(The Podcast link to today’s reading is here, at Anchor Spotify.)
They told him, “Bethlehem, Judah territory. The prophet Micah wrote it plainly:
It’s you, Bethlehem, in Judah’s land,
no longer bringing up the rear.
From you will come the leader
who will shepherd-rule my people, my Israel.” (Matthew 2:5-6)
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The prophet Micah identified the leader who was coming. No doubt about it. No hedging in his announcement, “I think from you, Bethlehem, will come the leader.” Or, “I wouldn’t be surprised y’all, if probably—it’s actually a pretty strong maybe—that a leader is coming.” None of that. The proclamation is clear: the leader is coming, and he is coming out of Bethlehem.
Who is the leader? The one out front! The one that others follow.
And that’s Herod’s fear about the people of Israel: they would follow him, the new leader, instead of him, the old leader.
The certainty of this prophetic announcement-reminder is what set off Herod. It’s what caused him to respond as he did. He wasn’t taking any chances. He was not doubting the word of the prophet Micah. He interpreted this to mean that a new leader would arise and be a rival to his leadership.
This leader is described by the prophet as one who would exercise shepherd-rule over his people. I am struck by those words. This kind of ruling and leading is contrasted with being iron-fisted, and dictatorial. The one who is aloof and out-of-touch. The one who is out for himself, and what’s in it for him. Surely, that warped understanding of leader formed the basis for Herod’s drastic response.
But Herod missed this description of the coming leader. This one prophesied by Micah is depicted as leading like a shepherd. I think of a shepherd as one who is caring, and watchful. He’s making sure that the sheep have what they need in terms of both provision and protection. He is standing up against their adversaries, day and night. Not letting down his guard for the safety of the sheep. He is in complete command, and in charge, and on duty. He’s making decisions for the good of the sheep.
This is the one that Isaiah saw, high and lifted up. Described in such royal magnificence and presence and size that the train of his robe filled the temple. But that aura doesn’t keep us at arm’s length. It doesn’t separate him from us. It doesn’t make this shepherd-ruler unapproachable, or put us in position that we are just one look-alike sheep in a mighty herd who are individually unimportant. He knows us by name, and calls us to come to him. To be with him and to sit in his presence. Our incomparable Shepherd-Ruler.
Who is he ruling over? Micah says, “My people, my Israel.”
This description is not just referring to people of the country that we know as Israel. It is not restricted to a people inhabiting a particular plot of ground. But the reference is to all the people of God. We get extra insight on this from Paul’s description in Romans 11, where he broadens any narrow understanding of Israel to include those who are not just Jewish by birth and heritage. This reference to Israel is a term encompassing those who come under his rule, his care, and his protection. They are the ones who follow him, by faith, like sheep following the commands of a shepherd.
And so, the coming shepherd-ruler was identified. Identified by the words of someone we call a ‘minor’ prophet. Announcing his birth in a small Judean town of minor importance. And designated as one who would rule as a caring shepherd, which is a minor role in society. And the metaphor associated with that minor role is contrasted with ruling by force, or as a cold-hearted tyrant.
This Shepherd-Ruler is the One we celebrate at Advent.
“Father, thank you for the fulfilled promise of the birth of the Shepherd-Ruler. We thank you for your care, and for your sustaining, and for your protection. Thank you that you have the good of your people, identified as Israel, always in mind and in action. For those in our lives who need a reminder this Advent of your shepherd-care, please speak to them, and minister to them.”
Freddy Boswell 