◄ What Does Micah 4:3 Mean? ►

The first half of Micah, warns of God's wrath against Judah and Israel because of their sin. Micah denounced their ungodly rulers, false prophets, and rogue priests, but also predicted the doom of the wealthy nations that oppressed His people. How sad that God's chosen nation broke their covenant with the Lord and did so much evil in His sight. Yet by God's grace, their stumbling has brought salvation to the Gentiles.

The mid-section in Micah, begins to describe the glories to come at the time of the end. It speaks of the day when Christ will set up His Millennial Kingdom on earth. It proclaims many mighty promises concerning the advent of the Messiah when God's kingdom of heaven-on-earth will be firmly established. What a comfort to know that despite their gross apostasy, the Lord remains faithful to the covenant promises He made to His people. 

It is in this middle section, that Micah tells of the coming Millennial Kingdom of Christ. He describes it as a time when God's downtrodden people will finally be acknowledge and praised by the nations of the world. Micah labels the holy city of Jerusalem in the nation of Israel as: "The mountain of the Lord." He prophesied that the holy city of Zion would be lifted up and exalted above all other cities.

The hatred and antisemitism that has spread like a cancer throughout the world will cease, as Gentiles stream to Jerusalem to worship the Lord and cry, "Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord. Let us go to the house of the God of Jacob."

Micah is speaking of the time when Jesus Christ will rule and reign as King of kings and Lord of the whole earth: "He will judge between many peoples," during His coming millennial rule: "He will render decisions for mighty, distant nations."

During the time of the judges, the people of Israel rejected God as their King and during His earthly ministry, they rejected Jesus as King. But during Christ's coming reign of peace and prosperity, Jesus will sit on David's throne and rule the world in justice and in righteousness. Princes of mighty nations will submit to His authority and bring disputes to Him for judgement.

This will be a time when wars and disputes between opposing nations will cease and weapons of war, like swords, spears, and maybe tanks and armoured vehicles will be refashioned into productive tools and hammered into valuable instruments that will benefit the whole of mankind.

Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah, and both prophets warned of the destruction of the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel and Judah. But both also prophesied of the time of the Messiah, when: "Nations will hammer their swords into ploughshares and will fashion their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war."

For millennia, man has sought to create Utopia and bring in a time of peace and prosperity for all. Over multiple centuries, governments and groups have attempted to unite the world into a one-world government, where world peace dominates the entire globe and all nations live in perfect harmony. But this ideal can never be achieved, for man is imputed with sin and is innately a sinner. God alone can achieve heaven on earth and provide peace and goodwill to all men.

Despite having rejected the God Who created them, and having refused His gracious offer of salvation by grace through faith in Christ, man has continued on his foolish quest to establish his own form of peace into this world at war. Today, some words from these verses in Isaiah and Micah, which were penned so many centuries ago, have been etched into a wall at the United Nations, and a statue depicting the transformation of a sword into a ploughshare proudly stands outside their buildings, but in their arrogant attempt to fulfil what only God can accomplish, they failed to read the verse in context.

Peace without God is the objective of the arrogant United Nations. But peace without God is impossible. Only when Christ comes to rule and reign on earth will the full force of Micah's prophecy be fulfilled. For only when Jesus judges between many peoples and renders decisions for mighty, distant nations, only THEN they will hammer their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Only then will nation not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word of truth. Lord, I see how the nations have defiantly rejected the one and only Way to peace on earth and goodwill to men. Forgive the arrogance of man and the shocking way we have sought to eliminate You from the corridors of power, turning to the worship of false gods and the elevation of self. Keep me ever looking to Jesus, low at the Cross, and broken before You. Thank You that the day is coming when Jesus will rule and reign on earth and men will hammer their weapons of war into implements of peace for the benefit of man and for Your greater praise and glory. In Jesus' name, AMEN.