Book of Micah Chapter Four Commentary by
Ron Beckham
Audio Bible Study - Micah 4:1-5
Verse 1. "And it will come about in the
last days that the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the
chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will
stream to it."
Now the words of Micah the prophet take an
astonishing turn. The Lord through the prophet has been addressing the Hebrew
people's sins and with increasing severity, he has warned of impending judgment
upon the land.
This concluded in Micah 3:12 with the revelation that “Zion
will be plowed as a field, Jerusalem will become a place of ruins and the
mountain of the temple will become the high place of a forest.” All that
did come true, but instead of continuing this historical account in its context,
the Lord through Micah suddenly jumps thousands of years into the future. It
will be a time when “the house of the Lord will be…
chief of the mountains,” and the Gentiles, the
nations, the “peoples will stream into it.”
Isaiah, a contemporary of Micah, also tended to jump
thousands of years within a verse of Scripture, and neither prophet likely had
an idea that such a great break in time was in store. All the other prophets as
well probably had little awareness that often millennia would be
represented by a pause within a paragraph of words. But God knew. He is outside
of time as we know it, and for Him, as it says in another place, “with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand
years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8, ref. Psalm 90:4). The “last days” are
tomorrow to God.
Verse 2. "Many nations will come and
say, 'Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the
God of Jacob, that He may teach us about His ways and that we may walk in His
paths.' For from Zion will go forth the law, even the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem.'"
Isaiah the prophet was an older contemporary of Micah.
These two men and other prophets of that time were marching around the
countryside of Judah and Israel, sharing the words that came from God. Since the
audience within the two nations was really one people, each had the one problem of sin, and there
was One God who was reaching out to them, you would expect a considerable
overlap in their messages. And that is exactly what did happen.
Micah looked far into the future, to a time when “many nations will come… to the
house of the God of Jacob” and learn from Him. Isaiah was given almost
identical words: “Many people shall come and say, ‘Come
and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways and we shall walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall
go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3).
The two messages were one and the events will happen, just as they said.
Verse 3. "And He will judge between many
peoples and render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer
their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will
not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war."
Isaiah 2:4 says God Himself “shall
judge between the nations, and shall rebuke many people; 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.” It’s
interesting that the words from Isaiah 2:4 are written as a promise on the wall at
the United Nations. It’s also very interesting that God considered these words
so important that they were recorded in relation to TWO of His key prophets
(Micah and Isaiah).
There WILL be a time when tanks, artillery shells and
atomic bombs will be no more. When the possibility of disagreement might occur,
no longer will people look to “swords… and… spears”
and angry words for their solutions; instead they will look to the Lord. The
word for “judge” here, or “rebuke”
in some translations, literally is, “acts as an umpire for.” He will be like an
umpire or referee who settles – everything. Never again will we train for war.
Verse 4. "Each of them will sit under
his vine, and under his fig tree, with no one to make them afraid, for the mouth
of the Lord of hosts has spoken."
There is one great need of men, women, boys and girls
everywhere that is universal to the extent that ALL of us want it! That need is
for SAFETY! We want to feel – SAFE! The reign of King Solomon included that
characteristic for Israel. 1st Kings 4:25 contains these words – “Judah and Israel dwelt SAFELY, each man under his vine and his
fig tree… all the days of Solomon.” This verse in Micah speaks of a
future time when all people everywhere will feel and actually will be - SAFE!
Hundreds of years after Micah lived and prophesied,
Jesus spoke to a man named Nathanael, who responded, “How
do You know me?” Jesus answered, “When you were
under the fig tree, I saw you” (John 1:48). Nathanael had been in a place
of safety and solitude, where he likely had been in reflection and/or in prayer
(compare 1 Kings 4:25).
He was shocked that Jesus could perceive him in such a moment, and then he
went with Jesus Christ. When WE follow the Lord in that way, we discover the only place
of true SAFETY, a safe place such as this world never could offer or even
understand.
Verse 5. "Though all the peoples walk
each in the name of his god, as for us, we will walk in the name of the Lord our
God forever and ever."
This verse speaks of idolatry, which is a terrible
illness of the soul, and we are also shown the antidote for our sin. There
is a tendency for so-called “modern” people to think that we are not idolaters.
Most people don’t actually fall down and worship a man or woman shaped piece of
rock in a temple, and so we think: “This problem does not apply to me!” But it’s
more prevalent, more insidious than you know. Here are questions you might
consider: How do you spend your time? What do you spend your money on? What is
your passion in life?
If you spend much of your time and money as God leads
you, and if HE is your passion, then you are walking “in
the name of the Lord.” When your time, money and passion is in another
direction, then look carefully at what you do and wonder, “Is this ‘the name of (my) god'?”
