Micah 5:2-4 English Standard Version
2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel.
4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.
To the ends of the earth is not a period of time, it is the area of the earth. It is where east meets west. We often look at the prophetic word and read into it what we hope to see without taking in the whole counsel of God.
Also note that the return is not to the house of Israel but to the people. It is the family of God in which we, having placed our faith in Christ, become sons and daughters of God.
This is the church age and as such the only thing we need to concern ourselves with is His reign. We dwell secure in Christ. That is not the same as being secure in the world. The emotions we have about what is happening to the world and in the world has little to do with our life in Christ.
We live and love in the here and now, from one end of the earth to another. It is not a time without end, it is a place without limits.
We hate seeing what is happening. What are we to do about that in whatever time remains for us? The same as in the beginning, love and obey God as best we can for as long as you can.
Two more important words appear in verse 2, for now.
This is what we have for now. We have no control over what happens next. All we have is for now. His reign is not over, not yet.
Our emotions may get the better of us because we hate what we see in the world, but this world will come to an end, just not yet.
Hear God, believe God and obey God is all we can do to be effective servants to Him.
Don’t ask more of ourselves than what He asks.