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 Yahweh will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.
8 You, 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.
9 Now 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?
10 Be 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 Yahweh will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.
KJVKing James Version
8 And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.
9 Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail.
10 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.
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JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
8 And thou, Migdal-eder, the hill of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come; yea, the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.
9 Now why dost thou cry out aloud? Is there no King in thee, is thy Counsellor perished, that pangs have taken hold of thee as of a woman in travail?
10 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail; for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and shalt dwell in the field, and shalt come even unto Babylon; there shalt thou be rescued; there shall the LORD redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.
Isaiah 48:20(v10)Leave Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With a voice of singing announce this, tell it even to the end of the earth: say, “Yahweh has…
Jeremiah 8:19(v9)Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land that is very far off: “Isn’t Yahweh in Zion? Isn’t her King in her?”…
2 Kings 20:18(v10)‘They will take away some of your sons who will issue from you, whom you will father; and they will be eunuchs in the palace of the king of…
Isaiah 1:26(v8)I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called ‘The city of…
Isaiah 43:14(v10)Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: “For your sake, I have sent to Babylon, and I will bring all of them down as fugitives,…
Show all 48 cross-references
Isaiah 45:13(v10)I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways straight. He shall build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free,…
Isaiah 52:9-12(v10)Break out into joy! Sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem; for Yahweh has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem. Yahweh…
Hosea 2:14(v10)“Therefore behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
Hosea 13:13(v10)The sorrows of a travailing woman will come on him. He is an unwise son; for when it is time, he doesn’t come to the opening of the womb.
2 Chronicles 36:20(v10)He carried those who had escaped from the sword away to Babylon, and they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom…
Psalms 106:10(v10)He saved them from the hand of him who hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
Isaiah 66:7-9(v10)“Before she travailed, she gave birth. Before her pain came, she delivered a son. Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things?…
Jeremiah 15:21(v10)“I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you out of the hand of the terrible.”
Hosea 1:10(v10)Yet the number of the children of Israel will be as the sand of the sea, which can’t be measured or counted; and it will come to pass that,…
Micah 7:8-13(v10)Don’t rejoice against me, my enemy. When I fall, I will arise. When I sit in darkness, Yahweh will be a light to me. I will bear the…
Zechariah 2:7-9(v10)‘Come, Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.’ For Yahweh of Armies says: ‘For honor he has sent me to the nations which…
Zechariah 9:10(v8)I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow will be cut off; and he will speak peace to the…
Revelation 12:14(v10)Two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, so that she might be nourished…
Revelation 22:5(v8)There will be no night, and they need no lamp light or sun light; for the Lord God will illuminate them. They will reign forever and ever.
Genesis 35:21(v8)Israel traveled, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Eder.
2 Chronicles 33:11(v10)Therefore Yahweh brought on them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh in chains, bound him with fetters, and…
Ezra 1:1-2(v10)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that Yahweh’s word by Jeremiah’s mouth might be accomplished, Yahweh stirred up the spirit…
Daniel 2:44(v8)“In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, nor will its sovereignty be left to…
Obadiah 1:21(v8)Saviors will go up on Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom will be Yahweh’s.
Zechariah 9:12(v8)Turn to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope! Even today I declare that I will restore double to you.
John 16:20-22(v10)Most certainly I tell you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned…
Numbers 24:19(v8)Out of Jacob shall one have dominion, and shall destroy the remnant from the city.”
2 Samuel 5:7(v8)Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion. This is David’s city.
2 Kings 25:4(v10)Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the…
Psalms 48:12-13(v8)Walk about Zion, and go around her. Number its towers. Notice her bulwarks. Consider her palaces, that you may tell it to the next…
Isaiah 3:1-7(v9)For, behold, the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah supply and support, the whole supply of bread, and the…
Lamentations 4:20(v9)The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Yahweh, was taken in their pits; of whom we said, under his shadow we will live among the…
Mark 12:1(v8)He began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a pit for the wine press, built a tower,…
Ephesians 1:21(v8)far above all rule, authority, power, dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.
Isaiah 5:2(v8)He dug it up, gathered out its stones, planted it with the choicest vine, built a tower in the middle of it, and also cut out a wine press…
Isaiah 13:8(v9)They will be dismayed. Pangs and sorrows will seize them. They will be in pain like a woman in labor. They will look in amazement one at…
Isaiah 21:3(v9)Therefore my thighs are filled with anguish. Pains have seized me, like the pains of a woman in labor. I am in so much pain that I can’t…
Isaiah 26:17(v9)Just as a woman with child, who draws near the time of her delivery, is in pain and cries out in her pangs, so we have been before you,…
Jeremiah 4:21(v9)How long will I see the standard and hear the sound of the trumpet?
Jeremiah 22:23(v9)Inhabitant of Lebanon, who makes your nest in the cedars, how greatly to be pitied you will be when pangs come on you, the pain as of a…
Jeremiah 30:6-7(v9)Ask now, and see whether a man travails with child. Why do I see every man with his hands on his waist, as a woman in travail, and all…
Jeremiah 50:43(v9)The king of Babylon has heard the news of them, and his hands become feeble: anguish has taken hold of him, pains as of a woman in labor.
Daniel 7:18(v8)But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’
Hosea 3:4(v9)For the children of Israel shall live many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without sacred stone, and…
Hosea 10:3(v9)Surely now they will say, “We have no king; for we don’t fear Yahweh; and the king, what can he do for us?”
Hosea 13:10-11(v9)Where is your king now, that he may save you in all your cities? And your judges, of whom you said, ‘Give me a king and princes?’ I have…
Matthew 21:33(v8)“Hear another parable. There was a man who was a master of a household, who planted a vineyard, set a hedge about it, dug a wine press in…
Isaiah 10:32(v8)This very day he will halt at Nob. He shakes his hand at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (23 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn vv8–10Micah still continues the same subject, — that the…
Micah still continues the same subject, — that the miserable calamities of the people, or even their ruin, will not prevent God to restore again his Church. Thou tower of the flock, he says, the fortress of the daughter of Zion, doubt not but that God will again restore to thee thy ancient kingdom and dignity from which thou seemest now to have entirely fallen. But interpreters take the tower of the flock in various senses. Some think that the devastation of the city Jerusalem is pointed out, because it became like a cottage, as it is said in Isaiah; and עפל, ophil, they render “obscure,” for its root is to cover. But another explanation is simpler, — that the holy city is called the tower of the flock, because God had chosen it for himself, to gather his people thence; for we know that they had there their holy assemblies. Thou, then, the tower of the flock, and then, the fortress of the daughter of Zion, to thee shall come the former kingdom If, however, the former sense be more approved, I will not contend; that is, that Jerusalem is here called the tower of the flock on account of its devastation, as it was reduced as it were into a cottage. As to the main import of the passage, there is no ambiguity; for the Prophet here strengthens the minds of the godly: they were not to regard the length of time, nor to allow their thoughts, to be occupied with their present calamity, but to feel assured, that what God had promised was in his power, that he could, as it were, raise the dead, and thus restore the kingdom of David, which had been destroyed.
Do then, he says, firmly hope. — Why? because come to thee, come to thee shall the former kingdom Here the breaking off of the sentence is to be noticed, when the Prophet speaks of the ancient kingdom and dignity. It is not indeed to be doubted, but that the people of God had become objects of mockery, and that hypocrites and heathens thought that what David had testified respecting the perpetuity of his kingdom was a mere delusion.
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‘Behold thy kingdom,’ he said, ‘shall continue as long as the sun and the moon,’ (Psalm 72)
but soon after the death of Solomon, a small portion only was reserved for his posterity, and at length the kingdom itself and its dignity disappeared. This is the reason that the Prophet now says, that the former kingdom would come. Come, he says, to thee, daughter of Zion, come shall the former kingdom There is indeed no doubt, but that by the former kingdom he understands its most flourishing condition, recorded in Scripture, under David and Solomon.
The kingdom, he says, to the daughter of Jerusalem shall come He expressly mentions the daughter of Jerusalem, because the kingdom of Israel had obscured the glory of the true kingdom. Hence the Prophet testifies here that God was not unmindful of his promise, and that he would restore to Jerusalem the dignity which it had lost, and unite the whole people into one body, that they might be no more divided, but that one king would rule over the whole race of Abraham. But this was not fulfilled, we are certain, at the coming of Christ, in a manner visible to men: we must therefore bear in mind what Micah has previously taught, — that this kingdom is spiritual; for he did not ascribe to Christ a golden scepter, but a doctrine, “Come, and let us ascend unto the mount of Jehovah, and he will teach us of his ways; and then he added,” From Zion shall go forth a law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. This, then, ought ever to be remembered, — that God has not rendered Jerusalem glorious in the sight of men, as it was formerly, nor has he enriched it with influence and wealth and earthly power; but he has yet restored the sovereign authority; for he has not only subjected to himself the ten tribes which had formerly revolted, but also the whole world. Let us go on —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv8–9Meaning, Jerusalem, where the Lord’s flock was gathered.
Meaning, Jerusalem, where the Lord’s flock was gathered.
The flourishing state of the kingdom, as it was under David and Solomon, which thing was accomplished to the Church by the coming of Christ.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv8–10Mic 4:8 And thou, O tower of the flock,…
Mic 4:8 And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.
Ver. 8. And thou, O tower of the flock] That is, O Church of Christ, who is often compared to a shepherdess in the Canticles; here to a Migdaleder, or tower of the flock (that flock of Christ which hath golden fleeces, precious souls), in reference either to that tower, Gen 25:21, built for the safety and service of shepherds, or else to the sheep gate in Jerusalem (whereof read, Neh 3:1; Neh 12:39), so called from the sheep market, which, for the couvenience of the temple, was near to it; as was also the sheep pool, called Bethesda, Joh 5:2, where the sacrifices were washed. The world is a field, the Church a fold in that field; and a strong fold (strong as a tower), yea, a stronghold, ophel, as it is styled in the next words; and that of the daughter of Zion, that is, of the Christian Church, the inviolable security whereof is here noted.
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Unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion] Such as was in David’s days and Solomon’s; large, rich, peaceable, prosperous, terrible to other nations. This was carnally understood by the Jews, who therefore dream to this day of an earthly kingdom, and have in their synagogues a crown ready to set upon the head of their Messiah whenever he shall come: neither were Christ’s disciples without a tincture of this Pharisaical leaven; whence their often inquiries, when the kingdom of God shall come? and their frivolous contests among themselves, who should be the greatest in Christ’s kingdom? who should sit at his right hand and at his left? &c., as if there should have been in Christ’s kingdom (as in Solomon’s) a distribution here of honours and offices. And this groundless conceit hung as bullets of lead at their eyelids; that they could not look up to see that Christ’s kingdom was spiritual, and not of this present world.
The kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem] This the Jews (mistaking it as before) pray earnestly that it may come, cito, citius, citissime, quickly, more quickly, most quickly bimberah, bejamenu (Buxtor. Syn. Jud.), with speed, and even in our days; often throwing open their windows to behold their king, and to receive their long looked for preferment in his earthly monarchy.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv8–10O tower of the flock: some refer this to…
O tower of the flock: some refer this to that tower Edar, in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, built there for the shepherds’ more convenient watching over their flocks. The prophet may possibly allude to this. In the church, Christ’s flock, there is a tower built for defence of his flock, but it is that name which is a strong tower, to which the righteous run, and are safe. But there was a tower of this denomination in Jerusalem, through which tower the flocks of sheep were driven into the sheep market; this one tower, by synecdoche, put for the whole city Jerusalem.
The strong hold; Ophel, as it is in the Hebrew, and perhaps were better rendered a proper name of that impregnable fort, 2Ch 27:3; another considerable part put for the whole.
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The daughter of Zion; or, O daughter of Zion; so it will be an explication of what the prophet before meant by the tower Edar and Ophel, i.e. O Zion, O Jerusalem, both in the typical and in the mystical sense.
The first dominion; the former dominion, not in outward splendour, but because the government and supreme dignity among this people was restored (after seventy years’ captivity) to the former royal family, and continued in it till Shiloh came. This in the type was fulfilled upon the settlement under Zerubbabel and his successors; but the whole antitype concerns the Messiah’s kingdom, and the gospel Jerusalem, and is fulfilled in the spiritual glory of it. Christ’s kingdom is the ancient, supreme, and most glorious kingdom; and by his redeeming us from the bondage of hell, is set up, and shall be continued firm and unmovable, more than Edar, Ophel, Zion, or Jerusalem typical, as Luk 1:32,33, and more large than ever David’s or Solomon’s kingdom, Dan 7:14, and therefore greater in glory, for Christ is King of kings, Rev 17:14; 19:16. This spiritual kingdom came first to the Jews, Act 13:46. It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you. The gospel was to be preached first to the daughter of Jerusalem. There the preachers of repentance and remission of sins were to begin, and thence they were to publish it to all nations, Luk 24:47. This text, and such like, the blinded Jew doth take in a literal sense only, as if it promised a temporal dominion over all nations, and worldly kingdom to the Messiah, in which they expect a large share; but what is literal, and concerned the Jews alone, was limited to them that came out of the Babylonish captivity, and hath been fulfilled to them.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry1710 · Public DomainOn v8These verses relate to Zion and Jerusalem, here called…
These verses relate to Zion and Jerusalem, here called the tower of the flock or the tower of Edor; we read of such a place (Gen 35:21) near Bethlehem; and some conjecture it is the same place where the shepherds were keeping their flocks when the angels brought them tidings of the birth of Christ, and some think Bethlehem itself is here spoken of, as Mic 5:2. Some think it is a tower at that gate of Jerusalem which is called the sheep-gate (Neh 3:32), and conjecture that through that gate Christ rode in triumph into Jerusalem. However, it seems to be put for Jerusalem itself, or for Zion the tower of David. All the sheep of Israel flocked thither three times a year; it was the stronghold (Ophel, which is also a name of a place in Jerusalem, Neh 3:27), or castle, of the daughter of Zion. Now here,
I. We have a promise of the glories of the spiritual Jerusalem, the gospel-church, which is; the tower of the flock, that one fold in which all the sheep of Christ are protected under one Shepherd: "Unto thee shall it come; that which thou hast long wanted and wished for, even the first dominion, a dignity and power equal to that of David and Solomon, by whom Jerusalem was first raised, that kingdom shall again come to the daughter of Jerusalem, which it was deprived of at the captivity. It shall make as great a figure and shine with as much lustre among the nations, and have as much influence upon them, as ever it had; this is the first or chief dominion." Now this had by no means its accomplishment in Zerubbabel; his was nothing like the first dominion either in respect of splendour and sovereignty at home or the extent of power abroad; and therefore it must refer to the kingdom of the Messiah (and to that the Chaldee-paraphrase refers it) and had its accomplishment when God gave to our Lord Jesus the throne of his father David (Luk 1:32), set him king upon the holy hill of Zion and gave him the heathen for his inheritance (Psa 2:6), made him, his first-born, higher than the kings of the earth, Psa 89:27; Dan 7:14. David, in spirit, called him Lord, and (as Dr. Pocock observes) he witnessed of himself, and his witness was true, that he was greater than Solomon, none of their dominions being like his for extent and duration. The common people welcomed Christ into Jerusalem with hosannas to the son of David, to show that it was the first dominion that came to the daughter of Zion; and the evangelist applies it to the promise of Zion's king coming to her, Mat 21:5; Zac 9:9. Some give this sense of the words: To Zion, and Jerusalem that tower of the flock, to the nation of the Jews, came the first dominion; that is, there the kingdom of Christ was first set up, the gospel of the kingdom was first preached (Luk 24:47), there Christ was first called king of the Jews.
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II. This is illustrated by a prediction of the calamities of the literal Jerusalem, to which some favour and relief should be granted, as a type and figure of what God would do for the gospel-Jerusalem in the last days, notwithstanding its distresses. We have here,
1. Jerusalem put in pain by the providences of God. "She cries out aloud, that all her neighbours may take notice of her griefs, because there is no king in her, none of that honour and power she used to have. Instead of ruling the nations, as she did when she sat a queen, she is ruled by them, and has become a captive. Her counsellors have perished; she is no longer at her own disposal, but is given up to the will of her enemies, and is governed by their counsellors. Pangs have taken her." (1.) She is carried captive to Babylon, and there is in pangs of grief. "She goes forth out of the city, and is constrained to dwell in the field, exposed to all manner of inconveniences; she goes even to Babylon, and there wears out seventy tedious years in a miserable captivity, all that while in pain, as a woman in travail, waiting to be delivered, and thinking the time very long." (2.) When she is delivered out of Babylon, and redeemed from the hand of her enemies there, yet still she is in pangs of fear; the end of one trouble is but the beginning of another; for now also, when Jerusalem is in the rebuilding, many nations are gathered against her, Mic 4:11. They were so in Ezra's and Nehemiah's time, and did all they could to obstruct the building of the temple and the wall. They were so in the time of the Maccabees; they said, Let her be defiled; let her be looked upon as a place polluted with sin, and be forsaken and abandoned both of God and man; let her holy places be profaned and all her honours laid in the dust; let our eye look upon Zion, and please itself with the sight of its ruins, as it is said of Edom (Oba 1:12, Thou shouldst not have looked upon the day of thy brother); let our eyes see our desire upon Zion, the day we have long wished for. When they hear the enemies thus combine against them, and insult over them, no wonder that they are in pain, and cry aloud. Without are fightings, within are fears.
