The Remnant of Samaria, Jerusalem and the Nations (Micah) WestminsterReformedChurch.org Pastor Ostella May 15, 2016 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 (Mic 4.1-4). Introduction Micah places his prophecies in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah (1.1a), so he is a prophet of the southern kingdom but the word of the Lord that came to him pertained to both Samaria and Jerusalem (1.1b). He reports his preaching in three prophetic cycles (chapters 1-2, 3-5, and 6-7). A central theme in each section is the remnant (2.12, I will gather the remnant of Israel; 5.8, the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations; 7.18, the remnant of his inheritance). Therefore, a good title for the book of Micah gives the outline at the same time: “a remnant from Samaria, Jerusalem, and the nations.”

I. The remnant from Samaria (1-2) Each of the three prophetic cycles has the pattern of indictment, judgment, and deliverance. The remnant idea surfaces in the deliverance sections. A. The indictment of both kingdoms is stated in 1.1-5 Micah speaks the word of the LORD…concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. 2 Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. 3 For behold, the LORD is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. 4 And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place. 5 All this is for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? Each capital city (Samaria, Jerusalem) represents each kingdom; the sins of these cities represent the sins of the nation; hence, the indictment. B. The judgment on Samaria becomes the focus of the first cycle in 1.6-2.11 The coming exile of the children of God is presented upfront: Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the open country, a place for planting vineyards, and I will pour down her stones into the valley and uncover her foundations (1.6; you can picture flattened buildings). “The glory of Israel shall come to Adullam” (1.15) refers to David’s lowest time in the cave of Adullam (1 Sam 22.1). Therefore, the children of your delight…shall go from you into exile (1.16); refers to Assyrian deportation (from you: that is, from the land where God dwells). Some of their sins are scattered throughout the prediction of judgment. Worthy of note are those related to preaching. The false prophets and leaders preach saying: do not preach…one should not preach of such things namely, the coming of disgrace under judgment (2.6); i.e. don’t preach judgment. Instead, the people prefer wind and lies about the wine of victory celebration (2.11). C. The deliverance of Israel in 2.12-13 announces the important remnant theme I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob; I will gather the remnant of Israel (2.12). In this context in which Samaria is made into a heap of rubble and the people exiled to Assyria (1.6, 16), Sennacherib, the Assyrian king moved against Jerusalem where a band of Israelites took refuge together like sheep in a fold in noisy turmoil. There, the Lord had promised through Micah to be their king who goes before them as they break through and pass through the gate, going out by it (2.13). !2 Therefore, the deliverance of the city of David by God’s destruction of 185,000 Assyrian soldiers (2 Kgs 19.30-37) includes both Judah under Hezekiah and (a remnant of ) Israel. Given that the northern tribes never returned to their land in any substantive way, this delivered remnant foreshadows the time in the distant future when they break through and pass the gate, going out by it. Their king passes on before them, the LORD at their head (2.13b). In the coming deliverance God will be the king and head of His people. The outlook is to a time well beyond the Assyrian exile.

II. The remnant from Jerusalem (3-5) Again, the pattern is indictment, judgment, and deliverance. A. The indictment of Judah is presented in 3.1-11 The complaint that the heads of Jacob and the rulers of the house of Israel do not know justice (3.1) focuses on the leaders of Judah as 3.10 shows because they build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity. Micah mentions some sins that reveal a love of evil and hatred of the good (3.2). One sin is that they are like cannibals in their land-grabbing, which is graphically described as tearing the skin off the Lord’s people and the flesh from their bones to chop them up like meat in a pot, like flesh in a cauldron (3.2-3). No wonder the Lord does not hear their prayers (3.4). Moreover, false prophets abound here too who preach peace and good things when they are paid well, but war against those who put nothing into their mouths (3.5; per 3.11, for money they proclaim peace as “alleged” prophets of Yahweh). Micah distances himself from these prophets by his preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit, by declaring their falsehood (3.5) and by an indictment of all the people of God (3.8), of judges, priests, and prophets (3.11). B. The judgment of Jerusalem is next in 3.12 Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height. Zion, the hill on which the City of David was built, will be flattened to farmland, Jerusalem will be a heap of ruins, and the temple (the mountain of the house) will be gone with trees growing where it once stood. This is clearly the aftermath of the Babylonian siege by Nebuchadnezzar.1 Thus, Micah predicted both exiles. C. The deliverance of Judah is in chapters 4-5 There will be a reversal of the humiliation of Zion: (4.1-2): 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. God’s temple, the house of the Lord, will be exalted and many nations shall come to the house of the God of Jacob to learn His ways and walk in His paths. The law will go forth from Zion and word of the covenant Lord from Jerusalem. This is a picture of world peace in the coming messianic kingdom when the nations 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 (4.3). Instead of the turmoil of war, every man will be able to sit calmly without fear 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 (4.4; there will be no more exploited and cannibalized farmers as 3.2-3). In this kingdom, the covenant Lord will reign over a remnant of the lame and all who have been driven away; He will reign over them in Mount Zion from this time forth and forevermore (4.5-7). Then, to the daughters of Zion and Jerusalem shall come the former dominion and kingship (4.8).

