4:9Why do you now cry aloud—
have you no king?
Has your counselor perished,
that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?
10Writhe in agony, O Daughter of Zion,
like a woman in labor,
for now you must leave the city
to camp in the open field.
You will go to Babylon;
there you will be rescued.
There the LORD will redeem you
out of the hand of your enemies.
11But now many nations
are gathered against you.
They say, “Let her be defiled,
let our eyes gloat over Zion!”
12But they do not know
the thoughts of the LORD;
they do not understand his plan,
he who gathers them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13“Rise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion,
for I will give you horns of iron;
I will give you hoofs of bronze
and you will break to pieces many nations.”
You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the LORD,
their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.
5:1Marshall your troops, O city of troops,
for a siege is laid against us.
They will strike Israel’s ruler
on the cheek with a rod.
2“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.”
3Therefore Israel will be abandoned
until the time when she who is in labor gives birth
and the rest of his brothers return
to join the Israelites.
4He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the LORD,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.
5And he will be their peace.
When the Assyrian invades our land
and marches through our fortresses,
we will raise against him seven shepherds,
even eight leaders of men.
6They will rule the land of Assyria with the sword,
the land of Nimrod with drawn sword.
He will deliver us from the Assyrian
when he invades our land
and marches into our borders.
7The remnant of Jacob will be
in the midst of many peoples
like dew from the LORD,
like showers on the grass,
which do not wait for man
or linger for mankind.
8The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
which mauls and mangles as it goes,
and no one can rescue.
9Your hand will be lifted up in triumph over your enemies,
and all your foes will be destroyed.
Original Meaning
THIS LONG UNIT can be divided into two sections: 4:9–5:4 (4:9–5:3 in the Heb. text) and 5:5–9 (5:4–8 in the Heb. text). Commentaries differ on their understanding of the structure and relationship between the paragraphs, based on whether they accept the structural analysis of Hagstrom, Nielson, Renaud, Allen, or Willis.1 Nielsen, Allen, and Renaud see a chiastic relationship between the paragraphs in 4:1–5:15, based on similar themes in corresponding A, B, and C paragraphs, while Willis finds seven parallel pericopes with each having a negative beginning and a positive conclusion. Hagstrom finds only three paragraphs (4:1–7; 4:8–5:3; 5:4–14). Although these scholars have almost the same verses in each paragraph, they relate them to each other in different ways. The chiastic structure seems to work for some paragraphs but not all, and Willis’s approach is not consistent for every paragraph.
This passage begins with three parallel paragraphs (4:9–10; 4:11–13; 5:1–4), each introduced with ʾattah (lit., “now,” 4:9, 11; 5:1). This structure is difficult to see in the NIV because the translators have omitted “now” in 5:1 (cf. NASB). Each paragraph includes the description of the approaching disaster the nation is facing in the near future, a promised deliverance by God, and the eventual establishment of the messianic kingdom.
These factors point to a major break after 5:4 because the next verses do not follow the pattern in 4:9–5:4, but begin a new literary pattern. Micah 5:5, 7, and 10 are each introduced by wehayah (lit., “and it shall be”) and are all grouped together in one unit by Hagstrom. Nevertheless, 5:5 is closely connected to 5:4—in fact, so close that NIV, NASB, and D. Hillers end the preceding paragraph after 5:5a, while B. Waltke and L. Allen put 5:1–6 together as a paragraph.2 These studies properly see valuable points of continuity but tend to ignore the Hebrew rhetorical marker (wehayah) that separates 5:5ff. from what goes before it.
I prefer to make 5:5–9 a second section closely related to what precedes it. The absence of the initial “now” and the absence of a clear contrast between “now” and the future sets these paragraphs apart as a separate section. The topics in 5:10–15 are then put in a third paragraph by themselves because of the consistent “I will cut off” phraseology at the beginning of each verse and its distinctive themes.
