The Reliability of Divine Promises: Commentary on the First Prophetic Reading of the Royal Hours of Christmas (Micah 5:2-4)

The Reliability of Divine Promises
Commentary on the First Reading of the First Hour Service: Micah 5:2-4

By Miltiadis Konstantinou,
Emeritus Professor of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

On the eves of Christmas and Theophany, as well as on Great Friday, the services of the Hours are longer in length than the usual services of the other days of the year, as three biblical readings are added to their ritual, one from the Old Testament and two from the New (Apostle and Gospel). For this reason, these services are called “Great and Royal Hours”. The first reading of the Service of the First Hour of the feast of Christmas comes from the Book of the Prophet Micah and is a prophecy about the place of Christ’s birth (Micah 5:2-4).

The Prophet Micah acted in a particularly turbulent period of Israelite history. During the time of his activity, the political crisis, due to the successive Assyrian raids on the wider region of Canaan, goes hand in hand with the spiritual decline of the Jews, as corruption and hypocrisy become uncontrollable. In the seven chapters of the book, threatening prophecies alternate with prophecies of restoration of the people. The work begins with prophecies against Israel and Judah. The prophet then turns with particular severity against the political and mainly spiritual leaders of the people, the priests and above all the false prophets (1:1-3:12). Idolatry and moral decline will inevitably lead to destruction, from which only a pious remnant will be saved, to be followed by the era of restoration led by the peaceful shepherd Messiah, during which Jerusalem will emerge as a center of world peace and God’s revelation to all the peoples of the earth (4:1-5:14). After the consoling messages, the Prophet returns to his harsh criticism and threatening predictions (6:1-7:7), to close with a new prophecy of restoration (7:8-20).

The fifth chapter of the book closes the unit of the Prophet’s consoling words. After warning the people of the coming destruction, Micah envisions the establishment of a world peace and the return of the exiled Jews to Jerusalem. The restoration of the people will be completed with the birth of the future redeemer. The Prophet assures his listeners that God’s Covenant with his people is not annulled, despite the people’s breach of it. Proof of God’s faithfulness to the Covenant is that He will raise up a new leader for His people, keeping His promise to King David (2 Samuel 7:16). Thus, the new that will begin with the birth of the new leader is a continuation of the old and is determined by the Lord’s continuous presence in the history of His people. This presence is most clearly attested in those episodes in which God’s plan seems to be threatened with failure. The Babylonian conquest that will follow the Assyrian invasions will put an end to the Davidic dynasty, but this will not mean the end of God’s plan.

With the failure of the Davidic dynasty, a new negative situation is formed for Israel, the impossibility of a way out of which gives rise to feelings of despair in the people. However, even in this difficult moment, divine intervention comes to open new horizons again. For this reason, the Prophet does not limit himself only to the announcement of destruction, but he also hastens to comfort the people by assuring them that God will send a new leader who will have the characteristics of David, but his policy will not repeat the mistakes of the Davidic dynasty. The origin of the new leader will be from the lineage of David, “whose goings forth are from of old, from eternity” (5:2). His birthplace will also be the same as that of David, the small village of Bethlehem (5:2). But everything else will be different. The Lord Himself will now take over the governance of His people, not with weapons, like the Assyrians, but He will care for his people peacefully as a shepherd cares for his flock. Thus, the people led by such a glorious king will be glorified to the ends of the earth (5:4).

King David is undoubtedly one of the most important figures of biblical Israel. His figure occupies a central place not only in the historical books of the Old Testament, but in the entire biblical literature. He is not simply a successful king, whose dynasty reigned for more than four hundred years in Jerusalem. He is primarily the chosen one of God, with whom the Lord concluded an eternal covenant, a covenant that gave birth to and nurtured messianic hopes until their realization in the person of Jesus Christ.

David’s appearance on the scene of history is described in the passage of 1 Samuel 16:1-13, according to which God, after the failure of King Saul to rule according to His will, sends the Judge Samuel to Bethlehem, in order to choose a new king from among the sons of Jesse. Jesse proudly presents to Samuel his sons who are present at the family worship gathering, but God ultimately chooses the absent “youngest one who was tending the flock” (1 Samuel 16:11). He, who is considered by his own relatives to be so insignificant that his presence at the worship gathering of his homeland is not considered necessary, is recognized by God as His chosen and beloved. God’s guiding role in world history is even more impressive when the individuals He chooses to achieve His goals are considered by people to be completely unsuitable. Neither Samuel nor David’s close circle could have imagined that the young shepherd from Bethlehem would emerge as the greatest king of Israel. But this very insignificant shepherd will succeed where the cruel warrior Saul failed. The election of the small and weak for the realization of great goals is another basic theme of biblical theology. The faith of people, their steadfast commitment to God and His promises, allows the full unfolding of God’s power in the world and makes the faithful stronger than the so-called great of this world.

By electing the young David, God makes it clear that His grace and the power of His Spirit are the decisive factor that moves history. The foreshadowing of the emergence of a new leader from the lineage of David in an era when all seems lost aims to confirm this truth. Micah’s prophecy was fulfilled (Matt. 2:6), but his message, despite the centuries that have passed, maintains its intact topicality as the word of God. Although so much has changed since the 8th century B.C. to the present day, violence, economic insecurity and social inequality and injustice are not unknown phenomena for the modern world. Uncertainty at the national and international level causes terror in many people and makes the longing for security, peace and hope unfulfilled. Micah’s assurance that God is reliable in His promises calls on all Christians to seek His presence where there would logically be no hope of finding it, calls them to tune in to the voices of the small, the powerless and the vulnerable, giving meaning again to the wishes that are so generously exchanged at Christmas for peace and prosperity, because they know that God has the power to fulfill them.

Source: “Ephemerios” Magazine Nov.–Dec. 2020. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.