BIG IDEA:
WHO IS A RIGHTEOUS GOD LIKE YOU – IMPLEMENTING JUSTICE?
AFTER PULVERIZING HER ENEMIES, JERUSALEM WILL REIGN SUPREME IN THE END TIMES AND ADMINISTER JUSTICE
I. (:1-8) JUSTICE WILL CHARACTERIZE THE DOMINION OF THE MESSIANIC KINGDOM IN THE END TIMES
A. (:1-5) The Solid Foundation of Justice Will Be a Messianic Kingdom Driven By the Word of God
Ryrie: (Re 4:1-3) Almost identical to Isa. 2:2-4, this passage describes the glories of the millennial kingdom, the mountain of the house of the Lord. Jerusalem and the Temple on Mount Zion, which will be the center of the government of the kingdom, as the chief.
1. (:1-2) Word of God Proclaimed From Jerusalem
a. (:1) Establishment of Supremacy of Jerusalem as a Magnet
“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.”
b. (:2) Eagerness of the Nations to Be Taught the Word of God
“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.”
2. (:3a) Justice Administered From Jerusalem
“And He will judge between many peoples
And render decisions for mighty, distant nations.”
Martin: Many peoples and even strong nations will bring their disputes to the Lord. They will submit to God’s judgment, realizing that he will decide what and who is right. Micah’s readers were chafing under the Word of God, not wanting to be told by Him or by His prophet that they were wrong. By contrast eventually the whole world will submit willingly to God’s Word and His decision.
3. (:3b-4) Peace and Security Enjoyed by All Nations
a. (:3b) Abandonment of Any Military Agenda
“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.”
b. (:4) Assurance of Peace and Security
“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.”
4. (:5) People Committed to Following the Lord
“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 concluding verse of the section seems to make application to the present times in terms of a challenge to follow the Lord now despite the tendency of the other nations to follow after false gods.
B. (:6-7) The Merciful Implementation of Justice Will Provide Security for the Weak and Disadvantaged
“’In that day,’ declares the Lord,
‘I will assemble the lame and gather the outcasts,
Even those whom I have afflicted.
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.’”
C. (:8) The Ultimate Dominion of Justice Will Flow From its Messianic Throne in Jerusalem
“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.”
Ryrie: tower of the flock. I.e., Jerusalem, which, in the figure, watches over Israel as a shepherd watches his sheep from a tower. The millennial kingdom will be greater in extent than David’s or Solomon’s, the former dominion.
II. (:9-13) PRESENT SUFFERING PREPARES THE DAUGHTER OF ZION FOR FUTURE REDEMPTION AND THE PULVERIZING OF HER ENEMIES
A. (:9-10) Present Suffering of Israel Compared to Birth Pangs
1. (:9) Present Labor Pains Attributed to Void of Leadership
“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?”
2. (:10) Pain of Babylonian Captivity Precedes Redemption and Deliverance
“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;
There the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.”
Ryrie: These verses refer to the Babylonian captivity and later return to Palestine under Cyrus. In Micah’s time Babylon was only a vassal of powerful Assyria, making this an even more startling prophecy.
B. (:11-13) Future Threshing Campaign Will Pulverize the Gloating Pagan Nations
1. (:11) Thirst of Nations to Stomp on Israel
“And now many nations have been assembled against you
Who say, ‘Let her be polluted,
And let our eyes gloat over Zion.’”
2. (:12) Theocratic End Times Program Will Shock the Nations
“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.”
3. (:13) Threshing Reversal – Jerusalem Will Pulverize the Nations
“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.”