What to make of the promised future? (Mic 4:1-5)

Prophecies of judgment are hard to read because God seems harsh or because the sins of God’s people can be sometimes difficult to relate to. However, prophecies of hope are challenging too. Some read about ‘the last days’ and are tempted to seek a timetable and identify current events as possible precursors to the future. However, the fact that exact times are never revealed suggests that the significance of the events is not about the ‘when’. Others may find the exalted pictures of all things put to right too far removed from our reality to be helpful. What difference do such prophecies make if we may never see the day when they will happen? How then should we read prophecies of hope such as today’s passage?

We must remember that prophecy, whether judgement or hope, requires a response. A prophet is never simply imparting information, but he spurs hearers on to action. If judgment speeches implicitly call us to take stock and repent, then pronouncements of hope encourage us to work towards that hope because in that future we see a reflection of God’s character and the picture of the world as God had designed it. Today’s reading is a glorious reversal of all that has gone wrong among God’s people. Jerusalem and the temple once levelled to the ground, will be exalted – whether physically and/or metaphorically – as the chief of the mountains (Mic 3:12; 4:1). The place where teaching was done for profit will be the location where the nations come for true instruction from God (Mic 3:11; 4:2). A once unjust leadership will give way to the just verdicts of God, the ultimate judge and therefore king (Mic 3:9; 4:3) and the false hope that war and conquest could be avoided will be replaced by true peace (Mic 3:11; 4:3-4).

While it is hard to know how these prophecies will be fulfilled, even if we are unsure of the details, we can learn from them by asking what such prophecies teach us about God’s character and ways and what our response should be? First, our passage reminds us that God is sovereign and no matter how hopeless the situation in spiritual terms, He is not helpless to achieve His purposes. We might think of our Christian context and feel the disappointment that our churches are feeble when it comes to teaching God’s Word, often lacking in genuine fellowship or the power of God’s presence to transform lives. Yet, if He is proclaimed here as able to reverse the effects of corruption and complacency in Israel, then surely, He can make a difference to our churches and accomplish His purposes in the world as well as in us too (Ps 138:8).

Secondly, the nations’ desire to hear teaching from God (Mic 4:2) suggests that they have seen among God’s people a life lived in grace and truth according to God’s will and they long for it too. This highlights that when God’s Word is taught and followed in faithful living, that is attractive to outsiders (Deut 4:5-8). The Hebrew torah rendered ‘law’ in v.2 would be better translated as ‘instruction’ and has a wider scope than just the legal portions of the Old Testament (it is also set parallel with God’s Word in the next line, which further strengthens this point). Many churches today struggle with falling numbers, but the ‘secret’ for growth is not in putting relevance or creativity first, but in speaking God’s truth above all because it is God’s Word that has the power to transform lives (Isa 55:10-11).[1]

Finally, true and lasting peace both among nations, as well as individuals, is only possible if God is recognised as judge and king (Mic 4:3; judging was ultimately a royal duty, so kingship is implied here). It is only as we submit to the Lord and His wise judgment that implements of war can be transformed into instruments of peacetime activity. While this is still in the future as far as the world is concerned, we can start living it out in our smaller contexts submitting ourselves to God’s verdict on our lives and seeking to live at peace with God, ourselves and others. That is why our reading concludes with the faithful remnant’s response to the prophecy: the determination to walk in God’s ways (Mic 4:5) while they wait for the hopeful fulfilment to come.

[1] Of course, it is important to ensure that the message gets across (that it is not buried in Christian jargon, for instance), that we use illustrations and applications that bring the meaning home in our context, that we find ways to engage those who listen. The problem comes when questions of ‘method’ become primary and overwhelm or obscure the content. Sadly, there are churches where the method may be engaging, creative and effective but the content is weak or even non-existent.  

The reference to sitting under one’s vine and fig tree in v.4 is a stock image for peace (1 Kings 4:25; Zech 3:10). The produce of vines and fig trees were key for Israel’s agriculture and sitting under these was indicative of rest and enjoying the fruit of one’s labours without danger.

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