Micah
Chapter 4
Restoration: The Temple Mount
In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established above the highest mountains and will tower over the hills.
All nations will flow to it, saying: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; so he may teach us his ways, and we may walk in his paths. For the law will go out from Zion,and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
He will govern the nations and resolve disputes for many peoples. They will transform their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation; nor will they train for war anymore.
But each one will sit in peace and freedom, under a fig tree or a vine of his own, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
While people walk, each in the name of his god, we shall walk in the name of the Lord, our God, forever and ever.
The Remnant and the Lord King
The Lord declares: “On that day, I will gather the lame and bring together the banished, those whom I have afflicted.
I will turn the weak into leftovers and those cast out into a mighty nation. The Lord will reign over them on Zion now and forever.
As for you, O watchtower of the flock, O city of Zion, city of the King, your former territory will be restored; the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.
Now, why do you cry out? Could it be that you have no king, and your advisor has died? Why are you in agony like a woman giving birth?
Writhe and cry out, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor; for now, you must leave the city and camp in the open country. To Babylon you must go; there, you will be rescued, and the Lord will redeem you from your enemies’ hand.
But now, many nations are gathered against you; they say: ‘Let Jerusalem be defiled,let our eyes gloat over Zion.’
But they do not understand the Lord’s thoughts or his purpose: that he has gathered them like sheaves on the threshing floor.
Arise and thresh, O Zion, for I will give you horns of iron and hooves of bronze; and you will crush many peoples. You shall dedicate their plundered wealth to the Lord; their treasures, to the Lord of the whole earth.
Strengthen the walls of your fortress, for they have laid siege against us. With a rod, they seek to strike the cheek of Israel’s ruler.”
Commentaries
Title.
This section highlights the comfort of the people and the hope for messianic restoration. The original text of Micah appears to have been altered later with annotations referencing the people’s exile in Babylon.
Restoration: The Temple Mount.
This prophecy closely resembles that in Isa 2:2-5, except for the final verse. Jerusalem, which had been destroyed (Mic 3:12), will be rebuilt, and all nations will make pilgrimages to its restored temple. God establishes a new order where peace and harmony prevail among people who listen to and obey his word spoken from the holy mountain (the temple).
Remnant and the Lord King.
This image of the shepherd gathering the scattered sheep, a persistent theme in the prophets (cf. Is 40:11; 56:8; Jer 23:3; 29:14; 31:8-10; Ezek 11:17; 34:11-16), is projected and wholly fulfilled in Jesus (Mt 15:24). The Messiah, the good shepherd, unlike the kings of Israel, criticized by the prophet (Mi 3:1-3), will give his life for the sheep (cf. Jn 10:14-15).
Salvation Through Trial.
The metaphor of a woman giving birth shows that God’s salvation, unlike the nationalist zeal of false prophets (3:11), involves a painful purification process. During the trial, Israel must trust in the Lord. This hardship could refer to the destruction of several Judahite cities and the siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrian king Sennacherib in 701 BC (cf. 2 Kgs 18:13-19:37). The reference to the Babylonian exile (10) might be a later addition.
Bethlehem of Ephrathah, the birthplace of King David, will also be the place where the Messiah, the King, will be born, fulfilling the covenant that God made with the house of David (2 Sm 7:1-17). The Gospel of Matthew announces the fulfillment of this prophecy with the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem (Mt 2:6). It is the power of the Lord that frees Israel from the cruel oppression caused by its own sin (5).