More in the Christmas Story

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Micah 5 is one of the great Prophetic Messianic scriptures that will be quoted from now till the celebrated 25th day of December. 

Chapter 1:1 identifies the prophet as “Micah of Moresheth” (a town in southern Judah), and states that he lived during the reigns of Yehotam, Ahaz and Hezekiah, roughly 750–700 BC.  

Over 2500 years ago then the writer proclaims that one would come whose origins would be so old they are from “everlasting”.

Let’s look at the connection in the prophecy between  the first and second Adam in

• 1st Corinthians 15:45, the bit
• in Micah 5:1 and in Genesis 3:16-19 via the cluster of words invoked in the prophecy.Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”;the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. (1 Cor 15:45)
• א  וְאַתָּה בֵּית-לֶחֶם אֶפְרָתָה,צָעִיר לִהְיוֹת בְּאַלְפֵי יְהוּדָה–מִמְּךָ לִי יֵצֵא,לִהְיוֹת מוֹשֵׁל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל; וּמוֹצָאֹתָיו מִקֶּדֶם, מִימֵי עוֹלָם.1 And you, Bet-lehem Efratah, (house of bread APRTH = dust)which are little among the thousands of Judah (praise),

  out of you will one come forth to Me that is to be ruler

  (Moshal from MShL example, parable… as in “govern by…”)

  in Israel (El’s contender/prince);

  whose goings forth are from before, from days of eternity.

  ב  לָכֵן יִתְּנֵם, עַד-עֵת יוֹלֵדָה יָלָדָה; וְיֶתֶר אֶחָיו, יְשׁוּבוּן עַל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.

  2 Therefore will He give them up,

  until the time that she who travails has brought forth;

  and the residue of his brethren will return with sons of Israel

  Gen 3:16, 19

  טז  אֶל-הָאִשָּׁה אָמַר, הַרְבָּה אַרְבֶּה עִצְּבוֹנֵךְ וְהֵרֹנֵךְ–בְּעֶצֶב,

  תֵּלְדִי בָנִים; וְאֶל-אִישֵׁךְ, תְּשׁוּקָתֵךְ, וְהוּא, יִמְשָׁל-בָּךְ.

  16 To the woman He said:

  ‘I will greatly multiply your pain and your travail;

  in pain you shalt bring forth children;

  and your desire shall be to thy husband,

  and he shall rule (MShL – be an example) over you.’

  יט  בְּזֵעַת אַפֶּיךָ, תֹּאכַל לֶחֶם, עַד שׁוּבְךָ אֶל-הָאֲדָמָה,

  כִּי מִמֶּנָּה לֻקָּחְתָּ:  כִּי-עָפָר אַתָּה, וְאֶל-עָפָר תָּשׁוּב.

  19 In the sweat of thy face will you eat bread,

  till you return to the ground; for out of it you were taken;

  for dust (APR) you are, and to dust (APR) will you return.’

• 
  Do you see the interplay of words between the two sections
  in Gen 3 & Micah 5 vis-a-vis the  first and second Adam?

And if so, does anything stand out to y’all?

In Micah 5 – where there is a clear prophetic hint of Messiah,
can one see a cluster of concepts that originates in Genesis 3?

“out of the House of Bread”

– the first man eats bread by the sweat of His brow;

whereas now, the Bread will be provided by the Father;

even previous hints like Deut 8:3 “man will not live by bread alone”

(כִּי לֹא עַל-הַלֶּחֶם לְבַדּוֹ יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם–כִּי עַל-כָּל-מוֹצָא פִי-יְהוָה, יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם.)

lots of scriptural refs on ‘bread’; yet focus is on Who provides it…

Ephratah, (APRTH “alef,peh,resh,tav,heh” – ori. from ashes – APR,

so APR & JPR “ayin,peh,resh” are paralleled as in Job for

“dust & ashes” for the same sense; we repent in “dust & ashes”

because we return to “dust & ashes” as the first Adam does in 3:19

Second Adam (son of man) delivers us from the “dust & ashes” as in

Isaiah 61:3

ג  לָשׂוּם לַאֲבֵלֵי צִיּוֹן,

לָתֵת לָהֶם פְּאֵר תַּחַת אֵפֶר

שֶׁמֶן שָׂשׂוֹן תַּחַת אֵבֶל–מַעֲטֵה תְהִלָּה,

תַּחַת רוּחַ כֵּהָה;

וְקֹרָא לָהֶם אֵילֵי הַצֶּדֶק, מַטַּע יְהוָה לְהִתְפָּאֵר.

