Announcement of Salvation

The Bible is full of images of our Lord being likened to a shepherd. Here in these verses, we see the Lord Himself, identifying as a shepherd, as well as a king. In these verses, we’re also reminded that though humanity imagines itself to be following earthly leadership as if that is all that can be trusted, those who belong to God must realize that their leader is the Lord.

We must trust and follow God alone.

The Gathering - 2.12

When families have been scattered due to war or catastrophic weather, one of the first things to be done after these events, is the gathering together of the families. What a reunion that often is, as loved ones come together, not knowing if they would ever see each other in this lifetime.

Micah 2:12 (NASB95)

“I will surely assemble all of you, Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel. I will put them together like sheep in the fold; Like a flock in the midst of its pasture They will be noisy with men.

We should recall that earlier, as Micah prophesied judgment upon the nation, it was God who was doing the judgment. Yes, another nation would be attacking and capturing them; but it was God Who was causing it to happen.

It might be helpful to understand the reference to the remnant of Israel. This normally speaks of those who were faithful to the Lord and kept the covenant with Him. You may recall times in school P.E. class; when some of the students did inappropriate things, the entire class had to experience the punishment of running laps for the remainder of the period.

In Micah, it is clear, that without repentance, there would be no hope for the faithless Jews. However, the remnant, or the faithful would have that hope, of not only being brought back to their homeland, but that ultimate glory of being brought back together by the Good Shepherd.

Here, we see that in the gathering together of the believing remnant, it is God who causes this to happen. Just as an earthly shepherd does not eat for the sheep, nor sleep for the sheep, nor even grow the wool, so it is with God. The earthly shepherd is the one who leads the sheep. But God is the shepherd Who will bring the believing remnant back together. God is the One Who will give Israel victory over all those who would want to suppress and destroy her. God is the One Who will restore Israel to their former glory, as they submit to Him. This requires absolute trust in God alone.

Believer, we can not save ourselves. We can not read the Word and understand it without the Holy Spirit’s help. We cannot grow in our spiritual lives unless God enables and causes the growth. There is not one person on this earth who is capable of leading the church; only Jesus. It is all of Jesus, which requires us to trust and follow Him alone.

This gathering together, of which the Lord speaks through Micah, is not a universal gathering. Just because someone could show their genealogy and prove that they belonged to Israel or Judah, did not make them a follower of God. Only those who would repent of their sin and seek to follow the Lord only, could be a part of the believing remnant.

It is the same today. Just because a person says they believe in God, just because a person goes to church, just because a person has gone through baptism, does not mean that they are a true child of God. If a person chooses to continue to rebel against God, to continue to live according to the thinking of this world, saying that they believe in Jesus, while living like they don’t, does not show that a person is a child of God. In fact, it would be highly questionable if they were truly born again, since there is no God-honoring fruit showing.

The one who says they believe in Jesus will live differently as a result of Jesus being in charge of their lives. The one who is a true follower of Christ, cannot legitimately say they are, while at the same time denying what the Bible says, in order to be politically and socially correct. I’m not suggesting perfection, as that is only possible when we see Jesus face-to-face. The reality is that we will continue to face opposition which may cause us to falter throughout this journey on this planet. Yet, when we fall, we are able to get up, trusting and following God alone. It is because we have sought His forgiveness and received it.

When followers of the Lord desire to live for Him and when we experience that oneness and acceptance through Jesus Christ, we are like a flock of sheep within our fold. If you’ve ever been in the midst of a flock of sheep, especially at feeding time in the pasture, it is one noisy place. The bleating is almost deafening. The food is there; the shepherd is present; they are where they are supposed to be; all is good. Yippee! There is joy and happiness, praise and exultation. . . . they will be noisy with men. The church father, Jerome, stated that this meaning would be that the repentant Israelites shall rise above worldly things and aspire to heaven. What joy we should show as we seek first the kingdom of God.

The Delivering - 2.13

When tragedy strikes, people wonder if they will ever have the strength or the desire to rebuild. When God is in charge, we find that it appears that nothing is impossible in the restoration process. With God empowering and leading, we can know that we will be delivered to a better place.

