“Hope For The Remnant”

Sermon: “Hope For The Remnant”

Rev. Borden Scott, Faith Baptist Church, July 16th, 2023

Introduction

It’s time for some good news! Remember back at the beginning of the pandemic when we were all supposed to stay home and there wasn’t much to do except watch or read the news that was so full of dread about what was happening and what might happen next?

During this same period one of the most popular things on the internet was an attempt to offer an alternative to all this bad news.

The actor John Krasinski, who you might recognize as either Jim from “The Office” or possibly the most recent iteration of Jack Ryan from the Tom Clancy novels, cobbled together a newsroom set in his house and began producing “SGN” or “Some Good News” – an online news show entirely about heartwarming stories and good things happening near and far.

The pandemic has passed, but I wonder if it caused us to be even more focused on the bad news in our world. A lot of people carry anxious burdens related to war, climate change, or political shifts – often things they can’t do all that much about.

It’s not that you shouldn’t be aware of what’s happening in the wider world and even look for ways to respond to it – we probably need more of that, not less. But something has gone wrong if we carry all of this information about every random tragedy and every leader and law we don’t like and every complicated global problem in such a way that we feel gloomy, depressed, or hopeless. You can’t find joy in the life right in front of you that way.

We’ve been studying the Old Testament book of the prophet Micah in July, and so far it’s been bad news.

Micah, speaking for God as His prophet, told his people that they had become corrupt. Their religion had become corrupted by the influence of idols and foreign god. This was enabled by their own kings and priests who manipulated the religion of the nation for their own gain.

When religion detaches itself from our loving creator, ugly things happen. And in Micah’s day this included tremendous greed and injustice. The wealthy and powerful took the land and homes of the vulnerable, bribing or threatening their way to acquiring whatever they wanted.

Many people believed that God wouldn’t let anything bad happen to them no matter how wickedly they acted, but after centuries of this going on God was not going to endure any more. Micah told the people that the destruction of their nations was coming.

The armies of the Assyrian Empire would first come and destroy the northern kingdom of Israel and ravage the southern kingdom of Judah. Later the Babylonians would come and destroy Jerusalem itself along with God’s temple, carrying many of the survivors back to Babylon as captives.

Micah prophesied that it would happen. And it happened. The kingdoms of the people God had rescued from Egypt and established in a new land, the people God had chosen in order to show the world His ways and be blessed so they could be a blessing, were literally wiped off the map.

That could very well have been the end of their story. But Micah isn’t all bad news, so it’s time for the good news – good news for some of those who first heard it and good news still today for those of us who choose faithfulness to God.

Today I have two passages with good news I want to read and explore – first Micah 2:12-13, and then Micah 4:1-8:

Micah 2:12-13

12“I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob;

I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel.

I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,

like a flock in its pasture;

the place will throng with people.

13One who breaks open the way will go up before them;

they will break through the gate and go out.

Their king will pass through before them,

the Lord at their head.”

Micah 4:1-8

In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and peoples will stream to it.

Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the LORD Almighty has spoken. All the nations may walk in the name of their gods, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.

“In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will gather the lame; I will assemble the exiles and those I have brought to grief. I will make the lame my remnant, those driven away a strong nation. The LORD will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever. As for you, watchtower of the flock, stronghold of Daughter Zion, the former dominion will be restored to you; kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem.”

There’s the good news. Despite the defeat and destruction that the kingdoms of Israel and Judah would face, God had not thrown in towel and decided to just let evil win.

That first passage from chapter 2 promises that God will regather His people. Like a shepherd recovering lost sheep and returning them to the safety of their pen God will ensure that a remnant of His people would be brought together. And who will do this? A savior. A king who breaks open the way for them.

Then we turn to chapter 4 where there is more good news. First, the mountain of the Lord’s temple – mount Zion, where David brought the ark of the covenant and Solomon later built the temple – will return to prominence.

People from all over the world will go there – a stream of people flowing to where they can learn to walk in the ways of God. God will speak from his mountain, and the world will listen.

And when people learn God’s ways and live accordingly there will be peace. Disputes will be resolved, weapons will be cast aside, and no one will need to train for war anymore.

Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid… People will have security – they will have what they need to provide for themselves and have no fear that somebody will try to take it from them.

“In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will gather the lame; I will assemble the exiles and those who I have brought to grief. I will make the lame my remnant. The LORD will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever. The former dominion will be restored to you; kingship will come to Daughter Zion.”

When I try to understand and absorb that prophesy three questions come to mind, and I think those questions will work for guiding the rest of this sermon:

1. What are the events Micah is talking about?

2. What did this mean for Micah’s original audience?

3. What should this mean for me?

What Is Micah Talking About?

So, what are the events Micah is talking about when it comes to this good news? It would be convenient if there were just one answer to that question, but there isn’t. When we’re trying to understand Old Testament prophesy there is an important concept called “progressive fulfillment.”

Progressive fulfillment means that a future prediction by a prophet may not be fulfilled all at once. There may be a partial fulfillment of the prophesy in the short-term, sometimes another sort of fulfillment that comes later, and it may be that aspects of the prophesy still await fulfillment in the future.

For example, some of what Micah prophesied happened fairly soon afterward, historically speaking at least. When Jerusalem was destroyed and many of its people were taken to Babylon as captives they lived as exiles for about fifty years – maybe 70 – before it became possible to go home to Jerusalem and rebuild. That is certainly one way to understand “I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel…”

But what we read in chapter 4 goes beyond this. The mountain of the Lord’s temple is exalted above all other hills and people stream to it. When does that happen? When the temple was first rebuilt and later renovated it did draw people from many other nations to come and visit and learn and worship. But this didn’t bring about world peace. That temple, along with Jerusalem, was also destroyed, this time by the Romans during a Jewish rebellion not too long after the time of Jesus.

But before that destruction happened “the word of the LORD” did go out “from Jerusalem” by the early Christians who began to take the message of Jesus from Jerusalem to the rest of the known world. Many of them become like exiles when their home – Jerusalem – was destroyed.

And those early Christians still had a king – a ruler that is promised in Micah chapter 5, which is the other Micah passage that you might have heard before because it features in the Christmas story:

2 “But you, Bethlehem, 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.

So you can point to one level of fulfillment early on – the return of the Jewish exiles to Jerusalem. And Christians can identify some elements that point to Jesus and taking His message out from Jerusalem as the Church began.

But there are also some things that haven’t happened yet – things that will happen at the “eschaton” – AKA judgement day, the final event in the divine plan, the end of the world as we know it, etc.

They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the LORD Almighty has spoken.

We see echoes of Micah’s prophesy in the book of Revelation at the end of the New Testament, which speaks of the new heavens and the new earth, where the tree of life from the garden of Eden is depicted again, with its leaves healing the nations. No longer will there be any curse. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Now, if you’ve lost track of what the question was at this point I don’t blame you, so as a reminder it was: “what are the events Micah is talking about?” And while there are a few possible events, they do have something in common – they represent future hope.

More than one expression of future hope through this “progressive fulfillment”, but that’s still what it boils down to. There’s hope for the future, no matter how dark things look now, or how scary things might get. Those who trust in God will find Him faithful.

What Did This Mean For Micah’s Audience?

The second question I asked was “what does this mean for Micah’s audience?” I’m not entirely qualified to answer this on behalf of people from a very different culture thirteen hundred years ago, but when you interpret the Bible it’s a good idea to try to wrestle with this question, because while these words may be for us they weren’t written to us.

I think particularly of the victims of all of this corruption and oppression when I try to work out what this might have meant to Micah’s audience. They’ve been abused and lack the power to do much about it – you can try to imagine the anger and despair they might have been feeling after being robbed of their land and homes and watching the so-called priests and prophets say that everything is fine!

For that audience, Micah’s words mean that God isn’t overlooking the injustice all around them. God cares about them, God is angry at their oppressors, and the people responsible are going to be punished.

Good. But what about them, since that punishment is also going to destroy their whole nation? There is a message of hope here to the minority of Israelites who have held on and remained faithful – the remnant. God will re-gather them. He will shepherd them into the frightening future. He will send a new king to lead them – a truly good king this time – who will restore things to what they should be.

