Troops, siege is laid against us. With a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek. 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. 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 the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God, and they shall dwell secure. For now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. He shall be their peace. Amen. Let us pray. O Lord, we ask your blessing on your word this evening, that as surely as it goes forth, it will not return to you void. And I pray, O Lord, that you would use it for the welfare of your people. and for the drawing to yourself of those who remain in darkness, even this very night. In Jesus' name, amen. Please be seated. In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Return of the King, we are introduced to a white tree in the courtyard of the King of Gondor. It is a beautiful and flowering tree that stands as a symbol of hope for the human race. But when the righteous line of kings is cut off with the death of Isildur, the hope of man fades and the tree stops flowering. This continues on through the story for 39 generations, until a rightful king is restored to the throne in the form of King Aragorn, and the tree comes back to life and restores its full blooms, symbolizing a restored hope for humanity. Now, stories like this resonate with us because they appeal to something that is deep-seated in our hearts. In every single man and woman, boy and girl, there is a deep longing. The world and the experiences we have in it are not as they should be, and we deeply desire for God to do something about this. We desire for God to come and make right everything that is clearly so wrong around us, even within us. We desire that light should overcome the darkness and that sin should be no more. We desire that God would come and deal with our sin and that he would deliver salvation. Well, beloved, this is the hope that we remember at Christmas each year. And it is the hope that is presented to us in the prophecy of Micah. Micah was a prophet in the land of Israel and Judah at about the time that Israel, the northern kingdom, fell to Assyria in 722. He was a contemporary to Isaiah, and he prosecuted God's judgment against the rulers of Judah in particular. This was because the rulers at the time had turned blind eyes to injustices among the people, They participated in the theft of familial lands and inheritances, and they used unjust weights and scales to extort from those who could not protect themselves, the weak and the powerless. Not just the rulers, but the prophets and the priests also had no issues with taking bribes in order to see false oracles and to proclaim to the people messages of false peace from God during times of prosperity. In sum, those who were responsible to lead God's covenant people in his ways and worship did exactly the opposite. They led them into wickedness. And so by the time we arrive at our passage in chapter five of Micah, he has already repeatedly alternated between words of judgment and words of promise, promise of redemption and restoration. For example, in Micah 3, 11 and 12, here are these words of judgment. Its heads and rulers give judgment for a bribe, its priests teach for a price, its prophets practice divination for money. Therefore, because of you, Zion shall be plowed as a field, Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height." But wonderfully, in just one verse later, already a promise is given. Judgment is followed by promise. It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills, and the people shall flow to it and say, come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths. So here, in a matter of two verses, we have judgment proclaimed upon the mount where God descended and would meet with his people in the form of the temple. It gets plowed as a field. Destruction and judgment come. And yet that very same mountain would be the place where God restores His fellowship with His people, where He comes down and He tabernacles among them. Yet again, it is going to be the place where people from far off lands go to meet with God and see Him and hear His voice and teaching. And isn't this the effect of what words were spoken by the wise men in Matthew 2 too? That they come from far off lands and they speak to the rulers in Judah saying, where is he who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and what? We have come to worship him. This is the wonderful glorious truth of Advent. The advent of our Lord Jesus fulfills these long-awaited promises concerning judgment and salvation for God's people. Our very Lord Jesus made this point himself in John 9, 39, when after healing the man who was born blind, he said, for judgment, I came into this world that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind. Well, it is in light of these things that we turn our attention to Micah 5, one through five, to see just how the Lord is promising these things well in advance of their arrival, near 700 years in advance of our Lord's advent. By way of outline, I have a simple outline, two points for you this evening, and it is these. The day of the Lord brings judgment, And the day of the Lord brings salvation by a great king. Consider again, verse one, now muster your troops, O daughter of troops. Siege is laid against us. With a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek. So the day of the Lord brings judgment. From this verse, we are given a bleak outlook for the people that it was spoken to. There is a great army that is surrounding the city of Jerusalem. God's covenant people have steadily lost ground to an invading army in a time of stability and prosperity. And as we've already seen, their prosperity has made them apathetic to the cries of the downtrodden, to the laws and ways and worship of the Lord. and they have spurned him through increasing idolatry. It's a bleak picture that's given to us here in verse one. And so God, through the prophet Micah, speaks specifically to those who rule, to those who lead the people of God, using two different words that are translated here as troops. These are meant to create for us a sort of wordplay between the