1 Jeremiah 26.18 quotes Micah 3.12 in a context that indicates that Micah preached alongside Isaiah in the time of deliverance of Hezekiah and Jerusalem from Assyrian aggression (2 Kgs 19.30-37). Interestingly, his prediction of judgment on Jerusalem by Assyria was instrumental in its delay until what He prophesied fell by Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar. !3 In 4.9-13, the prophet looks to the exile when they will be without a king and in pain like a woman in labor, having been cast off to Babylon but there they will be rescued from the hand of their enemies (4.9-13). Then in marked contrast to this destruction and loss of kingship, Micah returns to the themes of the coming king and kingdom. In (5.2): But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. As the son of David, the coming king will shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, (5.4a) and in that day, His kingdom shall cover the earth (5.4b-5): he shall be great to the ends of the earth. 5 And he shall be their peace. He will protect His people from what nations like Assyria represent, all His and their enemies (5.5-6) so that a remnant shall be saved (5.8): a remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations and all who oppose the Lord will be judged (5.15): in anger and wrath, the Lord says, I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey.2

III. The remnant from Israel and the nations (6-7) The pattern of the prophecies again has the elements of indictment, judgment, and deliverance. A. The indictment broadens to mankind generally in 6.1-7.4a Reflecting a universal context, the mountains are summoned to bear witness to the indictment of the Lord against His people (6.2a). The people of God in their sins represent all covenant breakers (all mankind) with whom the Lord will contend (6.2b). This time the courtroom indictment has some dialogue between the judge and the accused. It includes evidence, reply, counter-reply, and summary. 1. The evidence shows that Israel has forgotten the righteous acts of the Lord Can the people respond by shifting the blame to God? Have I been unfaithful, the Lord says tenderly to Israel: O my people (6.3)? No, not at all. The answer is clearly seen when they remember redemption from Egypt and God’s protection in the wilderness from king Balak assisted by the false prophet Balaam. But they have forgotten these things and all that happened under Joshua that began with the crossing of the Jordan (Mic 6.5a) from the city of Shittim on the west side of the river (Josh 3.1) to the city Gilgal on the east side (Josh 4.19). God has revealed these things that we may know of His righteousness (6.5b). 2. The reply of Israel shows misunderstanding of what is most needed As we saw in Hosea (11.5; 9.1, 3), Egyptian bondage represents bondage in sin and thus of the need for sacrifice to mediate friendship and fellowship with God. With complete misunderstanding, personified Israel says (6.6-7): 6 "With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" The implied answers are: I can bring thousands of sacrifices at whatever cost and I can even cruelly offer my firstborn child on the altar to gain God’s pleasure, to buy Him off. However, having forgotten the true meaning of redemption and sacrifice revealed by the Lord in His law, their worship does not please Him (He despises it as Amos and Hosea have preached). They practice evil like cannibals; their evil arises from unbelieving and unrepentant hearts. 3. The Lord’s counter-response shows the ingredients of true faith

2 We have to think much about the now and not yet of the kingdom that has come in Jesus. In that light, it is easy to understand the reference here to the beginnings of the gospel at Jerusalem (Mic 4.2) that went out from there to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth (Acts 1.8). The nations are learning His ways (Mic 4.2) and when the Head and King of the church (Mic 2.13) completes His work of the time between, then wars will end forever. He will execute judgment on the nations and bring peace to the ends of the earth for He shall be their peace (Mic 5.4-5). Now He is shepherd-king in the care of His church; He is the one born in Bethlehem (5.2). !4 In the famous text of 6.8 we read: He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Simply put, true faith involves humble submission to God that overflows with fairness and kindness to the neighbor. 4. A summary word shows the sinfulness of Israel and the nations The Lord’s people are covenant breakers who conduct themselves in quite the opposite way from justice, kindness, and humility (6.9-7.4). Classically, they pattern their actions after the most wicked kings of Israel, Omri and Ahab (6.16). At this point, the indictment broadens. Corrupt fruit abounds (7.1) in every member of the human family (7.2): The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind; they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net. What they seek to do well with the work of their hands is evil (7.3). The only uprightness to be found is the kind that pricks and hurts like a brier or a thorn hedge (7.4). B. The judgment emphasizes confusion: of neighbors, friends, and family members In 7.4b, the Lord announces the impending judgment with confusion at its core: The day of your watchmen, of your punishment, has come; now their confusion is at hand. The human family is broken and divided (7.5-6): 5 Put no trust in a neighbor; have no confidence in a friend; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms; 6 for the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.3 Turning away from the God, family members become enemies of one another. C. The deliverance expands to forgiven sinners in 7.7-20 Micah transitions to deliverance by announcing his patient trust in God who will “raise me up when I fall and will be a light to my path” (7.7-8). He reveals the gospel of God’s delivering grace by noting that sin brings the indignation of the Lord and we must bear it until, astoundingly, he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me (7.9a). Accordingly, this work for me is my vindication because it will reveal His vindication of me in the light of day (7.9b): He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication. Jerusalem will be rebuilt and the boundaries of the land extended (7.11) from Egypt to the River, from sea to sea and mountain to mountain (7.12). The Lord will be the good shepherd of His people as He was when He brought them out of Egyptian bondage, and the desolate earth under judgment (subject to bondage) will become a garden land as in the days of old (7.13-15). Then the nations will place their hand on their mouths in shame (7.16) and turn to the Lord our God with great fear (7.17). Now we have a vision of the remnant of God’s inheritance in this marvelous promise of pardon for iniquity and a passing over of transgression (7.18). In His unparalleled compassion, He will tread our iniquities underfoot and cast all our sins into the depths of the sea (7.19). He saves the remnant of Samaria, Jerusalem, and the nations because of His faithfulness to Jacob and His steadfast love to Abraham, as He has sworn to our fathers from the days of old (7.20).

