Wednesday Discussion

Father, would you direct us in Your Word tonight? Give us insight and understanding into a passage that is really difficult, and Lord, from this passage, may we find application for our lives today. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Imagine, if you will for just a moment, that you had a vision where God sent an angel to speak with you. I know it's a pretty heavy thing to imagine because none of us can probably really wrap our minds around that. But imagine that an angel came and spoke to you and told you that next year, at the beginning of the year, the city of Washington, D.C., is going to be completely destroyed. Our capital is going to be wiped out by a giant nuclear bomb. That would be a pretty devastating vision to have, to see all of that in a vision of what would come from it.

Essentially, Micah has had a similar vision. At the end of chapter three, which we looked at last week, the very last verse of Micah chapter three, verse 12, describes Micah seeing the city of Jerusalem, which was their capital city, their political capital, and their religious capital, where the temple was located. He sees a vision of it completely destroyed. God tells him that because of the sin of the nation of Israel, it is going to be wiped out. The temple mount is going to be like a field that has been freshly plowed. Everything is going to be completely destroyed. That would be a very heavy thing to see.

If you had that vision of the capital of your nation being completely wiped out and destroyed, you would have a hard time grasping how life for this nation could go forward after that point. Micah sees a vision of his nation's capital being destroyed and all the people being taken away as captives because of their sin. The mindset after that would naturally be, how can life go on?

Micah chapter four opens with a hopeful promise from God. God speaks a promise of restoration in this way: "Now it shall come to pass in the latter days." Micah chapter four, verse one, states that it shall come to pass in the latter days. Those words, "in the latter days," serve as a temporal marker, a timestamp, if you will. God is giving us an idea of when this is going to happen. From the passage, we can tell that it is going to happen at a yet future point. At least that's what God is telling Micah: in the latter days, at the end, that the mountain...

Of the Lord's house, it is something that you would have to see as you correlate with other passages of Scripture. The word "mountain" is oftentimes used in prophecy to refer to a nation or kingdom. He says here that in the latter days, the kingdom of the Lord's house is going to be established on top of the mountains. Remember, "mountain" can sometimes be a metaphor for "kingdom." So, God's kingdom and God's house will be established above all the other kingdoms in the latter days.

That is what God is now telling Micah, who is despondent because he just saw a vision of the capital of his nation being destroyed. God says to Micah, "Don't worry, don't hyperventilate, don't freak out, because there is coming a day in the future, in the latter days, when my kingdom will be established over all the other kingdoms of the world." It shall be exalted above all the other hills, and peoples or nations shall flow to it.

In verse one, 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, God, 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.

Micah receives this prophecy in the very last verse of chapter three, verse 12, that his capital city and nation are going to be destroyed because of their sin. But in the very next verse, in the same breath, God says, "Don't worry; in the latter days, I will establish my kingdom above all other kingdoms." He promises to bring a great restoration, and all the nations of the world will come up to this city, to Jerusalem, not for war, but to learn from God.

God is going to rule and reign upon the earth. This passage states that when He rules and reigns, the nations of the world and the people of those nations will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Swords and spears in those days were like guns are today; they were the weapons of war. God promises Micah that there will come a day in the very far future, in the latter days, when He will establish His kingdom here on earth. The world will get rid of their weapons, and there will be peace as He rules and reigns here upon the earth.

And then in verse four, it says, "But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid." Now, again, it's kind of weird language, but there's another passage in the Old Testament that uses this very same language in the book of First Kings. In First Kings chapter four, verse 25, it states, "And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each man under his vine and his fig tree, from the very top of the nation to the very south of the nation."

In the days of Solomon, the King, when King Solomon was King over Israel, they had peace, and everybody dwelt safely—so safely that they could sit out in the open field. They didn't need to be in their walled cities or in their houses hiding; they could sit in the open field under their vine and under their fig tree. It was a time of great safety, rest, and prosperity.

What God tells Micah in the opening verses of Micah chapter four is that, yes, in chapter three, verse 12, the nation is going to be destroyed. However, in the latter days, even though you think that your nation being destroyed is the end of everything, I still have a plan. In that latter day, I am going to come and establish my kingdom here upon the earth. There will be a time of peace, no more war. There will be a time of prosperity, rest, and safety.

If you were here with us at our very first study in the book of Micah, I shared that there are different ways to interpret prophecy—different lenses. I used some big words like ecclesiological, eschatological, and historical, among others. When you look at a passage of prophecy, I mentioned on the first night that you need to try and look at it through these different lenses to see if it fits. Does it fit within this interpretation?

When you go through each of those lenses, there's enough in these opening verses of Micah to say that this prophecy has not yet happened. I assume that all of us would agree that we've never seen in our lifetime, nor have we studied in history, a time when God has been ruling and reigning with righteousness upon the earth—no more war, total peace, and prosperity for the entire world. We've never seen that.

But how many of you think that sounds like good news? I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to the day that every beauty queen has been looking forward to for the last 50 or 60 years: peace on earth. Working for peace on earth—that's what we're all looking forward to. We hope for a day when there is peace, prosperity, and safety for all humanity.

