Micah 4
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The Mountain of the Lord
The Mountain of the Lord
Now remember how the Lord spoke against those who abused their power and wealth, taking the lands of families and keeping them.
They did not treat their brothers and sisters well
They did not let the land rest.
Those leaders who chased after false gods, Did not honor the Lord and led people astray.
God has spoke against them, the nation would fall, the city ( even God’s city) would fall; but has promised restoration.
Today we come back to more of God’s future prospects for them as a people and a nation. God is also taking about the salvation of the people.
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,
So as we start this salvation, or word of deliverance for the people. Micah will announce a word or series of words about the future glory of the temple mount . Remember the Temple mount is where the temple of God stood, it was the most holy site for all Israel.
God doesn’t stop there, He is also going to have Micah speak about the future state, happiness and security of the worshippers of God.
When will this happen, well the setting is the :last days”, as he says in the opening of verse 1.
So the later days, today, tomorrow? Most likely not… but this is probably a look forward to the Messianic kingdom. His 1000 year reign.
The mountain of the Lord’s temple is also Mount Zion/Moriah in 3:12,
12 Therefore because of you
Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
and the mountain of the house a wooded height.
It was first exalted when David brought the ark of the covenant there, it symbolized the throne of King Yahweh among His people. And later we know this is where Solomon actually built the temple of God.
But a time is coming when it will be even more exalted. In that day, it will be the most important mountain of all!
1 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God!
His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation,
is the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north,
the city of the great King.
3 Within her citadels God
has made himself known as a fortress.
It will be not only a high place physically, but it will be the most exalted place in all the earth, because our God dwells there.
and the last portion of verse 1 tells us this, the people shall come to it continually, it says they will flow to it.
The people of many nations will come there and it will resemble a river if you will flowing to the mountain and throne of our God.
Verse 2
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.
So as we walk into verse 2, the thought from verse 1 continues. many people from the nations will call to one another to join them and go together to temple in Jerusalem, a pilgrimage of sorts if you will.
Just as Israel once traveled to through the desert to the mountain of God to receive the law, no the nations come to the house of the Lord, just like the 12 tribes.
Next the people state the purpose of making the journey to the temple of God, they go so that the Lord will teach us His ways.
The ways, these are the ways that God calls for people to walk in front of Him, you see it is never the purpose of God to just teach us. The true purpose was relational. God wants us to know him and walk in His ways.
The jerusalem that once fell due to sin, there is a future day when it will be restored as the world’s capital, a learning center for all to know God.
Verse 3
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;
The effect of this idea of the nations coming to God is true peace. Instead of going to war, the Lord will settle their differences and we will truly know peace…ultimately He is the Prince of Peace.
Their is a great thought here, the weapons of war put down, refashioned if you will, and made into those things that produce agriculture. These things that took life now benefit all life.
When can this happen, when the world submits to the Lord our God.
People think true peace will be hard to attain, but when Jesus is the rule of life and every heart, peace is possible. Why man and heart of man is changed.
But.... no true change or peace can come until the Prince of peace comes back to this earth personally, physically.
Wouldn’t it be a great day when the nations embrace the Lord Jesus.
Verse 4
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.
The vine and fig tree, these are symbols to reveal security, prosperity and contentment with the Kingdom and rule of Christ.
George Washington said they hoped for a day when man could sit in peace on their property by their vine and fruit trees with no worry of anyone to take it away or harm them.
Here in verse 4, Micah says that no one will make them afraid, they will be at such a peace that fear will be a thing of the past.
To be at peace, to have prosperity is something that only the Lord can do. It is really a utopian scene. Such a place is only possible because He is the Lord.
Verse 5
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.
Micah brings the people back to the present reality, they are currently worshipping false gods, serving and giving to them BUT that will change…The nations in the final days will learn the ways of God.
They will walk in the name of the Lord God means that will trust in, worship and obey, be loyal and or give their allegiance too
They will do this forever for He is the true God, the living God and their is no other. They will know that on that future day.
What a change, it is coming and certain.
