Micah

Chapter 7:14-17 (ESV) - 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.
As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
    I will show them marvelous things.
The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
they shall lay their hands on their mouths;
    their ears shall be deaf;
they shall lick the dust like a serpent,
    like the crawling things of the earth;
they shall come trembling out of their strongholds;
    they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God,
    and they shall be in fear of you.

Question to consider: How did the shepherd use the rod and staff to guard his sheep?

What do imagine when you read in the Psalms, “The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool?’” (Psalm 110:1) When Jesus ascended into the clouds in Acts 1, He fulfilled Daniel 7:13-14, “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”

After the time of the desolation of the land, Micah prayed for the LORD to shepherd His people. The rod was a tool of the shepherd to discipline and protect the flock, and the staff was used to gather them. Micah was asking for the LORD to use His staff and gather His flock from where they had been scattered throughout the nations. This prayer was answered at the time of Ezra and Nehemiah when the people gathered after the seventy-year exile.

The ultimate fulfillment came when Christ, the Good Shepherd, came to Galilee and emptied out the synagogues and went after the lost sheep who had been excluded from the assembly. These crowds gathered around His teaching and followed Him into Judea and Jerusalem where He cleared out the temple and taught in the courts. At His crucifixion, Christ laid down His life for His sheep.

After His resurrection, the gathering of the scattered flock from all the nations occurred at Pentecost, and the church was born. Grazing in Bashan and Gilead were places of lush grass and stately trees. Hearkening back to when they first inherited the land emphasized the time of peace. While this peace was experienced after the exile ended, Pentecost marked the point in which the people were cut to the heart and were given the promise of baptism for the forgiveness of their sins (Acts 2:33-41). It is in the forgiveness of sin that we truly experience peace with God.

The dread that the people of Israel experienced at Pentecost was the first fruits of those who were enemies of Christ realizing that they stood condemned before Him. The gift of salvation given to them was then extended to all the world after the stoning of Stephen and the church was scattered.

The laying of hands on the mouths of the nations in witnessing the might of Christ reminds me of the servant’s song in Isaiah 52:13-15, “Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you—  his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind— so shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.”

From the time of Pentecost until now, those who are at enmity with Christ are given a chance to bow their knee in repentance and receive His grace and forgiveness. This will not always be the case. The Father’s justice will be fulfilled. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Christ as Lord. It is up to us whether it is done in mercy or judgment.

Prayer

Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation! Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land.

Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. Amen.