God rules and reigns with righteousness, and that's what Micah chapter four, verses one through four, proclaims is going to come one day. That's a beautiful thing. In response to this, Micah says in verse five that even though the other nations of the world walk and follow after idols, he will walk and follow after the Lord his God. He believes that his God will bring peace, safety, and prosperity to the earth one day, and he wants to follow Him.

In the very next verse, if you're looking at your Bible, verse six, Micah provides another temporal marker. Chapter four, verse one, refers to the latter days as a timestamp for when this will come to pass. Then, in verse six, he mentions "in that day." What day? Well, in that day, when the Lord rules and reigns upon the earth, God will do a great thing. He has already told Micah the prophet to prophesy to the people that they will be taken away from their land and exiled. Their land will be destroyed, and in this passage, he will actually name the nation that destroys their land. Micah has been told that their land will be destroyed and their people will be removed as prisoners of war.

However, in that day in the future, verse six states, "I," God says, "will assemble the lame and gather the outcasts. Those whom I have afflicted, I will make the lame a remnant and the outcasts a strong nation." The Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion from now on forever. Here, God is encouraging Micah and anyone who would listen to his prophecy that yes, they will experience a difficult time of judgment. Their land will be destroyed, and they will be taken away as captives, but they should have hope for the future. God will do a great work and regather them back to their land, ruling over them forever. They will never be displaced from their land again. Those are good promises—awesome things that God is speaking to the people through the prophet Micah.

In verse eight, he says, "And you, O tower of the flock and stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come. Even the former dominion shall come to the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem." He promises to restore them to a place of prominence once again in the latter days. Thus, verses one through eight of chapter four of Micah are God encouraging Micah and those who would hear him with this future event. Even today, in the year 2015, although we are 2,800 years after the prophet Micah, we have not seen these things come to pass.

This makes me believe that there are still things in this passage that we are looking forward to. There is still prophecy that is yet to be fulfilled, which to me is a glorious thing because we are looking forward to Jesus returning someday, the second coming of Christ. When He comes back, we anticipate Him ruling and reigning with righteousness, peace, and prosperity for the world.

Micah is not the only one who talks about this. Zechariah, the prophet, speaks about it. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel also discuss this coming kingdom that is going to arrive. The Book of Revelation in the New Testament speaks about this coming kingdom where the Lord rules and reigns with righteousness. I hope you, like me, are looking forward to that day. That is something we are eager for and desire.

Now, I jokingly said at the beginning of this today, "Happy Back to the Future Day." For those of you who watched "Back to the Future" and saw "Back to the Future 2," you know that this was the day they came to in the future. For the last 30 years, we have been looking forward to flying cars, hoverboards, shoes that lace themselves, and the Cubs winning the World Series. Of those things, it seems only the Cubs might actually happen, which is kind of strange.

We had this movie, which was fictional, but it foretold the future. As a result of that movie, people have been looking forward to the future to have those things that it prophesied. Here we have God saying this is the future, and we should be looking forward to that day when the Lord comes and rules and reigns with righteousness.

In verse 1, there is a temporal marker in the latter days. In verse 6, there is another temporal marker, "in that day." Now look at verse 9; there is yet another temporal marker, the very first word: "now." What God does through Micah here, in chapter 3, verse 12, is say that the nation is going to be judged. But I want to encourage you that in the future, He will do a great work of restoration and peace.

However, back in verse 9, He brings them back to now. Verses 1 through 8 are kind of like a prophetic parentheses looking forward to better things. Then He brings them back to today, in His day, 2,800 years ago. He says, "Yes, there is a future coming when I will rule and reign with righteousness, and there will be prosperity, safety, and rest for the whole world. People will come and learn from Me in Jerusalem." But 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.

And so God says, right now, you cry and you complain because you're going to go into exile. He speaks about the exile in verse 10: "Be in pain and labor to bring forth, O daughter Zion, like a woman in birth pangs. For now you shall go forth from the city. You're going to be expelled from Jerusalem." This is what He had already spoken of in chapter 3 and previously. You're going to be taken from your homeland, from the city, from Jerusalem. You shall dwell in the field, and to Babylon shall you go.

Now, this is phenomenal because Micah the prophet lived and wrote these words in about the 8th century and the early part of the 7th century BC. The nation of Babylon wasn't even a nation at this point; they were just a city in the Assyrian Empire. They were not a world player at this point in history. They wouldn't become a world player for at least 100 to 150 years. This prophecy that Micah is foretelling would not come to pass for 150 years. So, 150 years before Babylon takes the children of Israel out of Jerusalem to go into Babylon, God prophesies that it's going to happen. It's phenomenal. It's an awesome thing that is being said here.

So, you're going to go to Babylon. But there in Babylon, you shall be delivered. There the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemy. Here’s what God says to Micah: the nation is going to be judged, as stated in Micah chapter 3, verse 12. However, there is coming a day of restoration in the future, in the latter days, when God will bring a great time of peace and prosperity. Before that happens, though, you're going to go through labor pains.

