Micah 5:1 meaning

In the Hebrew text, Micah 5:1 is the last verse of Chapter 4. Chapter 5 continues the description of the LORD’s strengthening of His people in Zion (Jerusalem) to “pulverize many peoples” and “devote to the Lord their unjust gain and their wealth to the Lord” (Micah 4:13). Chapter 4 began a prophecy of what would occur during the “last days” (Micah 4:1), following Chapter 3 which prophesied that the Lord’s judgment would cause the physical devastation of Jerusalem.

This gives future hope to Judah, who was told in Chapter 3 (where Micah pronounced the LORD’s judgment) that God would reduce Jerusalem to a heap of stones, its temple into a pagan place of worship, and the whole area of Zion into a sparsely inhabited, dangerous forest.

Chapter 4 then prophesied what would “come about in the last days.” The reference to the last days frequently points to a time that is still future (Ezekiel 38:16, Hosea 3:5, Daniel 2:28, et al.). Thus, this would include the Great Tribulation and, as here, the thousand-year Messianic reign of Christ (Revelation 20:4).

The word now (v. 1) begins a new part of the oracle begun in Chapter 4. In it, the LORD commands His people to muster yourselves in troops. This is a command to organize military resistance. The time frame appears to have shifted from the future Messianic kingdom to the immediate future when Judah would experience invasion by and exile to Babylon (Micah 4:10). This invasion took place roughly a hundred years after Micah’s prophecy.

The enemy (probably the Babylonians) will have laid siege against the daughter of troops (likely a reference to Jerusalem; see Micah 4:8) because it was a city that had experienced much war over time. Micah was encouraging the city of Jerusalem to gather troops once again to fight against the surrounding army, though it would be in vain. Micah speaks of a future event in past tense to demonstrate the certainty with which his prediction will come to pass.

The invading army is not named here, but it is probably the Babylonian army (Micah 4:10). It will not only surround Jerusalem but also humiliate its ruler. Then, With a rod they will smite the judge of Israel on the cheek. The identification of the judge of Israel is uncertain, but it probably refers to the king of Judah at the time of the Babylonian siege: Zedekiah (2 Kings 25:1 - 7). To smite him on the cheek was an act of extreme insult and humiliation (1 Kings 22:24; Job 16:10; Lamentations 3:30).