two. And this is because the rulers at the time were very good at organizing their men into troops when it came to dispossessing their own people of their money and lands, as we've already made note of. They were very good at organizing mobs to extort the people. And this is the point of what's going on in our passage this evening, that the holy city has become the unholy city. And for this reason, God's judgment is coming upon it. It has become a place of troops, it has become a place of mobs. But the ruler's task, among other things, was to protect his people, right? It is to defend the people by mustering troops into battle formation when the duty calls. He must also lead them into the battle. But this ruler in verse one is evidently skilled at forming mobs to abuse his people, but unable to organize those same men into battle formation to protect them when Assyria is knocking at the door. He's impotent. This ruler is impotent before an invading force and he receives a proverbial strike on the cheek. Now, any one of us who receives a strike on the cheek is humiliated and perhaps enraged and seeks retribution. But this one, this man, this king is impotent and his defeat and his humiliation is so much greater because when he should have men to stand in his ranks, he has none to fight for him. And this humiliation defeat translates down to the people of God as well, those people that he represented. His judgment was their judgment. And this was the judgment that Moses warned of way back in Deuteronomy 28, that if God's people would break the covenant with him, the curses that befell those Canaanites who were cast out of the land would likewise fall on them. They too would go into exile. But brothers and sisters, one of the many amazing things about our God is that He delivers promise to His people. He sends them out with promise in Deuteronomy 30, saying, and when these things come upon you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, then the Lord your God will gather you again from all the peoples. Restoration, redemption is always in God's mind. It's always His goal. And so when judgment appears in Scripture, it often is described as the day of the Lord. It is the day when God descends on the mountain. He descends to visit His people. And His purposes in bringing judgment are always to accomplish His gracious purpose in, through, and for His covenant people and the creation. We think even of those verses in Romans 8 that we studied not too long ago, that the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. All these things are carrying on in the world, waiting for that final return and consummation of Jesus Christ in the world. And so what we learn of this day of the Lord is that God's punishment for sin is not merely for its own sake. Scripture tells us again and again that he wounds, but he binds up. He shatters, but his hands heal. He restores the remnant of his people to fellowship with himself and keeps those wheels of redemptive history always moving forward. Now we look back to the arrival of Christ, but those in our passage this evening were looking forward to this ruler, this one who would come and fulfill these things for us. But what verse one shows us about God is that he is the righteous judge. Among other titles, he is a righteous judge. And we are reminded that God has fixed a day with a capital D, in which he will judge all men, he will judge all women, the whole world by his son, Jesus Christ, that everyone will stand before the judgment seat of God to give an account for what he has done, whether good or evil. Beloved, this is a problem. This is a major problem for us left to ourselves. It is a problem because our chances of standing before God's tribunal with nothing but our own records makes our chances impossible. Even the most genuine and moral among us would stand before God like those trapped inside Jerusalem with an undefeatable army at the gates, perhaps worse. But in light of our passage, in light of verse one, it is a dire situation from which there is no escape by our own means and by our own strength. And this was the circumstance that King Hezekiah had found himself in back in 2 Kings 19. Now, Hezekiah may very well be the ruler spoken of here based on the circumstances. But in 2 Kings 19, you'll recall that Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, sent his envoy to the gates of Jerusalem. They had already defeated the Northern kingdom of Israel along with all of Judah's fortified cities. And now he has come and he's knocking at the door of Jerusalem's gates with a letter in his hand written to Hezekiah. And whatever else was written on that letter, we know that this message was clearly conveyed. Hezekiah, you stand judged. You stand condemned as things currently are. He was surrounded by 185,000 trained men, among more perhaps, to deliver the scroll. There was no way out. And for any king in Hezekiah's shoes, he was a ruler that was as good as struck on the cheek." Verse one. He is unable to withstand this judgment that God has sent upon him and upon the people. So what does he do? What do we do when we find ourselves in this predicament before a holy judge? Hezekiah enters the temple of the Lord. He falls down on his face, he spreads out that scroll of his own judgment before the mercy seat, and he cries out to his very judge for salvation. We should note that Sennacherib was not the judge of Hezekiah and God's people. He was the rod in the hand of the judge who sent him. And Hezekiah understands this, that the letter he received from this man was ultimately a letter from the Lord himself, that his situation was one needing salvation. There was no other way. And so he rightfully discerns who his true judge is, and he approaches him on his face, seeking mercy and favor. And what do we know happens? We know that the Lord saves him and his people by sending his angel to eliminate 185,000 men of the ranks of Assyria overnight. So dear ones, we find ourselves, apart from Jesus Christ, as having scrolls with our records written on them. and left to ourselves, this is a situation of condemnation. And so I asked the question, I think the text begs the question, how would