Micah 4

Verses 1-13, “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke strong nations afar off; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore. But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, And no one shall make them afraid; For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. For all people walk each in the name of his god, But we will walk in the name of the Lord our God Forever and ever. “In that day,” says the Lord, “I will assemble the lame, I will gather the outcast And those whom I have afflicted; I will make the lame a remnant, And the outcast a strong nation; So the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on, even forever. And you, O tower of the flock, The stronghold of the daughter of Zion, To you shall it come, Even the former dominion shall come, The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.” Now why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in your midst? Has your counselor perished? For pangs have seized you like a woman in labor. Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, Like a woman in birth pangs. For now you shall go forth from the city, You shall dwell in the field, And to Babylon you shall go. There you shall be delivered; There the Lord will redeem you From the hand of your enemies. Now also many nations have gathered against you, Who say, “Let her be defiled, And let our eye look upon Zion.” But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord, Nor do they understand His counsel; For He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor. “Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; For I will make your horn iron, And I will make your hooves bronze; You shall beat in pieces many peoples; I will consecrate their gain to the Lord, And their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.”

Chapter 4 describes a future time when Jerusalem will finally be restored. During the millennial reign of Christ, people will flow to this capital to learn the ways of the Lord, rather than rejecting them. There will be no need for tools of war like swords, so they will beat them into something more useful, like a plowshare. The reason for this new peace is that Jesus will be ruling and judging the nations in righteousness. There is no conflict because there is only one way...God's way. The world cries for peace now, but it is not the same kind of peace. They want to be freed from the fear of the Lord, with their conscience eased to continue in their unrighteousness. This is a false sense of security. You cannot bring peace by putting all differences aside (including righteous doctrine), but not addressing the punishment of that which is contrary to God's word. You can't just hope real hard that evildoers will stop committing evil. The peace that Jesus brings will come from unifying all when righteousness is enforced. The likemindedness will emerge from being on the same path...the way of righteousness. Peace is the natural result of righteous living. You see, righteousness is the only way to bring true peace. Isaiah 32:17, “The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.”

Along with peace from the work of righteousness, comes assurance. This is the absence of fear. It is ironic that when you fear the Lord, you will have an absence of fear. This may be why we are told to fear and not to fear within the same section of scripture.  Matthew 10:28‭-‬31, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.  Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”  During this time, everyone will sit under their vine or tree, and no one will make them afraid. Everyone will walk in the name of the Lord, not just talk of the name of the Lord, and enjoy His blessings. He will strengthen even the lame and the outcasts, turning them into a strong nation. But before all of this will happen, pain will strike. Israel will be taken into Babylonian captivity, but from there be delivered. Many nations will gather against Israel, but the Lord will gather their enemies like sheaves of grain. Before the millennial reign...the tribulation period upon the whole earth, but His enemies, including Satan, are no match.