Micah 4:1-13: a reflection

1But in the latter days, it will happen that the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established on the top of the mountains, and it will be exalted above the hills; and peoples will stream to it. 2Many nations will go and say, “Come! Let’s go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For the law will go out of Zion, and the LORD’s word from Jerusalem; 3and he will judge between many peoples, and will decide concerning strong nations afar off. They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war any more. 4But every man will sit under his vine and under his fig tree. No one will make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of Armies has spoken. 5Indeed all the nations may walk in the name of their gods, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever. 6“In that day,” says the LORD, “I will assemble that which is lame, and I will gather that which is driven away, and that which I have afflicted; 7and I will make that which was lame a remnant, and that which was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD will reign over them on Mount Zion from then on, even forever.” 8You, tower of the flock, the hill of the daughter of Zion, to you it will come. Yes, the former dominion will come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem. 9Now why do you cry out aloud? Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished, that pains have taken hold of you as of a woman in travail? 10Be in pain, and labor to give birth, daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail; for now you will go out of the city, and will dwell in the field, and will come even to Babylon. There you will be rescued. There the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies. 11Now many nations have assembled against you, that say, “Let her be defiled, and let our eye gloat over Zion.” 12But they don’t know the thoughts of the LORD, neither do they understand his counsel; for he has gathered them like the sheaves to the threshing floor. 13Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs bronze. You will beat in pieces many peoples. I will devote their gain to the LORD, and their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.

The prophet Micah lifts his people's eyes to a glorious hope: a coming day when God's reign will bring peace to the whole earth. In the latter days, he says, nations will stream to the mountain of the LORD to learn his ways; and God will judge between the peoples, so that they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war any more. And every man will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one will make them afraid. This is a picture of the peace God's reign will bring: war ceasing, weapons turned to tools of cultivation, people dwelling secure and unafraid. The hope held out is not merely the absence of one war, but the end of war itself, and a settled peace where none make us afraid. God's reign will bring a peace in which war ceases and his people dwell secure and unafraid. The coming peace of God's reign turns swords to plowshares and ends the learning of war. War will cease; peace and security will come under God's reign.

Notice the peace Micah foretells under God's reign: swords into plowshares, war unlearned, people dwelling secure. This is not a small or partial peace; it is the end of war itself, weapons of destruction turned into tools of cultivation, nations no longer learning war, people sitting secure under their vines and fig trees with none to make them afraid. This peace comes under God's reign, when the nations stream to him to learn his ways and he judges among them. The hope is of a world remade in peace, where the very instruments and habits of war are undone. This is the great hope held out to God's people amid a world of conflict and fear: that God's reign will finally bring a true and lasting peace, ending war, giving security, so that none make us afraid. The present world of conflict is not the final state; God's reign will bring the peace Micah foretells. To hope in this coming peace is to look beyond present conflict to the day when war ceases and God's people dwell secure. The world's conflict gives way, under God's reign, to a peace that turns swords to plowshares. God's coming reign is a reign of peace.

That is worth resting in, for God's reign will bring a lasting peace, ending war and giving security, so that none make us afraid. We can be weighed down by a world full of conflict, war, and fear, as though this were the permanent state of things; but Micah foretells a day under God's reign when swords become plowshares, war is unlearned, and people dwell secure with none to make them afraid. The present world of conflict is not the final state; God's reign will bring true and lasting peace. When the conflict and fear of the world weigh on you, hope in the coming peace of God's reign, when war ceases and his people dwell secure. Rest in the hope of the peace God's reign will bring, when swords are beaten into plowshares, war is learned no more, and God's people dwell secure with none to make them afraid, as Micah foretold that in the latter days nations would stream to the LORD and beat their swords into plowshares; for the present world of conflict, war, and fear is not the final state, and God's reign will finally bring a true and lasting peace, ending war itself and giving security, so that we can look beyond present conflict to the day when God's reign of peace turns swords to plowshares and none make us afraid.

Lord, the prophet Micah lifts his people's eyes to a glorious hope: a coming day when your reign will bring peace to the whole earth. In the latter days, he says, nations will stream to the mountain of the LORD to learn his ways; and God will judge between the peoples, so that they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war any more. And every man will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one will make them afraid. This is a picture of the peace your reign will bring: war ceasing, weapons turned to tools of cultivation, people dwelling secure and unafraid. Show me the peace Micah foretells under your reign: swords into plowshares, war unlearned, people dwelling secure. This is not a small or partial peace; it is the end of war itself, nations no longer learning war, people sitting secure with none to make them afraid. This peace comes under your reign, when the nations stream to you to learn your ways. The hope is of a world remade in peace. This is the great hope held out to your people amid a world of conflict and fear: that your reign will finally bring a true and lasting peace. The present world of conflict is not the final state. Let me rest in that, for your reign will bring a lasting peace, ending war and giving security, so that none make us afraid. I can be weighed down by a world full of conflict, war, and fear, as though this were the permanent state of things; but Micah foretells a day under your reign when swords become plowshares and people dwell secure. When the conflict and fear of the world weigh on me, help me hope in the coming peace of your reign, Lord, when war ceases and your people dwell secure, as Micah foretold that the nations would beat their swords into plowshares, for the present world of conflict is not the final state.