Jeremiah 31:31-33 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” God’s plan was always to replace shadows with the Messiah! We see the fulfillment of OT prophecy in the birth of Christ!  

  1. The Messiah’s Birth Would be in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2) “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 coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” Fulfilled in (Matt. 2:6) “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
 
Bethlehem was small and insignificant other than it being the town of David. God often chooses the smallest things so that He alone may get the glory. I love what Paul told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 1:27–31: “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. . . . Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”
 
Here are a few connections that come out of this Micah passage.
 
  1. Known by Those Who Opposed the Messiah. The chief priests and the scribes knew that Micah 5 was a reference to the Messiah. So they told King Herod: he will be born in Bethlehem. That is why God saw to it that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, even though his mother and Joseph were living in Nazareth when she got pregnant. He had to be born in Bethlehem, because he was this ruler of Micah 5.
  2. Common Opinion of the Time. This was the popular understanding among the people as well, because in John 7:42 they ask, “Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” So both the leaders and the people knew that Micah 5 predicted the coming of the Messiah — the ruler who would be king in Israel. And oh so much more than king in Israel.
  3. He Came to Reign Over all. Micah 5:4b says, “For now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.” The coming Messiah — the coming king — was not just a tribal king. He would be King of kings and Lord of Lords. He would be great to the ends of the earth, not just in Israel.
  4. The Messiah Would be Born of a Virgin (Is 7:14) “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Fulfilled in (Matt. 1:23) “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel”
  5. The Messiah Would be Named Immanuel, Meaning “God with us” (Is 7:14) “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Fulfilled in (Matt. 1:23) “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel”
  6. The Messiah Would be God in Human Flesh (Is 9:6a) For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Fulfilled in (John 1:1) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
  7. The Messiah Would be Born to Bring Peace on) Earth (Is 9:6b) “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Fulfilled in (Luke 2:14) “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
  8. The Messiah Would be Born to Rule on David’s Throne (Is 9:7) “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” Fulfilled in (Matt. 1:1) “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”
  9. The Messiah Would be Born to Suffer and Die for Our Sins (Is 53) Fulfilled in (Matt 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 19, and Philippians 2:8) Phil 2:8 “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”