The date and setting of 4:9–5:9 is hinted at by a reference to the approaching problem of leaving the city (4:10), “many nations are gathered against you” (4:11), “a siege is laid against us” (5:1), and the comments about “when the Assyrian invades our land” (5:5). Some do not believe Micah wrote these verses and give an exilic or postexilic date to this material.3 I believe these words were spoken while the Assyrian army of Sennacherib surrounded Jerusalem in 701 B.C. If this is correct, Micah is persuasively exhorting Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem to face the reality of Assyrian aggression honestly but not to lose sight of the long-term plans God has for his people. They must trust him, for he will redeem them and eventually bring the Messiah from Bethlehem to shepherd his people.
Zion Will Be Attacked and Later Delivered (4:9–5:4)
THE FIRST PARAGRAPH (4:9–10) begins with ʾattah (lit., “now”) and three questions. Why are crying and distress in Zion, pain like a woman in labor? Micah responds to this lamenting with two rhetorical questions: “Have you no king? Has your counselor perished?” This could be a sarcastic remark about the inability of King Hezekiah to protect the people of Jerusalem from Sennacherib. It seems more likely, however, in light of the kingship terminology in 4:7–8, that this is an inquiry about why the people do not call on God, their King.4 Is he not able to hear their painful agony?
Micah sees three steps in the near future that will cause the people to writhe in agony: They will leave the city of Jerusalem (a reference to its conquest), then camp in the open field for a period of time (a reference to their journey into exile), and finally end up in Babylon (4:10a). This brief oracle makes no mention of Assyrian exile and ends with a promise of God’s plan to deliver his people from the grasp of their enemies at some time in the future. Ending this oracle with the good news of hope should have caused Micah’s audience to look realistically at their present danger, to cry out to God for help, and to put their present problems in the larger framework of God’s ultimate plan for his people. God is not totally giving up on them; he is committed to them in spite of their present failures and setbacks. They can look forward to better days in the future.
The second paragraph (4:11–13), also beginning with “and now,” has an announcement of many nations gathering against Jerusalem (4:11).5 These enemies will proudly gloat over Zion and purposely plan to defile and desecrate the holy city and its temple. This gloating is evident in the messages announced by Sennacherib’s messenger (Isa. 36). God himself condemns the Assyrians for their arrogant attitude that proudly proclaims their superiority over everyone else (10:5–15; 37:23–29). The defilement of Jerusalem’s sacred temple precincts, which are open only to the holy priests, will seek to deny the power and sacredness of the God who lives there.6
To emphasize the foolishness of this haughty people, Micah contrasts the attacker’s ideas with God’s thoughts (4:11–13). They think they have a brilliant plan to gather at Jerusalem, but actually it is God who is gathering them. They want to destroy Jerusalem, but in the end God will thresh and destroy the nations who attack Jerusalem. They want to desecrate Zion and loot its temple, but Zion will end up consecrating the enemies’ wealth to God.7 Some time later this was all fulfilled when God miraculously destroyed 185,000 Assyrian troops.
In explaining the positive hope for the future, Micah pictures Zion as a mighty ox that is threshing sheaves of grain in a threshing floor (Mic. 4:12b–13). In almost a summons to battle (Num. 10:35–36), God provides his people with the ability to accomplish this task. Judah will arise and thresh with “horns of iron” (implying such great strength that no one will be able to stop her from doing this) and “hoofs of bronze” (symbolizing the crushing power that will bear down on what was threshed). There is no doubt that God will defeat Zion’s enemies; Zion will be invincible. Using imagery from the practice of holy war, God predicts that all the wealth of these nations will be like booty devoted to God (see Josh. 6:18–19; 7:11–12). Micah’s rhetoric is meant to convince his audience that the gloating Assyrians will not have the last say. If the people put their trust in God, he will reverse the proud plans of those who wish to defile his holy place.
