Micah 4
January 7
Reading: Micah 4
1 It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the LORD
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and it shall be lifted up above the hills;
and peoples shall flow to it,
2 and many nations shall come, and say:
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths."
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3 He shall judge between many peoples,
and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore;
4 but they shall sit every man under his vine
and under his fig tree,
and no one shall make them afraid,
for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.
5 For all the peoples walk
each in the name of its god,
but we will walk
in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.
6 In that day, declares the LORD,
I will assemble the lame
and gather those who have been driven away
and those whom I have afflicted;
7 and the lame I will make the remnant,
and those who were cast off, a strong nation;
and the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion
from this time forth and forevermore.
8 And you, O tower of the flock,
hill of the daughter of Zion,
to you shall it come,
the former dominion shall come,
kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem.
9 Now why do you cry aloud?
Is there no king in you?
Has your counselor perished,
that pain seized you like a woman in labor?
10 Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion,
like a woman in labor,
for now you shall go out from the city
and dwell in the open country;
you shall go to Babylon.
There you shall be rescued;
there the LORD will redeem you
from the hand of your enemies.
11 Now many nations are assembled against you,
saying, "Let her be defiled,
and let our eyes gaze upon Zion."
12 But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD;
they do not understand his plan,
that he has gathered them
as sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion,
for I will make your horn iron,
and I will make your hoofs bronze;
you shall beat in pieces many peoples;
and shall devote their gain to the LORD,
their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.
In Micah 4:1 the tone of Micah’s prophesy changes drastically. We go from covenant prosecution and punishment to prophetic promise. A day is coming when the Lord will rescue His people. This presents the theme that we have already seen in Hosea, Joel, and Amos.
One thought runs through verses 1-5. A day is coming when the Lord will reestablish Jerusalem and His people in His ways and His words. In that day, the nations will come to Jerusalem and make peace and God’s people will no longer have anything to fear. In that day, walking in the name of the Lord will be seen as so much better than all the idolatry.
In that day (vss. 6-9), the Lord will restore all those who are lame, afflicted, and abandoned. Those who look to the Lord will be vindicated and will reign with the Lord as their great King.
Verse 10 asks a question of the people of God, “Why do you cry out?” They might answer that the reason is simple. The people of God are going to suffer, be defeated, and carried into exile. They will lose all. They will be taken away to Babylon. But we discover in these verses that, though no other nation knows it, this is the plan of God. It must happen (vs. 10), because there they will be rescued. God will lead His people to reign over all the earth. (vs. 13)
This lesson is so important for God’s people in every time, in every place. Why do we cry out to God in agony? Why do we worry? Why do we feel as though all is lost? Why do the nations rage? Why do people persecute the people of God? It is because “they do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan.” (vs. 12) We do not know God’s plan in detail. But of this we can be sure: God has a plan, and even the hardest events in the most difficult times are part of that plan, and the end of the plan is great blessing for us and glory for God.