And he will be their peace. Micah 5:5 (NIV)
The greatest highlight of knowing God is the peace He gives us: peace to handle problems; peace to deal with relationships; peace to develop healthy lifestyles; peace in sharing God’s good news; peace that surpasses all understanding!
This peace would enable the Israelites to stand strong as judgment approached. Kind of like the old saying “take it like a man,” the people of Israel could handle the rebuke if they were at peace with God. I struggled trying to understand the rest of this prophecy (part of the reason I didn’t post anything yesterday) but this morning God showed me how this prophecy played out.
Verses 5 and 6 show acceptance to the fact that the Assyrian warrior was approaching to conquer them, yet the Israelites boast of conquering him. Now, history shows that the Israelites were conquered and exiled. Were they? Just think about the future of the Israelites in exile, did they have “shepherds” and “leaders” with them? Here’s a hint: Ezekiel, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Aben...Abed…Abedn…Benny. What about Ezra and Nehemiah? Weren’t these all great leaders and shepherds of the Israelite people during the exile? Are there others that did not make it into the history of Israel? Some suggest that verse five mentions the number of leaders as a means of showing that they would have plenty of leaders throughout their exile. Just think, Daniel was given authority of great significance (a ruler!). King Nebuchadnezzar is recorded to have gone nuts until he accepted the worship of God only. This prophecy came true! The God of peace follows through on His promises!
God scatters His people throughout the known world to bring their worship of Him into contact with man. The Israel, that had become stagnant in spreading the knowledge of God, was now fulfilling God’s desire to reconcile with all mankind. Is their a greater way to conquer foes and enemies than to live at peace among them and show them where true peace comes from? Got an enemy? Get peace, show peace, and live in peace.
God’s wrath and judgment go hand-in-hand. Verses 10-15 show the anger of God. The Israelites had trusted too much in their own might, in their own worldly power, and in their own “creaturely comforts” as a means to keeping them safe. What happened to trust in God?
God had to remind them that true security and peace in this life are only available through Him. He needed to remind them that His message of salvation and peace was for all mankind, and they were chosen to begin the spreading of this message. He does this by moving them out of their places of comfort! This seems to be a drastic measure but God has a plan to carry out in reaching out to man with His grace, and no person will stand in His way.
God was also preparing the way for the coming King of kings by spreading a monotheistic belief into the major seats of power in the world at that time. The church has experienced the same moving when it became stale: Jerusalem’s burning, the hordes in Europe, Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, and even in today’s times through countless opportunities to show God’s grace to scores of suffering people throughout the world (victims of earthquakes, tsunamis, AIDS, hunger, and more)!
God stirs the pot to break down the rule of tyrants and to move His plan through the hearts of men. As I have been learning through Radicalis, there are five global giants that only the church can conquer through the leadership of the Holy Spirit: spiritual emptiness (the cause of all conflict); corrupt, egocentric leadership; extreme poverty; pandemic diseases; and illiteracy. We have to stop throwing money at the problems and get to the root causes of them. We become a greater influence through planting churches to help reconcile man to God and vanquishing spiritual emptiness. We vanquish corrupt leaders by training and equipping servant leaders. We vanquish poverty by assisting the poor. We vanquish diseases by caring for the sick. We vanquish illiteracy by educating the next generation.
Sound Utopian? Maybe, but the power of sin has been broken for two thousand years, yet we sit back as if we are handcuffed by it. We have to stop acting as if waiting for “Jesus to return” is enough. Jesus told us to be endued with power, go, create disciples, and teach them to obey. We only believe in God when we act. Until then, we are non-believers. Chew on that for a minute.
The time has come for the church to act. God’s will is always done. Why not be a part of it instead of a hindrance to it? The Israelites did not “harken” or listen to God’s warnings. Should we follow in their footsteps?
- How have you experienced the peace of God lately?
- How has God followed through in His promises in your life?
- How can you better fulfill God’s plan for your life? What are you doing about it?
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