The third paragraph (Mic. 5:1–4) follows the same pattern of describing an approaching siege that is “now” about to begin, but there are many interpretive problems that complicate an attempt to understand what Micah is communicating. Some commentaries think the first verb in 5:1 (gdd) means to gash, cut oneself, and consequently conclude that Micah is describing the people in Judah who are lamenting their hopeless military plight so strongly that some are slashing themselves with knives as they grieve.8
B. Waltke and W. Kaiser (along with the NIV and NASB) prefer another meaning of gdd, to gather troops (e.g., Ps. 94:21; Jer. 5:7).9 Since Micah is speaking to the militarized populace in Jerusalem (this “city of troops”), he is probably encouraging them to prepare to defend their city because of the approaching siege in 701 B.C. The prophecy indicates that the enemy will strike a Hebrew “judge” (NIV “ruler” is an appropriate translation since kings were judges) on the cheek with a rod, a sign of great humiliation (1 Kings 22:24; Ps. 3:7; Isa. 50:6). This may refer to the coming humiliation of Hezekiah,10 who cannot prevent the Assyrians from defeating many cities in Judah. He has to pay a large amount of tribute (2 Kings 18:13–16) and listen to Sennacherib’s messenger mock and undermine the people’s trust in Hezekiah (Isa. 36:14–18).11
The positive message of hope in Micah 5:2–4 looks forward to a day when a strong ruler will arise from Bethlehem Ephrathah, the city of Boaz, Jesse, and David (Ruth 4:11; 1 Sam. 16:1; 17:12). This mention of a new king from the line of David reminds the people about their tradition of the messianic promise of the eternal reign of David’s Son (2 Sam. 7:4–17; Ps. 2; 89; 132). Several things are said about this messianic ruler. From a human standpoint, he will come from one of the smallest families in the tribe of Judah; but from the divine standpoint, he will go out “for me” (“for God” as in 1 Sam. 16:1, though not reflected in NIV)—that is, in order to do God’s will and to be God’s “ruler” over Israel. The reference to his origins “from ancient times” has been connected to the eternal preexistence of Christ the Messiah,12 but the parallelism with the preceding line suggests Micah is probably pointing back to the ancient line of David.
Verse 3 briefly interrupts the flow of thought with the clarification that this ruler will not come immediately and prevent the present disaster the nation is facing. First, there will be a period in which the nation will be abandoned and in exile (cf. 4:10). Sometime after that a woman will give birth to this child (see a similar tradition in Isa. 9:6–7), and then the exiled brothers13 will return to their land.
After this brief clarification Micah begins to describe the reign of this new messianic ruler in Micah 5:4. He will “stand” or establish himself as ruler in order to accomplish God’s plan. Like David his ancient ancestor, he will shepherd God’s people by leading, protecting, and providing for their needs (cf. 2 Sam. 5:2; 7:7). This will be possible because this ruler will get his strength from God and rule by the sovereign authority of God’s name.
In 5:4b Micah reminds his audience that this ruler will bring true security to the nation (in contrast to their present distress because of Assyria), just as the original messianic prophecies said (see 2 Sam. 7:10). His kingdom will be a universal rule, including all the nations of the earth (see Ps. 2:8; 72:8). This great hope that the nation dreams of will surely come; therefore, Micah’s audience should face their present crisis in light of the big picture. Their temporal setback is part of God’s plan and will not prevent him from establishing his rule over the earth in the future. Micah’s audience can be confident that God knows what he is doing.
The Conquest of Zion’s Enemies (5:5–9)
THIS SECTION IS made up of two paragraphs (5:5–6 and 5:7–9), each beginning with wehayah (lit., “and it shall be”; see comments above on this issue). Most maintain that the zeh (“he”; lit., “this one”) in 5:5a refers to the Messiah as described in 5:2–4. The universal and secure reign of the Messiah will result in a period of peace (cf. also 4:1–4). Isaiah also saw this coming king as the “Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6).
This announcement is followed with a somewhat surprising announcement of what “we” will do when the Assyrians invade “our” land. Some view these statements as positive affirmations about how Micah, the people of Judah, and the Messiah together will defeat all their enemies in the messianic era of the future (following in the spirit of Micah 4:13).14 Instead, these expressions seem to betray a significant contrast between what Micah has said about what God will do through the Messiah and what the audience is confidently saying about what “we” will do through “our” military strength. Allen suggests that 5:5b–6 is patterned after a nationalistic song of victory.15 Micah is probably quoting what he has heard people say in order to correct their misunderstanding of what God intends to do in the future.