3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion,

to give unto them a garland for ashes (APR), the oil of joy for mourning,

the mantle of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

that they might be called terebinths of righteousness,

the planting of YHVH, wherein He might glory.

MaShaL: typically translated as ‘ruler’, also “example, similitude”

the first man is to be a MaShaL for his wife whereas the second Man

is to be MoShaL in Yisrael, who is from before, from days of eternity…

Sun & moon were created to “memshelet” (MShL) over day & night,

and yet in Rev 21:23 (21 is all about the new heaven and new earth):

“And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it,

for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.”

The first Adam is from the ‘adamah’ (earth) and will return to the ‘adamah’,

The second “son of man” is from before, from days of eternity and will

return with the remnant of His brethren and the sons of Yisrael

taldi banim – birth sons (in increased pain and travail) in Gen 3;

Yoladah yaladah – birthing will give birth in Micah 5 via travail

א  וְאַתָּה בֵּית-לֶחֶם אֶפְרָתָה,

צָעִיר לִהְיוֹת בְּאַלְפֵי יְהוּדָה–מִמְּךָ לִי יֵצֵא,

לִהְיוֹת מוֹשֵׁל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל; וּמוֹצָאֹתָיו מִקֶּדֶם, מִימֵי עוֹלָם.

1 And you, Bet-lehem Efratah, (house of bread, APRTH = dust)

which are little among the thousands of Judah (praise),

out of you will one come forth to Me that is to be ruler

(Moshal from MShL example, parable… as in “govern by…”)

in Israel (El’s contender/prince);

whose goings forth are from before, from days of eternity.

ב  לָכֵן יִתְּנֵם, עַד-עֵת יוֹלֵדָה יָלָדָה; וְיֶתֶר אֶחָיו, יְשׁוּבוּן עַל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.

2 Therefore will He give them up,

until the time that she who travails has brought forth;

and the residue of his brethren will return with sons of Israel

Gen 3:16, 19

טז  אֶל-הָאִשָּׁה אָמַר, הַרְבָּה אַרְבֶּה עִצְּבוֹנֵךְ וְהֵרֹנֵךְ–בְּעֶצֶב,

תֵּלְדִי בָנִים; וְאֶל-אִישֵׁךְ, תְּשׁוּקָתֵךְ, וְהוּא, יִמְשָׁל-בָּךְ.

16 To the woman He said:

‘I will greatly multiply your pain and your travail;

in pain you shalt bring forth children;

and your desire shall be to thy husband,

and he shall rule (MShL – be an example) over you.’

יט  בְּזֵעַת אַפֶּיךָ, תֹּאכַל לֶחֶם, עַד שׁוּבְךָ אֶל-הָאֲדָמָה,

כִּי מִמֶּנָּה לֻקָּחְתָּ:  כִּי-עָפָר אַתָּה, וְאֶל-עָפָר תָּשׁוּב.

19 In the sweat of thy face will you eat bread,

till you return to the ground; for out of it you were taken;

for dust (APR) you are, and to dust (APR) will you return.’

1 Corinthians 15 (second half) helps tie them together with the

principle of “first the natural, then the spiritual”:

42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead.

What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.

43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory.

It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.

44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”;

the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural,

and then the spiritual.

47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust;

the second man is from heaven.

48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust,

and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.

49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust,

we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

As we are all using messianic prophecies this time of year;

I thought this particular passage evoked some cool word pictures,

using the “first the natural, then the spiritual” principle of 1 Cor 15

to look into the intertextuality (Hebrew word interplay to invoke

earlier references) of Micah 5, especially in light of what the Messiah

is coming to do for all of us…