What is a Christian? (Micah 5:7-8)

This sermon was preached on 26/5/2013

We might be surprised that we are going to answer this question by turning to an Old Testament passage. If we are, it means that we have adopted a wrong approach to the Bible. Yet the wrong approach is very common. But the Old Testament is a Christian book, full of details that are essential for Christians to know and encouraging for their faith in the God of the Bible.

The context of the verses that we will think about is the coming of the Messiah who would be born in Bethlehem (5:2). The amazing feature about him is that his birth was not the beginning of his existence. Before his birth it had been arranged that he would come to Bethlehem in order to be born. We know what this rather cryptic description means. Jesus was the eternal Son of God who existed before he was born.

The prophecy goes on to say other marvelous things about the coming Messiah. At the end of verse 4, he is described as the sovereign who will be great all over the earth. Again we know when this enthronement took place – it occurred when Jesus ascended to heaven forty days after his resurrection. All power is his and he uses it for his people.

In addition to being the universal sovereign, the Messiah will be a strong shepherd. Jesus claimed to be the good Shepherd when he taught the people as recorded in John 10. Spiritual shepherding for Jesus is about (1) the gathering of lost sheep into his flock, (2) the provision of their needs, (3) protection from their enemies and (4) the eventual arrival at the fold in heaven. How will he achieve all this for a numberless group of people? He will be able to do so because he possesses divine strength.

A final blessing connected to the Messiah is peace. He will be the peace of those who are gathered by him after he comes. The peace will include reconciliation with God, but the prophecy also indicates that there will be the experience of peace within the members of the gathered flock and between the members of the flock. That means there will be a worldwide community of peace organized by the Messiah, which of course is the church that you and I have been gathered into by him. Moreover, the Messiah will give peace even before he comes to Bethlehem because Micah says that the Messiah will deliver his people when their country is invaded by the Assyrians. It is the case that the Assyrian army could not defeat the kingdom of Judah although it did conquer the kingdom of Israel.

No doubt this prophecy proved difficult to understand for many who read it. They needed a key for understanding it. After all, who could fulfill all the roles we have just mentioned? Their fulfillment spans the centuries and requires Someone who can constantly grasp what is going on in the whole world. We have the key for understanding it and he is Jesus Christ. And we know when his reign takes place because we are living in it.

In addition to having Jesus as the key for understanding the passage, we also can see who is meant by the remnant of Jacob. The description cannot describe the physical descendants of Jacob because they did not fulfill the roles specified here about the remnant. They are a picture of another group of people who have a connection with Jacob, but who also transcend his literal descendants. The remnant of Jacob is a name for the disciples of the Messiah, of Jesus.

Micah says two things about God’s people during the reign of the Messiah. He says that they will be like dew and he says that they will be like a lion. What does he mean? Before we consider their differences, there are a couple of similarities in each description that we should note. First, they will be everywhere, in the midst of many people. This is a prediction of the success of the gospel, that it would spread to the whole world. Second, the remnant, whatever its size in a particular place, can be seen by those they live among. This is a reminder that the people of God have to let their light shine, that they are not to be secretive and silent about their faith.

Believers are a blessing to society

We can easily understand how important the dew was in a country like Israel that did not get much rain. Without the dew, the ground would be hard and dry and the vegetation would burn away. But with the dew, life became very pleasant.

The first picture that dew brings to mind is consistency. People in Israel could rely on the dew coming. They knew that when they woke up in the morning the dew would have been. The coming of the dew was not spasmodic. With regard to the remnant placed in all those locations, there will be a consistent way of life.

Then the dew also suggests competence. It does not matter how dry the previous day had been because of the hot sun. The dew would come and bring about a change over all it touched. In a far higher way, every believer has competence. Did Paul not say, ‘I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength’?

Third, the dew also suggests copiousness. Apparently, in Israel, if you were to remain outside during the night with your possessions, in the morning they would be as saturated as if there had been torrential rain all night. This aspect raises the question as to how many people can a Christian influence. The answer is more that you can tell.

