Read & Reflect

Micah 5:1–5a (ESV) 

¹  Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops;

  siege is laid against us;

with a rod they strike the judge of Israel

  on the cheek.

²  But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,

  who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me

  one who is to be ruler in Israel,

whose coming forth is from of old,

  from ancient days.

³ Therefore he shall give them up until the time

  when she who is in labor has given birth;

then the rest of his brothers shall return

  to the people of Israel.

⁴ And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,

  in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great

  to the ends of the earth.

⁵ And he shall be their peace.

Malachi 3:1–4 (ESV) 

¹ “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. ² But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. ³ He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. ⁴ Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

Malachi 4:5–6 (ESV) 

⁵ “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. ⁶ And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

Micah 5:1-5

• Consider the prophecy about Jesus in this passage. Is there any other “ruler” who is worthy of such a description?
• Reflect on the description of Jesus’ ministry in v. 4.  In what ways have these words come true in my life?

Malachi 3:1 & 4:5-6

• Note how Malachi’s prophecy was fulfilled in John the Baptist.

Matthew 11:7–15 (ESV) 

⁷ As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸ What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. ⁹ What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is he of whom it is written,

“ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. ¹³ For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, ¹⁴ and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. ¹⁵ He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”