This proud song represents the audience’s overconfident attitude about what they and their leaders (seven or eight kings symbolize powerful military resources through alliances) will accomplish rather than what the Messiah will do. This overconfident zeal is also revealed by the emphasis on their belief that “we” can conquer the Assyrians (this seems to contradict 4:9, 11; 5:1). They even think that their military rulers will go on the offensive and rule over all the territory of Assyria and Babylon (“the land of Nimrod”). Maybe they think that the promise of victory over their enemies in 4:13 will enable them to defeat Assyria.
But Micah does not say that the Messiah will come immediately, deliver them from the Assyrians now, and set up his universal kingdom over their enemies at the present time. First there will be a time of agony and exile (4:9–10; 5:1, 3a). Micah calls the people to trust in God and his coming king, but his audience seems to be more focused on what “we” will do with “our” military strength now.
D. Hillers (cf. also RSV) emends “he will deliver us” in 5:6b to “they will deliver us,” meaning the seven or eight leaders will deliver us.16 L. Allen keeps the singular verb in the Hebrew text and sees this as Micah’s correction of this proud national claim of self-sufficiency. Micah objects, “No, he (this one who brings us peace in 5:5a) will deliver us, not the human leaders in 5:5.”17 A third approach takes this singular verb to mean the collective military forces of seven or eight leaders, just as “it” in the last line refers to the collective forces of Assyria. Either of these last interpretations makes good sense in this context, though I prefer the last one.
If this is an appropriate interpretation of Micah 5:5–6, then verses 7–9 offer corrective ideas to the proud statements of the military leaders of Judah. These verses also begin with wehayah (“and it will be”) but include no “we” statements. Instead, Micah pictures “the remnant of Jacob” among the nations in exile, a point made earlier in 4:7, 10. The analogy between the remnant and “dew” or “showers” is not clear. Since Israel does not have any rain from June through September, any living plants depend heavily on the moisture from the dew each morning. Thus, dew or showers may be symbols of fertility (Gen. 27:28; Ps. 65:10), but the negative analogy of the remnant to lions in Micah 5:8 seems to present two contradictory pictures. Based on the reference to dew in 2 Samuel 17:12, a few interpret the dew in a negative sense.18 Others see the blessing of many dew drops as a comparison to the enormous size of the seed of Abraham or a sign that the Hebrew exiles will be dew (a blessing) on the Gentiles.19
It seems better, therefore, to focus on the interpretation Micah provides at the end of Micah 5:7. The real purpose of this analogy is to show that dew and showers are mysterious gifts of God not controlled by humankind (all we can do is wait). Micah’s rhetorical point is to persuade his listeners not to count on what “we” can do (5:5–6) in “our” strength, for humans can do little to determine the future; people cannot even control the dew. All they can do is trust the sovereign plan of God and wait for him to act. The divine initiative will accomplish all he has promised in its appropriate time.
The second analogy in 5:8 compares the remnant to a lion that mauls and destroys. Here Micah points to the truth in the people’s claims about defeating their enemies in 5:5–6. But the final line of 5:8 focuses the listeners’ attention on the divine control over these events, for “no one can rescue” these nations if God has determined their destiny. The dew analogy shows that Judah is not in control of its future, and the lion analogy shows that the nations are not in control of their future. Micah is trying to persuade his audience that God is the One who sovereignly determines the coming events, so they must realize their own dependence on him and look to him for hope. There is no room for human pride or triumphalism about what “we” will do.
This oracle ends with a statement of victory over Judah’s foes (v. 9). Some interpret the verb used here as an irregular imperfect that predicts what will happen to “you,” the remnant, as you defeat your enemies.20 This does not seem to be the best approach, however, for the jussive form of the verb suggests that this is a prayer addressed to “you,” that is, to God.21 Supporting this view is the idea that when a human being lifts up his or her hand, it is usually a negative sign of pride, rebellion, or violence. Having illustrated the limited power and control that both the remnant and the nations have over the future, Micah now cries out to God for help by requesting that he assert his authority and destroy his enemies as he has promised. Micah is putting his total confidence in God. Some of those who hear this prayer, Micah hopes, will follow his example and commit their lives to his care and protection.
