Walls Built Decree Removed Micah 7:11

As Micah the prophet likened the indignation for his sin being like Judah's, he knew the LORD would plead his cause, execute judgment and bring him to the light. As a result, Micah would behold the LORD's righteousness. Micah's enemy would look upon his restoration and be shamed and trampled in the streets for asking, “Where is your God?”, and in chapter seven and verse eleven of his prophesy, Micah made declarations concerning the walls being rebuilt and the decree being removed where we read:

In the day that your walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed.

The verse begins, “In the day that your walls are to be built,” As Micah continued with the thought of his enemy being embarrassed by his taunting and doubts, he gives a specific reason shame will be upon his foe - “In the day” which means “time, period or division of time” “that your walls” or “fence of protection as in a fortified city” “are to be built” or “rebuilt, established and caused to continue”. The walls were used for habitation, defense, towns and the temple, and once the nation of Judah endured their captivity in Babylon for seventy years, Nehemiah was given the opportunity to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. We can read more concerning the rebuilding of the walls in the book of Nehemiah.

The verse continues, “in that day shall the decree be far removed.” Micah continued with another reason his enemy would be disgraced, “in that day” which again is a “time, period or division of time” “shall the decree” or “statute, ordinance or task” “be far removed” which means “distant and far away”. In other words, the “decree” to tear down the walls of Jerusalem was to be repealed and removed from the city, and this would lead the way for the walls to be rebuilt.

As we think through these words of Micah the prophet, we should realize the significance of the walls of which he wrote. The walls represented safety, security, and dwelling places. They gave a sense of home, autonomy, protection, nationality and status. We should also remember as he was writing these words, the walls were still standing, and the people may have doubted his future sequence of events. What if the “walls” in our lives were suddenly under attack and removed? What if that which we relied upon for “safety, security, and status” was “decreed” to be extracted and we were exposed and vulnerable? We should keep in mind that Jerusalem's real security was in the LORD, and they needed no other. It was the LORD who allowed the walls to be torn down, and it was the LORD who would remove the “decree” and have them rebuilt again. The source behind it all was the LORD, and when we put our trust in, rely upon and cling to the LORD Jesus, there is no greater place to be safe and secure. May we always remember where our true security lie.

Next time Micah writes about Assyria, fortified cities, rivers, seas and mountains, 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.