I have no personal experience of what a woman goes
through during labor, but I hear it can be pretty painful. Can you imagine what most of history was
like, before modern medicine when women had to deliver without an epidural? Why would a woman put herself through such
pain? True, there are such things as
unplanned pregnancies, but for women who plan to get pregnant, why would they
subject themselves to such pain? The
reason is obvious: the joy of having children far outweighs any pain that might
be experienced during pregnancy and labor. The hope of this new little life to come helps
an expectant mother get through the pains of labor.
I bring that up this morning because Micah is
going to use this very same analogy to describe what God’s people are about to
go through (4:9-10). As we’ve already
seen in Micah, God’s people have broken covenant with Him, and as a consequence
they are going to have to go through a painful experience. However, God’s last word for His people is
not one of judgment but one of salvation
and restoration! In Micah
4:1-13, Micah describes this restoration
of God’s people to come. His purpose in
doing so is to give the same kind of hope to His people that an expectant
mother has when facing labor: hope beyond the coming judgment that will fuel
their endurance through what they are going to suffer. This is so crucial for us to get down today
as well, because, as you will see, God’s promises to Micah are God’s promises
to us as well! These promises about the
future must be an anchor that holds us
steady through our suffering. My prayer for us today is that we would become a
people rooted in and driven by the hope of all that God promises about our
future.
[4:1] 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, [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. [3] He
shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide 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; [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. [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.
[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; [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. [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.
[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? [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. [11] Now
many nations are assembled against you, saying, “Let her be defiled, and let
our eyes gaze upon Zion.” [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. (Micah 4:1-13
ESV) How do we become a people
driven by the hope of what lies beyond our suffering?
I.
We Must Anchor Our Future in the Promises of God (4:1-8)
Micah’s prophesy in 4:1-8 is about the
restoration of God’s people. This
will be a time when Mount Zion, “the
mountain of the LORD’s house,” will be established
and exalted as the “highest of mountains” (probably a
polemic against idolatry). Notice first
that this is a sharp reversal of what
we read in 3:12 last week, how this
place was going to be a heap of ruins.
Notice also this promise is something that is going to take place “in the latter days” (1). This phrase
can mean the very last days of history, but it normally has a much more
open-ended sense. It certainly does
here, because what we are going to read today will encompass everything from Israel’s
return from exile (6-7,10), to the reign of the Messiah (8), to the final consummation of God’s kingdom in
the new heavens and earth. So basically,
this just means that these things will happen in a “future beyond the horizon”[1]
for God’s people. What all will this
restoration entail?
First, we see that it will be a time when God’s GLOBAL people flock to hear His Word (1-2). The Jewish people would make multiple
pilgrimages to Jerusalem every year.
Here, that idea is expanded to include a time when “all peoples shall flow” and “many
nations shall come” to Zion. Why are
they coming? They are coming to Yahweh’s
temple so that He can “teach” them “his ways” and that they “may walk in His paths.” A natural implication is that they would also
take Yahweh’s teaching and ways back to the nations from which they came. Jerusalem is no longer known as a place of
rampant corruption, but as a place where “the
word of the LORD” is going forth!
Also, it
will be a time when the world will be at peace under Yahweh’s rule (3-5). During this time, Yahweh will “judge between many peoples” and “decide for strong nations far away.” When we follow this idea into chapter 5 and
compare it with Isaiah 11:4, we see that Yahweh will judge the
nations through His Messiah. Under the rule of Yahweh’s Messiah, people will
beat their weapons into farming tools and “nations
shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (3). Notice also how this time of Yahweh’s rule
stands in stark contrast to the injustice that saturated Judah during Micah’s
day. Since God’s leaders would not establish
justice among His people, God Himself will do so. When He does, no one will worry about someone
coveting and taking their property, but “they
shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall
make them afraid” (4). The time of
coveting and fighting over things will be over.
Thirdly, it
will be a time when Yahweh will gather His people under His rule forever
(6-7). Like we saw in Micah 2:12-13, the imagery here is that
of a Good Shepherd King gathering His sheep, only in 2:12-13, Yahweh was gathering His sheep to protect them. Here, Yahweh is gathering His wounded and
lame sheep, which He Himself has “afflicted,”
in order to transform them into a
strong nation and rule over them forever.
Again, we see partial fulfillment of this not only in Israel’s return
and preservation but also in the church (1
Peter 2:9-10). We are the royal
nation that is now experiencing the rule of God in our hearts.
Fourthly, it
will be a time when Yahweh will restore the Davidic Kingship to God’s people (8). God promises to restore “kingship,” which is “the
former dominion,” to “the daughter of
Zion” and “the daughter of
Jerusalem.” I take this to mean that
the house of David will resume its reign during these latter days that Micah
speaks of. God made a covenant with
David in 2 Samuel 7:12-16 that an
heir of David would rule God’s people forever.
We learn in the New Testament that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of
this promise, as He currently reigns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords over
the universe and His people.
Now these are some marvelous promises, but let’s
not lose the point of all this. The
point of these glorious promises of restoration is to give hope to the people
of God that will carry them through their present crisis and the judgment to
come. It’s meant to spark the kind of resolve we see in Micah 4:5. This verse is a
liturgical response to these promises.
