III. The Coming Kingdom and King (Micah 4:1–5:15)

III. The Coming Kingdom and King (4:1–5:15)

4:1-2 In the midst of this bad news, Micah has glorious good news. A restored kingdom will come to Jerusalem: the future millennial kingdom of the Messiah. When it is established, the nations will say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord. They’ll go there—not so they can merely know about God—but so that they may be taught to walk in his paths (4:2). Doing so is what it means to be kingdom people.

4:3-8 People will come to the Lord to settle their disputes. War will be a thing of the past, and there will be no one to frighten the righteous (4:3-4). Christ’s millennial kingdom will bring the peace and security everyone has been dreaming of. When the Lord of Armies speaks, conflict comes to an end (4:4). And he will reign over them in Mount Zion (4:7).

In light of this future glory for the people of God, Micah and those who sided with him declare their convictions. Though they may be surrounded by idolatrous people who walk in the name of their gods, kingdom men and women will walk in the name of the Lord . . . forever (4:5). Such people wear their commitment to God on their sleeves each day.

4:9-13 Like a woman in labor, the people of Judah would cry out in pain. They would have no king or counselor to help them when Babylon carried them away (4:9-10). Yet the Lord would rescue them from their enemies (4:10). The plunderer would become the plundered (4:12).

5:1-2 A kingdom must have a king, but the one who will set all things right isn’t just any king; he’s the King. Like his ancestor David, this King would come from Bethlehem (5:2). Hundreds of years later, God would sovereignly ensure the fulfillment of this prophecy through a Roman census that took Joseph and his pregnant bride, Mary, to his ancestral home of Bethlehem. There, in the humblest of circumstances, Mary gave birth to the one who would one day rule the world (see Luke 2:1-7). Clearly, this would be no ordinary king: His origin is from antiquity, from ancient times (5:2). Micah thus affirms this King’s preexistence. Conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin, this King is the Son of God (see Luke 1:26-37).

5:3-15 When the Messiah rules, his people will live securely. He will be their shepherd and their peace (5:4-5). Then the remnant of God’s people will be like a lion among the nations, their enemies will be destroyed, and the Lord will remove all idolatry from the land (5:7-15). In the midst of a prophecy of decadence, doom, and destruction, Micah proclaims a vision of victory for the people of God.