In Micah 4 we see the image of “The Mountain of the LORD.” This mountain in Israel will be a place where people from all nations gather to live in a time of peace and prosperity. The peace will be so profound that nations will pound their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. What a promise! Then the LORD turns to a promise for the restoration of Zion. While He reiterates the people will be carried off to Babylon, the future will be a time when they will return and prosper. As always, the LORD’s mercy supersedes His judgment.
In Micah 5, we read the prophecy of the coming of the Messiah. It is this prophesy the religious leaders and priests quoted when the Wise Men came to Jerusalem seeking the new-born king of the Jews. This king will be a shepherd for His people. This king will bring deliverance for them. The Assyrians are called out by name for judgment, but all the nations of the earth will be judged for their idolatry and turning away from the LORD.
In Micah 6, the LORD returns to His judgment of Israel. He reminds them of their corruption. Then He asks the rhetorical question: What shall we bring before the LORD? He tells us He doesn’t want sacrifices, and then offers this: He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8 ESV) Then He goes on to condemn the people for using corrupt scales and many other actions carried out against the poor.
Micah 7 closes the book with a call to look for the LORD’s salvation. The images go from hope to judgment, hope to judgment, but as always, the book closes with an affirmation of the LORD’s compassion and mercy. He will not forget His children forever. In the end He will redeem them, and they will follow Him!
As we return to John 3, we return to the most famous verse in the Bible: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. The verse is the culmination of Jesus’ interaction with a Pharisee named Nicodemus, who came at night to speak with Jesus. While Nicodemus exchanged pleasantries and affirmations of Jesus’ ministry, Jesus cut to the chase by telling him the only way to eternal life is to be born again. Nicodemus was confused, thinking Jesus meant a physical rebirth, but Jesus made it clear it is spiritual rebirth we must all experience. Only then will we experience the eternal life Jesus came to give us. Jesus offers the analogy of light and darkness to show us only as we live in Him, and in the reborn life of the Holy Spirit, will we live in the light. The chapter closes with John the Baptist pointing out the necessary ascent of Jesus to the limelight, while he fades into the background. As Jesus increases, and John decreases the world will focus on the Messiah. John’s work was simply preparation.