Micah 4 - The Lord's Plans

The end result of all things will be that the Lord's name will be exalted. As it says in Philippians 2, at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow.

It may be that at the moment nations scoff at the name of Jesus, it may be that they rubbish the church, it may be that they show no respect for the ways of God. But a day is coming when people will recognise who the Lord is. They will want to learn from Him. Verse 2 is partially fulfilled through the growth of the church. Before Christ came the Law was restricted to the nation of Israel, but after the resurrection the gospel spread from Jerusalem to all of the world, and has continued to do so ever since. But an even greater fulfilment will come at the millennium. Verse 3 is reminiscent of the similar verse in Isaiah. 

Other peoples may choose to go their own way, but we will walk in the ways of the Lord.

The Lord will gather the needy to Himself and take care of them. Jesus healed the lame, and He spoke of Himself as the good shepherd. He also said He had sheep in other fields to go and look for. Kingship will come to the daughter of Jerusalem. Notice the mixture of genders here: kingship and daughter. The restoration God brings includes a restoration of authority.

But first there must be a time of captivity, of exile. Micah foresees the Babylonian exile, just as Isaiah did. But the exile would be so that they could be rescued. It would not be final.

So we see how God's plans work out. They do not follow a nice neat pattern, but seem at times to be going in the complete opposite direction. The nations thought Israel had been abandoned, but they "do not know the thoughts of the Lord". In the same way people may sometimes look down on you , thinking your life is going nowhere. But they do not know the plans that the Lord has for you. In the end we will be exalted to a place of authority.