Micah 5:1-15 "Reclaiming Shalom"

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Open your Bibles, wherever it is found, to Micah.

This morning we're going to be looking at chapter 5.

Micah chapter 5, we're going to read through from verse 1 through 15.

Micah 5 · chapter mention

So follow with me as we read God's inspired word of truth.

Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops.

Siege is laid against us.

With our rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek.

But you, O Bethlehem, Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel,

whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.

Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who was 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.

When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces,

then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men.

They shall shepherd the land of Assyria with a sword,

in the land of Nimrod at its entrances.

And he shall deliver us from the Assyrian when he comes into our land

and treads within our border.

Then the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples,

like dew from the Lord,

like showers on the grass,

which delay not for a man, nor wait for the children of man.

The remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations,

in the midst of many peoples,

like a lion among beasts of the forest,

like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,

which, when it goes through,

treads down and tears in pieces,

and there is none to deliver.

Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries,

and all your enemies shall be cut off.

And in that day, declares the Lord,

I will cut off your horses from among you,

and will destroy your chariots.

I will cut off the cities of your land

and throw down all your strongholds.

And I will cut off sorceries from your hand,

and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes.

And I will cut off your carved images

and your pillars from among you,

and you shall bow down no more

to the work of your hands.

And I will root out your Asherah images

from among you and destroy your cities.

And in anger and wrath,

I will execute vengeance on the nations

that did not obey.

Let me lead us in a word of prayer

as we approach the study of God's word.

Father, your word is truth.

Your word is given to us as a gift.

Your word is real food for our souls.

But we need your help.

We need your spirit

that we might,

that it might taste sweet to us.

That we might long for it

to be planted deep in our hearts.

So would you come

and speak to us through your word this morning

by your spirit?

And would you draw us into

your great heart

of mercy

and grace?

And we pray this

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Now I've been excited about this journey

we are taking through

several of the minor prophets.

I love the Old Testament.

I love the minor prophets.

But I also know,

especially when we get

into some of these places,

it can create some confusion.

If, you know,

we read,

the confusion can come

when we read

God promising to his servants,

God promising to David,

promising to Abraham

that his people will be his people,

that God will be their God,

and nothing will take them

out of his hand.

He tells David

that you shall never lack

a king who sits on the throne.

And then we come

to the minor prophets.

And we're told

how God is basically

going to uproot his people

and throw them out.

The kings will be,

in a sense,

removed.

The Assyrians

will come

and rule.

And for all intents

and purposes,

for hundreds of years,

Israel will be

wiped

off

the face

of Palestine.

So how are we supposed

to read that?

Which is true.

Is it the unconditional promise?

Or is

what we see?

Well, when we read

the prophets,

we have to read it

on two different levels.

On one level,

there is more

of the individual

level,

where God deals

with individuals

within his nation

who are disobedient,

who reject his covenant,

who prove themselves

to be

not covenant keepers,

and those individuals,

God brings his wrath

and his anger

and destroys them.

Which he's about

to do here

in Jerusalem.

But there's

another level.

Because Israel

is often,

is spoken of

in the prophets.

We see it

in Isaiah

62.

Israel

is spoken

of as his bride.

Back in

Hosea 11,

Israel is spoken

of as his

son.

And when he

deals

with Israel

as a nation,

it's one entity.

In a sense,

they are

representative

of us.

And that

son

and that

bride,

though he may

deal with

harshly,

he will

never destroy.

He will

never cast

off forever.

But he

will come

and he

will deal

with them

and his,

it is his

loving kindness

for his

son and

for his

bride that's

actually driving

him

here.

So when

we read

Micah,

don't just

read,

this God

is ticked

off and

now he's

coming to

bring retribution.

Read this

from a

lover

who will

go to

no lengths,

who will

go to

any length

necessary

to bring

his true

love back

to himself.

Micah is

a letter

of love,

not anger

and hate.

So as

we read

Micah,

and we're

going to

see that

in particular

in this

chapter.

So let's

look at

this

situation.

We get

a glimpse

of it

in the

very first

verse.

It's a

tragic

situation.

In the

first verse,

we are

told that

siege is

laid in

Jerusalem,

the

Israel's

judge is

struck on

the cheek

with a

rod.

Basically,

what we

have is

David's

heir,

Hezekiah,

on his

throne,

who is

being abused,

belittled,

shown contempt

for by the

Assyrians.

And not

only Hezekiah,

but God

himself,

but Israel's

chosen,

Israel's

rightful

king,

the heir of

David,

is being

put to

shame

by these

Assyrian

hordes.

And so

this is

this dire

circumstance,

and so

what is

Israel to

think?

When you

think about

the covenant

promises,

when you

think about

what God

has promised

them all

these years,

so what

are they

to think?

So this

is the

situation,

and to

this,

then we

see God's

promise of

a coming

Redeemer.