Bridging Contexts
THE SIGNIFICANCE ONE gives to these prophetic messages is dependent on the hermeneutical principles used to interpret and apply them. Some of these prophecies were fulfilled in the past and do not apply directly to people today. The Assyrian attack on Jerusalem took place in 701 B.C. (Mic. 4:11; 5:1). Some years later Judah was taken into Babylonian exile for seventy years (4:10a; Jer. 29:10), and later a portion of these people returned to the land (Mic. 4:10b; Ezra 1–2). Some seven hundred years after Micah’s prophecy Jesus was born as King of the Jews in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2; Matt. 2:6), but his universal rule of the whole earth is still anxiously awaited (Mic. 5:4). The primary principle learned from these fulfilled prophecies is that God’s prophecies are true; what he says happens.
One also realizes that some parts of prophecies are literally true down to the detail (e.g., the reference to Babylon and Bethlehem Ephrathah), while the predictions in other verses are more nebulous (e.g., “I will give you hoofs of bronze” in 4:13) or symbolic (e.g., the dew and lion in 5:7–8). General time frames of reference are provided, so that one can distinguish between “now” and what “will” happen in 4:9–5:4, but the main purpose of these prophecies is not to provide a precise timetable or dates for the listeners. A person’s hope for the future is primarily based on what God will do, not when it will happen.
Theologians interpret the unfulfilled portions of these prophecies in either a more literal hermeneutic, which applies all prophecies about Israel to the people of Israel, or a less literal hermeneutic, based on Paul’s statement that the Gentile believers have been grafted into the vine of Israel (Rom. 11:17). Followers of the first approach often identify the remnant of Israel as the Jewish revival in the Millennium, while the second view usually insists that these prophecies are fulfilled in the ministry of the church.22
T. McComiskey strikes a good balance when he says that “while the remnant is specifically Israel, there is a sense in which the church forms a part of the remnant.”23 If a person focuses only on what Micah communicates to his audience, there is little question that he is thinking about Israel’s future, for he has no knowledge that the church will come into existence at some later date.24 Many years later, however, New Testament revelations seem to allow a broader application to some information about the future, while keeping other prophecies specifically for Israel (Rom. 11:23–28).
Human overconfidence versus God’s sovereign plan. If we focus only on the fulfillment issues in this passage, we may miss the underlying theological message that is the basis for these promises. One of these themes is that people can have a warped understanding about their own ability to control their environment and bring about God’s plan (Mic. 5:5–6). This usually is also accompanied by some confusion about God’s role in determining the future.
In this section the Hebrew people in Jerusalem cry out and lament their situation because the Assyrians are threatening them (4:9), yet they inexplicably fail to go to God as the King who has the ability to change their situation. By contrast, the many strong nations attacking Jerusalem think that they are in control of their future and that by their own strength they will be able to desecrate Jerusalem (4:11); yet these nations fail to understand that God has higher purposes and plans to destroy them (4:12).
All the positive hopes presented by Micah encourage his Hebrew audience, but in their overconfidence they proudly claim what “we” will do when the Assyrians attack (5:5–6). They ignore the fact that God’s plans “do not wait for man” (5:7). This basic theme is a central lesson of all prophecy. God is the sovereign power who plans the future, not human beings; nations do not determine the future political maps of this world, God does. Through a new messianic ruler who governs in God’s strength, God will bring about his worldwide kingdom on earth (5:4).
God provides hope for the future. God gives people hope for the future because he knows the end from the beginning and the timing of each aspect. In a crisis where people feel overwhelmed by circumstances beyond their control (the Assyrian attack, in Micah’s case), it is easy to despair and think that there is no possibility of finding a solution. Micah’s message teaches that hope involves waiting, having faith that a promise will come true, developing confidence in the One who has made the promise, and possessing a degree of peaceful assurance that things will change.
