Micah Then Outlines What The Effect Will Be On The Nations As A Result Of What YHWH Will Do (Micah 7:16-17)
What YHWH will do will amaze the nations and will also make them ashamed of their belligerence. Thus they will come to Him with no vaunted claims of their own, and will submit to Him, and know the fear of YHWH.
The nations will see,
And they will be ashamed of all their might,
They will lay their hand upon their mouth,
Their ears will be deaf.
‘They will lick the dust like a serpent,
Like crawling things of the earth they shall come trembling out of their close places,
They will come with fear to YHWH our God,
And will be afraid because of you.'
Before the glorious revelation of YHWH, especially as revealed in the coming of His Messiah as healer, wonder worker and Saviour, the nations will be ashamed of their weapons and their armed might, they will lay their hands on their mouths so as to express their awe (‘God is in Heaven and we are on the earth, therefore let your words be few' - Ecclesiastes 5:2), not daring to speak, they will close their ears to the externalities of the world, they will humble themselves as the serpent was humbled in Eden (Genesis 3:14), they will recognise their lowliness before Him as they creep out of their ‘hiding places' into His light, and they will come with fear to YHWH, and will fear the people of God. The picture is of the Gentiles responding to the message of Christ, and submitting at His feet