God’s undeserved benevolence and
pardon toward Israel teaches its pinnacle in a promise made in Micah 5:
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 the ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days. (5:2)
Ancient of Days—for some reason I’ve
never associated that title with the book of Micah. Perhaps that’s because I’m
so used to hearing it in the book of Daniel, which repeatedly refers to one
called the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:9, 13, 22). But it’s there in the book of
Micah as well, standing tall and handsome. In the midst of warfare and
calamity, the Lord speaks a word of promise and hope: a day is coming when
Bethlehem, of all places, will sprout a new leader, a ruler, a shepherd. If
that sounds familiar, it’s most likely because every Christmas we hear Matthew
2:4-6 read at some point. When wise men from the east came to Jerusalem asking,
“Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” King Herod asked his chief
priests and scribes where this Christ as to be born, to which they responded, “In
Bethlehem of Judea” (Matt. 2:5). Apparently, these counsellors knew a thing or
two about the Old Testament, identifying Micah 5:2 as the verse to tell them
not only that a king would be born but where this king would be born (also see
John 7;42).
Why is this king, the prophesied
shepherd, so unique? Look again at Micah 5:2. Yes, he will come from a little
town called Bethlehem. But what should jump out at you is this: Bethlehem is
not this king’s ultimate place of origin. His origin predates Bethlehem. “[His]
coming forth is from of old.” How old? “From ancient days.” This language is
used throughout the Old Testament to refer to Yahweh’s eternal origin. But if
Israel’s God is from everlasting to everlasting, having no beginning and no
end, how can this ruler, king, and shepherd be Jesus when we know Jesus was
born?
As we’ve seen already, the birth
of Jesus was no ordinary human birth, despite its humble appearances. The irony
is explicit: this babe, born among animals and laid within the trough from which
they feed, is none other than the eternal Son, begotten from the Father before
all ages. His birth in Bethlehem may be the start of his incarnation, but the
identity of this babe points us back to eternity, where the origins of his
Sonship are located with the Father. His coming forth is from of old because
this newborn king is none other than the Ancient of days himself.
For Matthew to attribute Micah 5:2
with Jesus is to say nothing less. Matthew puts this quotation in his Gospel
not merely because Jesus is the ultimate fulfilment of the king and son God
promised would sit on David’s throne. He is that, but he is so much more. This
shepherd from the line of David can come and establish his kingdom because his divine,
trinitarian identity does not begin in Bethlehem hut originates in eternity
(Gignilliat, “Eternal Generation and the Old Testament,” 74). The Ancient of
Days originates from ancient days. As John Owen says, “He that was in the
fulness of time born at Bethlehem, had his goings forth from the Father from
eternity” (John Owen, Defense of the Gospel, in Works, 12:236-47).
. . . [by observing] the many diverse, metaphors and titles attributed to Jesus
(radiance, image, wisdom, Word, Ancient of Days), what we discover is that
eternal generation is implied and inferred in legions of ways. (Matthew
Barrett, Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son, and Spirit [Grand
Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2021], 208-9, 210, comment in square brackets added
for clarification)