Now verses 6-8 begins a new section, the restoration of a remnant and Zion...
Verse 6
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;
In that day is a future, prophetic call… declares the Lord tells us where this message comes from, that is important so that people cannot or should not say, this is the prophetic words and not God’s. NO, this is God’s word.
God’s people are portrayed as week, wounded and or like scattered sheep among the nations, they are like sheep without a shepherd.
Even though, God is the one who sent them into captivity because of their sin, He is also the one who will one day call them back just as he let me return to the nation after the 70 years were up, one day he will gather, rescue and restore them as a Good shepherd. Listen to Isaiah
10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
and also one more in Jeremiah
3 Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.
Now lets look at verse 7
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.
The Lord promises to makes these, the lame he called them in verse 6, He will make them into a faithful remnant. Indeed, The Lord our God will make them into a strong nation.
The weakling of verse 6 ill be about to say I am strong!
The Lord will rule over them, this restored people who will return to His holy city. The last line is important, this is a rule that will never end.. Listen to the word the Lord let Daniel communicate...
14 And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
Now verse 8
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.
The Lord now turns his words to the city of Jerusalem itself, and by default its people. The watchtower of God’s flock is Jerusalem, the capital city of David, who was a shepherd-king. The city’s God given strength will protect this people.
The city that was once a huge dominion, that place will be restored to them in the future. Once again Jerusalem will be restored to an even greater glory when its future king returns and rule from His throne.
Listen to Luke 1:32-33
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Now another new section verses 9-10
Verse 9
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?
Knowing that God has called for them to repent, their sin is coming against them, they will soon go into captivity. They will loose their nation and more importantly to them, their king. Remember they wanted to be like the other nations. Their king (Jehoiachin) will be taken prisoner into Babylon, the successor that Nebuchadnezzar put in this place to control them....Zedekiah. Even he will try to revolt and Nebuchadnezzar will have his eyes put out just after He witness his family being put to death…
With these things the people mourn, they cry so intensely to the Lord they are compared to a woman in labor pains.
They cry out, we have no king… but do they? No, they do have a King, the Lord their God is their King....
And with verse 10
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.
Wail and moan as you are forced to vacate the city, as you are led to a open land in a far country but it is there, the Lord knows your location and will rescue in the future.
He (God ) will not forget them....
He will redeem them....
14 Fear not, you worm Jacob,
you men of Israel!
I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord;
your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
20 Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea,
declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it,
send it out to the end of the earth;
say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
Now the last section verses 11-13
Verse 11
11 Now many nations
are assembled against you,
saying, “Let her be defiled,
and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.”
Here we see the Word of the Lord again, There is some controversy over what the many nations mean… Is it Assyria’s army, Babylons or makes those during the period of the Maccabees .....
The nations seek to defile, pollute, and desecrate God people and the Holy City of Zion (Jerusalem) .... They want to trample it and its people under their feet. They want to defile that which is holy....
Verses 12-13
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.
Verse 12...
The nations that are enemies of both God and his people do not know or understand that he is in complete control of everything that is happening, God is carrying out His own sovereign purpose, plan and will....
These nations do not know that the Lord will gather them in like wheat on the threshing floor to separate the wheat from the chaff, literally will grind them down and defeat them.
As we look at the last verse, we see that the Lord has promised victory. They (His people) will be like the heifer or oxen who pulls the stone around to prepare the wheat....
He calls them horns of iron, her hoofs being bronze to break the wheat into pieces, literally pulverize these nations. it reveals a crushing defeat. Zion will once again to victory and triumph....
MIcah next prophesies that his people will “devote” to the Lord the nations “ill gotten gains” The booty or plunder that was taken in battle will be returned to the Lord symbolizing all that was taken from his house and His people in the past.
These nations will be destroyed, and the Lord will be King and sovereign over the entire earth.
We see such corruption in the world, brutality, and injustice but one day the Lord will set it all right and will restore his kingdom physically as the future day comes when Jesus willl set on the throne of His father David....