Micah 2:13 (NASB95)

“The breaker goes up before them; They break out, pass through the gate and go out by it. So their king goes on before them, And the Lord at their head.”

How exactly will God’s chosen people be delivered? God will do it. He will be the One Who clears the way. Much like an ice-breaking ship plows the way to make the water passable for other ships; much like a plow breaks open the ground so that seed can be planted; much like a snowplow clears the way so that normal automobiles can pass on the roadways, God will clear out anything that might block the way so that Israel might be delivered.

This is speaking of the One Who will liberate and set free His people. Nothing will be able to stand in the way of the Lord Who will do this great thing. No gate or wall will hold them in or keep them imprisoned, because the Lord God is at their head. He is their leader and they will follow. No mere man will be able to do this; only God Himself.

But, Who, specifically, is the breaker? In the context of this passage, as well as common Jewish understanding, this refers to the Messiah. One Old Testament scholar states: This representation was frequently made by the Jewish prophets, and the title, “The Breaker-through” was familiar to the Jews as one of the titles of the Messiah. And we see in Revelation, the ultimate fulfillment of this.

As we saw last time in Micah, there will be judgment and condemnation for those who reject Messiah and pursue the ways of the world. Sadly, the pain, similar to shrapnel from a hand grenade, will be experienced even by those who were the godly remnant. However, we see hope for that godly remnant. We see them as not only being rescued, but experiencing victory with the Lord in charge.

There is so much in our world that would distract people from realizing the hope that could be theirs if they would just place their trust in Jesus Christ. There seems to be roadblocks all over that would attempt to hinder the Gospel of Jesus. There is all that seems positive in this world that has no eternal benefits, yet, can set itself up as a prison for those who pursue it. Some people find Jesus to be offensive; others find Jesus as irrelevant; while others are so blinded by this culture that they don’t even realize that Jesus wants to free them from their captivity to sin.

Jesus is indeed our way-maker. Jesus can knock down and break apart anything which would attempt to keep us from experiencing restoration with Him. Even when followers of Jesus Christ find themselves undergoing the horrors of national or group consequences, we know we have a refuge and leader in Jesus Christ Who goes before us and leads us into victory. And one day, we will experience being in His very presence, completely free of anything or anyone who would attempt to drag us down, silence us, or imprison us.

Conclusion

These verses were a great source of encouragement and hope for the Jewish people. In addition, the Bible says that in Christ, there is no Jew nor Gentile, we can also take great hope and encouragement.

Regardless of what may be going on in the world all around us, we are guaranteed the victory in Jesus Christ for God’s glory. Even though there are those who claim to belong to God, while living and proclaiming those things which deny God, the true church will be victorious. Even though many are very intentional and active in trying to stifle anything which proclaims and promotes Jesus, as well as holy living, the true church will not be silent. Even though the laws of the land may be set up to destroy Christianity, the One true Judge will execute His perfect judgment one day.

Jesus is our all in all. We live for Jesus in all that we do. We speak for Jesus to others who are lost. We give praise to Jesus for all that we are and all that we are able to do. We give praise to Jesus for all that He has done and is doing and will do for us.

You see, we were at one time captive to sin, imprisoned by our own smugness, encouraged to be that way by those who thought they knew best. Then the Holy Spirit, through the Word of God, clearly revealed to us that we had allowed ourselves to be imprisoned and maybe even put on the chains which bound us tight in our sin. The only way to be set free from those chains, was for us to recognize our sin and confess it before God. We needed to understand and repent of our sin; knowing that we didn’t want to live in bondage any longer. We wanted to be free. Yet, we could not experience true freedom unless we asked for Jesus Christ to not only forgive us for our sins, but to take over our lives and enable us to live for Him alone.

My friends, this is not like a get out of jail card. This is a surrendering of your life to following the Lord Jesus Christ. Then we can experience freedom. We can become part of those who are the family of God. We can sing praises to the Lord from our heart. All because Jesus has made a way. He has broken down the barriers between us and Him. He has become our King and our Lord and our Savior. He is the head of the true church.