Each of us walks in the name of some “god” or
another. You might call yourself by the name Buddhist, Muslim, Atheist,
Computer-user or TV-addict, and that is a partial revelation of who your “god” may be. The antidote is to “walk
in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.” Give yourself to Him –
you’ll be glad you did.
Lord, we need the safety, the peace You offer.
We give our hearts and our lives to You right now. Forgive us our sins.
We TRUST in You. Thank You. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Micah 4:6-10
Verse 6. "'In that day,' declares the
Lord, 'I will assemble the lame and gather the outcasts, even those whom I have
afflicted.'"
Is there justice for the “afflicted"
of this world? One of the cornerstones of the American system of government is
that “All men (and women) are
created equal.” And yet from our human perspective we can see that enormous
differences between us exist to the extent that many have wondered, “Is all this
an accident? Does God
care?” Please note this: There is one great similarity between a sporting event
and life: It’s not who is ahead at halftime that counts – it’s he or she who wins at the
end of the game. God will heal each one of us, either now or in eternity.
Notice that God is not shy in admitting His part in the
suffering here on earth. When He speaks in this verse of the “lame” and the “outcasts” of
the world, He says, “I have afflicted" them. Note
that God is All-Powerful and All-Knowing. When the Son of God appeared on this
earth, hundreds of years after these verses in Micah were written, all “marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole,
the lame walking, and the blind seeing” (Matthew 15:31). God has
both the power and the desire that you and I will be healed, and we will be, at
a time and in a circumstance of His choosing.
Verse 7. "I will make the lame a remnant
and the outcasts a strong nation, and the Lord will reign over them in Mount
Zion from now on and forever."
It is amazing that those who are given the Lord and the
good things of God, tend to become a proud people, rendered unfit because of their pride
for the kingdom of God. And so, as it always has been, the Lord reaches out to
the “lame,” the “outcasts”
who are willing to place their faith in Him. He makes those who are not a “nation” become a “strong nation,”
and the Lord becomes their God, “from now on and forever.”
Paul the Apostle commented about this: “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according
to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called…
God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to
shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame
the things which are mighty, and the base things of the world and the things
which are despised God has chosen…” (1 Corinthians 1:26-28). And then
Paul gave the reason why God acts in such a manner: “that
no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Corinthians 1:29). The glory is
rightly His and He “will reign over (us)
in Mount Zion from now on and forever.”
Verse 8. "As for you, tower of the
flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you it will come - even the former
dominion will come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem."
At the time of these verses, the country of Israel had
been divided into two parts. Israel, to the north, was sometimes called “Jacob” or “Samaria,” the
same name as its capital – Samaria. This northern kingdom was almost wholly corrupt.
The country was invaded by the Assyrians and conquered utterly in 722 BC. The
leading citizens of Israel, including men, women and children were taken as
slaves to Assyria, and many Assyrians were sent to the land of Israel to take
their place.
Judah, the nation of Jews to the south, survived this
time, but now had to pay tribute to the Assyrians. The difference between the two
Hebrew nations was that even though Judah’s sins were just as bad as Israel’s,
Judah would periodically hear God’s Word and repent. However, Judah's kings
often rejected the Lord. That nation, in a similar series of events, was conquered by
the Empire of Babylon in 587 and 586 BC. Babylon was overthrown by Persia in 539
BC and many Jews were allowed to return to the area of Jerusalem, but these
verses in Micah look further ahead in time to a much later return to the land.
Verse 9. "Now, why do you cry out
loudly? Is there no king among you, or has your counselor perished, that agony
has gripped you like a woman in childbirth?"
King Hoshea, the last king of the northern kingdom of
Israel, withheld the tribute he had been sending to Assyria, and the land was
subsequently “besieged… for
three years…” after which “Assyria took Samaria and
carried (the people of ) Israel to Assyria”
(2 Kings 17:4-6). Years later, King Zedekiah of Judah rebelled against
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and he was blinded and taken as a prisoner to Babylon
(2 Kings 25).
The peoples of Israel and Judah did “cry out loudly” because, as Micah foretold,
there will be “no king among you.” The counselors
of that time included not only the royal families of the two nations of Israel
and Judah, but also the many Levitical priests and the numerous false prophets
who had received government paychecks to lie to the people. All that was to be gone, and the Lord asked, through Micah the prophet, “Is
there no king among you?” “Has your counselor
perished?” The answer would be “yes” to both questions and those peoples
became “gripped” with “agony,”
as though they had become a “woman in (the pain of)
childbirth.”
