A God of surprises (Mic 5:2 and Matt 2:1-6)

During my time at Bible college (seminary for US readers), a classmate was planning a summer placement to Kenya. She was excited about the opportunity; it dovetailed beautifully with previous missional experience she had in the same country. A few weeks before she was due to fly out, however, the door closed in her face. The only other opportunity open at this late stage was a ministry in South Africa, which did not look half as exciting as the first option. However, she was willing to go and see if this unexpected opening was from God. Remarkably, the ministry came to resonate so deeply with her that she led a team back there next year. Among them was another classmate of ours, whom she got to know better as they served together. They are now married and working in the same place as long-term missionaries. God’s plans may surprise us.

The wise men from the east looking for the new-born king followed common expectations when they turned up in Jerusalem at the royal palace. In a different way, the scribes who answered Herod’s question also followed common (Jewish) expectations: Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. Although this town was small geographically, they emphasised its theological significance when they said it was ‘by no means least’ (Micah says that it’s too little to be mentioned). They were right to acknowledge this, but paradoxically, something was lost: the surprising nature of God’s plans. The lesson from this is not that they should have slavishly adhered to Micah’s wording (ancient conventions for quotations followed different rules to ours), but that they should not have lost sight of God’s unexpected ways.

The scribes were so familiar with the truth of Scripture that its edge for them became blunted: they no longer felt challenged to act on it. So often we, too, can get into a rut of reading well-worn passages, where we nod our heads at the familiar truths, but we go on living as before. For instance, the thought that Jesus’s kingship is spiritually defined and that suffering and service comes before honour and glory is a well-worn truth for us Christians, but how often do we remember this when we experience suffering in our discipleship?

How then can we meet God in well-known truths afresh? My own experience is that God opens our eyes when we come with hearts open to obey Him. My classmate going to South Africa was prepared to be challenged that God’s will for her was not in the place she had expected. The magi responded to the news that the king-child was to be in Bethlehem and tested its truth by going there. Along the way, God confirmed their action when the star re-appeared and led them on (Matt 2:9). When they arrived, they recognised in the insignificant surroundings the king that did not look like a king. As we prepare for Christmas and hear its well-worn truths, may we be open to obey the Lord and encounter Him in fresh ways.

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For interest: background to the scribes’ quotation

Mic 5:2-4 2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. […] 3 Therefore He will give them up until the time When she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren Will return to the sons of Israel. 4 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.

Matt 2:6 And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a ruler

2 Sam 5:2 Previously, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and in. And the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be a ruler over Israel.’”

Who will shepherd My people Israel

Quotes are from the NASB throughout.

The scribes conflate two prophecies (Mic 5:2 and 2 Sam 5:2), which was not an unusual practice around this time. 2 Samuel 5:2 is a shorthand for the two points in Mic 5:3-4. Micah 5:3 speaks of the unification of Israel under a Davidic king, which is the context of 2 Sam 5:2: after Saul’s death, Judah made David king and seven years later the rest of the tribes acknowledge him. Micah 5:4 describes the king as a shepherd of his people, which is the subject of 2 Sam 5:2.

There are some minor changes in Matthew’s quotation, which do not affect the meaning (see underlines). E.g. Bethlehem Ephrathah is the Bethlehem in Judah (as opposed to the Bethlehem in Galilee, see Josh 19:15). The one significant difference (in bold) is the wording ‘by no means’, which is opposite to what Micah says, but it is true in a spiritual sense. This, again, is a well-known rabbinic practice, where the wording of the quotation is changed slightly to draw out its deeper significance.