“Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops;
They have laid siege against us;
With a rod they will strike the judge of Israel on the cheek.
But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will come forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His times of coming forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity.”
Therefore He will give them up until the time
When she who is in labor has given birth.
Then the remainder of His kinsmen
Will return to the sons of Israel.
And He will arise and shepherd His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God.
And they will remain,
Because at that time He will be great
To the ends of the earth.”

Micah 5:1-4

When the foreign forces of Assyria threatened, the Lord’s prophet gave a promise of future deliverance, not at the hands of a conqueror, but at the hands of a shepherd. Echoing the origins of David himself, this future salvation would come from the humble, common people and from those who worked to live a peaceful life.

Fitting then, that the first witnesses to the birth of our king were shepherds!

Who is greater among the house of David and the children of Bethlehem, city of David, but the Anointed Jesus? He is our shepherd in the Spirit.

Ethan Kirl

Originally Published December 29, 2020