Micah 5

Micah 5:1-15 . THE CALAMITIES WHICH PRECEDE MESSIAH'S ADVENT. HIS KINGDOM, CONQUEST OF JACOB'S FOES, AND BLESSING UPON HIS PEOPLE.

1. gather thyself in troops--that is, thou shalt do so, to resist the enemy. Lest the faithful should fall into carnal security because of the previous promises, he reminds them of the calamities which are to precede the prosperity.
daughter of troops--Jerusalem is so called on account of her numerous troops.
he hath laid siege--the enemy hath.
they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek--the greatest of insults to an Oriental. Zedekiah, the judge (or king, Amos 2:3 ) of Israel, was loaded with insults by the Chaldeans; so also the other princes and judges ( Lamentations 3:30 ). HENGSTENBERG thinks the expression, "the judge," marks a time when no king of the house of David reigned. The smiting on the cheek of other judges of Israel was a type of the same indignity offered to Him who nevertheless is the Judge, not only of Israel, but also of the world, and who is "from everlasting" ( Micah 5:2 , Isaiah 50:6 , Matthew 26:67 , 27:30 ).

2. Beth-lehem Ephratah--( Genesis 48:7 ), or, Beth-lehem Judah; so called to distinguish it from Beth-lehem in Zebulun. It is a few miles southwest of Jerusalem. Beth-lehem means "the house of bread"; Ephratah means "fruitful": both names referring to the fertility of the region.
though thou be little among--though thou be scarcely large enough to be reckoned among, &c. It was insignificant in size and population; so that in Joshua 15:21 , &c., it is not enumerated among the cities of Judah; nor in the list in Nehemiah 11:25 , &c. Under Rehoboam it became a city: 2 Chronicles 11:6 , "He built Beth-lehem." Matthew 2:6 seems to contradict Micah, "thou art not the least," But really he, by an independent testimony of the Spirit, confirms the prophet, Little in worldly importance, thou art not least (that is, far from least, yea, the very greatest) among the thousands, of princes of Judah, in the spiritual significance of being the birthplace of Messiah ( John 7:42 ). God chooses the little things of the world to eclipse in glory its greatest things ( Judges 6:15 , John 1:46 , 1 Corinthians 1:27 1 Corinthians 1:28 ). The low state of David's line when Messiah was born is also implied here.
thousands--Each tribe was divided into clans or "thousands" (each thousand containing a thousand families), which had their several heads or "princes"; hence in Matthew 2:6 it is quoted "princes," substantially the same as in Micah, and authoritatively explained in Matthew. It is not so much this thousand that is preferred to the other thousands of Judah, but the Governor or Chief Prince out of it, who is preferred to the governors of all the other thousands. It is called a "town" (rather in the Greek, "village"), John 7:42 ; though scarcely containing a thousand inhabitants, it is ranked among the "thousands" or larger divisions of the tribe, because of its being the cradle of David's line, and of the Divine Son of David. Moses divided the people into thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, with their respective "rulers" ( Exodus 18:25 ; compare 1 Samuel 10:19 ).
unto me--unto God the Father ( Luke 1:32 ): to fulfil all the Father's will and purpose from eternity. So the Son declares ( Psalms 2:7 , Psalms 40:7 Psalms 40:8 , John 4:34 ); and the Father confirms it ( Matthew 3:17 , 12:18 , compare with Isaiah 42:1 ). God's glory is hereby made the ultimate end of redemption.
ruler--the "Shiloh," "Prince of peace," "on whose shoulders the government is laid" ( Genesis 49:10 ,