Hope involves the removal of fear and a subjective attitude of strong expectation for what has not yet happened. Trust in God’s promises produces hope.25 W. Zimmerli has traced the message of Israel’s hope through each section of the Old Testament and finds hope as a fundamental thread flowing throughout its pages.26 Proverbs provides hope of a good result for the people who discipline themselves and follow God’s wise advice, while Job struggled to discover if one can put any hope in God’s administration of justice. Although trials test our faith and may temporarily shake our confidence, in the end even Job found that God’s wisdom and power provided a solid foundation for hope (Job 38–42).
Abraham went to an unknown place, based on his hope that God would fulfill his promises (Gen. 12:1–7; Heb. 11:8–10). The psalmists repeatedly waited on God to deliver them from the sword of their enemies (Ps. 13; 27:13–14; 33:20–22), and the prophets pointed to an ideal period in the future when God’s rich blessing would be a reality in the lives of his people (Amos 9:11–15). Micah adds to this hope in chapters 4–5, not simply in order to give people more detailed information, but to challenge them to put their trust in God in the midst of their present trials. Micah’s message encourages them to face the unpleasant facts of exile (4:10a), but he couples these ideas with words of hope because God will redeem them (4:10b).
Hope is not just related to what God has done for others in the past but is also connected to his ultimate plan to bring the messianic Ruler who will some day shepherd his people in the strength of God (5:2–4). This messianic promise guided the wise men who followed the star and then followed the prophecy of Micah to Bethlehem to find the baby Jesus (Matt. 2:1–6). We still look forward to the final fulfillment of that prophecy, when the “greatness [of the Messiah] will reach to the ends of the earth” (Mic. 5:4).
Contemporary Significance
THE APPLICATION OF the central portion of this passage (5:2–4) in the church is heavily influenced by the fulfillment of this prophecy recorded in the New Testament (Matt. 2). For the person who has accepted Christ as Savior, the birth of Jesus wonderfully confirms what Micah says. This fulfillment gives great assurance that the other prophecies in the Bible will be fulfilled. God’s promises are taken seriously because they are not empty talk. God accomplishes his purpose (Isa. 55:10–11).
In certain situations the fulfillment of a prophecy has apologetic and evangelistic value.27 P. E. Little uses Micah 5:2 and various prophecies in Isaiah to prove that the Bible is a reliable document and the Word of God.28 The birth of Christ in Bethlehem helps a believer demonstrate to the doubter or unbeliever that this person, Jesus, is the One whom the prophets spoke of. Since Jesus was from the line of David according to the genealogy of Matthew 1 and functioned in his ministry as the good shepherd of his sheep (John 10), he fits the picture Micah presents. Since he is not presently reigning on earth as the Ruler of all nations, we look forward with anticipation to the time when that part of his mission will be fulfilled—that is, when he comes a second time. Micah originally gave this prophecy to provide hope for people thousands of years ago, and it continues to engender trust and confidence in God’s promises for people today.
How should people respond to a crisis situation? The crying and agony in Micah 4:10 are a typical and natural reaction to a crisis situation (such as the coming of the Assyrians). There is nothing inherently wrong with crying when difficult situations arise in our lives. Thus, Micah’s exhortation focuses on what people often do not do in a crisis situation: The Israelites do not turn to their King and Counselor, God himself (4:9).
Why not? Micah does not explain the reason here, but a person’s view of the nature and character of God may well explain the issue. Those with a high view of God, who recognize that God is the sovereign King of this world, will be more likely to bring their problems to him. If, however, you live around self-reliant and independent people who proudly struggle through problems with a stiff upper lip, then calling on God for help may not be an immediate response to troubled times. These people work hard, don’t complain, and don’t bother God with the little details of life. Looking at this idea from the positive side, one can exhort people not to follow the mistakes of the past but to seek God’s help in times of crisis. A good biblical example is Nehemiah, who repeatedly calls out to God for help throughout his ministry (Neh. 1:4; 2:4; 4:4, 9; 5:19; 6:9, 14; 9:5–38; 13:14, 22, 29).
