But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting (Micah 5:2).
“Whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting” are words that trigger emotions and whet the appetite of my understanding. Jeremiah reiterates and affirms the eternality of God in respect to the love that He has for us by these words, “the Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you” (Jeremiah 31:3). In these two Scriptures, we see the consistency and harmony of the Lord’s message to us, for both emphasize the fact that He has had us in His mind and heart eternally! This reality overwhelms the mind and soul but invigorates the spirit which is able to apprehend the depths of meaning from the words of the prophet. Within our eternal spirit dwells our immortal, eternal Savior to Whom these Scriptures make reference! Of course we have a sense of eternity, it is already written on our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
Jesus Christ, our eternal Savior, became incarnate at His birth in Bethlehem; that is, He “took on” humanity to reconcile us to the Father, and in Jesus, God the Father provided His answer for every problem and eventuality in our lives. Jesus is the voice of God to us, not in a reactionary sense as it regards something that has happened, but the voice of God from eternity; a word spoken, a solution given before the problem ever existed. In every single case, no matter how problematic the situation, you as a believer can grasp that the Everlasting God’s everlasting love has drawn you, pulled you in, and gathered you to Himself.
The Prophet Micah says that Jesus is the One Whom God has ordained to be Ruler in Israel and not only in Israel but in our hearts also. The One ruling in our hearts is the Eternal King who has brought eternity to our humanity. Paul understands that our mortal bodies become transformed when touched by our eternal Savior when he says, “but we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).
The Word of God gives us glimpses into eternity, and Jesus is the One who brings them into full view of us. Once we begin to understand our eternal God’s infinite love for us, we will exclaim with Paul “who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? […] in all things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us” (Romans 8: 35,37).