Thy Kingdom Come!

Posted on May 16, 2007

Micah 4-5

PEACE! It’s a wonderful word. I wish that we could enjoy real and lasting peace in this world… and we will, but not the way most people think. The world tries to achieve peace in one of two wrong ways:

• Simply imagining it and proclaiming it, no matter how false the claim may be.
• Using humanistic reasoning and methods such as world peace and health organizations.

There is nothing wrong with striving for peace on earth, but in God’s viewpoint, we always seem to seek peace without His involvement and Lordship. There is no peace, individually, nationally, or globally, without the rule and reign of Jesus Christ.

Micah issues some amazing prophecies in these two chapters (4-5) concerning the coming of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. We do need to remember, however, that Micah did not have a full understanding of the timeline of events that would take place. He did not anticipate the gap between Jesus’ first and second comings. Rather than try to harmonize all that the Bible says about the “last days,” I want us to allow Micah’s words to stand alone and hear the promises, as he heard and spoke them in his day.

The Coming Kingdom (4:1-8)

The phrase “last days” refers to the entire time period encompassing the first and second comings of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Look at some of the characteristics of the Kingdom:

• Jerusalem will be the political and religious capital of the world. (vs. 1-2, 8)
• The law of God will be revered and understood. (v. 2)
• It will be a Kingdom of peace. (v. 3)
• Families will be at peace. (vs. 4-5)
• God will gather all people to Himself and be their God. (vs. 6-7)

The Intervening Captivities

In verses 9-10, Micah talks in specific terms about the Babylonian captivity that awaited Judah. The fact that he named Babylon is significant since Assyria was still the world power at the moment.

Verses 11-13 and chapter 5, verse 1 speak of another intervening kingdom to come when all the nations will collectively fight against God’s people. Satan has ordered things in the past so that many nations have hated the Jews (consider the pre-World War II world) but this will be an all-out onslaught against them. It describes the kingdom of the beast and the false prophet leading up to the battle of Armageddon.

The Coming King

In chapter five, Micah focuses more on the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, who will rule and reign during this ultimate Kingdom of Peace.

• Jesus will be born in the “little town of Bethlehem.” (v. 2a)
• He will be the eternal God, incarnate in human form. (v. 2b)
• He will be rejected by His brethren, but only for a time. (v. 3)
• He will shepherd all people who desire Him as Lord. (v. 4)
• He will defend His people and establish peace by force, if necessary. (vs. 5-9)
• He will restore biblical forms of worship and abolish all idolatry. (vs. 10-14)
• He will begin His reign with vengeance against sin. (v. 15)

These were wonderful promises in which Israel could find great hope and comfort. They are also wonderful promises for every child of God today, but they can only be ours for the claiming if we’ve begun a relationship with Jesus Christ here and now. He must be Lord of our lives before we can ever live in the peace of God.