One factor that determines how people respond to a crisis is their belief about God’s sovereign plans in relation to “our” plans for the future. The Assyrians think their plans can determine their future and that of Judah (Mic. 4:11), while the proud Israelites in Judah think their own plans and strength will enable them to defeat their enemies (5:5–6). This tendency to depend on what “I/we” can do and the desire to control the future through “my/our” own wisdom leaves no room for God to demonstrate his power, accomplish his plans, or demonstrate his glory.
In some ways life is a struggle of wills, a contest to see whose plans will win out. It almost seems like second nature for two-year-old children to say no to their parents when it is time to go to bed. They have their plans and want things their own way. It is not always easy to teach them that they do not have the ability to control everything around them.29 Just about the time that parents finally think they have regained some order in the family, junior-high students going through puberty challenge every rule and principle the parents have established in their first dozen years of life. Parental plans about dating, curfews, and doing things as a family are often thrown out the window. Although at this stage parents must allow these children to develop their own identity and permit some independence,30 this does not mean that anything goes.
Anyone involved in marriage counseling knows that the problem of wanting my plans to happen and wanting to control the future are common forces that drive couples apart.31 At work, bosses and employees often have different perspectives on how companies should be run, and one person or group in the church may try to force their wishes on the rest of the congregation. In all these cases there is the problem of my control of the future and my ability to make things go according to my plans. We often want to solve our crisis situations ourselves.
Micah’s message reminds us that God is in control of the future. Although we (as children, teens, or married adults) may independently demand to do things our way and follow the example of Judah’s enemies in Micah 4:11, God knows our thoughts and will eventually bring us into submission to his plans (4:12). Equally objectionable is any claim that we can determine the future by our own strength (like the military-minded inhabitants of Judah in 5:5–6). We are like the dew, sent by God according to his gracious plan, yet we must admit that our future is not controlled by human forces (5:7). All we can do is bring our future to God and pray for his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven (5:9; cf. Matt. 6:10).
Proverbs 27:1 encourages us not to boast about what will happen tomorrow because we do not determine what will happen. James 4:13–16 warns us not to predict what we will do because “you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. . . . As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.” This does not argue against planning for the future, but it does remind us that our plans are always subject to God’s will. We may think we can accomplish great things (cf. Mic. 5:5–6), but it is actually God who is accomplishing them through us.
Balancing present realities with future hope. The hope apparent in Micah’s oracles is not utopian, for imbedded in the very structure of these promises are realistic words about the present siege “now,” which will bring humiliation to Judah’s king (5:1). Even the bright messianic promises are qualified by “Israel will be abandoned until the time” (5:3), and redemption is only after a Babylonian exile (4:10). This reminds every preacher and teacher to declare the whole counsel of God. The day of the Lord’s coming and the establishment of the Messiah’s worldwide kingdom is not yet here, so today we live in the real, sinful world of wars and trouble. Nevertheless, hope is not destroyed by our present reality in this world, for this hope produces faith in God’s promises, a commitment to walk in his ways, and patient endurance as we wait for the confirmation of the promises (Rom. 5:2–5).
Hope is practical because it is seen in the eyes and the smiles of those who believe, it influences attitudes toward what can be done, and it looks beyond the present problems toward the One who has the power to control the solutions. Without hope there is no reason to go on. Having the blessed hope that Micah describes gives people a reason to live joyfully and to serve willingly in submission to God’s plans.
At the funeral of John F. Kennedy, Senator Edward Kennedy quoted a portion of one of his brother’s speeches:
Our future may lie beyond our vision, but it is not completely beyond our control . . . the work of our own hands, matched to reason and principle, will determine our destiny. There is pride in that, even arrogance, but there is also experience and truth. In any event, it is the only way we can live.32
I would beg to differ, Mr. President. The future is not ours to control. It is sinful and proud (as you admit) to claim that we control what must be left in the hands of God. There is another way to live. We can trust in God’s sovereign power rather than the work of our own hands. Hope is not secure if it is founded only on human plans, human reason, and human experience. Lasting hope is only found in God.