As the prophet Micah looked out with his eyes, he saw many problems. He saw a sinful nation. He saw sinful and corrupt people. He saw sinful and corrupt rulers. He saw that God was soon going to bring judgment upon the nation because of their sins. But there was something else that Micah saw. HE SAW THE PROMISE OF GOD! He saw that there would be DELIVERANCE from all the problems!
By faith Micah was able to look ahead and see GOD’S PROMISE. In the middle of his problems he was able to head for and hold on to Gods promise. He was able to look beyond the present hour (with its problems and its cries of pain and its troubles) and see much HOPE for the future. In the middle of AFFLICTION (trouble and distress) Micah looked ahead and had ASSURANCE that God would solve the problems and deliver His people.
Many times we get our eyes on the PROBLEMS and we fail to see the PROMISES. Therefore we have no hope. All we see is the blackness of the tunnel but we fail to see the ray of light at the end of the tunnel. We do not see far enough! As we see the blackness all around we think, "There is no way out of this terrible tunnel." But if we can get our eyes on the ray of light far off in the distance then this will give us hope: "This is a terrible tunnel but I know there’s a way out. I can see it!" Micah was in a terrible tunnel, but he saw the ray of light far off in the distance. He saw the wonderful promise of God!
When we see rightly, then we will walk in the right way and in the right direction. If all I see is the blackness of the tunnel, then I will not walk in the right direction. I will just walk around with little progress. But if I see the light at the end of the tunnel, then I will head for the light and walk in the right direction. God gave Micah a wonderful promise. It was a wonderful promise of hope. Let’s take a close look at this promise:
In Micah 4:1 we read about a great mountain. A "mountain" is sometimes used in the Bible to describe a center of government. This verse is talking about the day when Jerusalem will be the capital city of the world:
Micah was told that this great mountain (this great KINGDOM) would be established in the "_______________DAys". (Micah 4:1). This means that Micah was not to expect this promise to be fulfilled right away. It was something that would happen in the distant future. In fact, we are living more than 2 thousand years after Micah’s time and this mountain has not yet been established. But God wanted Micah to see something, even though it would not come to pass in his own lifetime. Micah knew how terrible man’s government was (with its sinful and corrupt rulers) and God wanted Micah to know how wonderful God’s government will be (with CHRIST as the Ruler). Micah knew that there was a DARK DAY coming for the city of Jerusalem (when the Babylonian army would destroy it--Micah 3:12). God wanted him to know that there was a BRIGHT DAY coming for Jerusalem.
Who will go up to this mountain? Who will come to the house of the Lord (the temple) in Jerusalem? Please read Micah 4:2 and answer TRUE or FALSE:
| _________________ | Only the Jewish nation will come to Jerusalem to be taught by the King and to hear His Word. |
| _________________ | Many nations will come to Jerusalem to be taught by the King and to hear His Word. |
God once revealed His plan to Abraham a long time ago (see Genesis 12:3). Is God’s plan for only the nation Israel to be blessed or is it for all the families of the earth to be blessed?__________________________________________________________
Could you imagine people from Washington, London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, and Havana (Cuba) going to Jerusalem to worship God and to learn the will of God? Is this happening today? ______ Has this ever happened? __________ Will this happen some day (Micah 4:2)? _________
In Micah 4:3 we learn that Christ will be the PERFECT JUDGE and the PERFECT PRINCE OF PEACE. In His worldwide kingdom, there will be perfect JUSTICE and perfect PEACE. What about the governments of the world today? Do they have perfect justice? Are right decisions always made? Do rulers always do the right thing? Are the nations enjoying PEACE right now? Does every nation get along perfectly well with every other nation? Does the United States have any enemies? THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IS NOT HERE YET!
What are swords and spears used for (Micah 4:3)? What are plowshares and pruning hooks used for? This amazing verse tells us that when Christ is King on this earth the tools of war will be turned into tools of peace.
During the kingdom age, people will learn many things (see Micah 4:2), but what is one thing they will not learn (Micah 4:3)? _____________________ When Christ is King, will there be any soldiers? ____ on the earth? _____ any armies? ______ fighter planes? _____ destructive bombs? _____ tanks? _____ weapons? military schools? _____ Can you think of other things that will have no place in this kingdom?