the Lord redeem you and me? He would do so through judgment. He would do so through the judgment of your sins and mine. But you ask, If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, who could stand? This is the problem. But beloved, this is where it is to our great benefit to have hindsight as 21st century believers. Because we are reminded through Micah chapter five, that a ruler would be struck for us. There would be another ruler to rise. And this one would be struck on the cheek for you and for me." And this leads to our second point this evening, that the day of the Lord brings salvation by a great king. The question is raised, who is this ruler to be born in Bethlehem? What is his nature and where does he come from? Well, we know the story. And it's clear to us from the text that he was appointed to come to this little town of Bethlehem. And this is yet one of those wonderful demonstrations of God's love to use what is weak and small in the world to bring himself glory in establishing his plan in time. God appoints this little tiny village outside of Jerusalem a village so small that it couldn't organize enough men to form a single troop for Jerusalem's defense. But it was also this little town that just 275 years before was the home, the birthplace of King David. He was born there, he was the least among his brothers, the last thought to ever lead anybody, let alone the people, and yet he would be the one chosen, his line would be the one chosen for God to use to send his ruler in days to come. This language in the text from of old and from ancient days in verse two, this coming forth of the ruler tells us something of his nature. It tells us something of the nature of this great king that he is, by His very nature, both human and divine. He is God and He is man. In 2 Samuel 7, we discover this, at least in an early sense, when God establishes His covenant with King David. We see that he promises David's offspring will build this house of the Lord and he will establish his throne forever. We see that this one will descend from David bodily in time, that this one would be a person with two natures, God and man, to redeem us. To this point, consider the words that Irenaeus, the church father, disciple of Polycarp and disciple of the Apostle John, uses to help us understand why it was essential for our Redeemer to possess these two natures, that our Redeemer must be both God and man. Hear his words. He says, Christ caused humanity to cleave to and to become one with God. For unless a human being had overcome the enemy of humanity, the enemy would not have been legitimately vanquished. And again, unless it had been God incarnate who had freely given salvation, we could never have possessed it securely. And unless humanity had been joined to God, we could never have become partakers of incorruptibility. For it was incumbent upon the mediator between God and humanity by his relationship to both to bring both to friendship and concord and present humanity to God while he revealed God to humanity. You see, this ruler who was to be born in Bethlehem is from ancient days. He is an eternal one, the eternal son of God, and he must be so because only God can deliver salvation to humanity. But he must be man because only man can represent us. And in this way, he has joined us in relationship, a reconciled relationship, with God the Father. This was the purpose of this ruler's coming, that he would stand for us, that he would rule for us well, and that he would bring us to the Father. Well, this promise, as is often done in scripture, is given with a sign to establish it. And this sign is this woman, who would be in labor and give birth to the son. This exile would continue until the woman who is in labor has given birth. And at that point, the darkness will start to be peeled back as the light begins to shine through. This ruler, according to the promise made to David, would not just descend from him, but he would come and he would build the house of the Lord. And he would have a throne that is established forever. This is Jesus. This is our Lord, our King, our great King. Consider his words to Peter when he said, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. He will build the house. The house was the place where God would meet with his people. Jesus is building his church. He dwells among us by his Spirit. This is the work of our Lord. And what did he say to the high priest? But that he will see the son of man seated at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven. He is the one who will rule and he will rule well. And so this ruler who was to be born in Bethlehem would not just rule. But as we've already noted with this idea in the text that this ruler would be struck with the rod on the cheek, we recognize that this ruler is also going to be a suffering servant, as we see in Isaiah 53. Now hear these words afresh this evening from Isaiah 53, and consider the one who came, born of Mary and the purpose for which he came. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted, but he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the punishment that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. And as for his generation who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people." Beloved, when you hear the phrase, Jesus loves you, it is often sounding trite. And that may be because of our familiarity with it. We see it on signs. We see it posted on outside of churches. It's a glorious phrase and it's a glorious truth, but because of our familiarity with it, we often think it sounds trite. But when you hear it, Jesus loves you. Remember the king who stood in your place and was struck on the cheek for you. Remember the one who stood before a mob in the garden of Gethsemane and instructed Peter to sheathe his sword and said, don't you think that I can appeal to my father in heaven and he will at once send me more than 12 legions of angels? But how then should the scriptures be fulfilled that it must be so? You see, what we have here in our Lord Jesus Christ, is a ruler stricken for us, but it's not for his own impotency. It is because he has placed himself in a position to receive the