Best to Trust in the Lord - Micah 4-5

When princes, priests, and prophets seek their own things and not the things of God, the fear is that the nation shall fall to rise no more. However, for Israel, the Lord resurrects her from her fallen state. In the last words of the foregoing chapter, the mountain of the house was desolate. In the first words of this chapter, the mountain of the Lord’s house is flourishing. It has become a popular place for people of the nations to learn God’s Word.

During a Holy Land tour, tourists visit places where Bible narratives took place. The tour that I took ended the at the Shrine of the Book. The Shrine of the Book contains ancient scrolls with God’s Word on them. For example, the scroll of Isaiah is there. It measures 8 meters (26.25 feet) long. The Aleppo Codex is also there. It is the earliest known Hebrew manuscript of the Jewish Old Testament. It dates from the early 10th century. [1]

In Romans 11:1-4, Paul confirmed that the Lord had certainly not cast off His people Israel. Paul was an Israelite believer in Christ. Even when there was rampant idolatry in Israel during the days of Elijah, God had reserved a “remnant of 7,000 men who did not bow the knee to Baal.” In Romans 11:5, Paul added, “Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” God’s grace drew Jewish people to Yeshua Mashiach in Paul’s day and He is still drawing Jews to Him today, and the best is yet to come.

God used Israel’s previous rejection of Messiah to open the door for Gentiles to be grafted into the metaphoric Olive Tree that symbolizes Israel.

“Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it. Many nations 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 the law shall go forth and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off. 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. But everyone shall sit 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. For all people walk each in the name of his god, but we will walk in the Name of the Lord our God forever and ever.” Micah 4:1-5

In Isaiah 2:1-4, the Lord gave to Isaiah the same prophecy that He gave here in Micah 4:1-3.

The mountain of the Lord refers to Christ the Rock which not even the gates of hell shall prevail against (Matthew 16:18). His kingdom shall be exalted above the hills, that is, above all other kingdoms. His kingdom is a city on a hill, which cannot be hid (Matthew 5:14). According to Haggai 2:9, “The glory of this latter house is greater than that of the former. The mountain of the Lord also refers to Jerusalem, which becomes a holy city in Revelation 21:2.

“He will teach us of his ways, we will walk in his paths.” It was in Jerusalem that Christ preached and wrought miracles. There, He died, rose again, and ascended. There, His Spirit poured out. It began at Jerusalem and flowed like streams of water to the people of the world. Ministers of God’s Word went forth from Jerusalem to disciple all nations. Thanks to Jesus, people from the nations are now streaming to Jerusalem.

“They shall beat their swords into plough-shares.” “Those who, before their conversion, did injuries, and would bear none, after their conversion can bear injuries, but will do none.” [MHC]

A Christian author named Tertullian (155–220 AD) noted that Christians were well known for their love for one another. They were ready to die for each other. They cared for the poor, sick, and imprisoned among them. [MHC]

“Nation shall no longer lift up sword against nation.” The Gospel doesn’t make cowards out of people, it makes people peaceable. They shall sit safely every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, enjoying the fruit of them. [MHC] Instead of coveting what belongs to others, they rejoice in what God has already provided for them.

“For the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.” No word of God shall fall to the ground. What He has spoken by His word He will do by His providence and grace.

“In that day, says the Lord, I will assemble the lame, I will gather the outcast and those whom I have afflicted. I will make the lame a remnant, and the outcast a strong nation. So the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion from now on, even forever. And you, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, even the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.” Micah 4:6-8

The people that no one projected to survive, namely the weak among them, did survive by God’s grace. Ephesians 2:8 says, “By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 says, “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him.”

In 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, Paul sought deliverance from a messenger of Satan that tormented him. He prayed three times for God to remove it. The Lord said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” After that response from the Lord, Paul declared in 2 Corinthians 12:10, “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

In Micah 4:7, the Lord promised to make out of the lame, outcast and afflicted people a remnant for Himself. A strong nation!

In Matthew 10:6-8, Christ commanded His disciples, saying, “Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”

Jesus and His apostles healed the outcasts of Israel. In Matthew 11:4-5, when John the Baptist sent messengers to Jesus to ask if He were the Messiah, Jesus said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see. The blind see and the lame walk. The lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear. The dead are raised up and the poor have the Gospel preached to them.”

“Now why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in your midst? Has your counselor perished? For pangs have seized you like a woman in labor. Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in birth pangs. For now you shall go forth from the city, you shall dwell in the field, and to Babylon you shall go. There you shall be delivered. There the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.” Micah 4:9-10

In Micah’s day, the Assyrians took the northern tribes of Israel into captivity, but Jerusalem was not conquered by Assyria. In Isaiah 37:14-38, King Hezekiah and Isaiah prayed to the Lord, and the Lord sent one angel to slay 185,000 soldiers of Assyria’s army. The Assyrians were defeated. However, in Micah 4:10, the Lord assures Jerusalem that they too will go through the birth pangs of being carried away into captivity albeit to Babylon not to Assyria. He would also redeem them from Babylon in due season.