_____________________________________________________________________________
This will certainly be different than the world we know today!. The following chart shows the difference:
| THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT THE PRINCE OF PEACE IN HEAVEN "And ye shall hear of ____________ and rumors of wars" (Matthew 24:6) |
THE FUTURE WORLD (KINGDOM AGE) THE PRINCE OF PEACE ON EARTH "neither shall they learn ___________ any more" (Micah 4:3) |
| THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT "nation shall rise ____________ nation, and kingdom ________________ kingdom" (Matthew 24:7) "Beat your plowshares into ______________ and your pruning hooks into ____________" (Joel 3:10) |
THE FUTURE WORLD (KINGDOM AGE) "Nation
shall ________ lift up a sword against nation" (Micah 4:3) "they shall beat their ______________ into plowshares, and their _______________ into pruning hooks" (Micah 4:3) |
In our lifetime we will know of wars, but Micah 4:3 gives us much hope and encouragement to know that a day of peace is coming! There is light at the end of the tunnel! Isaiah lived about the same time as Micah and he saw the same problems that Micah saw. They were both in the same dark tunnel. Did God want Isaiah to see the same wonderful promise (see ISAIAH 2:2-4)? ______
During this kingdom age every one shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree and none shall make them _________________ (Micah 4:4)? This is something that the people could not do in Micah’s day. As they would sit on their private property, they were afraid They knew that the enemy (the ASSYRIANS or the BABYLONIANS) could invade the land and take over their property and carry them away from their land as captives. But when Christ is King such a thing could never happen!
How do we know that this Kingdom of Peace will really come to this earth? People have always dreamed of a day of peace but it has never happened. The United Nations is always talking about peace, but they have not done very much to bring about peace. Is the age of peace really going to come? Is God really going to deliver and save this world from the mess that it is in? How do we know that Micah 4:1-4 is really going to happen? The answer is found in Micah 4:4: "for the ___________ of the ______ of hosts hath _______________ it." God said it and that settles it! Micah saw the promise of God and he knew that God keeps His promises! Micah saw light at the end of the tunnel and he was not just imagining it or dreaming about it. This light was real!
Many of the people in Micah’s day were idol worshippers (Micah 1:7). When a person looks ahead to God’s kingdom, idol worship becomes foolishness! In Micah chapter 4, verse 5 should be translated this way, "For all peoples walk (now are walking) each in the name of his god, but we will walk in the Name of the Lord our God (free from idolatry) forever and ever." In the kingdom age, only one God will be worshipped (the only true God). See Zechariah 14:9,16. Will Baal be worshipped?____ Will Allah (the god of the Muslims) be worshipped?____ Will Santa Claus be worshipped?_____________
In Micah 4:6-8 we see that God has a special place for the nation of Israel in His kingdom. He will gather the Jews from all over the world (see also Isaiah 11:11-16 and Matthew 24:31). Today there are Jews living in the United States, Russia, and many other countries of the world. Because of their sin they have been scattered, but because of God’s mercy and grace they will be gathered back together.
Micah looked far ahead and he saw the promise of God’s kingdom. But he also looked
not so far ahead and saw the promise of God’s judgment. God was going to send the
Babylonians to judge Israel (Micah 4:9-10). After the Babylonians there would be other
enemies also--Greece, Rome, Germany (Hitler), Russia, and many others. Some day
(just before Christ comes to earth as King) many nations will gather together against
Israel (Micah 4:11). Notice the following chart:
| JUST BEFORE THE KINGDOM Many nations will come to Jerusalem to fight (March 4:11) |
DURING THE KINGDOM Many nations will come to Jerusalem to learn (Mican 4:1-2) |
Yes, God told the Jewish people that they would have all kinds of problems and all
kinds
of enemies, but He also told them that there would be an end to the problems and
deliverance from the enemies (their enemies would be destroyed as grain is trampled by
oxen on the threshing floor--Micah 4:12-13). They had hope! They had God’s promise!
There was light at the end of the tunnel!
How far do you see? What do you see? Is something wrong with your eyes? Do you see light at the end of the tunnel?
We need to remember that our problems are not going to COME TO AN END while we are here in time--unless the Lord comes for us (John 14:3). But we also know that although problems are ahead, the day of deliverance is ahead also. There surely will be problems but there surely will be deliverance from the problems (rescue by our Redeemer).
Just as the problems are sure, so also the rescue is sure! The PROMISE is just as sure as the PROBLEMS. The light at the end of the tunnel is just as sure as the tunnel itself. Just as sin is very real, so the Saviour is very real. The same God who said, "The wages of sin is death" is the same God who also said, "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
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The Coming Kingdom (Micah 4:1-4) |
| Micah was looking for the promise of the Kingdom (Looking For The Word To Change) |
We are looking for the promise of His "at any time" coming (Looking for "Me" to be changed--1 corinthians 15:52; 1 John 3:1-3)
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The Coming Christ (John 14:3 1 Thess. 4:13-18 Titus 2:13) |
In the midst of the wrong that is all around us, we need to see rightly! In the darkness of the tunnel we need to see the light at the end. How are you seeing? What are you seeing? Why don’t you see? May God help us to get our eyes on HIS PROMISE and HIS SON!
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