Micah 5:2-9

He was a two-bit tinhorn card shark. Did those words cause you to picture a man in a western setting who was a cheap cheater at the card game of poker? Now imagine a person in Israel reading those same words in their language 2700 years ago. They would recognize most of the words, but unless they had access to American cowboy westerns, it is very doubtful they would ever understand the picture the words were describing. We have the same problem with some Old Testament literature.

In particular, the phrase “seven shepherds, even eight commanders” is such a word picture. The words are easy to translate, but understanding what they represent is more difficult. We know that Micah did not intend the reader to understand them literally. The Hebrews considered seven to be a perfect number. Micah has created a metaphor that means “more than enough” or “better than perfect.” The writer of Ecclesiastes uses the same type metaphor in 11:2; there the 7-8 pattern means, “More than you think you will need.”

This whole section is figurative and we should read none of it literally. The Assyrians are representative of all Israel’s enemies and their invasion does not refer to a historical event but rather we should place it in the context of the Shepherd King who is to come from Bethlehem. Micah taught that when the king arrived, even though the Israelites would be scattered throughout the many nations like dew upon the ground, God will raise-up a remnant from among them and they would acknowledge the Shepherd as their savior.

It was natural, because of their own unrighteousness that those who heard Micah would think in terms of earthly conflict. They were wrong; this passage is all about spiritual warfare. Christ was the promised shepherd and he brought humanity a spiritual victory. Having experienced that victory, we are now in combat against the evil that surrounds us. The battle still rages, but the outcome is not in doubt; the church will be triumphant.