Since this is what God is planning on doing in the future, God’s people
here and now should resolve to walk in the name of their God forever and ever. So think about it like this: hope
in God’s future promises is supposed to bring about present resolve to walk with God.
We see this illustrated throughout the Bible. Joseph was given dreams as a teenager that
gave him hope through all that he suffered. The book of Hebrews gives an entire list of
people who resolved to walk with God during their present situation because of
their faith in what He had promised (Hebrews
11). Even Jesus is said to have
endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him (Hebrews 12:2).
These promises should cause us to resolve to walk
with God through all we face too. Let me
give you one example. Consider how the
promise that people from all nations will know Yahweh is fuel for
missions! We are not boarding a plane to
Africa and hoping that people will believe in Jesus; we are going there knowing that His sheep will hear His
voice and respond! It’s implied that
there’ll be believers among them right here in Micah! What other promises from God about the future
have you made an anchor for your soul?
II.
We Must Anchor Our Suffering in the Sovereignty of
God (4:9-13)
Not only must we anchor our future in the promises
of God, we must also anchor our suffering in the sovereignty of God. The big idea here in verses 9-13 seems to be
how the coming exile and suffering of
God’s people is all part of the sovereign
plan of Yahweh to redeem and vindicate them. In other words, there is suffering to come,
but that suffering is part of God’s plan to redeem them. This big idea is communicated twice: once in verse 9-10, and then
again in verses 11-13. As we saw in
verse 6, Yahweh assumes responsibility for their coming affliction.
In Micah
4:9-10, we see that the labor pains
of exile will precede restoration.
Micah begins with some questions that reveal a lack of faith to some
degree on the part of the people. They
are crying out “like a woman in labor”
and wondering where to look in such painful times. Micah’s questions, “Is there no king in you”
and “has your counselor perished”
have obvious answers: yes there is a
king among God’s remnant and His name if Yahweh! No, their counselor has not perished, He is
alive and well and even this painful experience is going to be part of His wise
counsel. Therefore, they are to writher
and groan just like a woman in labor, because this painful labor will be turned
into a great delivery. The painful
experience spoken of is being exiled to “Babylon”
(10). However, it is “there” in Babylon that God’s people
will be rescued and redeemed.
Verses 11-13 then show us that the hostility of many nations will precede restoration. These verses look toward a time when “many nations” assemble against God’s
people in order to defile Zion and destroy them. However, God’s sovereign plan is once again
emphasized in that these nations are unaware
that their assembling together around Jerusalem has actually been God gathering them “as sheaves to the threshing floor.” These hostile nations “do not know the thoughts of the LORD” and “do not understand His plan.”
God will actually give the call to His people to “arise and thresh” them with a horn of iron and hoofs of
bronze. The end result will be that
God’s people are victorious over their enemies and devote the spoils of victory
to Yahweh. Here these nations will learn
that Yahweh is “the Lord of the whole
earth.” Like most of what we have
seen in this chapter, this last section could be referring to Sennacherib’s
defeat, but it also finds fulfillment in the church’s success among the nations
in making disciples. Despite the
hostility of the nations, Christ is building His church (Matthew 16:18) and no hostility will prevent Him from doing
so. Also, this prophecy will find its
ultimate fulfillment at the last battle between the forces of Satan and the
people of God in Revelation 19-20.
Again, let’s not miss the point in all of
this. Two things are crystal clear in
these two oracles: that God’s people will
suffer and that their suffering is actually part of God’s plan to redeem them. At the end of the day, the rulers of this
world and the hostile nations are simply pawns in the sovereign plan of God to
have His people. This actually puts all suffering in perspective: it is all
part of God’s sovereign plan to redeem His people.
The clearest example of this truth is the
sufferings of Jesus: [22] “Men of
Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with
mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as
you yourselves know—[23] this Jesus, delivered up according to the
definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands
of lawless men. (Acts 2:22-23 ESV)
[26] The
kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against
the Lord and against his Anointed’—[27] for truly in this city there were
gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both
Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
[28] to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
(Acts 4:26-28 ESV) Christ’s sufferings were part of God’s
sovereign plan to redeem His people.
This truth is truly an anchor for your
suffering. One of the most important
truths for you to ever wrap your mind and heart around on this side of heaven
is the reality that God is sovereign in your suffering. The New Testament is clear that we too should
expect suffering before the glory of these promises are completely realized (Acts 14:22). When that suffering comes, trust that God’s
sovereign plan is at work to redeem you and make you more like Him. We must learn to trust that God is ruling our
world even when it gets turned upside down. See, our tendency in life and especially
suffering is to focus upon all that is wrong with this world and our immediate
future. This normally moves us to be worldly
rather than other worldly
people. The consequences of being driven
by worldly hope is that we tend to seek security and comfort here, which
becomes devastating when affliction and loss of that security comes. It also makes us very self-centered people. The hope we are speaking of today frees us from
the bondage of worldliness, selfishness, and despair. It leads us rather to display God’s glory and
take radical risks for God’s kingdom.
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