2. Jerusalem made easy by the promises of God: "Why dost thou cry out aloud? Let thy griefs and fears be silenced; indulge not thyself in them, for, though things are bad with thee, they shall end well; thy pangs are great, but they are like those of a woman in travail (Mic 4:9), that labours to bring forth (Mic 4:10), the issue of which will be good at last." Jerusalem's pangs are not as dying agonies, but as travailing throes, which after a while will be forgotten, for joy that a child is born into the world. Let the literal Jerusalem comfort herself with this, that, whatever straits she may be reduced to, she shall continue until the coming of the Messiah, for there his kingdom must be first set up, and she shall not be destroyed while that blessing is in her; and when at length she is ploughed as a field, and become heaps (as is threatened, Mic 3:12), yet her privileges shall be resigned to the spiritual Jerusalem, and in that the promises made to her shall be fulfilled. Let Jerusalem be easy then, for, (1.) Her captivity in Babylon shall have an end, a happy end (Mic 4:10): There shalt thou be delivered, and the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thy enemies there. This was done by Cyrus, who acted therein as God's servant; and that deliverance was typical of our redemption by Jesus Christ, and the release from our spiritual bondage which is proclaimed in the everlasting gospel, that acceptable year of the Lord, in which Christ himself preached liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those that were bound, Luk 4:18, Luk 4:19. (2.) The designs of her enemies against her afterwards shall be baffled, nay, they shall turn upon themselves, Mic 4:12, Mic 4:13. They promise themselves a day of it, but it shall prove God's day. They are gathered against Zion, to destroy it, but it shall prove to their own destruction, which Israel and Israel's God shall have the glory of. [1.] Their coming together against Zion shall be the occasion of their ruin. They associate themselves, and gird themselves, that they may break Jerusalem in pieces, but it will prove that they shall be broken in pieces, Isa 8:9. They know not the thoughts of the Lord. When they are gathering together, and Providence favours them in it, they little think what God is designing by it, nor do they understand his counsel; they know what they aim at in coming together, but they know not what God aims at in bringing them together; they aim at Zion's ruin, but God aims at theirs. Note, When men are made use of as instruments of Providence in accomplishing its purposes it is very common for them to intend one thing and for God to intend quite the contrary. The king of Assyria is to be a rod in God's hand for the correction of his people, in order to their reformation; howbeit he means not so, nor does his heart think so, Isa 10:7. And thus it is here; the nations are gathered against Zion, as soldiers into the field, but God gathers them as sheaves into the floor, to be beaten to pieces; and they could not have been so easily, so effectually, destroyed, if they had not gathered together against Zion. Note, The designs of enemies for the ruin of the church often prove ruining to themselves; and thereby they prepare themselves for destruction and put themselves in the way of it; they are snared in the work of their own hands. [2.] Zion shall have the honour of being victorious over them, Mic 4:13. When they are gathered as sheaves into the floor, to be trodden down, as the corn then was by the oxen, then, "Arise, and thresh, O daughter of Zion! instead of fearing them, and fleeing from them, boldly set upon them, and take the opportunity Providence favours thee with of trampling upon them. Plead not thy own weakness, and that thou art not a match for so many confederated enemies; God will make thy horn iron, to push them down, and thy hoofs brass, to tread upon them when they are down; and thus thou shalt beat in pieces many people, that have long been beating thee in pieces." Thus, when God pleases, the daughter of Babylon is made a threshing floor (it is time to thresh her, Jer 51:33), and the worm Jacob is made a threshing instrument, with which God will thresh the mountains, and make them as chaff, Isa 41:14, Isa 41:15. How strangely, how happily, are the tables turned, since Jacob was the threshing-floor and Babylon the threshing instrument! Isa 21:10. Note, When God has conquering work for his people to do he will furnish them with strength and ability for it, will make the horn iron and the hoofs brass; and, when he does so, they must exert the power he gives them, and execute the commission; even the daughter of Zion must arise, and thresh. [3.] The glory of the victory shall redound to God. Zion shall thresh these sheaves in the floor, but the corn threshed out shall be a meat-offering at God's altar: I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord (that is, I will have it consecrated) and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. The spoils gained by Zion's victory shall be brought into the sanctuary, and devoted to God, either in part, as those of Midian (Num 31:28), or in whole, as those of Jericho, Jos 6:17. God is Jehovah, the fountain of being; he is the Lord of the whole earth, the fountain of power; and therefore he needs not any of our gain or substance, but may challenge and demand it all if he please; and with ourselves we must devote all we have to his honour, to be employed as he directs. Thus far all we have must have holiness to the Lord written upon it, all our gain and substance must be consecrated to the Lord of the whole earth, Isa 23:18. And extraordinary successes call for extraordinary acknowledgments, whether they be of spoils in war or gains in trade. It is God that gives us power to get wealth, which way soever it is honestly got, and therefore he must be honoured with what we get. Some make all this to point at the defeat of Sennacherib when he besieged Jerusalem, others to the destruction of Babylon, others to the successes of the Maccabees; but the learned Dr. Pocock and others think it had its full accomplishment in the spiritual victories obtained by the gospel of Christ over the powers of darkness that fought against it. The nations thought to ruin Christianity in its infancy, but it was victorious over them; those that persisted in their enmity were broken to pieces (Mat 21:44), particularly the Jewish nation; but multitudes by divine grace were gained to the church, and they and their substance were consecrated to the Lord Jesus, the Lord of the whole earth.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv8–10And thou, O tower of the flock,.... The words…
And thou, O tower of the flock,.... The words "Migdal Eder" are left by some untranslated, and think that place to be intended so called, which was near to Bethlehem, Gen 35:19; and perhaps is the same which Jerom (t) calls the tower of Ader, about a mile from Bethlehem: this is supposed to be the place where the shepherds were watching over their flocks at the time of Christ's birth, the tidings of which were first brought to them here; and the Jewish (u) doctors speak of it as near Jerusalem, and as a place of pasture; for they say, that cattle between Jerusalem and Migdal Eder, and in an equal space to every wind; the males were used for burnt offerings, and the females for peace offerings; and this place is thought to be referred to in the latter clause of this verse: others think that Bethlehem itself is meant, to which the dominion came; but rather, as in the next chapter, the ruler came out of that; others think that the gate in Jerusalem called the sheep gate is meant, Neh 3:32; and the tower at it, through which Christ is supposed to pass when he entered into Jerusalem as King, amidst the Hosannahs of the people; others take it to be the same with the tower of David, and put for Jerusalem itself, whither the tribes were gathered together three times a year, like sheep in a fold, so Kimchi and Ben Melech; here others interpret it spiritually of the church of Christ; but though that is sometimes spoken of as a strong city, and a fortified place, yet is never called a tower, or a strong hold; which phrases, when figuratively used, are always spoken of a divine person; see Psa 18:2; and here of the Messiah; and so the Targum interprets it,
"O Christ of Israel:''
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the church indeed is the "flock": the people of God are often compared to sheep for their harmlessness and innocence, and the church to a flock of them, which is Christ's flock he feeds like a shepherd; the flock of slaughter, a little one, consisting of persons separated from the world, and under his peculiar care; and he is the tower of this flock, in allusion to a shepherd's cottage, called a tower, as a cottage in a vineyard is in Isa 5:2; where the shepherds watch, and into which they bring the sick and lame, and take care of them; Christ is a high tower, where his people are safe out of the reach of their enemies; and a strong one, being the mighty God and mighty Saviour, who has all power and strength to defend his church and people, and may be well called their tower: and
the strong hold of the daughter of Zion; "the daughter of Zion" is the church, particularly the church of the converted Jews; Christ is the strong hold of it, into which, as prisoners of hope, they will be directed to turn, Zac 9:12; a strong refuge he is to flee unto from the avenger of blood, the justice of God; from the curses of the law; from the storm of divine wrath; from the temptations of Satan, and from the persecutions of men; a strong hold is he to dwell in, and where the saints dwell safely, pleasantly, at ease and peace, and very comfortably, and in great plenty; a strong hold for shelter from every enemy:
unto thee shall it come; not the kingdom, as follows, which our version leads to, and is the sense of Aben Ezra; for there is a considerable accent on the word "come", which makes a large stop; and that it refers, as Jarchi observes, to "her that halteth", &c. "it" or "she" that halteth shall come, being assembled and gathered, or converted by the grace of God unto the Messiah; as to her, or their tower and strong hold, where all blessings of grace, and the supplies of it, and all salvation and safety, are to be had and enjoyed. The promise respects the Jews coming to Christ upon their conversion, even such who have been the halt, the maimed, the lame, and the blind:
even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem; or rather, "and the first dominion shall come, the kingdom to the daughter of Jerusalem": meaning, not the first notice of the Messiah's kingdom, given by John the Baptist, Christ, and his apostles, to the Jews, in the first times of the Gospel; or the preaching of the Gospel of the kingdom first to them; but rather he who has the first or principal dominion, and to whom the kingdom belongs, he shall come to the daughter of Zion, as in Zac 9:9; though it rather respects here his coming to them at the time of their conversion, when they shall come to him, Rom 11:26; and when the first, chief, and principal kingdom in the world, and which is preferable to all others, will come unto, and be placed among them, as in Mic 4:7; and when it shall be, as some interpret it, as at the beginning, in the days of David and Solomon, and much more abundantly.
(t) De locis Hebr. fol. 89. E. (u) T. Hieros. Kiddushin, fol. 63. 1. T. Ban. Kiddushin, fol. 55. 1. Misn. Shekalim, c. 7. sect. 4.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv8–10O tower - One tower put for the whole…
O tower - One tower put for the whole city Jerusalem. The strong-hold - Ophel, a strong fort, is likewise put for the whole city. The first dominion - The former dominion; the government (after seventy years captivity) shall return to the former royal family, and continue in it 'till Shiloh come. This, in the type was fulfilled, under Zerubbabel and his successors; but the whole antitype concerns the Messiah's kingdom.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv8–10Verse 8. O tower of the flock] I think…
Verse 8. O tower of the flock] I think the temple is meant, or Jerusalem; the place where the flock, the whole congregation of the people assembled to worship God. Newcome retains the Hebrew word עדר eder, a tower in or near Beth-lehem, Ge 35:21 or, as some think, a tower near the sheep-gate in Jerusalem, I believe Jerusalem, or the temple, or both, are meant; for these were considered the strong-hold of the daughter of Zion, the fortress of the Jewish people.
Even the first dominion] What was this? The Divine theocracy under Jesus Christ; this former, this first dominion, was to be restored. Hence the angel called him Immanuel, God with us, ruling among us.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv8–9Mic 4:8. And thou, O tower of the flock…
Mic 4:8. And thou, O tower of the flock — Or, of Eder, as Archbishop Newcome and many others translate the word, considering it as a proper name; a tower in or near Beth-lehem; see Gen 35:21. Or, as some think, a tower near the sheep-gate in Jerusalem, (Neh 3:1; Neh 3:32,) put here for the whole city. The word signifies a flock; the strong hold of the daughter of Zion — Hebrew, Ophel, a strong fort. Both expressions seem to be put for the whole city. Unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion — This was intended to signify the great honour coming to mount Zion, that the former dominion, the government, after seventy years’ captivity, should return to the former royal family, the house of David, and continue in it till Shilo came. This, in the type, was fulfilled after the restoration of the Jews to their own land under Zerubbabel and his successors; but the whole antitype concerns the Messiah’s kingdom.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv8–10And thou, O tower of the flock - “‘Tower…
And thou, O tower of the flock - “‘Tower of Ader,’ which is interpreted ‘tower of the flock,’ about 1000 paces (a mile) from Bethlehem,” says Jerome who lived there, “and foresignifying (in its very name) by a sort of prophecy the shepherds at the Birth of the Lord.” There Jacob fed his sheep Gen 35:21, and there (since it was hard by Bethlehem) the shepherds, keeping watch over their flocks by night, saw and heard the Angels singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” The Jews inferred from this place that the Messiah should be revealed there .
Stronghold - (Ophel ) of the daughter of Zion Ophel was a strong place in the South of Jerusalem, the last which the wall, enclosing Zion, reached, before, or as, it touched on the Eastern porch of the temple , with whose service it was connected.
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We know that, after the captivity, the Nethinim, who did the laborious service of the temple, dwelt there Neh 3:26; Neh 11:21. It lay very near to the priests’ district Neh 3:28. It was probably, a lower acclivity, “swelling out,” (as its name seems to mean ,) from the mountain of the temple. In the last war, it was held together with “the temple, and the adjoining parts to no slight extent, and the valley of Kedron.” It was burnt before the upper city was taken. It had been encircled by a wall of old; for Jotham “built greatly upon its wall” 2Ch 27:3, Manasseh “encircled it” 2Ch 33:14, (probably with an outer wall) “and raised it exceedingly,” that is, apparently raised artificially the whole level.
Yet, as a symbol of all Jerusalem, Ophel is as remarkable, as the “tower of the flock” is as to Bethlehem. For Ophel, although fortified, is no where spoken of, as of any account . It is not even mentioned in the circuit of the walls, at their dedication, under Nehemiah Neh 12:31-40, probably as an outlying, spot. It was probably of moment chiefly, as giving, an advantage to an enemy who might occupy it.
Both then are images of lowliness. The lonely Shepherd tower, for Bethlehem, the birthplace of David; Ophel for Jerusalem, of which it was yet but an outlying part, and deriving its value probably as an outwork of the temple. Both symbols anticipate the fuller prophecy of the littleness, which shall become great in God. Before the mention of the greatness of the “dominion to come,” is set forth the future poverty to which it should come. In lowliness Christ came, yet is indeed a Tower protecting and defending the sheep of His pasture, founded on earth in His Human Nature, reaching to Heaven in His divine; “a strong Tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe” Pro 18:10.
Unto thee shall it come - (Literally, “unto thee shall it come , and there shall arrive etc.”) He saith not at first what shall come, and so raises the soul to think of the greatness of that which should come. The soul is left to fill up what is more than thought can utter. “Unto thee,” (literally, quite up to thee) No hindrances should withhold it from coming. Seemingly it was a great way off, and they in a very hopeless state. He suggests the difficulty even by his strength of assurance. One could not say, “it shall come quite up to thee,” of that which in the way of nature would readily come to any one. But amid all hindrances God’s Might makes its way, and brings His gifts and promises to their end. “And there shall arrive.” He twice repeats the assurance, in equivalent words, for their fuller assurance , “to make the good tidings the gladder by repeating and enforcing them.”
The “first or former, dominion.” The word often stands, as our “former” , in contrast with the “later.” It is not necessarily “the first,” strictly; and so here, not the “dominion” of David and Solomon exclusively. Rather the prophet is placed in spirit in the later times when the kingdom should be suspended, and foretells that “the former dominion,” that is, that of the line of David, should come to her, not in its temporal greatness, but the line itself. So the Angel said, “He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David, and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever” Luk 1:32-33.
The (A) kingdom to the daughter of Jerusalem - that is, a kingdom, which should not be of her, but which should come to her; not her’s by right, but by His right, who should merit it for her, and, being King of kings, makes His own, “kings and priests unto God and His Father” Rev 1:6.
The Jews themselves seem to have taken these words into their own mouths, just before they rejected Him, when they hoped that He would be a king, such as they wished for. “Blessed be the kingdom of our father David that cometh in the Name of the Lord” Mar 11:10. And in a distorted form, they held it even afterward .
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv8–9Cloudy. Hebrew." fortress, or ophel," a tower or wall…
Cloudy. Hebrew." fortress, or ophel," a tower or wall near the temple, 2 Esdras iii. 27. --- Flock. Jerusalem was no better, after the Chaldeans had destroyed it, 4 Kings xvii. 9. Yet there Zorobabel, the Machabees, and Christ displayed their power. It was the cradle of the Church. Some take this to refer to Bethlehem, as chap. v. 2. (Calmet) --- Shall it come. Septuagint add, "from Babylon." After the captivity the Jews shall flourish, as the Church shall prove victorious over all her persecutors. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv8–10tower of the flock--following up the metaphor of sheep…
tower of the flock--following up the metaphor of sheep (see on Mic 4:6). Jerusalem is called the "tower," from which the King and Shepherd observes and guards His flock: both the spiritual Jerusalem, the Church now whose tower-like elevation is that of doctrine and practice (Sol 4:4, "Thy neck is like the tower of David"), and the literal hereafter (Jer 3:17). In large pastures it was usual to erect a high wooden tower, so as to oversee the flock. JEROME takes the Hebrew for "flock," Eder or Edar, as a proper name, namely, a village near Beth-lehem, for which it is put, Beth-lehem being taken to represent the royal stock of David (Mic 5:2; compare Gen 35:21). But the explanatory words, "the stronghold of the daughter of Zion," confirm English Version.
stronghold--Hebrew, "Ophel"; an impregnable height on Mount Zion (Ch2 27:3; Ch2 33:14; Neh 3:26-27).
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unto thee shall . . . come . . . the first dominion--namely, the dominion formerly exercised by thee shall come back to thee.
kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem--rather, "the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem shall come (again)"; such as it was under David, before its being weakened by the secession of the ten tribes.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn v9Distress and subsequent redemption, Mic_4:9-10.
Distress and subsequent redemption, Mic_4:9-10.
The distant future, the prophet is convinced, will be all brightness and glory, but in the immediate future he can see nothing but gloom and despair. This new section opens with a vision of the agony and despair soon to be felt by the people. The prophet already beholds the destruction and hears the lamentation.
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Why dost thou cry out aloud? — Addressed is the “daughter of Zion” (Mic_4:10), that is, Jerusalem and its inhabitants. The capital is filled with lamentation over the present or rapidly approaching judgment.