The coming

Redeemer,

we'll walk

through this a

bit last

week, so we

won't go into

it in a whole

lot of detail,

but that

Redeemer is

going to

come,

he's going

to come

from very

humble

circumstances,

but he's

going to

come and

save his

people,

and he is

going to

come,

and reestablish

his rule,

and that

rule is

really going

to involve

two things.

One, it

is going to

restore

kingship

over his

covenant

people,

and it

also is

going to

involve

reclaiming

his

chosen

bride.

So let's

look at

what we

see here.

First, let's

look at how

he comes

to restore

his rule

over his

people,

reclaiming

the throne.

In verses

two through

six, we

see, again,

after that

situation, we

see the

salvation is

coming, and

what he makes

clear is the

king is going

to come and

save them.

But again, as

we read the

prophets, you

have to read

it, in a

sense, on a

couple of

different levels.

one, he

mentions the

Assyrians in

particular here

in these

verses, and

we see what

God is going

to do to

Assyria, and

Will alluded

to that.

We're going to

see, you see

it spelled out

in Isaiah, but

also in

Kings, how

over

180,000

Assyrians

are going to

be dead,

and Israel

didn't lift a

finger.

The Assyrians,

at least at

this time, will

not set foot

in Jerusalem

because her

king is going

to do battle

and restore.

But Micah is

also pointing to

something else

much greater.

God is

not just a

human king,

but a

redeemer is

going to

come and

establish

ultimately

God's

rule over

all things.

He will

bring security,

and I like

what he says

there in that

fifth verse,

he says,

and he will

be their

peace.

He will be

their

shalom.

I love

that word

shalom because

it basically

says that God

is going to

restore things

and make them

be what

they're supposed

to be.

That Israel

will be

protected and

live security

the way she

should.

And all

her enemies

are going

to be put

down

and destroyed.

In fact,

they will

themselves come

and worship

at the feet

of Israel.

And when I

see this,

I mean,

this is such

good news.

You know,

as Peter

mentioned a

while ago,

you see all

these events

that are going

on in Hong

Kong.

But we

know that

in China,

if you've

followed any

reports of

how the church

is being

treated in

mainland China

over these

last year or

so,

you know that

they have been

put under

heavy stress,

a lot of

persecution,

elders,

pastors,

members have

been jailed

simply because

they're elders

and pastors

and church

members.

And China

is doing

their best

to destroy

and put down

the influence

of the church.

church.

If you read

stories through

the Middle

East,

you will see

similar things

where people

who have the

name of Christ,

they get

baptized in the

name of Christ

and they're put

to death.

We might even

feel it here

in our culture

sometimes where

we feel like

society has

just laid

the church

under siege,

where we are

pushed out

of society.

We're pushed

out of the

marketplace.

We're pushed

out of

respect

everywhere

within our

culture

so that we

are ridiculed,

we are

at best

ignored.

But if what

Micah says

is true,

all these

nations

and cultures

and people

can fight

against God's

people,

but a

day is

coming

when the

king will

restore

order,

the order

he intended.

The king

will put

down every

nation,

every force,

everything

that would

stand against

his people

and raise

up his

people

as those

who are

now ruling

over all

things with

him.

We see

in this

text where

God is

going to

raise up

a shepherd

which is

redeemer,

but he also

says there

are going to

be other

shepherds

that are

raised up

with him

and are

going to

be ruling

and shepherding

with him.

And the

church will

take its

rightful

prominent

place

and we'll

have peace.

We will

have shalom.

No more

threats,

no more

insecurity,

no more

pressures,

no persecution.

the king

will be on

his throne

and the

nations will

come,

but not to

threaten.

They'll come

to bow

in worship,

in homage

to the

true king.

Would that

day come

soon?

We long

to see that

day because

we long

for shalom.

So for

God's people

that is

going to

be a

glorious,

glorious

day.

For the

unbeliever

though,

and that

may be

some of

you,

you don't

have that

promise.

We are

told in

many places

like in

Philippians

2 that

every knee

shall bow

and declare

him Lord.

Every knee.

And so

when the

king comes,

we will

bow in

worship

either with

glad

rejoicing

or under

compulsion

that we

cannot

resist.

And he

will be

king.

And so

what Micah

is doing

here and

what God

is doing

here through

him is

showing us

his mercy

and kindness

by giving

us this

warning.

Here's the

trailer of

what's to

come.

And we

can see

it.

And we

can repent.

repent.

Repent of

our rebellion.

Repent of

our resistance.

Repent of

our self

determination.

And come

to the

one who

is opening

his arms

to all

who would

come to

the king.

Because in

him and

him alone,

though he

will come

to judge,

he also

comes to

all who

come to

him with

shalom and

peace.

So the

king, the

redeemer will

come to

restore, to

reclaim his

throne.

