As Micah the prophet
continued his sharing concerning the time of the “millennial age”
when Jesus Christ will rule over the earth, He told of the prosperity
and protection that would be provided to those who “walk in the
name of the LORD our God for ever and ever”. In chapter four
and verse six of his prophesy, Micah wrote again of the LORD
assembling and gathering His people back to Him again where we read:
In that day, says the
LORD, will I assemble her that halts,
and I will gather her
that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;
The
verse begins, “In that day, says the LORD, will I
assemble her that halts,” Micah
began, “In that day”
which means “a division or period of time” “says the
LORD” or “declares Yehovah
or Jehovah” “will I assemble” which
means “gather, receive or take in” “her that halts”
or “limps or is lame”. If we
use our imaginations we can picture the LORD gathering together those
who were either born lame, acquired limps or were made crippled
through battle.
The verse goes on to say,
“and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have
afflicted;” Micah went on to
say, “and I will gather”
which means “assemble or bring together” “her that is
driven out” which refers to
people who were “impelled, thrusted and driven away or banished”
from their homeland. Micah continued, “and her that I
have afflicted” which refers
to the ones the LORD had “displeased, injured, hurt or broken”.
Let us be sure to note that this is “the LORD”
who is saying these words, and it is He who will gather the “driven
out” and the people whom He
Himself afflicted.
While
we meditate upon the LORD's words as recorded by Micah, let us direct
our attention toward two discoveries we may make in this verse.
First, the LORD will be busy assembling and gathering these people
who were affected by the overthrow of their country. They were made
to be “halt”,
“driven out” and
“afflicted” when they were
forced to leave, and at that time the LORD will gather them back
together again. Secondly, let us take some time to think about the
last phrase of this verse, “her that I have afflicted”.
The LORD took responsibility for the “affliction” of this last
group. He allowed it. He watched over it, and ultimately it was
within His oversight where this affliction took place. The people, we
remember, had forsaken the LORD, and although He made many appeals to
them to return unto Him, they rejected His offer and suffered
affliction. Could it be that He would allow the same thing again
today? In light of Micah's prophesy, may we bow our heads, humble
ourselves, discover the LORD's ways, and know Him intimately before
we too become the “afflicted” of the LORD whom He must regather.
Next
time Micah shares about the LORD reigning over the afflicted and
downtrodden,
so read ahead, and
we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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