The Jewish Messiah, the Jews, and the Assyrian

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The book of Micah makes an amazing comment about the Messiah, and how he “gives up” the Jews, until a future time when Israel would be reborn. But Jews have missed this. Most Christians have too.

A common position Jews take when rejecting Jesus as Messiah is that he did not fulfill all the scriptures. This is true, if the Messiah was to come only once, and do everything the first time. I have never heard a Christian tell the Jews that the Messiah was supposed to come twice, and then prove it.

This is a case of ignorance, on the part of both Jews and Christians, who should know their own shared prophesies.

Popular to both Jews and Christians is the Book of Isaiah.  This is where they find their messianic focus. 

I have never seen the Jews read the Book of Micah. It is not in the Chumash. They have to get through the Torah once a year, and only include some other writings as a Haftorah. Many writings from the Tenach are omitted because they do not have the time to read them all in one year.

The Christians pick out one verse from Micah about the birth of the Messiah, and do not pay attention to the rest of the chapter.

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Here is a closer look at the Book of Micah:

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1.  Birthplace of Messiah and everlasting nature – so he is MORE than human

Mic 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, [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 goings forth [have been] from of old, from everlasting.

*** Jews claim the Messiah is just a man, because he is “born.” But they neglect to see that this person who is born has been around “from everlasting.”

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2.   Messiah operates in the name of the Lord, who is HIS God.

Mic 5:4 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 ends of the earth.

*** This is what Jesus did. He did not declare himself to be God. He said his father was God, and he was in his Father’s service. This upholds the Shema.

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3.   The Messiah “gives up” the Jews until Israel is reborn again, and the remnant return

Mic 5:3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time [that] she [Israel] which travails hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

*** notice the order of events.

He “gives them up,” indicating something goes wrong.  Daniel 9 indicates this too, and states the Mosiach is “cut off.”

Then Israel travails and brings forth (rebirth, which occurred in 1948).

If Israel is being reborn, that indicates a time period when Israel does not exist as a Jewish state.

Then finally, after the rebirth, the remnant returns.

It does not say he gathers them himself, but that they return on their own.

Some Jews think the Messiah has to show up first before they return – not true, according to Micah.

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4.  Once he returns, he fights the Assyrian and establish peace

Mic 5:5 And this [man] shall be the peace, 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.

Mic 5:6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver [us] from the Assyrian, when he comes into our land, and when he treads within our borders.

Mic 5:9 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.

Mic 5:15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

*** The Assyrian enters the land to defeat Israel, but the Messiah delivers Israel from him. This helps identify who the Antichrist is, who is the last ruler to try to destroy Israel.

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I am not sure who the 7-8 men (shepherds) are, except they may be Israeli rulers who have had to directly deal with attacks by the Assyrian (Iraq).

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5.   The remnant are a multitude, and will come from among many Gentiles

Mic 5:7 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 man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.

Mic 5:8 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 treads down, and tears in pieces, and none can deliver.

*** notice that the Jews at the time of the last return are not isolated in a few countries, but from among many people. This is the situation today. They live in almost every country around the world.

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This missed prophecy shows the Jews that the Messiah will come twice.

The first time, he gives them up, then he returns later to save them from their enemy, the Assyrian. The other details about his everlasting nature are also important.

Only someone with an everlasting nature can show up twice. However, it only says he was born once.

So who might that be?

Who has come once, born in Bethlehem, and said he was going to return to save them from their enemies?

Hopefully, this quick study will help those who witness to Jews about their Messiah.

The Jews and the Christians want the same thing. They both want the Jewish Messiah to come.

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See also:

Jesus – who is He? Click here for more