But that's

not all he's

going to do.

He also is

coming to

reclaim the

heart of

his people.

people.

The

enemies of

God's

people are

not just

out here.

I think

the worst

ones are

in here.

When we

get to

verse 10

of this

text,

sometimes you

continue to

read this

as simply

more of

God's judgment

on his

people and

he's going

to tear

down their

cities,

he's going

to do

all this

stuff.

But that's

not what's

going on.

If we take

a little bit

closer look,

we see

the pursuit

of loving

kindness for

his beloved.

And as we

get to verse

10 and 11,

the focus is

on how God's

people have

turned from

him and

towards

counterfeit

sources of

security,

their chariots

and their

fortresses.

And God

says,

I will

destroy

your

chariots

and I'm

going to

tear down

your

fortresses.

These are

these false

security

places that

you think

are going

to save

you.

And then

he gets

to verse

12 and

points to

the fact

that they're

trying to

get understanding

and they're

trying to

get a

knowledge of

reality through

their sorceries

and so forth.

And God

says,

no more.

going to

cut them

off.

Then in

verse 13

and 14,

in some ways

he points to

the core

of the

problem.

And twice

there it's

mentioned,

it says,

you will

no longer

bow down

to the

work of

your hands.

Jesus.

And this

is the

insanity

of

idolatry.

They go

cut down

a tree

with their

hands,

they carve

it to make

an image

that is

somehow

attractive

to them

in some

way.

And then

they set

it up

in a

temple

and they

go bow

the knee

to it

thinking

that

image

is going

to give

them

security,

going to

give them

help,

it's going

to save

them from

the day

of trouble.

That image

is what

is going

to give

them peace.

Yeah.

But we're

all insane.

Because that

is the heart

of idolatry.

things that

we make

with our

own hands,

things that

we achieve

by our

own efforts,

things that

we erect

by our

own

abilities

to give

us security,

to give

us peace,

to give

us hope,

to give

us identity.

All of

these means

of idolatry

are produced

by our

own hands.

But when

the king

comes,

he's going

to restore

his rule,

but he's

also going

to restore

and reclaim

his bride.

He's going

to reclaim

the heart

of his bride.

And before

he can do

that,

his bride

must be

purified.

he is not

going to

enter into

a marriage

with her,

an intimate

marital

relation,

while her

rivals are

still present.

They have

to be

removed.

And that's

what he's

talking about

in these

verses.

see,

here's

the great

truth of

repentance.

One of

the great

truths of

repentance

is that

repentance

will not

and does

not originate

with us.

Repentance

comes because

of the

initiative that

our true

love takes

to win us

back to

him.

And here

we see

this great

picture of

it.

He's coming.

He's going

to root

out these

enemies in

our heart.

And these

enemies,

these idols

are so

deeply rooted

inside us,

we can't

root them

out.

We won't

root them

out.

We don't

even know

what to

root out.

Because

these are

the things

we trust.

This is

where we

get our

sense of

security.

And I'm

not going

to throw

that away

unless

I'm

convinced

that there's

a better

way.

And this

is what

the Redeemer

does.

He comes

to declare

war on

our idols.

He's coming

to set us

free from

the deadly

effects

of those

idols.

And when

he does,

sometimes

it feels

like death.

It feels

like he's

trying to

do us

harm.

All the

while,

he's winning

us back

that we

might know

in the

fullest extent

possible,

his deep

love and

affection

for us.

You know,

I can look

back on all

these years

of my

life,

particularly

over this

last 20

or so,

and I've

seen some

really hard

times.

I've been

through a lot

of hard

times.

And when I

get in the

midst of

those hard

times,

the first

thing I

want to

do is

to blame

God.

I go to

him in

prayer and

say,

what are

you doing

to me?

I thought

you loved

me.

And then

he says,

I do.

And that's

why I'm

doing this.

Because he's

willing to do

hard things

to show his

real goodness

because he's

not interested

at all in

some facade

of goodness.

goodness.

He's not

interested in

some surface

relationship.

He doesn't

want just a

little bit of

me.

He wants

it all.

And he

wants to

bring shalom

to me.

And in

order to do

that,

he's got to

start uprooting

and cleaning

house of

all of

these

rivals.

All of

these other

things.

So what's

going on in

your life

right now?

It might

feel like

punishment.

You're having

some hard

times and you

think,

well,

God is now

giving you

what you

deserve because

you've done

some bad

things or

you've got

habits you

can't quit.

I had a

guy in my

church years

and years

ago that

he and his

wife were

infertile.

And he

just knew

that God

was making

that happen

because of

his pornography

addiction.

God was

punishing him.

Well,

here's the

question.

Is that all

there is to

punish?

Is that the

only idol?

Is that the

only problem?

What about

all the other

sins that you

don't know

about?

