The LORD God through the
prophet Micah promised that He would assemble and gather the nation
of Israel so that the messiah in Jerusalem was as a tower watching
over and providing for them. These people would be comprised of the
“halt, driven out and afflicted”, and the LORD would make
this remnant a “strong nation” to whom He would return
“the first dominion” and “the kingdom shall come to
the daughter of Jerusalem”. In chapter four and verse nine,
Micah asks why the people of “cry out loud” where we read:
Now why do you cry out
aloud? is there no king in you?
is your counsellor
perished? for pangs have taken you as a woman in travail.
The
verse begins, “Now why do you cry out
aloud? is there
no king in you?” As Micah the prophet
shifted his focus from the coming millennial age, he now addressed
the imminent coming of the armies which were to come against Samaria
and Jerusalem. He began with the phrase, “Now
why do you cry” which means “to shout,
raise a sound or give a blast” “out aloud”
like a “blast of triumph or roar”. Micah also asked, “is
there no king in you?” or “ruler among
you?”. The idea is that since the people knew these enemies were
coming upon them, they were crying out loud, and Micah's question and
implication to them was, “why are you afraid? Don't you have a king
ruling over you?” Though they had a king ruling over them, he had
no power to resist the enemy that was at hand.
The verse continues, “is
your counsellor perished? for pangs have taken you as a woman in
travail.” Micah went on to ask, “is your counsellor”
or “one who gives advise, consult, counsel, purpose, devise and a
plan” “perished” which means “vanished, gone astray
and destroyed”. Micah continued, “for pangs” or “agony,
sorrow, a writhing and anguish” “have taken you” or
“grown strong, prevailed or grown in strength” “as a woman
in travail” which means “to bear, bring forth, beget and
gender”. The reason for the crying aloud from the people is because
they feel agony like a woman who is having birth pains because they
know a conquering enemy is upon them, and there is no one, neither
king nor counsellor who is able to help them.
As we think about Micah's
words, it will help us to imagine ourselves being in these peoples'
condition. What if there was an enemy just outside of our country who
was ready to attack us and take over our houses and lands? What if we
knew they had conquered every enemy they attacked previously and we
were next on their list? And what if we knew that our “king” and
our “counsellors” were not well equipped enough to defeat this
foe? Would we “cry out loud”? Would we not shout or give a
blast of sound which would seek the help of anyone who might come?
Can we understand their “pangs”? As we meditate upon these
things, let us remember that the LORD Jesus is the only one upon whom
we can truly depend. Should He ever lift His hand of protection, no
nation, army or person would ever be able to halt our defeat.
Heavenly Father, may we ever keep in mind from whom our real
protection and provision come. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Next
time Micah shares how the people will go through pain before they are
delivered,
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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