A woman in travail — This and similar expressions are used not infrequently in the Old Testament, as expressive of extreme pain and anguish. The questions of Mic_4:9 are meant to be more or less ironical. The prophet knows well enough the reason for the lamentation and the helplessness of king and nobles in such a crisis.
King… counselor — There is a king and there are counselors; but in the time of calamity, when they are needed the most, they can do nothing, because one greater than they has caused the distress (see on Hos_13:10).
Be in pain… — Jerusalem may well continue the lamentation, for there can be no immediate relief; and the wail is justified, because the city is desolate; homeless and without protection the inhabitants will camp in the fields, until finally they are carried away into exile. Only after these calamities have been suffered will Jehovah manifest his redemptive powers. The tertium comparationis in the picture is only the pain and anguish; there is no thought of Zion actually bringing forth a child, that is, the Messianic king.
If Mic_4:9-10 were standing by themselves their interpretation would be a very simple matter; but when they are studied with due regard for their context difficulties seem to arise. Mic_4:11-12 picture the enemy gathered around Jerusalem, determined to defile and to destroy the holy city; but the scheme will not succeed; the enemy will be “beaten to pieces,” and Jerusalem will triumph gloriously; and all this will happen without a capture of the city or an exile. Such outlook seems to be in hopeless contradiction with the statements in Mic_4:10, which imply a conquest and an exile, and promise deliverance only after the people have been deported to Babylon. To remove this difficulty the words “and shall come even unto Babylon” are commonly rejected as a later interpolation. But the omission of these words by no means removes the whole difficulty, for the fate foretold in Mic_4:10 still remains very different from that announced in Mic_4:11; in the former there is an expectation of great affliction and suffering, in the latter all is triumph and glory. A more satisfactory solution of the difficulty, and one that requires no textual changes, is to separate Mic_4:9-10 entirely from Mic_4:11 ff., and to consider the oracles as two distinct utterances coming from entirely different periods of Micah’s ministry. At one time, near the fall of Samaria, he expected that Judah, including Jerusalem, would suffer the same fate as Israel (Mic_1:8 ff.; Mic_3:12), but it is not necessary to suppose that he adhered to this view throughout his entire ministry. It is at least possible that in his later years he was influenced by the conviction of his greater contemporary Isaiah that Jerusalem was inviolable (Isa_37:33 ff.). That conviction is reflected in 11ff., verses which fit admirably in the period of Sennacherib’s invasion in 701 B.C. (compare Isaiah 36, 37); Mic_4:9-10 would reflect the earlier conviction, expressed so forcibly in chapter 1. These words, then, may have been spoken either before or, better, soon after the fall of Samaria, while that calamity was still fresh in the memory of the prophet, or, perhaps, as late as 711 B.C. (compare Isaiah 20), when Sargon sent an expedition against Philistia. The mention of Babylon does not militate against the view that Micah is the author of the words, for the reference does not imply that at the time the words were spoken, Babylon had already displaced Assyria as the great Eastern world power. Babylon is mentioned simply as a place to which the people would be deported. According to 2Ki_17:24, Sargon settled in the territory of Israel men from Babylon, and this statement is corroborated by Sargon’s own inscription (Records of the Past, 7:29). It is only natural to suppose — and this would be in perfect accord with Assyrian practice — that the depleted territory in the east was filled with exiles from the land of Israel. If this was done we can readily understand how Micah, who expected the people of the south to suffer a fate similar to that of the north, might represent the people of Jerusalem as following their brethren from Samaria to the same place of exile.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv8–108–10. The revival of the Kingdom of David; misery…
8–10. The revival of the Kingdom of David; misery of the preceding period
8. And thou, O tower of the flock, &c.] It is clear that the prophet intends Jerusalem, which he addresses by an enigmatical title, to arrest attention and stimulate reflexion. (Other instances of this, Isa_22:5; Isa_29:1, Jer_21:13.) But why does he select this particular title? Two answers may be given. It was either (1) suggested by the figurative description of Israel as a flock (Mic_4:6, Mic_2:12), or (2) by the situation of a tower called ‘the tower of the flock’ between Jerusalem and Bethlehem—Bethlehem, which was appointed to be the birthplace of the Messianic King (Mic_5:2). The existence of such a town in the situation described is deduced from Gen_35:21, where Auth. Vers. inaccurately renders ‘the tower of Edar’). It may be doubted however whether this particular tower is sufficiently near Jerusalem to suit the context, for the prophet clearly indicates that it was either upon or close to the hill or hill-side called Ophel (see next note): Isaiah, too, in a prophecy parallel in more ways than one with Micah’s prophecy (see on Mic_3:12), mentions in combination ‘Ophel and watch-tower’ (Isa_32:14, literally rendered) in a description of the desolation of Jerusalem. The ‘tower of the flock’ mentioned in Genesis was probably a different one. There may have been many towers with this name (see 2Ki_18:8, 2Ch_26:10), just as there was more than one hill called Ophel (see 2Ki_5:24, where Auth. Vers. renders ‘Ophel’ loosely ‘tower’). The phrase ‘tower of the flock’ simply means that the tower was designed as a shepherd’s refuge against robbers.
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the strong hold of the daughter of Zion] Literally, the height, &c. It is a particular fortified hill which is meant, the so-called Ophel—according to most, the southern end of the hill Moriah between the Temple and Siloam, bounded on the east by the Kedron, and on the west by the Tyropæon valley. (But this view is uncertain.) This ‘Ophel’ had its fortifications strengthened by Jotham (2 Chron. 37:3), and here becomes the representative of the power of Jerusalem.
the first dominion] i.e. the kingdom of Israel in its widest extent. So most commentators; but the expression is peculiar.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv8–10(8) O tower of the flock.—Israel having been compared…
(8) O tower of the flock.—Israel having been compared to a flock, Jerusalem is called its tower, or protection; and in Messiah the ancient dominion shall return to the Holy City. This is a more satisfactory interpretation than that which makes the tower of the flock Migdol-Edah (Gen_35:21), a place near Bethlehem.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv8–10Vers. 8-10. After a certain period of calamity and…
Vers. 8-10. After a certain period of calamity and captivity the kingdom of David shall be revived.
And thou, O tower of the flock (migdal-edar). There was a village with a tower so called near Bethlehem, (Gen_35:21) and it is thought that Micah refers to it as the home of David and as destined to be the birthplace of Messiah. But the context compels us to consider the expression as a periphrasis for Jerusalem, which the prophet here addressee, declaring that the royal power shall be restored to her. It is evidently the same place as the stronghold (ophel, "the hill") of the daughter of Zion. The name "Ophel" is affixed to the southern spur of Moriah, opposite to the Mount Zion, from which it was separated by the Tyropoeon Valley. It was fortified by Jotham (2Ch_27:3) and Manasseh, (2Ch_33:14) and on it were the king"s house, i.e. the old palace of David, and "the tower that lieth out," or the upper tower. (Neh_3:26, Neh_3:27) This is probably the "flock tower" mentioned in the text; (comp. Isa_32:14, where Ophel and the watch tower are named together) and it is so called as having been originally a place of refuge for flocks, or of observation for shepherds. Micah uses the two expressions to represent the power and dominion of Jerusalem. The propriety of the usa of the term "flock tower" is seen when we remember that David was a shepherd before he was king, and that the Israelites are the sheep of the Lord"s pasture. The reference to a flock in the prceeding verses may also have influenced the prophet"s thought. Owing to a slight variation in the reading, the LXX renders Ophel by aicmwdhv , "dark;" so Jerome, "nebulosa;" Aquila, skotwdhv : Symmachus, apokrufov . These translators would refer the term to the ruinous condition of the tower. The first dominion shall come, i.e. the former, original empire, such as it was in the days of David and Solomon, and which had been lost in later times. The LXX adds, ek Babulwnov : and hence the Greek expositors explain the passage as referring to the siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans. The kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem. The verb "shall come" is better taken with "the first dominion," and this clause in apposition to the former, "the kingdom of" or "the reign over the daughter of Jerusalem." Sovereignty over Jerusalem, or, as others take it, that appertains to Jerusalem, represents rule over the whole country. In Messiah the glory and power are restored to the throne of David. (Luk_1:32, Luk_1:33)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn v9The Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of…
Mic_4:9-13
The Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies
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The moral regeneration of the world
I. The state of mankind requires it. Is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? It was more serious for the Jewish people to be deprived of a king than for any other people, for their king was theocratic, he was supposed to be the Voice and vicegerent of God. The prophet means to say, that when the Chaldeans would come and carry them away, they would have no king and no counsellors. Now, men in an unregenerate state--
1. Have no king. A political ruler is to man, as a spiritual existent, only a king in name. He does not command the moral affections, rule the conscience, or legislate for the inner and primal springs of all activity. Such a king is the deep want of man, he wants some one to be enthroned on his heart, to whom his conscience can render homage. No man in an unregenerate state has such a king; he has gods many and lords many, of a sort, but none to rule him, and to bring all the powers of his soul into one harmonious channel of obedience.
2. Have no counsellor. Society abounds with counsellors who proffer their advice; but some of them are wicked, most of them worthless, few, if any, satisfactory, that is, to conscience. What the soul wants, is not the mere book counsellor,--though it be the Bible itself,--but the spirit of that book, the spirit of reverence, love, Christlike trust.
3. Have no ease. Pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail. The unregenerate soul is always liable to consternation, remorse, it often writhes in agony. There is no peace, saith my God, for the wicked. Now, moral regeneration brings the man a true King, a true Counsellor, a true Peace--a peace that passeth all understanding.
II. It is opposed by formidable antagonists. The nations referred to are those that composed the army of Nebuchadnezzar. What formidable opponents there are to the conversion of man!
1. The depraved elements of the soul. Unbelief, selfishness, carnality, etc.
2. The corrupt influence of society. Custom, fashion, amusements, pleasures!
III. It is guaranteed by the Word of Almighty God. The enemies of the Jews were utterly ignorant of Gods purpose to deliver His people from Babylonish Captivity.
1. Man in ignorance fights against Gods purpose.
2. Man, in fighting against Gods purpose, brings ruin on himself.
The nations thought to ruin Christianity in its infancy, but it was victorious over them! (Homilist.)
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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible1887 · Public DomainOn v8Mic_4:8 - Micah 5
THE KING TO COME
Mic_4:8 - Micah 5
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WHEN a people has to be purged of long injustice, when some high aim of liberty or of order has to be won, it is remarkable how often the drama of revolution passes through three acts. There is first the period of criticism and of vision, in which men feel discontent, dream of new things, and put their hopes into systems: it seems then as if-the future were to come of itself. But often a catastrophe, relevant or irrelevant, ensues: the visions pale before a vast conflagration, and poet, philosopher, and prophet disappear under the feet of a mad mob of wreckers. Yet this is often the greatest period of all, for somewhere in the midst of it a strong character is forming, and men, by the very anarchy, are being taught, in preparation for him, the indispensableness of obedience and loyalty. With their chastened minds he achieves the third act, and fulfills all of the early vision that Gods ordeal by fire has proved worthy to survive. Thus history, when distraught, rallies again upon the Man.
To this law the prophets of Israel only gradually gave expression. We find no trace of it among the earliest of them; and in the essential faith of all there was much which predisposed them against the conviction of its necessity. For, on the one hand, the seers were so filled with the inherent truth and inevitableness of their visions, that they described these as if already realised; there was no room for a great figure to rise before the future, for with a rush the future was upon them. On the other hand, it was ever a principle of prophecy that God is able to dispense with human aid. "In presence of the Divine omnipotence all secondary causes, all interposition on the part of the creature, fall away." The more striking is it that before long the prophets should have begun, not only to look for a Man, but to paint him as the central figure of their hopes. In Hosea, who has no such promise, we already see the instinct at work. The age of revolution which he describes is cursed by its want of men: there is no great leader of the people sent from God; those who come to the front are the creatures of faction and party; there is no king from God. How different it had been in the great days of old, when God had ever worked for Israel through some man-a Moses, a Gideon, a Samuel, but especially a David. Thus memory, equally with the present dearth of personalities, prompted to a great desire, and with passion Israel waited for a Man. The hope of the mother for her firstborn, the pride of the father in his son, the eagerness of the woman for her lover, the devotion of the slave to his liberator, the enthusiasm of soldiers for their captain-unite these noblest affections of the human heart, and you shall yet fail to reach the passion and the glory with which prophecy looked for the King to Come. Each age, of course, expected him in the qualities of power and character needed for its own troubles, and the ideal changed from glory unto glory. From valor and victory in war, it became peace and good government, care for the poor and the oppressed, sympathy with the sufferings of the whole people, but especially of the righteous among them, with fidelity to the truth delivered unto the fathers, and, finally, a conscience for the peoples sin, a bearing of their punishment and a travail, for their spiritual redemption. But all these qualities and functions were gathered upon an individual-a Victor, a King, a Prophet, a Martyr, a Servant of the Lord.
Micah stands among the first, if he is not the very first, who thus focused the hopes of Israel upon a great Redeemer; and his promise of Him shares all the characteristics just described. In his book it lies next a number of brief oracles with which we are unable to trace its immediate connection. They differ from it in style and rhythm: they are in verse, while it seems to be in prose. They do not appear to have been uttered along with it. But they reflect the troubles out of which the Hero is expected to emerge, and the deliverance which He shall accomplish, though at first they picture the latter without any hint of Himself. They apparently describe an invasion which is actually in course, rather than one which is near and inevitable; and if so they can only date from Sennacheribs campaign against Judah in 701 B.C. Jerusalem is in siege, standing alone in the land, like one of those solitary towers with folds round them which were built here and there upon the border pastures of Israel for defense of the flock against the raiders of the desert. The prophet sees the possibility of Zions capitulation, but the people shall leave her only for their deliverance elsewhere. Many are gathered against her, but he sees them as sheaves upon the floor for Zion to thresh. This oracle (Mic_4:11-13) cannot, of course, have been uttered at the same time as the previous one, but there is no reason why the same prophet should not have uttered both at different periods. Isaiah had prospects of the fate of Jerusalem which differ quite as much. Once more (Mic_5:1) the blockade is established. Israels ruler is helpless, "smitten on the cheek by the foe." It is to this last picture that the promise of the Deliverer is attached.
The prophet speaks:-
"But thou, O Tower of the Flock, Hill of the daughter of Zion, To thee shall arrive the former rule, And the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Zion. Now wherefore criest thou so loud? Is there no king in thee, or is thy counselor perished, That throes have seized thee like a woman in childbirth? Quiver and writhe, daughter of Zion, like one in childbirth: For now must thou forth from the city, And encamp on the field (and come unto Babel); There shalt thou be rescued, There shall Jehovah redeem thee from the hand of thy foes"!
"And now gather against thee many nations, that say, Let her be violate, that our eyes may fasten on Zion! But they know not the plans of Jehovah, Nor understand they His counsel, For He hath gathered them in like sheaves to the floor. Up and thresh, O daughter of Zion For thy horns will I turn into iron, And thy hoofs will I turn into brass; And thou will beat down many nations, And devote to Jehovah their spoil, And their wealth to the Lord of all earth".
"Now press thyself together, thou daughter of pressure: The foe hath set a wall around us, With a rod they smite on the cheek Israels regent! But thou, Beth-Ephrath, smallest among the thousands of Judah, From thee unto Me shall come forth the Ruler to be in Israel! Yea, of old are His goings forth, from the days of long ago! Therefore shall He suffer them till the time that one bearing shall have born. (Then the rest of His brethren shall return with the children of Israel.) And He shall stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of Jehovah, In the pride of the name of His God. And they shall abide! For now is He great to the ends of the earth. And Such a One shall be our Peace."
Bethlehem was the birthplace of David, but when Micah says that the Deliverer shall emerge from her he does not only mean what Isaiah affirms by his promise of a rod from the stock of Jesse, that the King to Come shall spring from the one great dynasty in Judah. Micah means rather to emphasize the rustic and popular origin of the Messiah, "too small to be among the thousands of Judah." David, the son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, was a dearer figure than Solomon son of David the King. He impressed the peoples imagination, because he had sprung from themselves, and in his lifetime had been the popular rival of an unlovable despot. Micah himself was the prophet of the country as distinct from the capital, of the peasants as against the rich who oppressed them. When, therefore, he fixed upon Bethlehem as the Messiahs birthplace, he doubtless desired, without departing from the orthodox hope in the Davidic dynasty, to throw round its new representative those associations which had so endeared to the people their father-monarch. The shepherds of Judah, that strong source of undefiled life from which the fortunes of the state and prophecy itself had ever been recuperated, should again send forth salvation. Had not Micah already declared that, after the overthrow of the capital and the rulers, the glory of Israel should come to Adullam, where of old David had gathered its soiled and scattered fragments?
We may conceive how such a promise would affect the crushed peasants for whom Micah wrote. A Savior, who was one of themselves, not born up there in the capital, foster-brother of the very nobles who oppressed them, but born among the people, sharer of their toils and of their wrongs!-it would bring hope to every broken heart among the disinherited poor of Israel. Yet meantime, be it observed, this was a promise, not for the peasants only, but for the whole people. In the present danger of the nation the class disputes are forgotten, and the hopes of Israel gather upon their Hero for a common deliverance from the foreign foe. "Such a One shall be our peace." But in the peace He is "to stand and shepherd His flock," conspicuous and watchful. The country folk knew what such a figure meant to themselves for security and weal on the land of their fathers. Heretofore their rulers had not been shepherds, but thieves and robbers.
We can imagine the contrast which such a vision must have offered to the fancies of the false prophets. What were they beside this? Deity descending in fire and thunder, with all the other features of the ancient Theophanies that had now become much cant in the mouths of mercenary traditionalists. Besides those, how sane was this how footed upon the earth, how practical, how popular in the best sense!
