THE PROMISED DELIVERER

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

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In our study of the Prophet Micah’s message to the people of Judah and Israel we encounter a promise from the Lord to send the people a deliverer and a giver of peace. As those who have the privilege of reading this message from the other side of these events, it is easy to miss the fact that this promised one (Messiah) would do his work in the midst of the people’s time of discipline and exile. Let’s turn our attention to this promised child to be born in Bethlehem as we get into this great promise of God. 

1 Marshal your troops now, city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod. 2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” 3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.

4 He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. 

5 And he will be our peace when the Assyrians invade our land and march through our fortresses. We will raise against them seven shepherds, even eight commanders, 6 who will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod with drawn sword. He will deliver us from the Assyrians when they invade our land and march across our borders. 

7 The remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for anyone or depend on man. 8 The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which mauls and mangles as it goes, and no one can rescue. 9 Your hand will be lifted up in triumph over your enemies, and all your foes will be destroyed. 

(Micah 5:1-9 NIV11)

From Within

Before we get into any other part of this message, it is important that we stop and see that everything that was promised here was given to those who were either already in the midst of God’s discipline, or they were about to enter into their own crisis. 

While the people were experiencing the effects of an Assyrian invasion from the north, the Lord was speaking words of promise to his people. Even though they were experiencing this time of discipline because of the waywardness of generations, the Lord never rejected his people. 

Yes, they would experience pain and suffering as a result of their sin, but the Lord had not changed in his approach of love and mercy toward his people. 

The Deliverer

The Lord promised that he would provide a deliverer for his people and for all the faithful of the world. This deliverer was to be a human child born in the town of Bethlehem. 

We heard this promise in verse 2, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

In this message of hope, the promised one was described in the following way:

•  He will be born into this world.
•  He will be born in Bethlehem. 
•  His origins are from of old, from as far back as we can imagine. 
•  He will be the shepherd of his people. 
•  He will shepherd with the strength of the Lord. 
•  He will bear the majesty of the name of God. 
•  His greatness will cover the whole earth. 
•  He will be the peace of his people. 
•  He will bring final deliverance. 

Assumptions

Many who heard this promise made many assumptions about what the promised one would do as he completed his mission. Many assumed he would be about building political greatness for the nation while many others assumed he would be a great general and military leader. 

But for those who read this promise from a place of faith in Jesus Christ, we see that these assumptions were dead wrong and that they led many to miss out on the coming of the one true deliverer. 

We need to learn from this tragedy. We need to check our assumptions about the return of the Promised One and make sure that we do not miss out on the glory and greatness of his second coming because we assumed it would come in one way or another. 

Let us simply receive the gift of the Lord’s promise of peace and deliverance and turn our hearts and minds to the task of living for his name and glory with each passing day. 

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, I confess my faith in your work as the promised one and deliverer. You are the only source of eternal hope and I set aside my own assumptions about what you should or could be doing in my life and in the world around me and instead confess that you are the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I submit to your loving leadership. Shepherd me today! 

In Christ, 

Ryan Laden

PASTOR RYAN LADEN

Works at MTN. CHURCH

Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church

Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at Baylor University

Studied at Texas Tech University

Went to Castle Hills First Baptist

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