Micah 4:6-13--The LORD Shall Rescue Zion

Micah 4:6-13
English Standard Version

The LORD Shall Rescue Zion
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.

---

In that day (The Day of the LORD), the LORD will not only judge and punish the wicked, but He will also gather all of His people unto Himself who have been scattered to the four corners of the earth.  He will save them and will no longer afflict them (the curse of sin will be over, so there will be no more need for the LORD to purify His people once they are made perfect and glorified).  He will heal all of our diseases (revere the curse of sin) and will reign over His people from the throne of David in Mount Zion (Jerusalem, the City of the Great King--that's Him).

Even in the light of this future glory, the people groan because of their current misery and suffering.  It is not enough for them to forget the trials and tribulations they are currently going through.  They will cry out again for the LORD to save them now--not some day way off in the future.

For now, they will go off to Babylon, but a day is coming when they will be rescued from their Exile and from the hand of their enemies.  This salvation will come from an unexpected source (though the prophesied it through the prophet Isaiah).  He will use Cyrus the Persian to save them from the people of Babylon.

As to the nations that are hoping for the total destruction of the people of Jerusalem so that they can swoop in and take it as their own possession, the LORD promises that they do not know the thoughts of the LORD--thoughts to bless and not to curse His chosen people.  He wants to give them a home, a hope, and a future that are incorruptible, and that is going to come from the Messiah that will not only be their King, but their Savior.  The people will be sifted and sorted.  Only the good grain will be taken into the Master's storehouses, and the chaff will be burned up in unquenchable fire.  The LORD will make His remnant strong again like iron or bronze, and they will defeat many peoples when the LORD leads them into battle to conquer all of their enemies.

The God-fearing remnant from all the other nations of the world will love the people of Israel and the LORD and they freely give their food and other resources to the LORD in freewill offerings as an expression of that love.  No longer will Israel have to fear the other nations for they will all be at peace, and if it were to come to it, the other nations would defend Israel.