Feed Your People Micah 7:14

According to the prophet Micah, the people of Israel were to be regathered into their country from “sea to sea” and “mountain to mountain” after being held in captivity within Babylon. However, they were to suffer desolation “because of their doings”, and there was to be a gap of time, seventy years, before the remnant of them would come together again. In chapter seven and verse fourteen of his prophesy, Micah calls upon the LORD in prayer to shepherd over and “feed” His people where we read:

Feed your people with your rod, the flock of your heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.

The verse begins, “Feed your people with your rod, the flock of your heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel:” As with most people who care for others destined for trouble and difficulty, Micah the prophet calls upon the LORD in prayer on behalf of the people of Israel. He wrote, “Feed your people” which means “to pasture, tend, graze, rule over and direct your people” “with your rod” which is a reference to a “shepherd's rod, staff, branch, offshoot, club or scepter,” and is meant to ask the LORD to “govern over and guide” His people. Micah calls the people, “the flock” which refers to a “small group of cattle, sheep, sheep and goats” “of your heritage” or “possession, property, inheritance, share or portion”. This “small multitude” “which dwell solitarily” or “separated, withdrawn and alone” “in the wood” which is a reference to the “forest, thicket, and wooded height” which is “in the midst of Carmel” which name means “garden-land” and is “a mountain on the Mediterranean coast of northern Israel, just below Haifa”. The prayer of Micah was that Israel would now dwell in security within the “wooded” and “fruitful” area of Carmel where the LORD was to watch over and care for them.

The verse goes on to say, “let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.” In addition to the security of the “wooded” and “fruitful” place, Micah continued his prayer by asking, “let them feed” or “pasture, tend and graze” “in Bashan” which means “fruitful” and is “a district east of the Jordan known for its fertility which was given to the half-tribe of Manasseh” “and Gilead” which means “rocky region” and is “a mountainous region bounded on the west by the Jordan, on the north by Bashan, on the east by the Arabian plateau, and on the south by Moab and Ammon; sometimes called 'Mount Gilead' or the 'land of Gilead' or just 'Gilead'. It was divided into north and south Gilead”. Micah desired for the people to be well fed, directed, watched over and cared for “as in the days of old” which is a reference to “a time, duration or period from antiquity, the past or as it was in olden times”. Micah had a time of reference in mind as he remembered the way the LORD used to watch over, care for and feed His children, and Micah's prayer was for this time to return.

While we think upon these words of Micah, we may be best served to realize the significance of a “shepherd” who is to watch over and care for his sheep. He nurtures them, guides them and helps them find sources of food and drink. He binds up their wounds, and helps them when they get into trouble. Micah asked the LORD not to just provide food for His people, but to “tend to and watch over them” as well. Micah remembered a time when the LORD watched over Israel, and his plea was for the LORD to do so again as they returned to their land. Perhaps we know of “shepherds” who pasture over people who need our prayers as they “tend” to their sheep. Jesus told the apostle Peter not only to “feed” His “sheep” but also to “tend” to them. Micah's inference is that sheep need “nourishment”,“security”, and mostly they need to be watched over and cared for by the Shepherd. Jesus said these words in the gospel of John in chapter ten and verses fourteen and fifteen:

I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

As the Father knows me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

There is no greater shepherd than Jesus, and He knows how to feed and tend to His sheep better than any other will ever do.

Next time Micah writes God showing the people “marvelous things”, 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.