We see, then, the value of Micahs prophecy for his own day. Has it also any value for ours-especially in that aspect of it which must have appealed to the hearts of those for whom chiefly Micah arose? Is it wise to paint the Messiah, to paint Christ, so much a workingman? Is it not much more to our purpose to remember the general fact of His humanity, by which He is able to be Priest and Brother to all classes, high and low, rich and poor, the noble and the peasant alike? Is not the Man of Sorrows a much wider name than the Man of Labor? Let us answer these questions.
The value of such a prophecy of Christ lies in the correctives which it supplies to the Christian apocalypse and theology. Both of these have raised Christ to a throne too far above the actual circumstance of His earthly ministry and the theatre of His eternal sympathies. Whether enthroned in the praises of Heaven, or by scholasticism relegated to an ideal and abstract humanity, Christ is lifted away from touch with the common people. But His lowly origin was a fact. He sprang from the most democratic of peoples. His ancestor was a shepherd, and His mother a peasant girl. He Himself was a carpenter: at home, as His parables show, in the fields and the folds and the barns of His country; with the servants of the great houses, with the unemployed in the market; with the woman in the hovel seeking one piece of silver, with the shepherd on the moors seeking the lost sheep. "The poor had the gospel preached to them; and the common people heard Him gladly." As the peasants of Judea must have listened to Micahs promise of His origin among themselves with new hope and patience, so in the Roman empire the religion of Jesus Christ was welcomed chiefly, as the Apostles and the Fathers bear witness, by the lowly and the laboring of every nation. In the great persecution which bears His name, the Emperor Domitian heard that there were two relatives alive of this Jesus whom so many acknowledged as their King, and he sent for them that he might put them to death. But when they came, he asked them to hold up their hands, and seeing these brown and chapped with toil, he dismissed the men, saying, "From such slaves we have nothing to fear." Ah but, Emperor! it is just the horny hands of this religion that thou and thy gods have to fear! Any cynic or satirist of thy literature, from Celsus onwards, could have told thee that it was by men who worked with their hands for their daily bread, by domestics, artisans, and all manner of slaves, that the power of this King should spread, which meant destruction to [flee and thine empire] "From little Bethlehem came forth the Ruler," and "now He is great to the ends of the earth."
There follows upon this prophecy of the Shepherd a curious fragment which divides His office among a number of His order, though the grammar returns towards the end to One. The mention of Assyria stamps this oracle also as of the eighth century. Mark the refrain which opens and closes it.
"When Asshur cometh into our land, And when he marcheth on our borders, Then shall we raise against him seven shepherds And eight princes of men. And they shall shepherd Asshur with a sword, And Nimrods land with her own bare blades. And He shall deliver from Asshur, When he cometh into our land, And marcheth upon our borders."
There follows an oracle in which there is no evidence of Micahs hand or of his times; but if it carries any proof of a date, it seems a late one.
"And the remnant of Jacob shall be among many peoples Like the dew from Jehovah, Like showers upon grass, Which wait not for a man. Nor tarry for the children of men. And the remnant of Jacob (among nations,) among many peoples, Shall be like the lion among the beasts of the jungle, Like a young lion among the sheepfolds, Who, when he cometh by, treadeth and teareth, And none may deliver. Let thine hand be high on thine adversaries, And all thine enemies be cut off!"
Finally in this section we have an oracle full of the notes we had from Micah in The first two chapters. It explains itself. Compare Micah 2 and Isaiah 2.
"And it shall be in that day-tis the oracle of Jehovah-That I will cut off thy horses from the midst of thee, And I will destroy thy chariots; That I will cut off the cities of thy land, And tear down all thy fortresses, And I will cut off thine enchantments from thy hand, And thou shalt have no more soothsayers; And I will cut off thine images and thy pillars from the midst of thee, And thou shalt not bow down any more to the work of thy hands; And I will uproot thine Asheras from the midst of thee, And will destroy thine idols. So shall I do, in My wrath and Mine anger, Vengeance to the nations, who have not known Me."
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary1892 · Public DomainOn v9Mic_4:9.] Zion will lose her king, wander into captivity,…
CRITICAL NOTES.
Mic_4:9.] Zion will lose her king, wander into captivity, but will be redeemed from her enemies. King] Loss of royal government, the cause of lamentation, more painful to Israel than other people; the king a sign of God’s presence, &c.
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Mic_4:10. Pain] Fig. of a woman with child (cf. Jer_4:31). Out of the city, &c] Set forth the greatness and certainty of the calamity. There … thee] Emphatic declaration; the scene of distress, the place of deliverance.
Mic_4:11.] Distant sunlight overclouded by present cloud. Now] Nations gathered not to hear the law (Mic_4:2), but for war. Defiled] Like a virgin.
Mic_4:12. Gather them] To be punished in turn when they have answered his purpose, when fully ripe, like sheaves, lit. sheaf. However great the numbers of the foe, all are but as one sheaf ready to be threshed [Calvin].
Mic_4:13. Arise] Deu_25:4 Horn] To push the enemies (1Ki_22:11). Gain] Goods collected by robbery (Jdg_5:19). Lord] Not for Zion’s selfish ends (Isa_60:6; Isa_60:9). Whole earth] Who through subjugating the heathen has proved to be such (Psalms 93, 96).
HOMILETICS
THE SUFFERING AND TRIUMPH OF GOD’S PEOPLE.—Mic_4:9-13
Israel’s history, like human life, has its dark and its bright side. Before the glory promised is ever gained, sorrow and trial must be endured. This is—
1. A constant rule; and—
2. A necessary order in God’s discipline. But the scene of trial was to be the place of deliverance. The sufferings shall be over-ruled for the salvation of his people and the destruction of their enemies. Notice:—
I. The bitterness of the affliction. “Pangs have taken thee,” &c. Pangs with out remedy, and painful as a woman in travail.
1. The loss of kings. “Is there no king in thee?” A visible king was a protection, and a symbol of God’s presence to them. The loss was most serious and irreparable. It was a condition of helplessness and shame.
2. The loss of counsellors. “Is thy counsellor perished?” Kings and judges were their counsellors and guides; but they were bereft of wisdom to direct, left in the hands of the enemy, and governed by captive nations.
3. The loss of liberties. “Now shalt thou go forth out of the city,” which shall be captured; “dwell in the field” exposed to danger; and be carried “even to Babylon” into long captivity. This was a sad exchange of liberty and luxury for bondage and misery. But it is the picture of many a soul reduced to slavery, bereft of God and writhing in agony.
II. The comforts under the affliction. All is not lost, though they have neither king nor counsellor. God will make up for everything.
1. Affliction will end in good. “Jerusalem’s pangs are not as dying agonies, but as travailing throes, which after a while will be forgotten for joy that a child is born into the world.” Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning (Psa_30:6; Psa_73:24; Jer_10:24).
2. Deliverance will be granted. “There shalt thou be delivered.” There, where sorrow is greatest and hope is faintest—even in Babylon, the most unlikely place, “the Lord shall redeem thee.” The utmost degree of affliction is often the nearest to the end, and help is not in the holy city, but in the stronghold of the foe. “Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.” The Red Sea must be the scene of triumph to Israel, and the prison the place of deliverance to Joseph and Peter. This magnifies God’s grace and power. “When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.”
3. Enemies will be subdued. “Thou shalt beat in pieces many people.” In their weakness, God will be their strength, and make them victorious over confederate nations. Their horns shall be iron, to push their enemies; and their hoofs brass, to tread them down. The destruction is universal and complete. All enemies shall be put under their feet, as conquered foes, or willing subjects. “Fear not, thou worm Jacob. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument, having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff” (Isa_41:13-15).
III. The spirit in which they should bear the affliction. If such be their prospects in the trial, how should they demean themselves?
1. They should cherish a patient spirit. “Why dost thou cry out aloud?” Calm fear and hush grief; though affliction be grievous at present, it shall afterward yield the fruits of joy and peace. Patience defeats the menace of the foe, but passion takes his part
“Patience doth conquer by out-suffering all” [Peel].
2. They should cherish a submissive spirit. “Be in pain,” &c. Grieve, but remember excessive grief, fretfulness, and rebellion, are unreasonable. Resistance is folly, submission is triumph.
“By not opposing, thou dost ills destroy,
And wear thy conquered sorrows into joy” [Young].
3. They should cherish a spirit of hope. What a bright prospect opens up before them! Why doubt or despair? God will accomplish his word. Hope will sweeten trial, and, like the sun, paint the rainbow on the clouds. “Black though our side of the canvas be,” said Sir Harry Vane, in going to be executed, “the Divine hand paints a beautiful picture on the unseen side.”
THE DESTRUCTION OF ZION’S FOES.—Mic_4:11-13
Those who exult in Israel’s fall, and seek to defile and outrage her, will be disappointed. Inscrutable wisdom will correct the children with the foe, and then destroy the foe with the children.
I. They are frustrated in their design. “Let her be defiled,” &c.
1. They sought her injury. They desired to defile her with blood, and condemn her in guilt. The wicked delight in the fall and inconsistencies of God’s people. They often become tempters, then accusers; “first desecrators, then sanctimonious justiciaries,” says one.
2. They feasted their eyes on her misery. “Let our eye look upon Zion.” The world always hates the Church and rejoices in its sorrow. Edom delighted in the chastisement of Israel (Oba_1:12); and the sufferings of the martyrs were a spectacle to the heathen. Malice is blind to all virtue, and eyes can always see what hearts can wish. “Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.”
II. They are crushed in their efforts. “Many nations are gathered against thee.” The powers of earth and hell are sometimes arrayed against the Church, but all in vain. They are against God when against his people. They may have wickedness to imagine, craft to devise, but are not able to perform (Psalms 21). God knows their thoughts, but they cannot defeat his purpose. Pharaoh’s counsel to extinguish issued in the increase of the chosen people. The wisdom, power, and counsel of man signify nothing, if they oppose the decrees of God. “He taketh the wise in their craftiness.” Learn—
1. The folly of designing against God.
2. The security of obedience to God.
III. They are ruined in their numbers. “Many nations” combined against Zion. The armies of Babylon, with their subject nations, the forces of Edom, Ammon, Moab, and others, who exulted in Judah’s fall, were types of the anti-Christian powers of the latter days. Neither numbers nor craft avail before God. They only ripen themselves for God to “gather them as the sheaves into the floor.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES
Mic_4:9-10. I. The moral condition of men. Kingless and restless, in captivity and misery. Unable to cope with sin, evil habits, and the world. Without the privileges of that city, whose builder and maker is God; exposed to danger, tumult, and the distractions of life. II. The purpose of God concerning men. To redeem, to govern, to guide, and to exalt above all misery and opposition. He will shortly bruise Satan under their feet, and every power of body and mind shall be consecrated to him.
Mic_4:11-12. The enemies of Zion.
1. Their number.
2. Their purpose,—to defile and rejoice.
3. Their spirit—proud and determined.
4. Their helplessness. “They know not the thoughts of God.”
5. Their ruin. “He shall gather them,” &c. God’s people begin, and he will finish, the work.
Gather them as sheaves. Persecutors.
1. Ripened by their own conduct.
2. Gathered by the providence of God.
3. Threshed by the judgments of God. “This prophecy received a primary and partial fulfilment in the victories of the Maccabees (1Ma_5:1). But its adequate accomplishment is in Christ. It is to be applied to the work of the apostles, and apostolic men, missionaries of Christ, who are compared by St. Paul to oxen treading out the corn (1Co_9:9; 1Ti_5:18; cf. Isa_32:20). Their work is indeed one of bringing the nations into subjection (2Co_2:14; 2Co_10:5; Eph_6:12); but it is in subjection to the law of love, in order that the good grain winnowed from the sheaves on the floor may be gathered into the garner of heaven” (cf. Psa_149:8) [Wordsworth].
Mic_4:13. The very image of the threshing implies that this is no mere destruction. While the stubble is beaten or bruised to small pieces, and the chaff is far more than the wheat, and is carried out of the floor, there yet remains the seed-corn. So in the great judgments of God, while most is refuse, there yet remains over what is severed from the lost heap, and wholly consecrated to him [Pusey].
The Lord of the whole earth.
1. God the supreme ruler of the world. Not merely the God of Israel, but ruler “of the whole earth.”
2. All things governed in the interests of the Church. The nations subject to Zion, not for selfish aggrandisement, but for her good and his glory (Isa_60:6; Isa_60:9; Isa_23:18).
3. The glory of victory should be given to God. All gains of merchandise, all achievements of intellect, all success of spiritual efforts, spring from him, and should be consecrated to him. Holiness to the Lord should be written on all things we do.
Mic_4:9-13. Of the struggles of God’s congregation. They must be maintained:
1. Under heavy sorrow, in secure expectation of their final redemption (Mic_4:9-10).
2. Under the mighty assaults of the foe, in sure confidence that the Lord sits upon the throne (Mic_4:11-12).
3. In constant self-examination. For although the victory must certainly be given to God’s cause (Mic_4:13), nevertheless, until Christ is born in the congregation (and in each individual, Mic_4:1), the result of every contest is deserved disaster and disgrace (Mic_4:13) [Lange].
The whole chapter sets forth—
1. The glory;
2. The peace;
3. The dominion; and,
4. The victory of the Church.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 4
Mic_4:1-2. Last days. God’s promises are dated, but with a mysterious character; and for want of skill in God’s chronology, we are prone to think God forgets us, when, indeed, we forget ourselves in being so bold to set God a time of our own, and in being angry that he comes not just then to us [Gurnall].
Mic_4:3. War. There must be peace when the art of war is laid by as useless, and shall be learned no more. That will be a blessed time, indeed, when the art military shall be out of date, and (being itself the greatest interrupter of learning) shall be learned no more. When soldiers shall turn husbandmen and vine-dressers. When a man casts away his sword we may well conclude he intends to be quiet. Thus the Lord gives quiet to nations which have been engaged in war, by causing wars to cease [Caryl].
Mic_4:4. Peace of country life.
“In all things grew his wisdom and his wealth,
And folk beholding the fair state and health
Wherein his land was, said that now at last
A fragment of the Golden Age was cast
Over the place, for there was no debate,
And men forgot the very name of hate.” [Wm. Morris.]
Mic_4:6-8. As the pleasures of the future will be spiritual and pure, the object of a good and wise man in this transitory state of existence should be to fit himself for a better, by controlling the unworthy propensities of his nature and improving all his better aspirations; to do his duty, first to God, then to his neighbour; to promote the happiness and welfare of those who are in any degree dependent upon him, or whom he has the means of assisting; never wantonly to injure the meanest thing that lives; to encourage, as far as he can, whatever is useful and tends to refine and exalt humanity; to store his mind with such knowledge as it is fitted to receive, and he is able to attain; and so to employ the talents committed to his care that, when the account is required, he may hope to have his stewardship approved [Southey].
Mic_4:9. King.
“Kings are like stars—they rise and set—they have
The worship of the world, but no repose.” [Shelley.]
Mic_4:8-10. The kingdom shall come. Observe, it is a kingdom that is to come to us; we are not to go to it. Also, it is not to be a kingdom of the dead, but of the living. Also, it is not to come all at once, but quietly; nobody knows how. “The kingdom cometh not with observation” [Ruskin].
Mic_4:10-11. It belongs, in truth, to the Church of God to suffer blows, not to strike them. But at the same time let it be remembered that the Church is an anvil which has worn out many a hammer [Beza].
Mic_4:12. Thoughts of the Lord. To those, the eyes of whose understandings are enlightened, and the avenues of their hearts opened to discern and adore the perfections of God, how manifold are the instances which occur of the providence of God interfering to direct the course of human events towards a salutary end; to make afflictions of men the by-path to enjoyment; out of evils, temporal and transitory, to produce substantial and permanent good [Bp. Mant].
Mic_4:13. Hope doth three things: it assures good things to come; it disposes us for them; it waits for them unto the end, each of which will be of singular use to fit us for pious sufferings [Polhill].
Arise. When God has conquering work for his people to do, he will furnish them with strength and ability for it; will make the horn iron and the hoofs brass: and, when he does so, they must exert the power he gives them, and execute the commission; even the daughter of Zion must arise and thresh [Matt. Henry].
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield1917 · Public DomainOn v10Heb. "goel," Redemp. (Kinsman type). (See Scofield "Isa 59:20").
redeem
Heb. "goel," Redemp. (Kinsman type). (See Scofield "Isa 59:20").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann1924 · Public DomainOn v8Zion Established Throughout the Earth
Zion Established Throughout the Earth
v. 8. And thou, O tower of the flock, the term being applied to a tower of refuge for flocks in time of danger, here as a fort from which the great King and Shepherd, the Messiah Himself, observes and guards His flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, the impregnable palace of the Church of Christ, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion, the glory of the New Testament Church being compared with that of the kingdom of Israel under its mightiest king; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem. Since the earthly Jerusalem is always at the foundation of the type, the vicissitudes and afflictions of the Jewish capital are made typical of the experiences of the Lord’s people.