Verse 10. "Writhe and labor to give
birth, daughter of Zion, like a woman in childbirth; for now you will go out of
the city, dwell in the field, and go to Babylon. There you will be rescued; here
the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies."
A goal for most within humanity is
to achieve personal freedom, including the ability to make decisions without
outside interference. And it’s difficult to do so, for everyone, everywhere is
in some way subject to the needs of someone else. Even a complete hermit is full
of memories from a time when he or she was not alone. The nations of Israel and
Judah had carried this need for personal freedom to the point where they had
rejected God from their thinking and from their lives. God was not
pleased.
Suddenly, everything would change. The Lord through
Micah in this verse now directly addresses the nation of Judah alone, for it
would be “Babylon” that was selected by God to be
the place of
their captivity. They would be taken “out of the city”
they had lived in all their lives, and dragged as slaves to the land of a
foreign power. There in Babylon, they would not only long for their land, but
most important, they would begin to long to be “rescued”
by their “Lord” and redeemed (bought back) from
their “enemies.”
Father, help us through Your Spirit to begin to
understand that the events of this world, including the difficulties in our own
lives, serve the purposes of God. Your intention is to bring us back to
faith in the Lord, in concert with Your will. Lord, we believe, help Thou
our unbelief. Enable us to TRUST in You. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Micah 4:11-13
Verse 11. "And now many nations have
been assembled against you who say, 'Let her be polluted, and let our eyes gloat
over Zion.'"
In what is called “the last days,” false optimism will
be everywhere. They will “say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes
upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape” (1
Thessalonians 5:3). In the future, the world will “writhe and labor to give
birth… like a woman in childbirth” (Micah 4:10). At the time of these verses in
Micah, many in Israel and Judah thought they were safe, just as those of this world will
feel safe at the time of the end. Many feel unreasonably safe right now, for it
has always been that most pretend they do not hear the Word of the Lord.
We must all look to Him and see that our only real safety is in and from
our God. The nations that surrounded Israel and then Judah, felt confident that
they would be able to conquer and destroy with impunity. Like the nations that
surround Israel today, they looked at their numbers and weaponry and thought
they had achieved all this in their own strength. But it was God who saw the
need for His people to be judged, to be changed, and it was He who brought these nations upon
them. Yes,
ancient Israel and Judah were defeated, but God was not pleased with those who
would “gloat over Zion,” and the nations
who "polluted" them would be destroyed because
of what they had done.
Verse 12. "But they do not know the
thoughts of the Lord, and they do not understand His purpose; for He has
gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor."
This world is full of people who think they act with
independence from outside intervention. Countries invade other nations, thinking
they have acted on their own volition, but “they do not know the thoughts of the
Lord,” and none of us completely “understand His purpose” in the events of this
world. Armies encircled Israel and other troops would invade Judah, conquering both
nations and treating them badly. But they did not see that their own nations were mere tools
in the hand of God, a mechanism to bring His people back to the Lord.
The Assyrian armies that threatened Israel and would
subsequently destroy that nation in 722 BC, had no idea that God “gathered them
like sheaves to the threshing floor.” The Babylonians who would later destroy
Judah, also did not know, just as it has been for armies throughout history.
All those nations that have caused harm through the centuries have themselves
been destroyed, “for there will be no prospect for the evil man (or nation);
the
lamp of the wicked will be put out” (Proverbs 24:20).
Verse 13. "'Arise and thresh, daughter
of Zion, for your horn I will make iron and your hoofs I will make bronze, that
you may pulverize many peoples, that you may devote to the Lord their unjust
gain and their wealth to the Lord of all the earth."
The Lord, through the prophet Micah has been revealing
first to the people of Israel and then to Judah, that their days as nations were
numbered. In places like Verse 10, it was revealed that the nation Judah would
be captured and many of the defeated citizens of Judah would go to Babylon as
slaves. Yet Verse 10 continued, “there (in Babylon)
you will be rescued… the
Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.”
As it says here in Micah 4:13, God would make the Hebrew
people’s “horn” (strength) to be like “iron,” and their “hoofs” like “bronze.”
As it has been for them in the past, it is so for that people today. Why does
the 21st century nation of Israel do so well in battle, though they are often
overwhelmingly outnumbered by their enemies? It is the Lord God who enables them to “pulverize
many peoples,” with the intention that the “unjust gain” of the past will be
devoted “to the Lord of all the earth.”
Lord, we trust in You. Help us to look to You
and be thankful in all things. Be with our nations, our leaders and our places of worship, for we
are sorely in need of You. In Jesus Name. Amen.
