Today’s reading is on Micah 5.
When Micah was given the word of the Lord on the events of this book, things must have looked pretty frightening for the future from Judah’s perspective: kingdoms falling around them under siege, countless war-torn refugees seeking help, the disintegration of social structure and increased assimilation of idolatry & selfishness. Unfortunately human nature has remained pretty constant and these issues can still be found the world over. That’s why Micah 5:3-5 is a timeless reminder that reliance on God is guaranteed to outlast and overpower any hope in the works of man:
“He shall give them up until the time the she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And He shall stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And He shall be their peace.”
It can be easy to try to rely on our own means when sin slips in and our faith grows weak, which is why this chapter continues to assure us that all the works of man will be cut down alongside the wicked; the horses & chariots of war, the cities & strongholds we build for protection, and the sorceries and idols born of evil. But the people of Israel, in God’s kingdom, will be lifted up and find peace with Him. I sometimes wonder if I focus too much on the bad of the works of man; which can be way too easy, with a hyper-connected society constantly blasting news of war, crises, disease, and hopelessness in our faces. It’s not a stretch to imagine people without hope beyond these things clinging to the works of man for a future.
Thankfully, we know our future is guaranteed in Christ (Jeremiah 29:11), and we can find hope in clinging to Him. Do you place your hopes too often in the things of man that can be easily corrupted with sin? Or do you surrender all to God, who delivers & protects the besieged and unfairly judged? I pray for the future of all, that they may seek the refuge and hope for the future only found in God’s kingdom, and that all the remnant of Jacob among all nations as Micah 5:8 puts it, that we could lead others to see God’s kingdom not as a source of adversary or destruction through the eyes of a sinner, but as a source of blessing of a child of God’s.