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v. 9. Now, why dost thou cry out aloud? at the approach of the Chaldean invasion. Is there no king in thee? no visible representative of the Messianic promises?. Is thy counselor perished? this name also being applied to the reigning member of the house of David?. For pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail, the true believers in Israel feeling the deepest grief and sorrow over the desolation of the kingdom.
v. 10. Be in pain and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail, the catastrophe of the destruction of Jerusalem and of the exile of the people being imminent; for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, after it had been taken by the enemies, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon, being dragged into captivity; there shalt thou be delivered, namely, when Cyrus issued the decree setting the Jews free and thus laid the foundation upon which later arose the New Testament Church; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies, so that the people of the covenant would be restored to the Land of Promise, the land where the Messiah was to appear.
v. 11. Now also, namely, at the time of Judah’s deepest humiliation before and at the time of her exile, many nations are gathered against thee, in bold hostility, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion, namely, in malicious joy over her downfall.
v. 12. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, the object which He has in mind in thus dealing with His people, neither understand they His counsel, which intended to lead His people to repentance and to lay the foundation for a renewed Church in which the believing Jews were to be the nucleus; for He shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor, the enemies being heaped up for destruction in the Lord’s judgment.
v. 13. Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, according to the Oriental custom of having the sheaves threshed out on the open threshing-floor with the aid of oxen; for I will make thine horn iron and I will make thy hoofs brass, giving to His people a new and unconquerable strength; and thou shall beat in pieces many people, not by victories of the flesh, but by those of the spirit; and I will consecrate their gain, what the enemies had gotten by robbery and plunder, unto the Lord, as devoted to Him, and their substance, all their possessions, unto the Lord of the whole earth, whom the heathen would eventually have to acknowledge as the one Ruler, even if they consistently refused to accept Him as the God of their salvation. Cf Php 2:11.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v9Now, why do you shout so loudly?
Now, why do you shout so loudly?
Micah is mocking the people, trying to make them think about why God is dealing with them in this way. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "Look at how you are shouting loudly." or "Think carefully about why you are shouting loudly." (See: Rhetorical Question)
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Is there no king among you? Has your counselor died? Is this why pain grips you like that of a woman in labor?
Micah continues to mock the people. These questions can be translated as statements. AT: "You have a king, but he is useless to you. All your wise people are still alive, but they have nothing wise to say to you. This is why you are weeping loudly like a woman who is giving birth to a baby." (See: Rhetorical Question and Simile)
Be in pain ... like a woman in labor
Micah compares the suffering the people will experience when enemies force them away from their cities to the pain a woman experiences when giving birth to a baby. (See: Simile)
There you will be rescued. There Yahweh will rescue you
Yahweh says the same thing in both active and passive forms to emphasize that he will do what he has said he will do. This can be translated in active form. AT: "There Yahweh will rescue you. There he will rescue you" (See: Active or Passive)
the hand of your enemies
Possible meanings for the word "hand" are 1) it could be a metonym for the power that the hand exercises, AT: "the power of your enemies" or 2) it could be a synecdoche for the person. AT: "your enemies" (See: Metonymy and Synecdoche)
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv8–104:8 As for you, Jerusalem, the citadel of God’s…
4:8 As for you, Jerusalem, the citadel of God’s people: Jerusalem was a fortified royal capital city with a watchtower for the defense and security of its people. • The kingship will be restored: Cp. Amos 9:11-15; see 2 Sam 7:11-16.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv8–10 Micah still continues the same subject, — that the…
Micah still continues the same subject, — that the miserable calamities of the people, or even their ruin, will not prevent God to restore again his Church. Thou tower of the flock, he says, the fortress of the daughter of Zion, doubt not but that God will again restore to thee thy ancient kingdom and dignity from which thou seemest now to have entirely fallen. But interpreters take the tower of the flock in various senses. Some think that the devastation of the city Jerusalem is pointed out, because it became like a cottage, as it is said in Isaiah; and עפל, ophil, they render “obscure,” for its root is to cover. But another explanation is simpler, — that the holy city is called the tower of the flock, because God had chosen it for himself, to gather his people thence; for we know that they had there their holy assemblies. Thou, then, the tower of the flock, and then, the fortress of the daughter of Zion, to thee shall come the former kingdom If, however, the former sense be more approved, I will not contend; that is, that Jerusalem is here called the tower of the flock on account of its devastation, as it was reduced as it were into a cottage. As to the main import of the passage, there is no ambiguity; for the Prophet here strengthens the minds of the godly: they were not to regard the length of time, nor to allow their thoughts, to be occupied with their present calamity, but to feel assured, that what God had promised was in his power, that he could, as it were, raise the dead, and thus restore the kingdom of David, which had been destroyed.
Do then, he says, firmly hope. — Why? because come to thee, come to thee shall the former kingdom Here the breaking off of the sentence is to be noticed, when the Prophet speaks of the ancient kingdom and dignity. It is not indeed to be doubted, but that the people of God had become objects of mockery, and that hypocrites and heathens thought that what David had testified respecting the perpetuity of his kingdom was a mere delusion.
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‘Behold thy kingdom,’ he said, ‘shall continue as long as the sun and the moon,’ (Psalm 72)
but soon after the death of Solomon, a small portion only was reserved for his posterity, and at length the kingdom itself and its dignity disappeared. This is the reason that the Prophet now says, that the former kingdom would come. Come, he says, to thee, daughter of Zion, come shall the former kingdom There is indeed no doubt, but that by the former kingdom he understands its most flourishing condition, recorded in Scripture, under David and Solomon.
The kingdom, he says, to the daughter of Jerusalem shall come He expressly mentions the daughter of Jerusalem, because the kingdom of Israel had obscured the glory of the true kingdom. Hence the Prophet testifies here that God was not unmindful of his promise, and that he would restore to Jerusalem the dignity which it had lost, and unite the whole people into one body, that they might be no more divided, but that one king would rule over the whole race of Abraham. But this was not fulfilled, we are certain, at the coming of Christ, in a manner visible to men: we must therefore bear in mind what Micah has previously taught, — that this kingdom is spiritual; for he did not ascribe to Christ a golden scepter, but a doctrine, “Come, and let us ascend unto the mount of Jehovah, and he will teach us of his ways; and then he added,” From Zion shall go forth a law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. This, then, ought ever to be remembered, — that God has not rendered Jerusalem glorious in the sight of men, as it was formerly, nor has he enriched it with influence and wealth and earthly power; but he has yet restored the sovereign authority; for he has not only subjected to himself the ten tribes which had formerly revolted, but also the whole world. Let us go on —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv8–9 Meaning, Jerusalem, where the Lord’s flock was gathered.
Meaning, Jerusalem, where the Lord’s flock was gathered.
The flourishing state of the kingdom, as it was under David and Solomon, which thing was accomplished to the Church by the coming of Christ.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv8–10 Mic 4:8 And thou, O tower of the flock,…
Mic 4:8 And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.
Ver. 8. And thou, O tower of the flock] That is, O Church of Christ, who is often compared to a shepherdess in the Canticles; here to a Migdaleder, or tower of the flock (that flock of Christ which hath golden fleeces, precious souls), in reference either to that tower, Gen 25:21, built for the safety and service of shepherds, or else to the sheep gate in Jerusalem (whereof read, Neh 3:1; Neh 12:39), so called from the sheep market, which, for the couvenience of the temple, was near to it; as was also the sheep pool, called Bethesda, Joh 5:2, where the sacrifices were washed. The world is a field, the Church a fold in that field; and a strong fold (strong as a tower), yea, a stronghold, ophel, as it is styled in the next words; and that of the daughter of Zion, that is, of the Christian Church, the inviolable security whereof is here noted.
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Unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion] Such as was in David’s days and Solomon’s; large, rich, peaceable, prosperous, terrible to other nations. This was carnally understood by the Jews, who therefore dream to this day of an earthly kingdom, and have in their synagogues a crown ready to set upon the head of their Messiah whenever he shall come: neither were Christ’s disciples without a tincture of this Pharisaical leaven; whence their often inquiries, when the kingdom of God shall come? and their frivolous contests among themselves, who should be the greatest in Christ’s kingdom? who should sit at his right hand and at his left? &c., as if there should have been in Christ’s kingdom (as in Solomon’s) a distribution here of honours and offices. And this groundless conceit hung as bullets of lead at their eyelids; that they could not look up to see that Christ’s kingdom was spiritual, and not of this present world.
The kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem] This the Jews (mistaking it as before) pray earnestly that it may come, cito, citius, citissime, quickly, more quickly, most quickly bimberah, bejamenu (Buxtor. Syn. Jud.), with speed, and even in our days; often throwing open their windows to behold their king, and to receive their long looked for preferment in his earthly monarchy.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv8–10 O tower of the flock: some refer this to…
O tower of the flock: some refer this to that tower Edar, in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, built there for the shepherds’ more convenient watching over their flocks. The prophet may possibly allude to this. In the church, Christ’s flock, there is a tower built for defence of his flock, but it is that name which is a strong tower, to which the righteous run, and are safe. But there was a tower of this denomination in Jerusalem, through which tower the flocks of sheep were driven into the sheep market; this one tower, by synecdoche, put for the whole city Jerusalem.
The strong hold; Ophel, as it is in the Hebrew, and perhaps were better rendered a proper name of that impregnable fort, 2Ch 27:3; another considerable part put for the whole.
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The daughter of Zion; or, O daughter of Zion; so it will be an explication of what the prophet before meant by the tower Edar and Ophel, i.e. O Zion, O Jerusalem, both in the typical and in the mystical sense.
The first dominion; the former dominion, not in outward splendour, but because the government and supreme dignity among this people was restored (after seventy years’ captivity) to the former royal family, and continued in it till Shiloh came. This in the type was fulfilled upon the settlement under Zerubbabel and his successors; but the whole antitype concerns the Messiah’s kingdom, and the gospel Jerusalem, and is fulfilled in the spiritual glory of it. Christ’s kingdom is the ancient, supreme, and most glorious kingdom; and by his redeeming us from the bondage of hell, is set up, and shall be continued firm and unmovable, more than Edar, Ophel, Zion, or Jerusalem typical, as Luk 1:32,33, and more large than ever David’s or Solomon’s kingdom, Dan 7:14, and therefore greater in glory, for Christ is King of kings, Rev 17:14; 19:16. This spiritual kingdom came first to the Jews, Act 13:46. It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you. The gospel was to be preached first to the daughter of Jerusalem. There the preachers of repentance and remission of sins were to begin, and thence they were to publish it to all nations, Luk 24:47. This text, and such like, the blinded Jew doth take in a literal sense only, as if it promised a temporal dominion over all nations, and worldly kingdom to the Messiah, in which they expect a large share; but what is literal, and concerned the Jews alone, was limited to them that came out of the Babylonish captivity, and hath been fulfilled to them.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v8 These verses relate to Zion and Jerusalem, here called…
These verses relate to Zion and Jerusalem, here called the tower of the flock or the tower of Edor; we read of such a place (Gen 35:21) near Bethlehem; and some conjecture it is the same place where the shepherds were keeping their flocks when the angels brought them tidings of the birth of Christ, and some think Bethlehem itself is here spoken of, as Mic 5:2. Some think it is a tower at that gate of Jerusalem which is called the sheep-gate (Neh 3:32), and conjecture that through that gate Christ rode in triumph into Jerusalem. However, it seems to be put for Jerusalem itself, or for Zion the tower of David. All the sheep of Israel flocked thither three times a year; it was the stronghold (Ophel, which is also a name of a place in Jerusalem, Neh 3:27), or castle, of the daughter of Zion. Now here,
I. We have a promise of the glories of the spiritual Jerusalem, the gospel-church, which is; the tower of the flock, that one fold in which all the sheep of Christ are protected under one Shepherd: "Unto thee shall it come; that which thou hast long wanted and wished for, even the first dominion, a dignity and power equal to that of David and Solomon, by whom Jerusalem was first raised, that kingdom shall again come to the daughter of Jerusalem, which it was deprived of at the captivity. It shall make as great a figure and shine with as much lustre among the nations, and have as much influence upon them, as ever it had; this is the first or chief dominion." Now this had by no means its accomplishment in Zerubbabel; his was nothing like the first dominion either in respect of splendour and sovereignty at home or the extent of power abroad; and therefore it must refer to the kingdom of the Messiah (and to that the Chaldee-paraphrase refers it) and had its accomplishment when God gave to our Lord Jesus the throne of his father David (Luk 1:32), set him king upon the holy hill of Zion and gave him the heathen for his inheritance (Psa 2:6), made him, his first-born, higher than the kings of the earth, Psa 89:27; Dan 7:14. David, in spirit, called him Lord, and (as Dr. Pocock observes) he witnessed of himself, and his witness was true, that he was greater than Solomon, none of their dominions being like his for extent and duration. The common people welcomed Christ into Jerusalem with hosannas to the son of David, to show that it was the first dominion that came to the daughter of Zion; and the evangelist applies it to the promise of Zion's king coming to her, Mat 21:5; Zac 9:9. Some give this sense of the words: To Zion, and Jerusalem that tower of the flock, to the nation of the Jews, came the first dominion; that is, there the kingdom of Christ was first set up, the gospel of the kingdom was first preached (Luk 24:47), there Christ was first called king of the Jews.
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II. This is illustrated by a prediction of the calamities of the literal Jerusalem, to which some favour and relief should be granted, as a type and figure of what God would do for the gospel-Jerusalem in the last days, notwithstanding its distresses. We have here,
1. Jerusalem put in pain by the providences of God. "She cries out aloud, that all her neighbours may take notice of her griefs, because there is no king in her, none of that honour and power she used to have. Instead of ruling the nations, as she did when she sat a queen, she is ruled by them, and has become a captive. Her counsellors have perished; she is no longer at her own disposal, but is given up to the will of her enemies, and is governed by their counsellors. Pangs have taken her." (1.) She is carried captive to Babylon, and there is in pangs of grief. "She goes forth out of the city, and is constrained to dwell in the field, exposed to all manner of inconveniences; she goes even to Babylon, and there wears out seventy tedious years in a miserable captivity, all that while in pain, as a woman in travail, waiting to be delivered, and thinking the time very long." (2.) When she is delivered out of Babylon, and redeemed from the hand of her enemies there, yet still she is in pangs of fear; the end of one trouble is but the beginning of another; for now also, when Jerusalem is in the rebuilding, many nations are gathered against her, Mic 4:11. They were so in Ezra's and Nehemiah's time, and did all they could to obstruct the building of the temple and the wall. They were so in the time of the Maccabees; they said, Let her be defiled; let her be looked upon as a place polluted with sin, and be forsaken and abandoned both of God and man; let her holy places be profaned and all her honours laid in the dust; let our eye look upon Zion, and please itself with the sight of its ruins, as it is said of Edom (Oba 1:12, Thou shouldst not have looked upon the day of thy brother); let our eyes see our desire upon Zion, the day we have long wished for. When they hear the enemies thus combine against them, and insult over them, no wonder that they are in pain, and cry aloud. Without are fightings, within are fears.
