CRITICAL NOTES.] The salvation of Zion is closely connected with its destruction, and a future glory awaits the mountain, which is a wild forest. Last] The days of Messiah, the completion of all things. Mountain] i.e. the whole city; its elevation, moral dignity, not local situation. Estab.] A permanent foundation. Heb. abidingly established. “An expression denoting continuance and perpetuity, that it shall continually remain on its settlement.”
Micah 4:2. Many] All nations (Isaiah 2:2; Matthew 24:14) a powerful movement in the heathen world. For] The reason for such intense zeal in going up. Law] i.e. instruction in the ways of God; the law as a rule of holy life; the Word as the source of salvation.
Micah 4:3. Judge] Instead of nations going to war (Isaiah 2:4). Rebuke] Convict (Jeremiah 16:8-9); lit. to set right, settle disputes. Many] In contrast to one nation, which formerly acknowledged Jehovah; “who were hitherto for the most part inclined of their own will to grasp the sword” [Hengst.]. Beat] implements of war into implements of peace.
Micah 4:4. Sit] An image of safety even in open fields (cf. 1 Kings 4:25; Leviticus 26:6).
HOMILETICS
THE CHURCH OF THE FUTURE.—Micah 4:1-4
Mount Zion is not doomed to be a perpetual waste. A glory is here predicted which it has not yet realized; but its chastisement shall end in mercy and moral dignity. It will become the residence of God and the centre of nations.
I. The moral elevation of the Church. The elevation here is not physical, but moral; a spiritual exaltation.
1. Its eminent site. “The tops of the mountains,” &c., “exalted above the hills.” It is pre-eminently above all worldly heights. Above earthly potentates and above idols. Other eminences are insignificant compared to this mountain. Its doctrine and design, its author and its life, are above the wisdom of men. Small in its beginning, it shall grow and shine with greater lustre than kingdoms of this world. Lower than they, it will rise above and overtop them all. “A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.”
2. Its impregnable nature. It shall “be established.” Exalted, it shall be established above human institutions. Human elevation is unstable. This is built upon a rock, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. Its foundations are in the holy mountains (Psalms 87:1); its head stands securely aloft, between heaven and earth, and it rests, unassailable and serene, upon the purpose of God. “Mount Zion cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.”
II. The attractive power of the Church. As a dominant, supreme power, it will be attractive to all nations.
1. As the centre of numbers. “Many nations shall come.” It shall not be confined to one people nor locality. “I will make of thee a great nation.” “People shall flow into it;” indicating multitude and eagerness. Like a river, distant peoples shall come and throng in one continuous stream. A flood once covered the highest mountains and destroyed everything on the face of the earth. But this river shall bring spiritual life and fertilize the universe “They shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord.”
2. As the place of instruction. They go to know God and to learn his ways; not to be amused with idle speculations and novel theories. They go for grace, to practise what they know, to “hear of heaven and learn the way.” Religious instruction has ever been connected with Divine worship. The more we know of God, the more anxious shall we be to praise and please him. “He will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.”
3. As the residence of God. “The house of the God of Jacob.” More glorious than the tabernacle and the temple of old. This is the pavilion of God’s splendour, the place where his honour dwelleth. Here he dwells and displays special signs of grace. “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts.”
4. As the seat of empire. “And he shall judge among many people.” God will here fix his throne and exercise spiritual rule over the world. He will rebuke the proud, convict the sinner, and subdue all things to himself. Tyrants and thrones, idolatries and superstitions, shall fall before the power of the Gospel. “For the law shall go forth of Zion, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
III. The abiding prosperity of the Church. The Gospel is a rule of order and peace; brings tranquillity and prosperity to all people.
1. Wars shall cease. In the best governed states we see restlessness, suspicion, and insecurity. Kingdoms have been torn by civil and subdued by foreign wars. But here Jew shall not hate Gentile; implements of strife shall be instruments of peace; and nations shall learn war no more.
2. Social quietness shall be enjoyed. Vineyards shall be possessed by the poor; the fig, the characteristic fruitfulness of Palestine, shall not decay; and every one shall sit in domestic harmony. Each will be content and undisturbed in his lot. Abundance of peace shall mark the future Church. In secrecy men will sit securely, and openly walk in perfect safety. “None shall make them afraid.” This glorious future seems almost impossible, judging from the present. But God has purposed, and will bring it to pass. “For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES
Micah 4:1. Flow. The metaphor of flowing importeth the coming of people to Christ by the preaching of the Gospel.
1. Freely (Psalms 110:3).
2. Swiftly, as the waters of the river Tigris; swift as an arrow out of a bow (see Isaiah 60:8).
3. Plentifully, by whole nations turned to the faith, and giving up their names to Christ.
4. Jointly, as Micah 4:2 (Zechariah 8:21).
5. Zealously, bearing down all obstacles that would dam up their way.
6. Constantly and continually, as rivers run perpetually, by reason of the perennity of their fountains; and are never dried up, though sometimes fuller than others; as rivers swell oft with sudden showers and overflow the banks, so, beyond all expectation, many times doth God propagate his truth, enlarging the bounds of his Church with new confluxes of converts [Trapp].
Micah 4:2. Let us go up.
1. The object of their journey. “The mountain of the Lord.”
2. The spirit in which they undertake it. “And say, Come, let us,” &c.
(1) A spirit of fervour.
(2) A spirit of mutual love. “Exhorting one another, as Andrew exhorted his brother Simon, and Philip Nathaniel, and the woman of Samaria those of her city, to come to Christ; and so all since, who have been won by him, by word or example, by preaching or by deed, in public or in private, bring along with them others to seek him whom they themselves have found” [Pusey].
3. The worthy end they have in view. “He will teach us of his ways.” “They come in holy simplicity to learn whatever he will condescend to teach them; in holy confidence, that he, the Infallible Truth, will teach them infallibly.”
4. The practical result. “We will walk in his paths.”
Law out of Zion.
1. The blessing issued. “Law.” Not mere doctrine or religion; not the Jewish law: but law (without the article) as the rule of life (Proverbs 6:23; Proverbs 28:4), which should be revealed to heathen nations (Lamentations 2:9; Isaiah 2:3).
2. The method of its issuing. “Go forth.” A personal, direct act of God; a continual influence of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit in the Church and Christian experience.
3. The centre from which it issues. Out of Zion and Jerusalem.
Micah 4:3-4. The universal spread of the Gospel. Modern theories of the future exposed and refuted. The guarantees for the fulfilment of this prediction and its benefits described. This prophecy is fulfilled—
(1) In the character of the Gospel.
(2) The prophecy has been fulfilled, within and without, among individuals or bodies of men, in body or mind, in temper or in deed, as far as the Gospel has prevailed [Pusey].
The cessation of war an effect of the prevalence of Christianity [Foster’s Lectures, vol. ii.].
“No more shall nation against nation rise,
Nor ardent warriors meet with hateful eves,
Nor fields with gleaming steel be covered o’er,
Nor brazen trumpets kindle rage no more:
But useless lances into scythes shall bend,
And the broad falchion in a ploughshare end” [Pope—The Messiah].