Fourth, the dew points to celestial influences because it descends on to the ground. This is the secret of the Christian’s influence on others. On them is the blessing and power of heaven. In themselves, they are nothing but because the dew from heaven is on them they influence other people through God’s involvement.

Fifth, the dew is not controlled by men. There is nothing that any individual or group of people can do to prevent the influence of the dew. If the government was to decide to try and prevent the influence of the dew, we would say, ‘How silly!’ If it tries to prevent the influence of Christians, we can make the same response.

Sixth, the dew illustrates Christlikeness. It does so primarily by its gentle approach. No one has ever heard the dew arrive and no one has ever been affected badly by the coming of dew. It is the same with gentle Christians. They are not rough and loud. Instead they bring refreshment into the lives of people. This can be done in all kinds of ways.

Believers should bring a sense of contentment wherever they are. People should look at them and conclude, ‘I don’t know what makes that man tick, but he has something that makes him content.’ Are you a moaner? If you are, you are brushing off the dew.

Believers should bring consolation wherever they are. We live in a dry world where all the troubles have made people’s hearts into deserts. Thinking about the illustration, imagine a person who has been soaked with dew stepping into a room where people are dry and thirsty. All they have to do is touch him and they will become wet. They need to hear something from us that will bring peace into their souls.

Believers should bring confidence wherever they are. The confidence they express is not confidence in themselves or in any human resource. Instead it is confidence in Jesus and his salvation with its many wonderful promises. We could liken each divine promise to a drop of dew. Confidence comes from feeding our souls on God’s promise and the more promises we think about the wetter we will be and they more influence we will have on others.

Believers will show compassion wherever they are. A Christian who does not show compassion is a contradiction. They should be like Jesus and he was compassionate. If our hearts are hard, it is because they are dry. When we show compassion, people will listen to us.

Micah says that believers are like dew from the Lord. The phrase ‘from the Lord’ indicates that there is a divine purpose in their lives. He has placed them where they are and when they are what they should be then there will be effects. It is good to be like drenched dew watering wherever we go.

Believers will cause disruption wherever they are

At first glance, this description seems to be saying almost the opposite of the dew. But a little reflection will remove that idea because God would not approve of his people engaging in wrong activities and of living in a manner that would be described as cruel and unkind. So the illustration of being like a lion among sheep cannot mean that believers become callous. I think instead that it means they cause disruptions in the way other people live.

In order to cause such disturbances, a believer has to have courage. Of whom is a lion afraid? How many sheep would it take to make a lion afraid of them? We can change the question. How many people would it take to make a Christian afraid if he is strong in the Lord. Believers are told by God to be very courageous because he is with them. Any Christian can be a lion when he realises this and he also then will realise that his opponents are as powerful as sheep.

Perhaps Micah is saying that it does not really matter to a lion whom he is with. He may be with the wild beasts of the forest or he may be with the tame sheep of the pastures. It does not matter because he is not afraid of them, whatever kind of animal they are. Christians will meet people who are like wild beasts and they will meet people who are timid like sheep. And they will disturb both types.

The lion disturbs the other animals by its roar. The roar is unmistakable. When the lion roared, a horse would not wonder if a dog had barked. The roar was lucid enough to make the other animals react. Similarly Christians will disturb other people by speaking the truth about life, about death and about eternity. What makes it effective is that the listener can see that the lion is also like the dew. The believer speaks with authority and causes a disturbance in the thinking of other people.

The imagery of the lion also informs believers that they will know victories as the people of God. A lion usually wins a one to one conflict. Similarly, Christians refreshed with God’s grace overcome the world by their faith. Sometimes they also win the people they are seeking to influence.

So it is not a question as to whether or not we are like dew or a like a lion. The reality is that we should be both because we live in the days when the Messiah rules.