The Lord’s Promise Series

MICAH 7: 18-20 [IN THAT DAY SERIES]

THE LORD’S PROMISE

[ISAIAH 52:13-15; John 10:11-17]

The summarizing remarks in the last verses of Micah are of gratitude and praise to Yahweh. He concludes his book by reminding himself and his readers about the goodness and uniqueness of their God. God alone can always be counted on to be faithful. So Micah and the future godly remnant must turn their eyes upon Him for deliverance, forgiveness and grace.

Here Micah foretells God’s eventual out-working of His plans for His covenant people. The remnant will triumph because of their relationship to God. Israel’s past glory will be immeasurable surpassed (v15). With the restoration of God’s people miracles (marvelous things) will again abound as they did centuries earlier at the time surrounding the exodus. The future will bring victory for God’s people when the Lord fulfills His promises and establishes the kingdom (CIT) [Achtemeier, Elizabeth. New International Biblical Commentary. Minor Prophets I. Hendrickson Publishing. 1998. p 401].

I. PRAYER FOR GOD’S CARE & GUIDANCE, 14.

II. GOD’S ANSWER WILL BE MARVELOUS, 15-17.

III. THE INCOMPARABLE GOD OF FORGIVENESS, 18-20.

In verse 14 Micah makes a prayer request of the Lord God [in light of the great promise of restoration]. “Shepherd Your people with Your staff, the flock of your inheritance, who dwell alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land; let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old.”

In his closing prayer Micah asks God to be the shepherd of Israel, pasturing His people “as in the days of old.” The God of the past is the God of the present and future as well. “Shepherd” was a title commonly applied to kings in the ancient Near East. God is asked to exercise His kingship in the loving and provident manner in which a shepherd cares for his flock. The Lord is entreated to feed His people with His rod [staff], not with punishment (6:9) but now using it for tender care and protection [Feinberg, Charles L. The Minor Prophets. Moody Press: Chicago. 1948. P 185.]

The people are said to be God’s “inheritance,” a sacred and precious possession which one must keep, protect, and defend (Acts 15:16–18; Eph. 1:3–4).

“Bashan and Gilead” were agriculture areas of great fruitfulness which became symbols of plenty during the times of David and Solomon. It is a request that Israel’s former years of blessing be restored by her Good Shepherd (Rev. 7:16-17).

II. GOD’S ANSWER WILL BE MARVELOUS, 15-17.

The answer to the prayer in verse 14 is found in verses 15–17. God replies to His faithful servant and assures him that He will watch over His people and care for them. In verse 15

God promises He will intervene on behalf of Israel just as He did when He took her by the hand to lead her out of Egypt. “As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them marvelous things.”

The God of Israel’s glorious past acts of deliverance will again be evidenced by the glorious God of their future. The awesome and breathtaking splendor of the magnitude of His power had been demonstrated in the ten plagues of Egypt and the miracles at the Red Sea, along the wilderness journey and in the conquering of the land. Those periods were filled with a number of miracles performed by Yahweh on behalf of His people such as the plagues on Egypt, crossing of the Red Sea, manna and water in the wilderness, crossing of the Jordan River, walls of Jericho falling down, sun standing still, etc.. And God will once again show Himself mighty in the future return of Israel to the land in the end time. [Walter C. Kaiser and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, vol. 23, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1992), 90.]

In verse 16 the Lord states that the nations will recognize that their might pales in comparison to the demonstrated power of Yahweh. “The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hands on their mouths; their ears shall be deaf;”

The nations will be struck dumb at Israel’s marvelous deliverance, and no longer boast in all their economic, political and military might. The nations of the world will stand speechless before the wonder of restored Israel.

In that final day when the Lord once again pastures His people in their land, feeds them, and works His mighty miracles on their behalf as He did in the exodus, the nations that opposed God, including this conquering nation, will be defeated by the power of God. The rebellious nations, astounded at Israel’s deliverance “shall see and be ashamed.” No longer will they taunt Israel, as recorded in Micah 7:10 saying, “Where is the LORD your God?” Instead, “they shall put their hand over their mouth; their ears shall be deaf.” They will be so humiliated that it will be best if they say nothing and no longer listen to the vain boasts of those to whom they should never have given the time of day in the first place (Isa 52:15).