rod that you deserve and that I deserve for our sins. He places himself in the path of his people and defends them. And he is not one who has no men to call on, so that he is not stricken. He has the host of heaven to call upon, who would annihilate any enemy before him, yet he does not call them out. He does not call them into battle ranks. He does not call and gather the troops of heaven for his defense. Why? Because he loves you. Because he loves us. And he knows that if these things are not so, the scriptures will not be fulfilled and we will remain in our sin. Remember him who stood before Pilate, who thought he was the judge of our Lord, who thought he had the power to release him in that moment to which Jesus replied, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews, but my kingdom is not of this world. And he also says to him, if it were not given you from my father above, you would have no authority over me. This is the great king. He has come and he has subjected himself for our salvation. In John chapter three, Nicodemus wrestles with the identity of Jesus Christ. Jesus tells him, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. And then he says to him, this is the judgment. Notice the word. The light has come into the world, and people love the darkness rather than the light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. The judgment that our Lord is speaking of is a light that has entered into the world and it has separated light and darkness. It has effectively placed people into only two troops, to use the language of our text tonight, two ranks, those who are in the light and those who are in the darkness. If you have come into the light through faith in Jesus Christ, beloved, it is an opportunity when you hear his word to rejoice anew, that your sins are forgiven, that you are in the Father's love this evening, that our Lord Jesus stands among us as a shepherd through life. And so with renewed strength and grace, I exhort you to run in his paths, run in his ways, delight in the law of the Lord and seek his will always. But perhaps you find yourself in the other troop, still abiding in the darkness, effectively holding on to that scroll of judgment that Hezekiah sprawled out before the mercy seat. What do you do? First, agree with God about your spiritual condition before Him. Agree with Him that you justly stand accused before Him. Every one of us did, apart from Jesus Christ. There is a judgment coming. Second, hear the voice of Jesus Christ calling you this evening by His word and spirit to come to Him for grace. He is the one who is stricken on your behalf. Salvation is in Him. Do not delay in coming. Do not delay in coming to Him, but like Hezekiah, come to Him with your scroll in hand straight away. and fall on your knees in total submission to this one who reigns, who is righteous, and lay down your scroll before him crying out, my Lord and my God, have mercy on me, a sinner. For scripture tells us that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But maybe you're sitting here and thinking, I agree, I am a sinner who isn't. But I do not see my need for the gospel. If you are open to it, I encourage you to sincerely make this your prayer. Lord, help me to see my need for the gospel. Lord, help me to see my need for the gospel. You say I need it. Your word is clear about it. I just don't see it. Help me, O Lord, to see it. Jesus is coming, decisively judged the ruler of this world. He says, now is the judgment of this world. Now is the ruler of this world cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. Well, according to our passage, this one who would be lifted up, this one who would come and rule, who would suffer in our place, his name will be great to the ends of the earth. Is not his name great? Is not his name great to the far reaches of the world? Is not his name precious to your hearts, dear believer? And note this also, He shall be our peace. He shall be our true peace with God, even as it was said from the pulpit this morning, Jesus is our peace. In John 14, 27, he says as much to his disciples, peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. This is the wonder of what his work is. He gives the very peace he has with his father to you who receive it in faith. If you seek peace in your life, seek it not apart from Jesus Christ, for his peace is the true peace. he will be your peace. The Lord is calling men and women, boys and girls to himself from all over the world to this very day. And while his light shines in the darkness of this present age, while he walks among us as the good shepherd, while he brings us peace as a great king, and while he tarries in coming to judge the living and the dead, let none of us ignore him. If today you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the days of rebellion, but receive him, come to him with joy. Let us not resist his grace and kingship in our lives, but let us bend the knee with full hearts until submission to our great King who loved us and gave himself up for us all. Beloved, I close with a poem written by Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan in A.D. 374. Here are these glorious words this evening. O heavenly word, eternal light, begotten of the Father's might, who in these latter days art born, forsucker to a world forlorn, Our hearts enlighten from above and kindle with thine own true love, that we who hear thy call today may cast earth's vanities away. And when, as judge, thou draw'st nigh the secrets of our hearts to try, when sinners meet their awful doom and saints attain their heavenly home, O let us not, for evil past, be driven from thy face at last, but with the blessed evermore behold thee, love thee, and adore. To God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, three in one, praise, honor, might, and glory be from age to age, eternally. Would you pray with me? O Lord our God, we come before you, you who are gracious and faithful, you who have made promise and have fulfilled those promises in the sending of your eternal son, we give you praise and acknowledge you and ascribe all glory to you this evening. We love you and we pray tonight in Jesus' name, amen.