I don’t know how comforting that would have been to people in that situation – if you told me my community was going to be destroyed and many of its people lost, but some day it will be rebuilt and be a much better place than it is now, I’d still mostly be worried about the imminent death and destruction. But maybe it would matter to be told “you’re right.” Everything is a horrible mess, and the people who have hurt you have done a great evil. Things will be set right, but it’s going to be a painful journey even for the people who know and still want to please God. So hold on. Keep the faith. God can be trusted to make things right.

What Should This Mean For Me?

Now let’s take things into 2023. What should this mean for me? How can this help be follow Jesus better? There are a number of possible answers to that question – scripture is much too rich for there to just be one thing to glean from it. But this time around I think my answer is “peace.”

When I look to the portion of Micah’s prophecy that still waits to be fulfilled, it offers words of hope for the way this world should be – the way things will be one day. It speaks of people recognizing that God’s way is right and lining up to learn how to walk in His paths – a sort of moral revolution. Micah describes a world at peace – weapons aren’t required, no one trains for war.

People have enough, and they are content with that instead of trying to take from others. God makes sure of it.

And those who have suffered will be regathered and restored:

“In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will gather the lame; I will assemble the exiles and those I have brought to grief. I will make the lame my remnant. The LORD will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever.”

Some people worry that the world is barrelling toward destruction – that humanity won’t survive because of war, climate, or AI and other technologies. And I don’t know what will happen next, we may do ourselves a great deal of harm.

But if the Bible can be trusted, then the future is peace “when God’s irresistible kingdom will be ushered in on this earth by Christ the King and will continue eternally on the new earth” as one commentator puts it.

Compared to those who Micah first wrote to I am not experiencing very much in the way of injustice, but one thing can be true for any audience: you can have personal peace from God even when the world around you is a mess.

It’s a matter of faith – faith that God is there and cares. Faith that we are accepted by God thanks to what Jesus has done for us. And faith that a God who truly loves us will set things right.

That means there’s more going on than what we see in a world that has too much suffering, too many people who live short or/or miserable lives, and too many people who mistreat others.

And that means there’s more to our future than wandering toward oblivion. There is a point and a purpose to what happens, and the choices we make matter to us and those around us.

Let’s bring in a little New Testament, with Romans 5:1-5:

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Through Jesus comes peace – peace with God and hope even in suffering thanks to the love of God that comes into our hearts.

Application and Conclusion

So, taking all of this, I would offer a word to two kinds of people: those who need peace, and those who could bring about peace.

If you’re here and you know that you are unsettled, anxious, or fearful for one reason or another, Micah has something to say: God has not forgotten or abandoned you, even if your circumstances aren’t what they should be. God doesn’t work on our timeline, but that doesn’t mean he won’t right the wrongs and restore what’s broken. God sees you and cares for you.

We can also be thankful that Christian faith is an incredible resource for people to push back against our anxious age. We’re exhorted to encourage one another and share our burdens in community within the Church, for one. And we believe that prayer is real and effective.

Philippians 4:4-7 says: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Do you want peace – peace that rises above circumstances? Practice gratitude – rejoice over the good in your life. Treat others well – let your gentleness be evident to all. And pray. In every situation – giving thanks and asking God for what you need. “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Many wise Christians read and pray the Psalms, for example, which describe holding on to faith and hope through all kinds of challenging circumstances. There are a wealth of helpful practices to draw on in this.

But we are called to do more than seek peace for ourselves, we are also called to help bring about peace in our world. Believing that our world is headed toward restoration and peace our privilege as followers of Jesus is to help inject some of that future glory into our messy present.

1stTimothy 2:1-4 says: I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Or from James 3: Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom… the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

Or the words of Jesus from the sermon on the mount:

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

That, to me, is part of what it means to follow Jesus – that my hope for a future of peace in God’s kingdom would inspire me to work toward peace in my relationships, my community, and across this world in whatever ways I can. This peace is anchored in thanksgiving and prayer.