2. Jerusalem made easy by the promises of God: "Why dost thou cry out aloud? Let thy griefs and fears be silenced; indulge not thyself in them, for, though things are bad with thee, they shall end well; thy pangs are great, but they are like those of a woman in travail (Mic 4:9), that labours to bring forth (Mic 4:10), the issue of which will be good at last." Jerusalem's pangs are not as dying agonies, but as travailing throes, which after a while will be forgotten, for joy that a child is born into the world. Let the literal Jerusalem comfort herself with this, that, whatever straits she may be reduced to, she shall continue until the coming of the Messiah, for there his kingdom must be first set up, and she shall not be destroyed while that blessing is in her; and when at length she is ploughed as a field, and become heaps (as is threatened, Mic 3:12), yet her privileges shall be resigned to the spiritual Jerusalem, and in that the promises made to her shall be fulfilled. Let Jerusalem be easy then, for, (1.) Her captivity in Babylon shall have an end, a happy end (Mic 4:10): There shalt thou be delivered, and the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thy enemies there. This was done by Cyrus, who acted therein as God's servant; and that deliverance was typical of our redemption by Jesus Christ, and the release from our spiritual bondage which is proclaimed in the everlasting gospel, that acceptable year of the Lord, in which Christ himself preached liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those that were bound, Luk 4:18, Luk 4:19. (2.) The designs of her enemies against her afterwards shall be baffled, nay, they shall turn upon themselves, Mic 4:12, Mic 4:13. They promise themselves a day of it, but it shall prove God's day. They are gathered against Zion, to destroy it, but it shall prove to their own destruction, which Israel and Israel's God shall have the glory of. [1.] Their coming together against Zion shall be the occasion of their ruin. They associate themselves, and gird themselves, that they may break Jerusalem in pieces, but it will prove that they shall be broken in pieces, Isa 8:9. They know not the thoughts of the Lord. When they are gathering together, and Providence favours them in it, they little think what God is designing by it, nor do they understand his counsel; they know what they aim at in coming together, but they know not what God aims at in bringing them together; they aim at Zion's ruin, but God aims at theirs. Note, When men are made use of as instruments of Providence in accomplishing its purposes it is very common for them to intend one thing and for God to intend quite the contrary. The king of Assyria is to be a rod in God's hand for the correction of his people, in order to their reformation; howbeit he means not so, nor does his heart think so, Isa 10:7. And thus it is here; the nations are gathered against Zion, as soldiers into the field, but God gathers them as sheaves into the floor, to be beaten to pieces; and they could not have been so easily, so effectually, destroyed, if they had not gathered together against Zion. Note, The designs of enemies for the ruin of the church often prove ruining to themselves; and thereby they prepare themselves for destruction and put themselves in the way of it; they are snared in the work of their own hands. [2.] Zion shall have the honour of being victorious over them, Mic 4:13. When they are gathered as sheaves into the floor, to be trodden down, as the corn then was by the oxen, then, "Arise, and thresh, O daughter of Zion! instead of fearing them, and fleeing from them, boldly set upon them, and take the opportunity Providence favours thee with of trampling upon them. Plead not thy own weakness, and that thou art not a match for so many confederated enemies; God will make thy horn iron, to push them down, and thy hoofs brass, to tread upon them when they are down; and thus thou shalt beat in pieces many people, that have long been beating thee in pieces." Thus, when God pleases, the daughter of Babylon is made a threshing floor (it is time to thresh her, Jer 51:33), and the worm Jacob is made a threshing instrument, with which God will thresh the mountains, and make them as chaff, Isa 41:14, Isa 41:15. How strangely, how happily, are the tables turned, since Jacob was the threshing-floor and Babylon the threshing instrument! Isa 21:10. Note, When God has conquering work for his people to do he will furnish them with strength and ability for it, will make the horn iron and the hoofs brass; and, when he does so, they must exert the power he gives them, and execute the commission; even the daughter of Zion must arise, and thresh. [3.] The glory of the victory shall redound to God. Zion shall thresh these sheaves in the floor, but the corn threshed out shall be a meat-offering at God's altar: I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord (that is, I will have it consecrated) and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. The spoils gained by Zion's victory shall be brought into the sanctuary, and devoted to God, either in part, as those of Midian (Num 31:28), or in whole, as those of Jericho, Jos 6:17. God is Jehovah, the fountain of being; he is the Lord of the whole earth, the fountain of power; and therefore he needs not any of our gain or substance, but may challenge and demand it all if he please; and with ourselves we must devote all we have to his honour, to be employed as he directs. Thus far all we have must have holiness to the Lord written upon it, all our gain and substance must be consecrated to the Lord of the whole earth, Isa 23:18. And extraordinary successes call for extraordinary acknowledgments, whether they be of spoils in war or gains in trade. It is God that gives us power to get wealth, which way soever it is honestly got, and therefore he must be honoured with what we get. Some make all this to point at the defeat of Sennacherib when he besieged Jerusalem, others to the destruction of Babylon, others to the successes of the Maccabees; but the learned Dr. Pocock and others think it had its full accomplishment in the spiritual victories obtained by the gospel of Christ over the powers of darkness that fought against it. The nations thought to ruin Christianity in its infancy, but it was victorious over them; those that persisted in their enmity were broken to pieces (Mat 21:44), particularly the Jewish nation; but multitudes by divine grace were gained to the church, and they and their substance were consecrated to the Lord Jesus, the Lord of the whole earth.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv8–10 And thou, O tower of the flock,.... The words…
And thou, O tower of the flock,.... The words "Migdal Eder" are left by some untranslated, and think that place to be intended so called, which was near to Bethlehem, Gen 35:19; and perhaps is the same which Jerom (t) calls the tower of Ader, about a mile from Bethlehem: this is supposed to be the place where the shepherds were watching over their flocks at the time of Christ's birth, the tidings of which were first brought to them here; and the Jewish (u) doctors speak of it as near Jerusalem, and as a place of pasture; for they say, that cattle between Jerusalem and Migdal Eder, and in an equal space to every wind; the males were used for burnt offerings, and the females for peace offerings; and this place is thought to be referred to in the latter clause of this verse: others think that Bethlehem itself is meant, to which the dominion came; but rather, as in the next chapter, the ruler came out of that; others think that the gate in Jerusalem called the sheep gate is meant, Neh 3:32; and the tower at it, through which Christ is supposed to pass when he entered into Jerusalem as King, amidst the Hosannahs of the people; others take it to be the same with the tower of David, and put for Jerusalem itself, whither the tribes were gathered together three times a year, like sheep in a fold, so Kimchi and Ben Melech; here others interpret it spiritually of the church of Christ; but though that is sometimes spoken of as a strong city, and a fortified place, yet is never called a tower, or a strong hold; which phrases, when figuratively used, are always spoken of a divine person; see Psa 18:2; and here of the Messiah; and so the Targum interprets it,
"O Christ of Israel:''
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the church indeed is the "flock": the people of God are often compared to sheep for their harmlessness and innocence, and the church to a flock of them, which is Christ's flock he feeds like a shepherd; the flock of slaughter, a little one, consisting of persons separated from the world, and under his peculiar care; and he is the tower of this flock, in allusion to a shepherd's cottage, called a tower, as a cottage in a vineyard is in Isa 5:2; where the shepherds watch, and into which they bring the sick and lame, and take care of them; Christ is a high tower, where his people are safe out of the reach of their enemies; and a strong one, being the mighty God and mighty Saviour, who has all power and strength to defend his church and people, and may be well called their tower: and
the strong hold of the daughter of Zion; "the daughter of Zion" is the church, particularly the church of the converted Jews; Christ is the strong hold of it, into which, as prisoners of hope, they will be directed to turn, Zac 9:12; a strong refuge he is to flee unto from the avenger of blood, the justice of God; from the curses of the law; from the storm of divine wrath; from the temptations of Satan, and from the persecutions of men; a strong hold is he to dwell in, and where the saints dwell safely, pleasantly, at ease and peace, and very comfortably, and in great plenty; a strong hold for shelter from every enemy:
unto thee shall it come; not the kingdom, as follows, which our version leads to, and is the sense of Aben Ezra; for there is a considerable accent on the word "come", which makes a large stop; and that it refers, as Jarchi observes, to "her that halteth", &c. "it" or "she" that halteth shall come, being assembled and gathered, or converted by the grace of God unto the Messiah; as to her, or their tower and strong hold, where all blessings of grace, and the supplies of it, and all salvation and safety, are to be had and enjoyed. The promise respects the Jews coming to Christ upon their conversion, even such who have been the halt, the maimed, the lame, and the blind:
even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem; or rather, "and the first dominion shall come, the kingdom to the daughter of Jerusalem": meaning, not the first notice of the Messiah's kingdom, given by John the Baptist, Christ, and his apostles, to the Jews, in the first times of the Gospel; or the preaching of the Gospel of the kingdom first to them; but rather he who has the first or principal dominion, and to whom the kingdom belongs, he shall come to the daughter of Zion, as in Zac 9:9; though it rather respects here his coming to them at the time of their conversion, when they shall come to him, Rom 11:26; and when the first, chief, and principal kingdom in the world, and which is preferable to all others, will come unto, and be placed among them, as in Mic 4:7; and when it shall be, as some interpret it, as at the beginning, in the days of David and Solomon, and much more abundantly.
(t) De locis Hebr. fol. 89. E. (u) T. Hieros. Kiddushin, fol. 63. 1. T. Ban. Kiddushin, fol. 55. 1. Misn. Shekalim, c. 7. sect. 4.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv8–10 O tower - One tower put for the whole…
O tower - One tower put for the whole city Jerusalem. The strong-hold - Ophel, a strong fort, is likewise put for the whole city. The first dominion - The former dominion; the government (after seventy years captivity) shall return to the former royal family, and continue in it 'till Shiloh come. This, in the type was fulfilled, under Zerubbabel and his successors; but the whole antitype concerns the Messiah's kingdom.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv8–10 Verse 8. O tower of the flock] I think…
Verse 8. O tower of the flock] I think the temple is meant, or Jerusalem; the place where the flock, the whole congregation of the people assembled to worship God. Newcome retains the Hebrew word עדר eder, a tower in or near Beth-lehem, Ge 35:21 or, as some think, a tower near the sheep-gate in Jerusalem, I believe Jerusalem, or the temple, or both, are meant; for these were considered the strong-hold of the daughter of Zion, the fortress of the Jewish people.
Even the first dominion] What was this? The Divine theocracy under Jesus Christ; this former, this first dominion, was to be restored. Hence the angel called him Immanuel, God with us, ruling among us.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv8–9 Mic 4:8. And thou, O tower of the flock…
Mic 4:8. And thou, O tower of the flock — Or, of Eder, as Archbishop Newcome and many others translate the word, considering it as a proper name; a tower in or near Beth-lehem; see Gen 35:21. Or, as some think, a tower near the sheep-gate in Jerusalem, (Neh 3:1; Neh 3:32,) put here for the whole city. The word signifies a flock; the strong hold of the daughter of Zion — Hebrew, Ophel, a strong fort. Both expressions seem to be put for the whole city. Unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion — This was intended to signify the great honour coming to mount Zion, that the former dominion, the government, after seventy years’ captivity, should return to the former royal family, the house of David, and continue in it till Shilo came. This, in the type, was fulfilled after the restoration of the Jews to their own land under Zerubbabel and his successors; but the whole antitype concerns the Messiah’s kingdom.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv8–10 And thou, O tower of the flock - “‘Tower…
And thou, O tower of the flock - “‘Tower of Ader,’ which is interpreted ‘tower of the flock,’ about 1000 paces (a mile) from Bethlehem,” says Jerome who lived there, “and foresignifying (in its very name) by a sort of prophecy the shepherds at the Birth of the Lord.” There Jacob fed his sheep Gen 35:21, and there (since it was hard by Bethlehem) the shepherds, keeping watch over their flocks by night, saw and heard the Angels singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” The Jews inferred from this place that the Messiah should be revealed there .
Stronghold - (Ophel ) of the daughter of Zion Ophel was a strong place in the South of Jerusalem, the last which the wall, enclosing Zion, reached, before, or as, it touched on the Eastern porch of the temple , with whose service it was connected.
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We know that, after the captivity, the Nethinim, who did the laborious service of the temple, dwelt there Neh 3:26; Neh 11:21. It lay very near to the priests’ district Neh 3:28. It was probably, a lower acclivity, “swelling out,” (as its name seems to mean ,) from the mountain of the temple. In the last war, it was held together with “the temple, and the adjoining parts to no slight extent, and the valley of Kedron.” It was burnt before the upper city was taken. It had been encircled by a wall of old; for Jotham “built greatly upon its wall” 2Ch 27:3, Manasseh “encircled it” 2Ch 33:14, (probably with an outer wall) “and raised it exceedingly,” that is, apparently raised artificially the whole level.
Yet, as a symbol of all Jerusalem, Ophel is as remarkable, as the “tower of the flock” is as to Bethlehem. For Ophel, although fortified, is no where spoken of, as of any account . It is not even mentioned in the circuit of the walls, at their dedication, under Nehemiah Neh 12:31-40, probably as an outlying, spot. It was probably of moment chiefly, as giving, an advantage to an enemy who might occupy it.
Both then are images of lowliness. The lonely Shepherd tower, for Bethlehem, the birthplace of David; Ophel for Jerusalem, of which it was yet but an outlying part, and deriving its value probably as an outwork of the temple. Both symbols anticipate the fuller prophecy of the littleness, which shall become great in God. Before the mention of the greatness of the “dominion to come,” is set forth the future poverty to which it should come. In lowliness Christ came, yet is indeed a Tower protecting and defending the sheep of His pasture, founded on earth in His Human Nature, reaching to Heaven in His divine; “a strong Tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe” Pro 18:10.
Unto thee shall it come - (Literally, “unto thee shall it come , and there shall arrive etc.”) He saith not at first what shall come, and so raises the soul to think of the greatness of that which should come. The soul is left to fill up what is more than thought can utter. “Unto thee,” (literally, quite up to thee) No hindrances should withhold it from coming. Seemingly it was a great way off, and they in a very hopeless state. He suggests the difficulty even by his strength of assurance. One could not say, “it shall come quite up to thee,” of that which in the way of nature would readily come to any one. But amid all hindrances God’s Might makes its way, and brings His gifts and promises to their end. “And there shall arrive.” He twice repeats the assurance, in equivalent words, for their fuller assurance , “to make the good tidings the gladder by repeating and enforcing them.”
The “first or former, dominion.” The word often stands, as our “former” , in contrast with the “later.” It is not necessarily “the first,” strictly; and so here, not the “dominion” of David and Solomon exclusively. Rather the prophet is placed in spirit in the later times when the kingdom should be suspended, and foretells that “the former dominion,” that is, that of the line of David, should come to her, not in its temporal greatness, but the line itself. So the Angel said, “He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David, and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever” Luk 1:32-33.
The (A) kingdom to the daughter of Jerusalem - that is, a kingdom, which should not be of her, but which should come to her; not her’s by right, but by His right, who should merit it for her, and, being King of kings, makes His own, “kings and priests unto God and His Father” Rev 1:6.
The Jews themselves seem to have taken these words into their own mouths, just before they rejected Him, when they hoped that He would be a king, such as they wished for. “Blessed be the kingdom of our father David that cometh in the Name of the Lord” Mar 11:10. And in a distorted form, they held it even afterward .
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv8–9 Cloudy. Hebrew." fortress, or ophel," a tower or wall…
Cloudy. Hebrew." fortress, or ophel," a tower or wall near the temple, 2 Esdras iii. 27. --- Flock. Jerusalem was no better, after the Chaldeans had destroyed it, 4 Kings xvii. 9. Yet there Zorobabel, the Machabees, and Christ displayed their power. It was the cradle of the Church. Some take this to refer to Bethlehem, as chap. v. 2. (Calmet) --- Shall it come. Septuagint add, "from Babylon." After the captivity the Jews shall flourish, as the Church shall prove victorious over all her persecutors. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv8–10 tower of the flock--following up the metaphor of sheep…
tower of the flock--following up the metaphor of sheep (see on Mic 4:6). Jerusalem is called the "tower," from which the King and Shepherd observes and guards His flock: both the spiritual Jerusalem, the Church now whose tower-like elevation is that of doctrine and practice (Sol 4:4, "Thy neck is like the tower of David"), and the literal hereafter (Jer 3:17). In large pastures it was usual to erect a high wooden tower, so as to oversee the flock. JEROME takes the Hebrew for "flock," Eder or Edar, as a proper name, namely, a village near Beth-lehem, for which it is put, Beth-lehem being taken to represent the royal stock of David (Mic 5:2; compare Gen 35:21). But the explanatory words, "the stronghold of the daughter of Zion," confirm English Version.
stronghold--Hebrew, "Ophel"; an impregnable height on Mount Zion (Ch2 27:3; Ch2 33:14; Neh 3:26-27).
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unto thee shall . . . come . . . the first dominion--namely, the dominion formerly exercised by thee shall come back to thee.
kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem--rather, "the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem shall come (again)"; such as it was under David, before its being weakened by the secession of the ten tribes.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v9 Distress and subsequent redemption, Mic_4:9-10.
Distress and subsequent redemption, Mic_4:9-10.
The distant future, the prophet is convinced, will be all brightness and glory, but in the immediate future he can see nothing but gloom and despair. This new section opens with a vision of the agony and despair soon to be felt by the people. The prophet already beholds the destruction and hears the lamentation.
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Why dost thou cry out aloud? — Addressed is the “daughter of Zion” (Mic_4:10), that is, Jerusalem and its inhabitants. The capital is filled with lamentation over the present or rapidly approaching judgment.
A woman in travail — This and similar expressions are used not infrequently in the Old Testament, as expressive of extreme pain and anguish. The questions of Mic_4:9 are meant to be more or less ironical. The prophet knows well enough the reason for the lamentation and the helplessness of king and nobles in such a crisis.
King… counselor — There is a king and there are counselors; but in the time of calamity, when they are needed the most, they can do nothing, because one greater than they has caused the distress (see on Hos_13:10).
Be in pain… — Jerusalem may well continue the lamentation, for there can be no immediate relief; and the wail is justified, because the city is desolate; homeless and without protection the inhabitants will camp in the fields, until finally they are carried away into exile. Only after these calamities have been suffered will Jehovah manifest his redemptive powers. The tertium comparationis in the picture is only the pain and anguish; there is no thought of Zion actually bringing forth a child, that is, the Messianic king.
If Mic_4:9-10 were standing by themselves their interpretation would be a very simple matter; but when they are studied with due regard for their context difficulties seem to arise. Mic_4:11-12 picture the enemy gathered around Jerusalem, determined to defile and to destroy the holy city; but the scheme will not succeed; the enemy will be “beaten to pieces,” and Jerusalem will triumph gloriously; and all this will happen without a capture of the city or an exile. Such outlook seems to be in hopeless contradiction with the statements in Mic_4:10, which imply a conquest and an exile, and promise deliverance only after the people have been deported to Babylon. To remove this difficulty the words “and shall come even unto Babylon” are commonly rejected as a later interpolation. But the omission of these words by no means removes the whole difficulty, for the fate foretold in Mic_4:10 still remains very different from that announced in Mic_4:11; in the former there is an expectation of great affliction and suffering, in the latter all is triumph and glory. A more satisfactory solution of the difficulty, and one that requires no textual changes, is to separate Mic_4:9-10 entirely from Mic_4:11 ff., and to consider the oracles as two distinct utterances coming from entirely different periods of Micah’s ministry. At one time, near the fall of Samaria, he expected that Judah, including Jerusalem, would suffer the same fate as Israel (Mic_1:8 ff.; Mic_3:12), but it is not necessary to suppose that he adhered to this view throughout his entire ministry. It is at least possible that in his later years he was influenced by the conviction of his greater contemporary Isaiah that Jerusalem was inviolable (Isa_37:33 ff.). That conviction is reflected in 11ff., verses which fit admirably in the period of Sennacherib’s invasion in 701 B.C. (compare Isaiah 36, 37); Mic_4:9-10 would reflect the earlier conviction, expressed so forcibly in chapter 1. These words, then, may have been spoken either before or, better, soon after the fall of Samaria, while that calamity was still fresh in the memory of the prophet, or, perhaps, as late as 711 B.C. (compare Isaiah 20), when Sargon sent an expedition against Philistia. The mention of Babylon does not militate against the view that Micah is the author of the words, for the reference does not imply that at the time the words were spoken, Babylon had already displaced Assyria as the great Eastern world power. Babylon is mentioned simply as a place to which the people would be deported. According to 2Ki_17:24, Sargon settled in the territory of Israel men from Babylon, and this statement is corroborated by Sargon’s own inscription (Records of the Past, 7:29). It is only natural to suppose — and this would be in perfect accord with Assyrian practice — that the depleted territory in the east was filled with exiles from the land of Israel. If this was done we can readily understand how Micah, who expected the people of the south to suffer a fate similar to that of the north, might represent the people of Jerusalem as following their brethren from Samaria to the same place of exile.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv8–10 8–10. The revival of the Kingdom of David; misery…
8–10. The revival of the Kingdom of David; misery of the preceding period
8. And thou, O tower of the flock, &c.] It is clear that the prophet intends Jerusalem, which he addresses by an enigmatical title, to arrest attention and stimulate reflexion. (Other instances of this, Isa_22:5; Isa_29:1, Jer_21:13.) But why does he select this particular title? Two answers may be given. It was either (1) suggested by the figurative description of Israel as a flock (Mic_4:6, Mic_2:12), or (2) by the situation of a tower called ‘the tower of the flock’ between Jerusalem and Bethlehem—Bethlehem, which was appointed to be the birthplace of the Messianic King (Mic_5:2). The existence of such a town in the situation described is deduced from Gen_35:21, where Auth. Vers. inaccurately renders ‘the tower of Edar’). It may be doubted however whether this particular tower is sufficiently near Jerusalem to suit the context, for the prophet clearly indicates that it was either upon or close to the hill or hill-side called Ophel (see next note): Isaiah, too, in a prophecy parallel in more ways than one with Micah’s prophecy (see on Mic_3:12), mentions in combination ‘Ophel and watch-tower’ (Isa_32:14, literally rendered) in a description of the desolation of Jerusalem. The ‘tower of the flock’ mentioned in Genesis was probably a different one. There may have been many towers with this name (see 2Ki_18:8, 2Ch_26:10), just as there was more than one hill called Ophel (see 2Ki_5:24, where Auth. Vers. renders ‘Ophel’ loosely ‘tower’). The phrase ‘tower of the flock’ simply means that the tower was designed as a shepherd’s refuge against robbers.
