December 19
Rev. Tapiwa Huggins Gusha 

Micah 5:2-5a/Hebrews 10:5-10/Luke 1:39-45

Micah 5:5a, “And he will be our peace when the Assyrians invade our land…”

The oracle from the prophet Micah is a very interesting one. The prophet is speaking as if the Israelites were yet to be captured by the Assyrians, “The ruler who is coming will be our peace when the Assyrians invade our land…”Micah is speaking as if he is preparing the Israelites in the invent that they get captured by the Assyrians while in fact Micah ministered while the Israelites were already under siege or capture by the Assyrians. This narrative is among the few narratives in the Old Testament that maybe classified as a parable, in a parable a known story is placed at a juxtaposition with an unknown story. So, in this case, Micah is talking as if he is preparing the Israelites for the known hostility of the Assyrians while in fact, he is preparing them for the future hostility of the Roman Empire. He is talking about the birth of Christ, the prince of peace. 

This oracle was a follow up to Yahweh’s promise in Micah 3:9-11, Hear this, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel, who despise justice and distort all that is right; ¹⁰ who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness. ¹¹ Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they look for the Lord’s support and say, “Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.” So, the Israelites during that time lost confidence in two of their key institutions: judiciary and religion (prophecy) but their faith was amazing, “surely the Lord is with us, no harm shall come upon us” But with the hostility of the Assyrians, they began to question the existence of Yahweh amongst them. We are under siege, two of our key institutions are being questioned depending on which part of the world are you in: in the western world scientist are expected to prove themselves; in the sub-Saharan Africa the prophets are called to test. 

It is in this context that the oracle in chapter 5 becomes very important, the oracle is reassuring the Israelites that God’s covenant with Israel is secure and reliable, “He will be our peace when the Assyrians invade our land…” Of course, what the Israelites didn’t know is the fact that the fulfillment of the covenant might happen in an unexpected manner. In Micah’s oracle, the covenant will be fulfilled after the time of Christ, the new saviour will come not from the royal city of Jerusalem but from the small humble city of Bethlehem; the new saviour will not respond to hostility with violence as David did but with peace. 

But there are also several allusions between this new saviour and David: both David and Christ were born in the humble city of Bethlehem, and both were shepherds. So, the covenant is being realistically fulfilled but in an unusual or unexpected manner. God always work in mysterious and amazing ways. In the gospel we see the old lady Elizabeth conceiving in Sarah’s fashion. At the same time the list expected, Mary being used as the channel of God’s incarnation. 

Advent/Christmas is a season of anticipation and preparation, if that which we anticipate does not come to fruition, that doesn’t mean that God’s is non-existent, but God works in mysterious ways and in some cases in unexpected ways. We are in a hostile situation as a world, new covid 19 restrictions being proposed but God’s covenant will be fulfilled, “He will be our peace when the Assyrians invade our land…” 

May God bless you all, Amen.