‘” (Ex 3:14).
The apostle John reiterates this claim that Jesus is equal with God in his gospel:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” (John 1:1-2).
John also records Jesus making this same claim:
“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began” (John 17:5).
“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world” (John 17:24).
Paul tells us that Jesus was here from the beginning:
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col 1:15-17).
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight” (Eph 1:4).
Peter says the same:
“He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” (1 Pet 1:20).
And finally we have recorded instances in the Old Testament where it seems that Jesus himself appeared on earth before he was even born:
“He said, ‘Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods’ (Dan 3:25).
“Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, ‘What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?’ He replied, ‘Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding’” (Judges 13:17-18).
“The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites” (Judges 6:11).
A man identified as God also met with Hagar (Gen 16), Abraham (Gen 18) and Jacob (Gen 32) who many scholars believe was Jesus himself. The fact that Jesus has always existed from before time began tells us a few things about him, but I think most importantly, it shows me that Jesus loves us more than heaven itself.
If Jesus was there at creation, it means that Jesus created us knowing that he would have to leave heaven, become a man and die on a cross for us. That was the original plan before anything was ever created. And Jesus has been all-in on the plan because his love for us is greater than we can possibly imagine.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Christ in the Old Testament 
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