What about

every...

listen,

if God

is going

to come

and punish

you for

your sins,

you have

no hope.

Because when

are you ever

free?

When do you

ever have a

moment,

a thought,

where you

love God

with all

your heart,

all your soul,

all your mind,

all your strength?

when is

there ever

a time

like that?

So when

God comes

to us,

it's never

punitive.

It is

always

corrective.

And he

picks and

chooses.

And he

starts working

and starts

cleaning

house and

breaking our

grip that

we have on

these idols

so that we

would be set

free.

Let's

picture it

like this.

When we

come to

Jesus in

repentance,

it's like

we're coming

to him and

in our hand

is this

big

rattlesnake.

and we

don't have

a hold of

it by

the head.

We've got

a hold of

it down

in the

middle.

But for

some reason,

we think

this rattlesnake

is going to

give us

some sense

of security

and in

some way

it's going

to be a

help.

Well,

I guess

it would

give you

some sense

of security

because nobody's

going to

get close

to you

if you've

got a

big old

rattlesnake

in your

hand.

But we're

gripping

this snake

and clinging

to it.

all the

while it

is biting

us.

It is

causing

pain to

us,

though the

Redeemer

himself is

actually

guarding us

from a lot

of that.

But when we

come,

he says,

throw it

down.

Throw it

down.

You don't

need this.

It's

killing you.

But we

can't

because we're

putting too

much stake

in this

snake and

so we

cling to

it.

And so

what he

does then

is maybe

allow the

bites more

and more

to get

through.

Maybe we

feel more

and more

of the

pain

that that

snake

creates.

or maybe

he grabs

our fingers

and starts

to peel

him back.

And that

hurts.

We think

he's killing

us.

He's

setting us

free.

free.

He's

setting us

free from

the very

thing that

will destroy

us.

And he's

unwilling to

do that.

And so he

comes.

And sometimes

it feels like

hell itself.

But his

work,

even in the

pain,

is the

path to

our freedom

and joy

and shalom.

This is

what he

comes

to bring.

This

is the

love of

our

redeemer

for us.

He's not

against us.

He's

fighting

for us.

How do

you know

that you

can trust

him to

do that?

As Paul

wrote in

Romans 8

32,

he who

did not

spare his

own son,

but gave

him up

for us

all,

how will

he not

now with

him

freely

give us

all

things.

Why can

we trust

him,

let go

of these

idols,

and let

him do

in us

whatever

he needs

to do?

Because

he's already

done it

to himself.

We are

not going

to be

punished

for our

sins.

He

was.

paid.

I don't

have to

pay the

price for

all of the

times I've

failed.

He paid.

All of

God's anger

directed towards

my idolatry

and sin and

unbelief

was poured

on the

innocent

one

who loved

the father

with his

whole heart.

And he

was glad

to take

it

so that

I would

not have

to bear

it.

This is

how he

can say

to us,

come to

me,

come in

repentance,

come throw

your idols

down.

They're

killing you.

Come to

the one

who has

loved you

to the

nth degree

and he

will

cleanse

you

and

purify

you

and make

you into

the beautiful

spotless

bride

that he

intends you

to be.

This is

the promise

that we

have as

believers.

We have

a redeemer

who is

going to

come

and fight

for us

to set us

free from

all of our

enemies but

also to set

us free from

the internal

enemies that

we might

be made

his and

his

alone.

But for

those who

are not

in Christ,

that's not

the promise

you have.

The pain

you feel

is not

necessary,

may not be

his working

to cleanse

you,

it may be

the beginnings,

the foretaste

of what

is yet

to come.

In

his mercy,

he is

allowing you

to feel

his

judgment.

But in

doing so,

in warning

you,

he's

inviting

you,

come.

Don't

pay this

yourself.

Come.

Come.

Come to

the one

who has

already

stood in

for you.

Come.

You're

desperately

trying to

find shalom

and peace

in all of

the wrong

places.

Come

to me.

All who

are weary

and heavy

laden,

I will

give you

rest.

And I

will give

you

peace.

peace.

Do you

want peace?

Do you

want to

know

shalom?

Hear

the

invitation

that the

prophets

give us.

Come

to the

Redeemer

who will

save

to the

uttermost

and destroy

all of

our

enemies.

and make

us the

beautiful

bride

ready

for her

bridegroom.

Come.

Let's

pray.

Oh,

Lord Jesus,

would you

come?

Would you

work in our

hearts?

Would you

give us

understanding

that it's

not going

to come

from us?

We are

too,

we're

clinging

too tightly

to all

of these

things.

Would you

break our

grip?

Would you

come?

Set us

free?

Break

the

stranglehold

and give

us peace.

Give us

peace in your

lovingkindness

and grace

and mercy.

In Jesus'

name,

amen.

For more

information,

visit us

online at

southwood.org.