by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n
“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, <\/em>
\ntoo small to be among the clans of Judah, <\/em>
\nfrom you one will go out for me, <\/em>
\nto be ruler in Israel; <\/em>
\nand his origins are from of old, <\/em>
\nfrom ancient days<\/em>” (Micah 5:2 LEB).<\/blockquote>\nThe ruler in Israel would come out of Bethlehem, and he is more ancient than the oldest of days. The NKJV says “from everlasting.<\/em>” The footnote on that rendering says that it literally says, “from the days of eternity.<\/em>” God is talking and says the ruler in Israel <\/b>“will go out for me<\/em>,” which means the ruler will act on behalf of God <\/b>as ruler in Israel after coming from Bethlehem. His supernatural nature is seen in the fact that he preexisted earth days from eternity.<\/p>\n
This prophecy was written over 400 years before Jesus arrived as a baby in Bethlehem, and it strongly implies that he would not be just a human. Isaiah 9:6 says this Child would be called “mighty God<\/strong><\/em>.” Thus, the Jew’s own sacred books speak to the fact that a human would also <\/b>be divine, and that would mean their later claim that it was “blasphemy” for Jesus to claim deity or make himself equal with God would be a false argument on their part. Either they were wrong to make that charge, or their sacred books were wrong to attribute deity to this child (Isaiah 9:6; Micah 5:2). They were wrong. Jesus and the scriptures were in perfect harmony. Someone would be a child born in Bethlehem<\/strong>, but who was “from eternity<\/em>” and would be called “mighty God<\/strong><\/em>.” Jesus would be wrong to not claim deity if the Scriptures were divine and he <\/strong>was that person to be ruler in Israel.<\/p>\n
So, here is an absolutely amazing prophecy that would not have been written by Jesus-rejecting Jews, and could not have been written by human wisdom alone. If Jesus is the fulfillment, and He is, it remains as further proof of the divine inspiration of the Old Testament and a further testimony and witness to Jesus as that ruler in Israel. The true Israel is a multitude of Jews who united with Jesus <\/b>in baptism from Acts 2 onward. He is not a true Jew who is merely one outwardly (Romans 2:28). So, if Jesus is rejected by many , they are not true Israelites. He is ruler in true Israel, and even over the lost sheep of Israel whether they realize it or not. Every knee will eventually bow to Jesus. He is the prophesied ruler in Israel.<\/p>\n
The Bible really is the amazing word of God!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Terry Wane Benton “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you one will go out for me, to be ruler in Israel; and his origins are from of old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:2 LEB). The ruler in Israel would come out of Bethlehem, and he…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[73,169],"class_list":["post-69834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-jesus","tag-prophecy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":89611,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/skeptic-blunders-about-jesus-and-bethlehem\/","url_meta":{"origin":69834,"position":0},"title":"Skeptic: Blunders About Jesus and Bethlehem","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton \"Further, other claimed 'fulfilled prophecies' falter under scrutiny: Micah 5:2 (\"born in Bethlehem\") addresses a contemporary Davidic ruler from the 8th century BCE, whereas Matthew appears to adapt the narrative to make Jesus' origin fit this prophecy, despite other Gospel accounts indicating his roots in Nazareth.\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41573,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-didnt-john-the-baptist-get-killed-with-the-rest-of-the-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":69834,"position":1},"title":"Why didn’t John the Baptist get killed with the rest of the children?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why didn't John the Baptist die, as is stated in Matthew 2:16, but lived to adulthood, baptized Jesus, and was ultimately beheaded, or is Matthew 2:16 simply wrong? Answer: When the wise men came, Herod found out where the Messiah was to be born. \"And when he had gathered\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46527,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/were-jesus-and-his-family-refugees\/","url_meta":{"origin":69834,"position":2},"title":"Were Jesus and his family refugees?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm wondering if Jesus and his family were refugees of political violence, or are these web posts lies? I've seen comparisons to the Syrian refugees on the web. A Google search brought me to your site. Did they flee Bethlehem to Nazareth to escape? What is the best answer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63321,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/redemption-in-prophecy\/","url_meta":{"origin":69834,"position":3},"title":"Redemption in Prophecy","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 13, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 24:44-48 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The primary purpose of a prophet was to teach God\u2019s word to people \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Without a revelation of God\u2019s intention, mankind would be lost, for God doesn\u2019t see the world the way man does - Isaiah 55:8-9 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Thus, God explained His actions, His\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10540,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-is-jesus-said-to-be-of-nazareth-if-he-was-born-in-bethlehem-and-who-was-the-serpent-in-the-garden\/","url_meta":{"origin":69834,"position":4},"title":"Why is Jesus said to be of Nazareth if he was born in Bethlehem and who was the serpent in the Garden?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 23, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi! My brother-in-law asked me, \"Why was Jesus called Jesus of Nazareth if he was born in Bethlehem?\" My answer was because he was only born in Bethlehem, but he was raised in Nazareth. Was I correct? He also feels that Jesus, in the form of a snake, tempted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35941,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-does-the-old-testament-say-that-the-messiah-would-die-and-rise-from-the-dead\/","url_meta":{"origin":69834,"position":5},"title":"Where does the Old Testament say that the Messiah would die and rise from the dead?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I have several questions that I have struggled with for years. Can you tell me where in the Old Testament it says that the Messiah will die and rise from the dead? Where does it say in the Old Testament that the Messiah will be worshiped as God?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69834"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69834\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}