“Now also many nations have gathered against you, who say, ‘Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.’ But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord, nor do they understand His counsel. For He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor. Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hooves bronze. You shall beat in pieces many peoples. I will consecrate their gain to the Lord, and their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.” Micah 4:11-13

The nations that shall gather against Judah will consist of Babylon’s armies and their allies. Judah’s neighbors did not choose wisely when they joined with Babylon against Judah. The Lord compared them with sheaves to be gathered and threshed. This prophecy seemed ludicrous at the time but it came to pass. Judah did eventually return to their land and become strong. The nations that joined against them became weak.

“Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops! He has laid siege against us. They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.” Micah 5:1

It seems that the Lord is taunting the nations who want to attack His people. Daring them to strike Israel’s judge. God has a plan to rescue His people from their abuse.

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the 1,000’s of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” Micah 5:2

God chose a little town in Judah. You could look at a 1,000 towns of Judah and this one was smaller than all of them. Bethlehem was significant because it was the town where King David was born. It is significant because it is the town where Messiah was to be born. Jesus is the ruler to come forth from God. He is from of old, even from eternity past, and He is the everlasting ruler, the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

“Therefore He shall give them up, until the time that she who is in labor has given birth. Then, the remnant of His brethren shall return to the children of Israel. And He shall stand and feed His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the Name of the Lord His God. And they shall abide, for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth.” Micah 5:3-4

Israel’s deliverance from sorrow will synchronize with the appearance of the Messiah as her Redeemer. Romans 11:26 says, “So all Israel will be saved, just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” He did save those from among them who received Him, and He sanctified them by giving them His Holy Spirit.

“He shall stand” as a shepherd stands to survey and guard His flock on every side. He feeds the flock in whose strength? The Lord’s strength!

“He shall stand” in the majesty of the Name of the Lord. Hebrews 1:1-3 says of Jesus, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds, who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the Word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hallelujah! What a Savior!

“They shall abide,” namely, the remnant of His people who love and serve Him.

“He [Jesus] shall be great to the ends of the earth.” And the remnant shall be strong in Him.

“And this One shall be peace when the Assyrian comes into our land, and when he treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princely men. They shall waste with the sword the land of Assyria, and the land of Nimrod at its entrances. Thus, He shall deliver us from the Assyrian, when he comes into our land and when he treads within our borders.” Micah 5:5-6

The One who is peace is Messiah. He was with King Hezekiah and the Prophet Isaiah by His Spirit when the Assyrian army surrounded Jerusalem. In Isaiah 36:21, He gave them peace not to answer the bullies when they were mocking them. In Isaiah 37:14-38, they laid the boastings of their enemies on the altar of God, and asked God to hear and act on their prayer. He did.

Ephesians 2:14 says of Jesus, “He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation.” In Luke 2:14, when Christ was born, a multitude of the heavenly host praised God and said, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” The Lord advises us in 1 Peter 5:7 to cast all our care on Him, for He cares for us.

Assyria represents bullies. Bullies shall be destroyed when Messiah returns.

“Seven and eight shepherds” — “seven and eight” is an idiom for a full and sufficient number.

“Princely men” literally means “anointed men” such as the apostles were. Their anointing, or consecration and qualification to office was by the Holy Spirit [Calvin].

“Then the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples, like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, that tarry for no man nor wait for the sons of men. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, who, if he passes through, both treads down and tears in pieces and none can deliver. Your hand shall be lifted against your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off.” Micah 5:7-9

The remnant of Jacob which the Lord brought together from among the survivors were going to multiply and be like dew and showers that help the nation to be productive.

Judah will be “as a lion,” not in respect to its cruelty, but in its power of striking terror into all opponents. Under the Maccabees, the Jews acquired Idumea, Samaria, and parts of the territory of Ammon and Moab. But this was only the beginning, more was yet to come. [JFBC]

“And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, that I will cut off your horses from your midst and destroy your chariots. I will cut off the cities of your land and throw down all your strongholds. I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no soothsayers. Your carved images I will also cut off, and your sacred pillars from your midst. You shall no more worship the work of your hands. I will pluck your wooden images from your midst. Thus, I will destroy your cities. And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury on the nations that have not heard.” Micah 5:10-15

The words above harken back to Micah 4:3 where the Lord promises that swords will be turned into plowshares and spears be turned into pruning hooks. The Lord will shift their reliance from idols, weapons of war, sorceries, soothsayers and fortress cities to reliance on Him.

How many people of war-based economies believe that weapons of war are their source of peace and strength? In Daniel 5:30, King Belshazzar of Babylon believed his nation’s defenses were invincible . He believed that right up until the night an invading army was inside his gates through a scheme that he did not perceive possible. His mighty kingdom ended in one day.

In Jeremiah 17:5-8, “Thus says the Lord: cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.”

Psalm 118:8-9 says, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.”

In Matthew 6:33, Jesus taught us to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness. God is God! He created the whole universe by speaking words. He is more than able to meet our every need. Glory to God!



[1] www.seetheholyland.net/shrine-of-the-book
[MHC] = Matthew Henry Commentary
[JFBC] = Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary