Micah 7:11-13

Micah has spoken about his belief in God. He now speaks a message about hope. This part of the song has two sections. First, the other nations will enter inside the walls of Jerusalem (verses 11-12). Secondly, God will punish the people that are still elsewhere on the Earth. That will be the result of their *sins (verse 13).

‘The time’ (or ‘that time’) appears three times in verses 11 and 12. It refers to a time in the future. It also refers to the future state of the world. It is a time when the people in Zion (Jerusalem) will rebuild their walls. The ‘walls’ here do not mean walls that protect the city. They are not the same as the walls of a castle. They will include walls of *vineyards. They will include walls that people build for sheep. Those walls protect the sheep to keep them safe. Jerusalem will be like such a place where sheep will be safe. The other nations will be like the sheep. There will be enough space there for all the sheep (the nations) to enter (verse 12). They will find safety there. The sheep (the nations) will be under the King’s (God’s) protection. He will also be their *shepherd.

Then, people will come from all over the earth. The nations that live round *Israel have always been its people’s enemies. People will come even from those countries. They will come from Assyria, which is in the north-east. They will come from Egypt, which is in the south-west. (Look at Psalms 87; Hebrews 12:22.) Verse 12 refers to geography. It refers to countries and it also refers to nature. People will come from sea to sea. And they will come from mountain to mountain. They will come from all over the world. In the *Hebrew text, the word ‘come’ refers to one person only. It gives the idea that each person has a choice. Each person must choose whether or not to come. Micah does not refer to all the people from all the nations. He refers to separate persons that come from all nations.

People will come from between Egypt and the River Euphrates. Here Micah reminds us about what the *LORD had promised to *Israel’s people earlier. The *LORD had declared definitely what the boundaries of their country would be (Genesis 15:18; Exodus 23:31; Deuteronomy 11:24). In verse 12, Micah also reminds us about an earlier time. It was a time when similar things happened. It was among the best periods that *Israel’s people lived in. It was when Solomon was the king (1 Kings 4:21; 1 Kings 4:25).

Micah has spoken before about a special time in the future (Micah 4:1). And in this song, he returns to that subject again. Many *prophets wrote about the time when God would rule the Earth. And people from all nations would *worship God in Jerusalem (Isaiah 60:1-14; Zechariah 14:16; Revelation 21:24-26). Verse 12 may also refer to the new Jerusalem that will come down from heaven one day. (Look at Hebrews 12:22-24; John 17:2; Acts 3:25; 2 Corinthians 6:2.)

The people that God has chosen will include not only *Jews. It will also include people that are not *Jews. God sent the *Jews into the other nations. But the *Jews will return. The people that are not *Jews will also be there. They will find their *salvation inside Zion (Jerusalem). All people that look for God will find him there.

But the rest of the Earth will become like a desert. Very little food will grow on the land there. It is because many people have done many wicked things. This will be the time when, at last, God punishes them (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9; 2 Peter 3:12; Revelation 20:11-15).

v14 So rule your people with your *rod. Rule the crowd of people that belongs to you. These people live alone in the woods. They live up on the mountain called Carmel. They live in pleasant fields. Let them eat in Bashan and Gilead. Let it be as it was many years ago. v15 God says, ‘I did many wonderful deeds when I took you out of Egypt. I will let you see more deeds like those.’ v16 The nations will see those wonderful things. They will be ashamed. They will see that their power is nothing. It is nothing when one compares it with mine. They will be greatly surprised. They will put their hands over their mouths. Their ears will become deaf. v17 They will lick the dust (use their tongues to take up dust) like snakes. They will be like animals that crawl on the ground. They will come out of the places where they have hidden. And they will tremble as they come out. They will shake because they will be afraid of the *LORD God. They will be afraid because of you.

Verse 14-17

Because of those things that he has just described, Micah prays to the *LORD. He asks the *LORD to look after his people. Those people include *Jews. And they include people that are not *Jews (Acts 15:16-18; Ephesians 1:3-4). The *rod is the *shepherd’s *rod. It also means a king’s authority. A *shepherd usually used a *rod to keep his sheep together. He used it to stop them running away. The *rod means punishment (Proverbs 13:24). But the *rod can also give safe protection to people. The *shepherd also used it when he went to find food for his sheep. God is called the Good *Shepherd (Psalms 23; Psalms 100:3). The sheep mean his own people. They belong to him. They are his possessions. God is the *Shepherd of *Israel’s people and he is also their King.

In verse 14, God’s people live alone in the woods. All round them are green fields. That place is like a garden in a forest. Many years ago the *Israelites had entered the country that God had promised to them. Bashan and Gilead were the first places that God gave to them (Numbers 21:33). Wonderful things happened during that period. Those towns were east from the river called Jordan. The fields there were green. The people produced plenty of food there. Bashan was famous for its large trees (Isaiah 2:13). It had healthy animals. The people fed them well (Deuteronomy 32:14). Gilead was famous for its good and pleasant fields (Numbers 32:1; Numbers 32:26). It was on the middle of the mountain called Carmel. Carmel is like a garden. The name Carmel is the *Hebrew word for garden. That time was a good time in which to live.

Micah’s prayer to God is an urgent one. He prays that God will bring back those original benefits. The other nations would live on land that was a desert. But *Israel would live in safety. The people would have plenty of food and good things. They would live apart from their enemies. It would be like that good period a long time ago. It would be similar to when they lived in Bashan and Gilead. It would also be like the holy city. That was the wonderful city that John saw. He saw it come down from heaven (Revelation 21:10-22). However, the people would need a strong leader.

For the *Jews, the names Bashan and Gilead have a special meaning. Those names refer to the land that belonged to the *Jews earlier (Micah 2:2; Numbers 26:55-56). They produced crops on that land. It provided them with enough food. Today God gives to his people something new, which satisfies them even more than food. That new thing is *eternal life in Christ. It lasts always. Jesus is called the good and great *shepherd of the sheep (Hebrews 13:20). He said that he had other sheep (other people) too. He will bring his sheep (his people) from all over the world. There will be one great crowd of them. *Jews will be there. And people that are not *Jews will be there (John 10:16). Jesus will gather them as his possessions.

God promises to answer Micah’s prayer. In verse 15, God first looks back to an earlier time. He reminds Micah about past events. God has done many wonderful things a long time ago. There was the time when the *Israelites were in Egypt. The people who lived in Egypt dealt badly with them there. Then God rescued the *Israelites from Egypt. He made a way for them through the Red Sea. He kept them safe in the desert. Then the *Israelites crossed the river called Jordan. They won battles against many other nations, although those nations were much stronger than the *Israelites. In verse 16, God then looks forward into the future. He promises that those kinds of events will happen again many times. The people will see similar wonderful deeds. Even more extraordinary things will happen in a future time.

The next two verses (16-17) link very much with verse 10. Micah thinks about the promises that God has made. God will do extraordinary things. Not only the people in Assyria will see those things. All nations will see what God has done. They will be ashamed. The nations (except *Israel) will realise that their own gods are false gods. They will learn not to trust in human power. They will understand how foolish that is. They will lay their hands on their mouths. This means that they will be quiet. Also, they will not be able to hear. They will see God perform those extraordinary things. Before, they were laughing at *Israel. But in the future they will stop that, as we have read in verse 10. Before, they were proud of themselves. But now they will not be proud any longer. They will not listen to stupid arguments. They will respect the *LORD very greatly.

The other nations will give up their power. Their kings will lose their battles. They will ‘lick the dust’ (take up dust with their tongues). ‘Lick the dust’ means something special in the Bible. For example, maybe a king has lost a battle. He will crawl to the king that has defeated him. He will lie down in front of that other king (Psalms 44:25). He will lie down because he will be afraid of that other king. It will be the same for all the nations except *Israel. Those nations will come to the *LORD in great fear. They will crawl out of the places where they have hidden like snakes (Genesis 3:14; Genesis 3:15). In other words, they will come out of their strong castles. The nations will tremble in front of the *LORD. They will realise that they have no power. ‘Lick the dust’ describes their actions. The nations will want to *worship the *LORD.

Those people live in places that are like castles. They feel safe there. They think that someone is protecting them from danger. There, people try to hide from God. Those places also mean human pride (when people are proud about their own goodness). Those places mean human security. But God will cause those false places to fail. And people will see that God has caused these problems. Then they will be afraid. People will be afraid ‘because of you (God)’. Their fear will make them ask the *LORD for help.

Also another *prophet, Isaiah, said that those things would happen (Isaiah 45:14-25). Moses said the same. Wonderful things happened when the *Israelites left Egypt. Moses and the other *Israelites sang a song about those things then. It is called Moses’ song (Exodus 15:1-18).

Wonderful things happened also when the *Lord Jesus came to the Earth. He died and he rose again from death. When he did that, he defeated the devil completely. One day, the nations will learn to respect him very greatly. The nations will see that Jesus Christ is the King. He is the King over all other kings. He is the *Lord over all other *lords. There is a song about Jesus’ success too. It is called the Lamb’s (Jesus’) song. In heaven, people will sing both Moses’ song and the Lamb’s (Jesus’) song (Revelation 15:3-4). (‘Lamb’ means a young sheep, and here ‘the Lamb’ is a special name for Jesus.)

v18 There is no other God like you! You take away people’s shame. Only a few people remain from those that you have chosen. You forgive their *sin. You are kind and you enjoy that. You are glad to have pity. You will not stay angry for always.