Saturday, January 8, 2022

Matthew Barrett: Jesus is the "Ancient of Days" in light of Micah 5:2 and the Doctrine of Eternal Generation

  

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)