As Micah the prophet
continued to describe the advent of the Messiah, he wrote of Him
being “the peace, when the Assyrian” entered the land of
Israel. Though this Assyrian who represents the Assyrian army, satan
or the latter day lands of Iran and Russia, the people of Israel will
“raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men”.
In chapter five and verse six of his prophesy, Micah shares how the
Messiah will deliver Israel from “the Assyrian” where we
read:
And they shall waste
the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the
entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the
Assyrian, when he comes into our land, and when he treads within our
borders.
The
verse begins, “And they shall waste the land of Assyria
with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof:”
Micah began with the word “And”
which denotes a continuance of his thought from the last verse. We
remember that originally the chapters and verses were not in these
manuscripts but are there for the ability to find passages of
scriptures more easily. Micah wrote, “they shall waste”
which literally means “pasture, tend, graze, and feed”
“the land of Assyria” or “the land of a step” “with
the sword” which is a “knife or tool for cutting stone”. He
continued, “and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof”
which means and refers to “the land of the rebellious or valiant”.
“Nimrod” was “the son of Cush, grandson of Ham, and
great grandson of Noah; a mighty hunter who established an empire in
the area of Babylon and Assyria”. In other words, the defense of
Israel will be so complete over “the land of Assyria” and
“Nimrod” that it will be like a pastureland when they
defeat it.
The
verse continues, “thus shall he deliver us
from the Assyrian, when he comes into our land, and when he treads
within our borders.” As though
he felt it important to reemphasize the point about defeating
Assyria, Micah wrote again, “thus shall he deliver”
which refers to the Messiah and means “snatch away, rescue,
save, strip off, plunder and spoil” “us from the Assyrian”,
and “when he comes”
or when the Assyrian “enters, brings in and is brought” “into
our land” which refers to the
land of the Israelites, “and when he treads”
or “marches or tramples” “within our borders”
or into their “region or territory”. When the “Assyrian”
enters the land of Israel and marches into their boarders, the
Messiah will deliver the people of Israel from their attack.
While
we meditate upon Micah's words, it will be helpful for us to imagine
ourselves reading this prophesy during his time on earth. What would
these words mean to us if we read them then? The threat of the
“Assyrian” army
was real and pending, and others had been defeated by this formidable
foe. Threats from them were pending at all times. Such is the case
for our day as well. We continue to hear of those who would attack
Israel should they have the opportunity, and interestingly enough,
they are from the same area as these Assyrians. Also, when we look at
“Assyria” as a
type “satan” and his imps, we know we are constantly under threat
and attack from him. When each of these attacks occur, it is good to
know that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, is on the scene. He, and He
alone, is able to stop the attacks and deliver both Israel and us
from the onslaught of the enemy. When we walk in alignment with Him,
we may be assured as Isaiah the prophet wrote in his prophesy in
chapter fifty-nine and verse nineteen:
When
the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall
lift up a standard against him.
May
we ever abide in the presence of the Lord so He will deliver us when
the “Assyrian”
comes to destroy us.
Next
time Micah writes more about the remnant of Israel,
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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