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the strong hold of the daughter of Zion] Literally, the height, &c. It is a particular fortified hill which is meant, the so-called Ophel—according to most, the southern end of the hill Moriah between the Temple and Siloam, bounded on the east by the Kedron, and on the west by the Tyropæon valley. (But this view is uncertain.) This ‘Ophel’ had its fortifications strengthened by Jotham (2 Chron. 37:3), and here becomes the representative of the power of Jerusalem.
the first dominion] i.e. the kingdom of Israel in its widest extent. So most commentators; but the expression is peculiar.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv8–10 (8) O tower of the flock.—Israel having been compared…
(8) O tower of the flock.—Israel having been compared to a flock, Jerusalem is called its tower, or protection; and in Messiah the ancient dominion shall return to the Holy City. This is a more satisfactory interpretation than that which makes the tower of the flock Migdol-Edah (Gen_35:21), a place near Bethlehem.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv8–10 Vers. 8-10. After a certain period of calamity and…
Vers. 8-10. After a certain period of calamity and captivity the kingdom of David shall be revived.
And thou, O tower of the flock (migdal-edar). There was a village with a tower so called near Bethlehem, (Gen_35:21) and it is thought that Micah refers to it as the home of David and as destined to be the birthplace of Messiah. But the context compels us to consider the expression as a periphrasis for Jerusalem, which the prophet here addressee, declaring that the royal power shall be restored to her. It is evidently the same place as the stronghold (ophel, "the hill") of the daughter of Zion. The name "Ophel" is affixed to the southern spur of Moriah, opposite to the Mount Zion, from which it was separated by the Tyropoeon Valley. It was fortified by Jotham (2Ch_27:3) and Manasseh, (2Ch_33:14) and on it were the king"s house, i.e. the old palace of David, and "the tower that lieth out," or the upper tower. (Neh_3:26, Neh_3:27) This is probably the "flock tower" mentioned in the text; (comp. Isa_32:14, where Ophel and the watch tower are named together) and it is so called as having been originally a place of refuge for flocks, or of observation for shepherds. Micah uses the two expressions to represent the power and dominion of Jerusalem. The propriety of the usa of the term "flock tower" is seen when we remember that David was a shepherd before he was king, and that the Israelites are the sheep of the Lord"s pasture. The reference to a flock in the prceeding verses may also have influenced the prophet"s thought. Owing to a slight variation in the reading, the LXX renders Ophel by aicmwdhv , "dark;" so Jerome, "nebulosa;" Aquila, skotwdhv : Symmachus, apokrufov . These translators would refer the term to the ruinous condition of the tower. The first dominion shall come, i.e. the former, original empire, such as it was in the days of David and Solomon, and which had been lost in later times. The LXX adds, ek Babulwnov : and hence the Greek expositors explain the passage as referring to the siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans. The kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem. The verb "shall come" is better taken with "the first dominion," and this clause in apposition to the former, "the kingdom of" or "the reign over the daughter of Jerusalem." Sovereignty over Jerusalem, or, as others take it, that appertains to Jerusalem, represents rule over the whole country. In Messiah the glory and power are restored to the throne of David. (Luk_1:32, Luk_1:33)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v9 The Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of…
Mic_4:9-13
The Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies
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The moral regeneration of the world
I. The state of mankind requires it. Is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? It was more serious for the Jewish people to be deprived of a king than for any other people, for their king was theocratic, he was supposed to be the Voice and vicegerent of God. The prophet means to say, that when the Chaldeans would come and carry them away, they would have no king and no counsellors. Now, men in an unregenerate state--
1. Have no king. A political ruler is to man, as a spiritual existent, only a king in name. He does not command the moral affections, rule the conscience, or legislate for the inner and primal springs of all activity. Such a king is the deep want of man, he wants some one to be enthroned on his heart, to whom his conscience can render homage. No man in an unregenerate state has such a king; he has gods many and lords many, of a sort, but none to rule him, and to bring all the powers of his soul into one harmonious channel of obedience.
2. Have no counsellor. Society abounds with counsellors who proffer their advice; but some of them are wicked, most of them worthless, few, if any, satisfactory, that is, to conscience. What the soul wants, is not the mere book counsellor,--though it be the Bible itself,--but the spirit of that book, the spirit of reverence, love, Christlike trust.
3. Have no ease. Pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail. The unregenerate soul is always liable to consternation, remorse, it often writhes in agony. There is no peace, saith my God, for the wicked. Now, moral regeneration brings the man a true King, a true Counsellor, a true Peace--a peace that passeth all understanding.
II. It is opposed by formidable antagonists. The nations referred to are those that composed the army of Nebuchadnezzar. What formidable opponents there are to the conversion of man!
1. The depraved elements of the soul. Unbelief, selfishness, carnality, etc.
2. The corrupt influence of society. Custom, fashion, amusements, pleasures!
III. It is guaranteed by the Word of Almighty God. The enemies of the Jews were utterly ignorant of Gods purpose to deliver His people from Babylonish Captivity.
1. Man in ignorance fights against Gods purpose.
2. Man, in fighting against Gods purpose, brings ruin on himself.
The nations thought to ruin Christianity in its infancy, but it was victorious over them! (Homilist.)
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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v8 Mic_4:8 - Micah 5
THE KING TO COME
Mic_4:8 - Micah 5
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WHEN a people has to be purged of long injustice, when some high aim of liberty or of order has to be won, it is remarkable how often the drama of revolution passes through three acts. There is first the period of criticism and of vision, in which men feel discontent, dream of new things, and put their hopes into systems: it seems then as if-the future were to come of itself. But often a catastrophe, relevant or irrelevant, ensues: the visions pale before a vast conflagration, and poet, philosopher, and prophet disappear under the feet of a mad mob of wreckers. Yet this is often the greatest period of all, for somewhere in the midst of it a strong character is forming, and men, by the very anarchy, are being taught, in preparation for him, the indispensableness of obedience and loyalty. With their chastened minds he achieves the third act, and fulfills all of the early vision that Gods ordeal by fire has proved worthy to survive. Thus history, when distraught, rallies again upon the Man.
To this law the prophets of Israel only gradually gave expression. We find no trace of it among the earliest of them; and in the essential faith of all there was much which predisposed them against the conviction of its necessity. For, on the one hand, the seers were so filled with the inherent truth and inevitableness of their visions, that they described these as if already realised; there was no room for a great figure to rise before the future, for with a rush the future was upon them. On the other hand, it was ever a principle of prophecy that God is able to dispense with human aid. "In presence of the Divine omnipotence all secondary causes, all interposition on the part of the creature, fall away." The more striking is it that before long the prophets should have begun, not only to look for a Man, but to paint him as the central figure of their hopes. In Hosea, who has no such promise, we already see the instinct at work. The age of revolution which he describes is cursed by its want of men: there is no great leader of the people sent from God; those who come to the front are the creatures of faction and party; there is no king from God. How different it had been in the great days of old, when God had ever worked for Israel through some man-a Moses, a Gideon, a Samuel, but especially a David. Thus memory, equally with the present dearth of personalities, prompted to a great desire, and with passion Israel waited for a Man. The hope of the mother for her firstborn, the pride of the father in his son, the eagerness of the woman for her lover, the devotion of the slave to his liberator, the enthusiasm of soldiers for their captain-unite these noblest affections of the human heart, and you shall yet fail to reach the passion and the glory with which prophecy looked for the King to Come. Each age, of course, expected him in the qualities of power and character needed for its own troubles, and the ideal changed from glory unto glory. From valor and victory in war, it became peace and good government, care for the poor and the oppressed, sympathy with the sufferings of the whole people, but especially of the righteous among them, with fidelity to the truth delivered unto the fathers, and, finally, a conscience for the peoples sin, a bearing of their punishment and a travail, for their spiritual redemption. But all these qualities and functions were gathered upon an individual-a Victor, a King, a Prophet, a Martyr, a Servant of the Lord.
Micah stands among the first, if he is not the very first, who thus focused the hopes of Israel upon a great Redeemer; and his promise of Him shares all the characteristics just described. In his book it lies next a number of brief oracles with which we are unable to trace its immediate connection. They differ from it in style and rhythm: they are in verse, while it seems to be in prose. They do not appear to have been uttered along with it. But they reflect the troubles out of which the Hero is expected to emerge, and the deliverance which He shall accomplish, though at first they picture the latter without any hint of Himself. They apparently describe an invasion which is actually in course, rather than one which is near and inevitable; and if so they can only date from Sennacheribs campaign against Judah in 701 B.C. Jerusalem is in siege, standing alone in the land, like one of those solitary towers with folds round them which were built here and there upon the border pastures of Israel for defense of the flock against the raiders of the desert. The prophet sees the possibility of Zions capitulation, but the people shall leave her only for their deliverance elsewhere. Many are gathered against her, but he sees them as sheaves upon the floor for Zion to thresh. This oracle (Mic_4:11-13) cannot, of course, have been uttered at the same time as the previous one, but there is no reason why the same prophet should not have uttered both at different periods. Isaiah had prospects of the fate of Jerusalem which differ quite as much. Once more (Mic_5:1) the blockade is established. Israels ruler is helpless, "smitten on the cheek by the foe." It is to this last picture that the promise of the Deliverer is attached.
The prophet speaks:-
"But thou, O Tower of the Flock, Hill of the daughter of Zion, To thee shall arrive the former rule, And the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Zion. Now wherefore criest thou so loud? Is there no king in thee, or is thy counselor perished, That throes have seized thee like a woman in childbirth? Quiver and writhe, daughter of Zion, like one in childbirth: For now must thou forth from the city, And encamp on the field (and come unto Babel); There shalt thou be rescued, There shall Jehovah redeem thee from the hand of thy foes"!
"And now gather against thee many nations, that say, Let her be violate, that our eyes may fasten on Zion! But they know not the plans of Jehovah, Nor understand they His counsel, For He hath gathered them in like sheaves to the floor. Up and thresh, O daughter of Zion For thy horns will I turn into iron, And thy hoofs will I turn into brass; And thou will beat down many nations, And devote to Jehovah their spoil, And their wealth to the Lord of all earth".
"Now press thyself together, thou daughter of pressure: The foe hath set a wall around us, With a rod they smite on the cheek Israels regent! But thou, Beth-Ephrath, smallest among the thousands of Judah, From thee unto Me shall come forth the Ruler to be in Israel! Yea, of old are His goings forth, from the days of long ago! Therefore shall He suffer them till the time that one bearing shall have born. (Then the rest of His brethren shall return with the children of Israel.) And He shall stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of Jehovah, In the pride of the name of His God. And they shall abide! For now is He great to the ends of the earth. And Such a One shall be our Peace."
Bethlehem was the birthplace of David, but when Micah says that the Deliverer shall emerge from her he does not only mean what Isaiah affirms by his promise of a rod from the stock of Jesse, that the King to Come shall spring from the one great dynasty in Judah. Micah means rather to emphasize the rustic and popular origin of the Messiah, "too small to be among the thousands of Judah." David, the son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, was a dearer figure than Solomon son of David the King. He impressed the peoples imagination, because he had sprung from themselves, and in his lifetime had been the popular rival of an unlovable despot. Micah himself was the prophet of the country as distinct from the capital, of the peasants as against the rich who oppressed them. When, therefore, he fixed upon Bethlehem as the Messiahs birthplace, he doubtless desired, without departing from the orthodox hope in the Davidic dynasty, to throw round its new representative those associations which had so endeared to the people their father-monarch. The shepherds of Judah, that strong source of undefiled life from which the fortunes of the state and prophecy itself had ever been recuperated, should again send forth salvation. Had not Micah already declared that, after the overthrow of the capital and the rulers, the glory of Israel should come to Adullam, where of old David had gathered its soiled and scattered fragments?
We may conceive how such a promise would affect the crushed peasants for whom Micah wrote. A Savior, who was one of themselves, not born up there in the capital, foster-brother of the very nobles who oppressed them, but born among the people, sharer of their toils and of their wrongs!-it would bring hope to every broken heart among the disinherited poor of Israel. Yet meantime, be it observed, this was a promise, not for the peasants only, but for the whole people. In the present danger of the nation the class disputes are forgotten, and the hopes of Israel gather upon their Hero for a common deliverance from the foreign foe. "Such a One shall be our peace." But in the peace He is "to stand and shepherd His flock," conspicuous and watchful. The country folk knew what such a figure meant to themselves for security and weal on the land of their fathers. Heretofore their rulers had not been shepherds, but thieves and robbers.
We can imagine the contrast which such a vision must have offered to the fancies of the false prophets. What were they beside this? Deity descending in fire and thunder, with all the other features of the ancient Theophanies that had now become much cant in the mouths of mercenary traditionalists. Besides those, how sane was this how footed upon the earth, how practical, how popular in the best sense!
We see, then, the value of Micahs prophecy for his own day. Has it also any value for ours-especially in that aspect of it which must have appealed to the hearts of those for whom chiefly Micah arose? Is it wise to paint the Messiah, to paint Christ, so much a workingman? Is it not much more to our purpose to remember the general fact of His humanity, by which He is able to be Priest and Brother to all classes, high and low, rich and poor, the noble and the peasant alike? Is not the Man of Sorrows a much wider name than the Man of Labor? Let us answer these questions.
The value of such a prophecy of Christ lies in the correctives which it supplies to the Christian apocalypse and theology. Both of these have raised Christ to a throne too far above the actual circumstance of His earthly ministry and the theatre of His eternal sympathies. Whether enthroned in the praises of Heaven, or by scholasticism relegated to an ideal and abstract humanity, Christ is lifted away from touch with the common people. But His lowly origin was a fact. He sprang from the most democratic of peoples. His ancestor was a shepherd, and His mother a peasant girl. He Himself was a carpenter: at home, as His parables show, in the fields and the folds and the barns of His country; with the servants of the great houses, with the unemployed in the market; with the woman in the hovel seeking one piece of silver, with the shepherd on the moors seeking the lost sheep. "The poor had the gospel preached to them; and the common people heard Him gladly." As the peasants of Judea must have listened to Micahs promise of His origin among themselves with new hope and patience, so in the Roman empire the religion of Jesus Christ was welcomed chiefly, as the Apostles and the Fathers bear witness, by the lowly and the laboring of every nation. In the great persecution which bears His name, the Emperor Domitian heard that there were two relatives alive of this Jesus whom so many acknowledged as their King, and he sent for them that he might put them to death. But when they came, he asked them to hold up their hands, and seeing these brown and chapped with toil, he dismissed the men, saying, "From such slaves we have nothing to fear." Ah but, Emperor! it is just the horny hands of this religion that thou and thy gods have to fear! Any cynic or satirist of thy literature, from Celsus onwards, could have told thee that it was by men who worked with their hands for their daily bread, by domestics, artisans, and all manner of slaves, that the power of this King should spread, which meant destruction to [flee and thine empire] "From little Bethlehem came forth the Ruler," and "now He is great to the ends of the earth."
There follows upon this prophecy of the Shepherd a curious fragment which divides His office among a number of His order, though the grammar returns towards the end to One. The mention of Assyria stamps this oracle also as of the eighth century. Mark the refrain which opens and closes it.
"When Asshur cometh into our land, And when he marcheth on our borders, Then shall we raise against him seven shepherds And eight princes of men. And they shall shepherd Asshur with a sword, And Nimrods land with her own bare blades. And He shall deliver from Asshur, When he cometh into our land, And marcheth upon our borders."
There follows an oracle in which there is no evidence of Micahs hand or of his times; but if it carries any proof of a date, it seems a late one.