Applications As we try to absorb the message of Micah, we have to begin with the way he looks to the future with what many have called “prophetic perspective.” Within this perspective, he gives us the basics of the gospel. A. First, Micah gives us examples of prophetic perspective In Micah 2.12-13 different future events are compressed together as a single event. That is what is meant by prophetic perspective. A telescope helps illustrate the idea. Compressed together the sections of a telescope appear as one, but when pulled out, they can be identified

3 It will take some study to understand how the Lord Jesus uses this same language in Mat 10.35-36 and Lk 12.51-53. !5 distinctively.4 How to untangle the “telescoping” feature of prophecy demands careful reading with an eye for clues such as we have here in the saving of the remnant of Israel by their king who leads them in return from exile in Assyria. Their deliverance under Hezekiah from Jerusalem by passing through its gates and returning to their land as a small remnant anticipates the day when Yahweh their king passes on before them (2.13b) and the ultimate return to the land takes place. Therefore, consider the prophetic telescoping in which restoration comes to Israel and the nations by the the prince of peace born in Bethlehem and the spread of the gospel to the utter most parts of the earth (Mic 5.2-5Matt. 28): But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days… 4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. 5 And he shall be their peace. Accordingly, in the Great Commission, Jesus commanded that His teaching be spread to all nations. Micah tells us that the nations will turn in fear to the Lord our God (7:17). They will beat their spears into pruning hooks (4:3) because they will learn his ways and walk in his paths (4:2). Furthermore, we can refer to the now and the not yet of Christ’s kingdom. This helps us orient ourselves to His preaching when He adopts a prophetic perspective. Also, along with the model of the now and not yet, we have a descriptive heading for how this unfolds from His ascension to His return in glory: the time between; i.e. the time between His first coming and His second coming or from His ascension to His return. Now Jesus is king over all things and as such is given to the church. He fulfills what Micah predicted as king and head of the church (Col 1.22). For now, He is the king but the day of His vindication is still to come when everyone shall bow the knee and confess His Lordship to the glory of God (Phil 2.11). B. Second, Micah gives us the basics of the gospel He says, Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me. 9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication (Mic 7.8-9). How does He execute judgment for me? The misuse of the sacrificial system gives a powerful answer when personified Israel says (6.6-7): 6 "With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" Jesus is the firstborn Son and Passover Lamb. So, the answer is yes, I shall come in worship because the fruit of the body of Israel, of Abraham, of Judah, and of David shall be given for my transgression and for the sin of my soul. That is how God will tread our iniquities underfoot and cast all our sins into the depths of the sea (7.19-20). That is how it can be that I shall look upon His vindication and share in it as the Shorter Catechism puts it (Q 38): “At the resurrection, believers being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity.” Micah presents the good news of the remnant of God’s inheritance in this marvelous promise of God who pardons iniquity and passes over transgression (7.18). In His unparalleled compassion, He treads our iniquities underfoot and casts all our sins into the depths of the sea (7.19). He saves the remnant of Israel and the nations because of His faithfulness to Jacob and His steadfast love to Abraham, as He has sworn to our fathers from the days of old (7.20).

4 As the last prophet of promise, John the Baptist had this perspective regarding Jesus. He had difficulty understanding the work of Jesus because of this perspective. On one hand, he proclaimed that Jesus will baptize with the Spirit and the judgment of fire (Mat 3.11) and yet he wondered if Jesus was the coming one because He gave the gospel without immediate world judgment. !6 This is another picture of the coming new earth on which there will dwell a family of redeemed image bearers in humble submission to God (7.17) when (4.3-4): 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. Therefore, this prophet also tells us how to live in the time between the comings of Christ: O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Simply put, true faith involves humble submission to God as your king to learn how to live under His authority with fairness and kindness to family, friend, and neighbor.

May we fall down before the majesty of God in humble recognition of our sins with our hope fixed firmly on Christ the ruler who was born in Bethlehem to execute judgment for us on the cross and to give us a share in His resurrection vindication; may we bow before Him and give all glory to the triune God now in His church and forevermore, amen.