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The Lord's Universal Reign of Peace(A)

In days to come
the mountain where the Temple stands
    will be the highest one of all,
    towering above all the hills.
Many nations will come streaming to it,
    and their people will say,
“Let us go up the hill of the Lord,[a]
    to the Temple of Israel's God.
He will teach us what he wants us to do;
    we will walk in the paths he has chosen.
For the Lord's teaching comes from Jerusalem;
    from Zion he speaks to his people.”

(B)He will settle disputes among the nations,
    among the great powers near and far.
They will hammer their swords into plows
    and their spears into pruning knives.
Nations will never again go to war,
    never prepare for battle again.
(C)Everyone will live in peace
    among their own vineyards and fig trees,
    and no one will make them afraid.
The Lord Almighty has promised this.

Each nation worships and obeys its own god, but we will worship and obey the Lord our God forever and ever.

Israel Will Return from Exile

“The time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will gather together the people I punished, those who have suffered in exile. They are crippled and far from home, but I will make a new beginning with those who are left, and they will become a great nation. I will rule over them on Mount Zion from that time on and forever.”

And you, Jerusalem, where God, like a shepherd from his lookout tower, watches over his people, will once again be the capital of the kingdom that was yours. Why do you cry out so loudly? Why are you suffering like a woman in labor? Is it because you have no king, and your counselors are dead? 10 Twist and groan,[b] people of Jerusalem, like a woman giving birth, for now you will have to leave the city and live in the open country. You will have to go to Babylon, but there the Lord will save you from your enemies. 11 Many nations have gathered to attack you. They say, “Jerusalem must be destroyed! We will see this city in ruins!” 12 But these nations do not know what is in the Lord's mind. They do not realize that they have been gathered together to be punished in the same way that grain is brought in to be threshed.

13 The Lord says, “People of Jerusalem, go and punish your enemies! I will make you as strong as a bull with iron horns and bronze hoofs. You will crush many nations, and the wealth they got by violence you will present to me, the Lord of the whole world.”

Footnotes

  1. Micah 4:2 Mount Zion (see Zion in Word List).
  2. Micah 4:10 Probable text groan; Hebrew bring forth.

The Mountain of the Lord(A)

In the last days

the mountain(B) of the Lord’s temple will be established
    as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,(C)
    and peoples will stream to it.(D)

Many nations will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,(E)
    to the temple of the God of Jacob.(F)
He will teach us(G) his ways,(H)
    so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law(I) will go out from Zion,
    the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He will judge between many peoples
    and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.(J)
They will beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks.(K)
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
    nor will they train for war(L) anymore.(M)
Everyone will sit under their own vine
    and under their own fig tree,(N)
and no one will make them afraid,(O)
    for the Lord Almighty has spoken.(P)
All the nations may walk
    in the name of their gods,(Q)
but we will walk in the name of the Lord
    our God for ever and ever.(R)

The Lord’s Plan

“In that day,” declares the Lord,

“I will gather the lame;(S)
    I will assemble the exiles(T)
    and those I have brought to grief.(U)
I will make the lame my remnant,(V)
    those driven away a strong nation.(W)
The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion(X)
    from that day and forever.(Y)
As for you, watchtower of the flock,
    stronghold[a] of Daughter Zion,
the former dominion will be restored(Z) to you;
    kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem.(AA)

Why do you now cry aloud—
    have you no king[b](AB)?
Has your ruler[c] perished,
    that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?(AC)
10 Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion,
    like a woman in labor,
for now you must leave the city
    to camp in the open field.
You will go to Babylon;(AD)
    there you will be rescued.
There the Lord will redeem(AE) you
    out of the hand of your enemies.

11 But now many nations
    are gathered against you.
They say, “Let her be defiled,
    let our eyes gloat(AF) over Zion!”
12 But they do not know
    the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand his plan,(AG)
    that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 “Rise and thresh,(AH) Daughter Zion,
    for I will give you horns of iron;
I will give you hooves of bronze,
    and you will break to pieces many nations.”(AI)
You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord,(AJ)
    their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

Footnotes

  1. Micah 4:8 Or hill
  2. Micah 4:9 Or King
  3. Micah 4:9 Or Ruler

There really is no worse fate for Jerusalem than this: the fertile land, the grand architecture, and the temple to God will become a desert haunt for varmints and scavengers.

But in the last hopeful days that are coming,
    the temple mountain of the Eternal One will tower over all other mountains.
It will be raised above the hills, and people will flow up it like rivers.
The nations of the world will say, “Come, let’s go up, everyone,
    to the mountain of the Eternal One, to the house of the God of Jacob,
So He can teach us His way and we can follow in His footsteps.”
    For God’s law will march out of Zion—the Eternal’s word from Jerusalem.
He will judge between many people and arbitrate disputes between strong faraway nations;
    they will hammer their swords into plow blades, their spears into pruning hooks.
One nation will not attack another,
    and they will give up war training and maneuvers.
But they will each sit under their own vines and fig trees,
    and no one will make them afraid again
Because the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has ordered it so.
All people move ahead in the name of their own gods, whatever they are,
    but we move ahead in the name of the Eternal,
Our True God, forever and ever.

In the New Testament Jesus speaks of a kingdom where love, respect, and peace are the norms. It is clear that Micah, too, looks toward a future when there will be no war and neighbors will share their shade trees with no fear. A time without war and hostility between nations and neighbors can only be realized under the rule of the Prince of Peace.

Eternal One: In that day of hope, I will gather the lame,
        bring together all those who have been driven away and those whom I have injured.
    From those who were lame I will create a remnant,
        and from those who were cast off I will create a strong nation;
    And the Eternal will reign over them in Mount Zion
        now and forevermore.
    And to you, the tower of the flock, the hill of the daughter of Zion,
        your former authority will return to you, the royal authority of the daughter of Jerusalem.

Now, why do you cry aloud?
    Don’t you have a king in your midst?
Has your counselor vanished,
    allowing pain to paralyze you as it does a woman in labor?
10 Writhe in pain and groan, daughter of Zion,
    like a woman about to give birth,
For now you must leave your city to wander in the fields
    on your way back to slavery, this time in Babylon.
And from there the Eternal One will pay your ransom and pluck you
    from the hands of your enemies.
11 Many nations have gathered to fight you, saying,
    “Let her be laid waste before us;
    let’s feast our eyes on Mount Zion!”
12 But they don’t know what the Eternal One is thinking,
    are not privy to His plans:
He has gathered them like sheaves on the floor of a threshing house.

13 Eternal One: Come on in, and start threshing this grain, daughter of Zion;
        I will make your horn like iron, your hooves like bronze,
    So that you will stomp many people beneath them.

And they will dedicate what they have stolen to the Eternal,
    their wealth to the Lord of the entire earth.