Now, moms, lift your hands up. Any moms in the room? There are a number of moms. You've gone through labor pains. I don't know how bad they were; I just watched my wife four times, and they looked really bad. I know I would never want to go through that. That's the one thing that I know. Every time I complain about something hurting, my wife reminds me, "You've never been through childbirth." And I just go, "You're right. You got me beat there." I wouldn't want to go through childbirth. If men had to give birth to children, the world would have less than a billion people on the planet.

But anyways, you've gone through that. And here's one of the things that you know about childbirth: it's temporary. It's painful, but it's temporary. There's an end, and the end is a good end. I've been surprised four times with my wife that within an hour of her having our four children, she would say, "I want another one." I go, "Did you just go through what I watched you go through or not?" I don't know how she would forget that quickly. But when God tells Micah that you're going to go through a difficult period of time...

He uses the word "labor pains" as a reminder that this is brief. It's not forever. It's going to be painful and terrible. You're not going to want to go through it, but it's not going to last forever. He says, "You're going to go to Babylon. It's going to be hard. It's going to be painful, but God will deliver you and redeem you out of there."

Then he reiterates this point for the fourth time in verse 11, stating that many nations have gathered against you. Babylon would come and destroy the city of Jerusalem in 586 BC, 2,500 years ago. However, even before that, 150 years prior, when Micah was a prophet to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, other nations had come against them. The Northern ten tribes of Israel, the Syrians, and the Assyrians all came against them. Verse 11 depicts this situation: "Now also many nations have gathered against you who say, 'Let her, Jerusalem, be defiled. We're going to go in there and desecrate Jerusalem and let our eye look upon Zion. We're going to uncover her and expose Jerusalem.'"

But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord. Here are these nations, especially the Assyrians, who plan to destroy Jerusalem during Micah's time. They think they are going there to destroy it, but they have no idea what God is doing. They know what they want to do, but they are unaware of God's plans. Micah was given a clue into what God was doing.

The Assyrians are on the move, wanting to destroy the city of Jerusalem, but they are oblivious to God's intentions. God had an amazing plan, which is described in Isaiah chapters 8, 10, 36, and 37. God says the nations will be gathered against Jerusalem; they want to defile and destroy it, but they do not understand His counsel or His plans. He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

Again, he uses simile and metaphor here. While we do not practice this in our nation today, in other parts of the world, they still grow wheat. When harvest time comes, they go out with a sickle, cut down the wheat, and bind it into sheaves. They take a large bunch of it and bind it together, then take those sheaves to the threshing floor, which is a hard surface. There, they beat the wheat on the ground to separate it from the chaff. They throw it up into the air, and the wind carries the chaff away while the wheat falls. This is how they harvested wheat in that time and still do in certain parts of the world.

So here God says that these nations are going to come against you, and I’m going to bind them up like sheaves of wheat, and you’re going to thresh them. Threshing is not a good thing. The nations, these enemies, are going to be destroyed. They don’t know that. These nations didn’t realize that they thought they were coming to destroy Jerusalem, but God was going to use that to judge those nations, like the Assyrians.

God makes these promises: Micah, your nation is going to be destroyed. In Micah chapter three, verse 12, it states that in the future, I’m going to bring a restoration. However, before that restoration, your nation will be destroyed by the Babylonians, and there are going to be other nations that will come against you, but I will judge them through you. That’s kind of the lay of the land of what is going on here in this passage.

As a result, in verse 13, He says, "Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, for I will make you a horn of iron, and I will make your hooves bronze, and 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." God calls His people, who were faithful, the remnant, to stand up in His strength at the end of Micah chapter four.

There’s a whole lot of stuff going on in this passage. We are looking very far into the future at things that have not happened yet, and we are also looking into things that have already happened prophetically in the Word. This is a real encouragement to me because I want there to be a second coming of Christ, and I want there to be the rule and reign of righteousness. However, we are told by people in our day that this is a pipe dream that will never happen, that Jesus is never going to return.

But here’s the awesome thing: 2,800 years ago, He told the prophet Micah in this very same passage that the nation of Jerusalem was going to be judged by the Babylonians before it happened—150 years before it happened. God said that they would be judged by the Babylonians, and 150 years later, they were judged by the Babylonians. That came to pass. Why should we think that what He said will happen in the latter days will not come to pass? What came to pass in the past is an encouragement for us to remember that God will bring it to pass in the future.

So when people say to us, "Oh, where is the sign of His coming?" we can respond, "Here, let’s look at what He’s already done in the past." Then, we just use the brain that God gave us and realize, is He going to do what He promised He’ll do in the future? I think so.

There are lots of things to discuss. I hope that God will direct our conversation tonight. I’m sure that He will. Let me pray. Father, direct our conversation tonight. Give us insight and wisdom from Your Word and application in Jesus’ name.

And all those that agreed said, "Amen." Amen.