"And the remnant of Jacob shall be among many peoples Like the dew from Jehovah, Like showers upon grass, Which wait not for a man. Nor tarry for the children of men. And the remnant of Jacob (among nations,) among many peoples, Shall be like the lion among the beasts of the jungle, Like a young lion among the sheepfolds, Who, when he cometh by, treadeth and teareth, And none may deliver. Let thine hand be high on thine adversaries, And all thine enemies be cut off!"
Finally in this section we have an oracle full of the notes we had from Micah in The first two chapters. It explains itself. Compare Micah 2 and Isaiah 2.
"And it shall be in that day-tis the oracle of Jehovah-That I will cut off thy horses from the midst of thee, And I will destroy thy chariots; That I will cut off the cities of thy land, And tear down all thy fortresses, And I will cut off thine enchantments from thy hand, And thou shalt have no more soothsayers; And I will cut off thine images and thy pillars from the midst of thee, And thou shalt not bow down any more to the work of thy hands; And I will uproot thine Asheras from the midst of thee, And will destroy thine idols. So shall I do, in My wrath and Mine anger, Vengeance to the nations, who have not known Me."
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v9 Mic_4:9.] Zion will lose her king, wander into captivity,…
CRITICAL NOTES.
Mic_4:9.] Zion will lose her king, wander into captivity, but will be redeemed from her enemies. King] Loss of royal government, the cause of lamentation, more painful to Israel than other people; the king a sign of God’s presence, &c.
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Mic_4:10. Pain] Fig. of a woman with child (cf. Jer_4:31). Out of the city, &c] Set forth the greatness and certainty of the calamity. There … thee] Emphatic declaration; the scene of distress, the place of deliverance.
Mic_4:11.] Distant sunlight overclouded by present cloud. Now] Nations gathered not to hear the law (Mic_4:2), but for war. Defiled] Like a virgin.
Mic_4:12. Gather them] To be punished in turn when they have answered his purpose, when fully ripe, like sheaves, lit. sheaf. However great the numbers of the foe, all are but as one sheaf ready to be threshed [Calvin].
Mic_4:13. Arise] Deu_25:4 Horn] To push the enemies (1Ki_22:11). Gain] Goods collected by robbery (Jdg_5:19). Lord] Not for Zion’s selfish ends (Isa_60:6; Isa_60:9). Whole earth] Who through subjugating the heathen has proved to be such (Psalms 93, 96).
HOMILETICS
THE SUFFERING AND TRIUMPH OF GOD’S PEOPLE.—Mic_4:9-13
Israel’s history, like human life, has its dark and its bright side. Before the glory promised is ever gained, sorrow and trial must be endured. This is—
1. A constant rule; and—
2. A necessary order in God’s discipline. But the scene of trial was to be the place of deliverance. The sufferings shall be over-ruled for the salvation of his people and the destruction of their enemies. Notice:—
I. The bitterness of the affliction. “Pangs have taken thee,” &c. Pangs with out remedy, and painful as a woman in travail.
1. The loss of kings. “Is there no king in thee?” A visible king was a protection, and a symbol of God’s presence to them. The loss was most serious and irreparable. It was a condition of helplessness and shame.
2. The loss of counsellors. “Is thy counsellor perished?” Kings and judges were their counsellors and guides; but they were bereft of wisdom to direct, left in the hands of the enemy, and governed by captive nations.
3. The loss of liberties. “Now shalt thou go forth out of the city,” which shall be captured; “dwell in the field” exposed to danger; and be carried “even to Babylon” into long captivity. This was a sad exchange of liberty and luxury for bondage and misery. But it is the picture of many a soul reduced to slavery, bereft of God and writhing in agony.
II. The comforts under the affliction. All is not lost, though they have neither king nor counsellor. God will make up for everything.
1. Affliction will end in good. “Jerusalem’s pangs are not as dying agonies, but as travailing throes, which after a while will be forgotten for joy that a child is born into the world.” Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning (Psa_30:6; Psa_73:24; Jer_10:24).
2. Deliverance will be granted. “There shalt thou be delivered.” There, where sorrow is greatest and hope is faintest—even in Babylon, the most unlikely place, “the Lord shall redeem thee.” The utmost degree of affliction is often the nearest to the end, and help is not in the holy city, but in the stronghold of the foe. “Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.” The Red Sea must be the scene of triumph to Israel, and the prison the place of deliverance to Joseph and Peter. This magnifies God’s grace and power. “When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.”
3. Enemies will be subdued. “Thou shalt beat in pieces many people.” In their weakness, God will be their strength, and make them victorious over confederate nations. Their horns shall be iron, to push their enemies; and their hoofs brass, to tread them down. The destruction is universal and complete. All enemies shall be put under their feet, as conquered foes, or willing subjects. “Fear not, thou worm Jacob. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument, having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff” (Isa_41:13-15).
III. The spirit in which they should bear the affliction. If such be their prospects in the trial, how should they demean themselves?
1. They should cherish a patient spirit. “Why dost thou cry out aloud?” Calm fear and hush grief; though affliction be grievous at present, it shall afterward yield the fruits of joy and peace. Patience defeats the menace of the foe, but passion takes his part
“Patience doth conquer by out-suffering all” [Peel].
2. They should cherish a submissive spirit. “Be in pain,” &c. Grieve, but remember excessive grief, fretfulness, and rebellion, are unreasonable. Resistance is folly, submission is triumph.
“By not opposing, thou dost ills destroy,
And wear thy conquered sorrows into joy” [Young].
3. They should cherish a spirit of hope. What a bright prospect opens up before them! Why doubt or despair? God will accomplish his word. Hope will sweeten trial, and, like the sun, paint the rainbow on the clouds. “Black though our side of the canvas be,” said Sir Harry Vane, in going to be executed, “the Divine hand paints a beautiful picture on the unseen side.”
THE DESTRUCTION OF ZION’S FOES.—Mic_4:11-13
Those who exult in Israel’s fall, and seek to defile and outrage her, will be disappointed. Inscrutable wisdom will correct the children with the foe, and then destroy the foe with the children.
I. They are frustrated in their design. “Let her be defiled,” &c.
1. They sought her injury. They desired to defile her with blood, and condemn her in guilt. The wicked delight in the fall and inconsistencies of God’s people. They often become tempters, then accusers; “first desecrators, then sanctimonious justiciaries,” says one.
2. They feasted their eyes on her misery. “Let our eye look upon Zion.” The world always hates the Church and rejoices in its sorrow. Edom delighted in the chastisement of Israel (Oba_1:12); and the sufferings of the martyrs were a spectacle to the heathen. Malice is blind to all virtue, and eyes can always see what hearts can wish. “Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.”
II. They are crushed in their efforts. “Many nations are gathered against thee.” The powers of earth and hell are sometimes arrayed against the Church, but all in vain. They are against God when against his people. They may have wickedness to imagine, craft to devise, but are not able to perform (Psalms 21). God knows their thoughts, but they cannot defeat his purpose. Pharaoh’s counsel to extinguish issued in the increase of the chosen people. The wisdom, power, and counsel of man signify nothing, if they oppose the decrees of God. “He taketh the wise in their craftiness.” Learn—
1. The folly of designing against God.
2. The security of obedience to God.
III. They are ruined in their numbers. “Many nations” combined against Zion. The armies of Babylon, with their subject nations, the forces of Edom, Ammon, Moab, and others, who exulted in Judah’s fall, were types of the anti-Christian powers of the latter days. Neither numbers nor craft avail before God. They only ripen themselves for God to “gather them as the sheaves into the floor.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES
Mic_4:9-10. I. The moral condition of men. Kingless and restless, in captivity and misery. Unable to cope with sin, evil habits, and the world. Without the privileges of that city, whose builder and maker is God; exposed to danger, tumult, and the distractions of life. II. The purpose of God concerning men. To redeem, to govern, to guide, and to exalt above all misery and opposition. He will shortly bruise Satan under their feet, and every power of body and mind shall be consecrated to him.
Mic_4:11-12. The enemies of Zion.
1. Their number.
2. Their purpose,—to defile and rejoice.
3. Their spirit—proud and determined.
4. Their helplessness. “They know not the thoughts of God.”
5. Their ruin. “He shall gather them,” &c. God’s people begin, and he will finish, the work.
Gather them as sheaves. Persecutors.
1. Ripened by their own conduct.
2. Gathered by the providence of God.
3. Threshed by the judgments of God. “This prophecy received a primary and partial fulfilment in the victories of the Maccabees (1Ma_5:1). But its adequate accomplishment is in Christ. It is to be applied to the work of the apostles, and apostolic men, missionaries of Christ, who are compared by St. Paul to oxen treading out the corn (1Co_9:9; 1Ti_5:18; cf. Isa_32:20). Their work is indeed one of bringing the nations into subjection (2Co_2:14; 2Co_10:5; Eph_6:12); but it is in subjection to the law of love, in order that the good grain winnowed from the sheaves on the floor may be gathered into the garner of heaven” (cf. Psa_149:8) [Wordsworth].
Mic_4:13. The very image of the threshing implies that this is no mere destruction. While the stubble is beaten or bruised to small pieces, and the chaff is far more than the wheat, and is carried out of the floor, there yet remains the seed-corn. So in the great judgments of God, while most is refuse, there yet remains over what is severed from the lost heap, and wholly consecrated to him [Pusey].
The Lord of the whole earth.
1. God the supreme ruler of the world. Not merely the God of Israel, but ruler “of the whole earth.”
2. All things governed in the interests of the Church. The nations subject to Zion, not for selfish aggrandisement, but for her good and his glory (Isa_60:6; Isa_60:9; Isa_23:18).
3. The glory of victory should be given to God. All gains of merchandise, all achievements of intellect, all success of spiritual efforts, spring from him, and should be consecrated to him. Holiness to the Lord should be written on all things we do.
Mic_4:9-13. Of the struggles of God’s congregation. They must be maintained:
1. Under heavy sorrow, in secure expectation of their final redemption (Mic_4:9-10).
2. Under the mighty assaults of the foe, in sure confidence that the Lord sits upon the throne (Mic_4:11-12).
3. In constant self-examination. For although the victory must certainly be given to God’s cause (Mic_4:13), nevertheless, until Christ is born in the congregation (and in each individual, Mic_4:1), the result of every contest is deserved disaster and disgrace (Mic_4:13) [Lange].
The whole chapter sets forth—
1. The glory;
2. The peace;
3. The dominion; and,
4. The victory of the Church.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 4
Mic_4:1-2. Last days. God’s promises are dated, but with a mysterious character; and for want of skill in God’s chronology, we are prone to think God forgets us, when, indeed, we forget ourselves in being so bold to set God a time of our own, and in being angry that he comes not just then to us [Gurnall].
Mic_4:3. War. There must be peace when the art of war is laid by as useless, and shall be learned no more. That will be a blessed time, indeed, when the art military shall be out of date, and (being itself the greatest interrupter of learning) shall be learned no more. When soldiers shall turn husbandmen and vine-dressers. When a man casts away his sword we may well conclude he intends to be quiet. Thus the Lord gives quiet to nations which have been engaged in war, by causing wars to cease [Caryl].
Mic_4:4. Peace of country life.
“In all things grew his wisdom and his wealth,
And folk beholding the fair state and health
Wherein his land was, said that now at last
A fragment of the Golden Age was cast
Over the place, for there was no debate,
And men forgot the very name of hate.” [Wm. Morris.]
Mic_4:6-8. As the pleasures of the future will be spiritual and pure, the object of a good and wise man in this transitory state of existence should be to fit himself for a better, by controlling the unworthy propensities of his nature and improving all his better aspirations; to do his duty, first to God, then to his neighbour; to promote the happiness and welfare of those who are in any degree dependent upon him, or whom he has the means of assisting; never wantonly to injure the meanest thing that lives; to encourage, as far as he can, whatever is useful and tends to refine and exalt humanity; to store his mind with such knowledge as it is fitted to receive, and he is able to attain; and so to employ the talents committed to his care that, when the account is required, he may hope to have his stewardship approved [Southey].
Mic_4:9. King.
“Kings are like stars—they rise and set—they have
The worship of the world, but no repose.” [Shelley.]
Mic_4:8-10. The kingdom shall come. Observe, it is a kingdom that is to come to us; we are not to go to it. Also, it is not to be a kingdom of the dead, but of the living. Also, it is not to come all at once, but quietly; nobody knows how. “The kingdom cometh not with observation” [Ruskin].
Mic_4:10-11. It belongs, in truth, to the Church of God to suffer blows, not to strike them. But at the same time let it be remembered that the Church is an anvil which has worn out many a hammer [Beza].
Mic_4:12. Thoughts of the Lord. To those, the eyes of whose understandings are enlightened, and the avenues of their hearts opened to discern and adore the perfections of God, how manifold are the instances which occur of the providence of God interfering to direct the course of human events towards a salutary end; to make afflictions of men the by-path to enjoyment; out of evils, temporal and transitory, to produce substantial and permanent good [Bp. Mant].
Mic_4:13. Hope doth three things: it assures good things to come; it disposes us for them; it waits for them unto the end, each of which will be of singular use to fit us for pious sufferings [Polhill].
Arise. When God has conquering work for his people to do, he will furnish them with strength and ability for it; will make the horn iron and the hoofs brass: and, when he does so, they must exert the power he gives them, and execute the commission; even the daughter of Zion must arise and thresh [Matt. Henry].
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v10 Heb. "goel," Redemp. (Kinsman type). (See Scofield "Isa 59:20").
redeem
Heb. "goel," Redemp. (Kinsman type). (See Scofield "Isa 59:20").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v8 Zion Established Throughout the Earth
Zion Established Throughout the Earth
v. 8. And thou, O tower of the flock, the term being applied to a tower of refuge for flocks in time of danger, here as a fort from which the great King and Shepherd, the Messiah Himself, observes and guards His flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, the impregnable palace of the Church of Christ, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion, the glory of the New Testament Church being compared with that of the kingdom of Israel under its mightiest king; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem. Since the earthly Jerusalem is always at the foundation of the type, the vicissitudes and afflictions of the Jewish capital are made typical of the experiences of the Lord’s people.
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v. 9. Now, why dost thou cry out aloud? at the approach of the Chaldean invasion. Is there no king in thee? no visible representative of the Messianic promises?. Is thy counselor perished? this name also being applied to the reigning member of the house of David?. For pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail, the true believers in Israel feeling the deepest grief and sorrow over the desolation of the kingdom.
v. 10. Be in pain and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail, the catastrophe of the destruction of Jerusalem and of the exile of the people being imminent; for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, after it had been taken by the enemies, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon, being dragged into captivity; there shalt thou be delivered, namely, when Cyrus issued the decree setting the Jews free and thus laid the foundation upon which later arose the New Testament Church; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies, so that the people of the covenant would be restored to the Land of Promise, the land where the Messiah was to appear.
v. 11. Now also, namely, at the time of Judah’s deepest humiliation before and at the time of her exile, many nations are gathered against thee, in bold hostility, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion, namely, in malicious joy over her downfall.
v. 12. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, the object which He has in mind in thus dealing with His people, neither understand they His counsel, which intended to lead His people to repentance and to lay the foundation for a renewed Church in which the believing Jews were to be the nucleus; for He shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor, the enemies being heaped up for destruction in the Lord’s judgment.
v. 13. Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, according to the Oriental custom of having the sheaves threshed out on the open threshing-floor with the aid of oxen; for I will make thine horn iron and I will make thy hoofs brass, giving to His people a new and unconquerable strength; and thou shall beat in pieces many people, not by victories of the flesh, but by those of the spirit; and I will consecrate their gain, what the enemies had gotten by robbery and plunder, unto the Lord, as devoted to Him, and their substance, all their possessions, unto the Lord of the whole earth, whom the heathen would eventually have to acknowledge as the one Ruler, even if they consistently refused to accept Him as the God of their salvation. Cf Php 2:11.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v9 Now, why do you shout so loudly?
Now, why do you shout so loudly?
Micah is mocking the people, trying to make them think about why God is dealing with them in this way. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "Look at how you are shouting loudly." or "Think carefully about why you are shouting loudly." (See: Rhetorical Question)
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Is there no king among you? Has your counselor died? Is this why pain grips you like that of a woman in labor?
Micah continues to mock the people. These questions can be translated as statements. AT: "You have a king, but he is useless to you. All your wise people are still alive, but they have nothing wise to say to you. This is why you are weeping loudly like a woman who is giving birth to a baby." (See: Rhetorical Question and Simile)
Be in pain ... like a woman in labor
Micah compares the suffering the people will experience when enemies force them away from their cities to the pain a woman experiences when giving birth to a baby. (See: Simile)
There you will be rescued. There Yahweh will rescue you
Yahweh says the same thing in both active and passive forms to emphasize that he will do what he has said he will do. This can be translated in active form. AT: "There Yahweh will rescue you. There he will rescue you" (See: Active or Passive)
the hand of your enemies
Possible meanings for the word "hand" are 1) it could be a metonym for the power that the hand exercises, AT: "the power of your enemies" or 2) it could be a synecdoche for the person. AT: "your enemies" (See: Metonymy and Synecdoche)
translationWords
king
advice
labor pains
Zion
Babylon
Yahweh
hand
adversary
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv8–10 4:8 As for you, Jerusalem, the citadel of God’s…
4:8 As for you, Jerusalem, the citadel of God’s people: Jerusalem was a fortified royal capital city with a watchtower for the defense and security of its people. • The kingship will be restored: Cp. Amos 9:11-15; see 2 Sam 7:11-16.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.