8 Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be a light to me.
9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord
because I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my cause
and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
I shall look upon his vindication.
10 Then my enemy will see,
and shame will cover her who said to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will look upon her;
now she will be trampled down
like the mire of the streets.
when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be a light to me.
9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord
because I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my cause
and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
I shall look upon his vindication.
10 Then my enemy will see,
and shame will cover her who said to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will look upon her;
now she will be trampled down
like the mire of the streets.
11 A day for the building of your walls!
In that day the boundary shall be far extended.
12 In that day they [2] will come to you,
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
and from Egypt to the River,
from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.
13 But the earth will be desolate
because of its inhabitants,
for the fruit of their deeds.
In that day the boundary shall be far extended.
12 In that day they [2] will come to you,
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
and from Egypt to the River,
from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.
13 But the earth will be desolate
because of its inhabitants,
for the fruit of their deeds.
14 Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
who dwell alone in a forest
in the midst of a garden land; [3]
let them graze in Bashan and Gilead
as in the days of old.
15 As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
I will show them [4] marvelous things.
16 The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
they shall lay their hands on their mouths;
their ears shall be deaf;
17 they shall lick the dust like a serpent,
like the crawling things of the earth;
they shall come trembling out of their strongholds;
they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God,
and they shall be in fear of you.
the flock of your inheritance,
who dwell alone in a forest
in the midst of a garden land; [3]
let them graze in Bashan and Gilead
as in the days of old.
15 As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
I will show them [4] marvelous things.
16 The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
they shall lay their hands on their mouths;
their ears shall be deaf;
17 they shall lick the dust like a serpent,
like the crawling things of the earth;
they shall come trembling out of their strongholds;
they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God,
and they shall be in fear of you.
God's Steadfast Love and Compassion
18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.
19 He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our [5] sins
into the depths of the sea.
20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and steadfast love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers
from the days of old.
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.
19 He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our [5] sins
into the depths of the sea.
20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and steadfast love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers
from the days of old.
The hymn which concludes the third series of prophecies and the book falls into four relatively equal stanzas: Zion’s faithful confession (8-10); Micah’s promise that all nations will find salvation in rebuilt Zion (11-12) followed by world–wide desolation (13); his request that God will again shepherd his people (14), followed by God’s answer (15) and Micah’s reflection upon the ensuing universal salvation (16-17); and the people’s hymn celebrating God’s incomparable grace and fidelity to them (18-20).
8 Personified Jerusalem commands her enemy (probably Nineveh; see v 12) to not gloat (i.e. rejoice in a victory). She explains that, though I sit in darkness (the gloomy imprisonment of captivity; Is. 42:6-7; 49:9), the LORD, who has committed himself forever to Israel (see vs 7, 20), will be my light (i.e. deliver her from the dungeon–like captivity).
9 Because her fall is due to her sin, not to God’s impotence or her enemy’s potency, she is ready to bear the Lord’s wrath because it is just and only for a limited time. After it has been paid in full (cf. Is. 40:2), God will plead her case as an advocate, not as a prosecutor (6:1), for she had done no wrong against her enemy. Then Zion will see (or ‘gaze on’) God’s righteousness in fulfilling his covenantal obligations to her.
10 Zion prays, ‘Let my enemy see your righteousness, and let her be covered with shame.’ Zion’s eyes will see (or ‘feast on’—the Hebrew is the same as in v 9) her [Nineveh’s] downfall.
11-13. The day, repeated three times to signify the same period, is as much a state as a time chosen by God in the near future. It is a day for Zion to rebuild her walls (those of a sheeppen, not ramparts; cf. 5:11). It is also the day for extending her boundaries so that there will be ample space for all nations to come (13) under the protection of her Shepherd–King. 12 In that day people will come from all over the earth, even from Zion’s ancient enemies, Assyria in the north and Egypt in the south (cf. Ps. 87; Heb. 12:22). 13 And then the earth will become desolate. After the elect (composed of Jews and Gentiles) find salvation within Zion, then desolation will come on the earth and its inhabitants as the result of their sinful deeds. The prophecy finds its consummation in the final judgment (2 Thes. 1:6-9; 2 Pet. 3:12; Rev. 20:11-15).
14 So Micah petitions God to shepherd your people, both Jews and Gentiles (Acts 15:16-18; Eph. 1:3-4). That picture is extended in the remainder of the verse: secure protection (staff) and ample provision (feed). Inheritance refers to the ancient and permanent land providing the family with livelihood (see 2:2; cf. Nu. 26:56). Today God gives his elect a permanent source of life in Christ (Jn. 10:28). The elect lives forever by itself in freedom. The compound in a forest, in fertile pasturelands signifies a ‘gardenlike forest’. Bashan and Gilead were the first lands conquered by Moses with mighty wonders (Nu. 21:33). Bashan was well known for its stately trees (Is. 2:13; Zc. 11:2) and its well–fed domesticated animals (Dt. 32:14); Gilead was famous for its good pastureland (Nu 32:1, 26). Micah is petitioning God to restore Israel’s original blessings.
15 God promises to answer this prayer according to his will.
16-17 As Micah reflects upon the preceding promises, he realizes that all nations will see God’s wonders (15) and be ashamed for risking their honour on powerless false gods. To lay their hands upon their mouths means ‘they will shut up’, and their ears will become deaf means ‘they will turn a deaf ear’. When God performs these wonders, the nations will stop taunting Israel and turn a deaf ear to the vain boasts of others and their empty arguments.
17 The nations will also renounce their power. The vanquished kings will lick dust as they grovel before the LORD. Confronted with his power, they will come trembling out of their old strongholds to worship him.
18 Micah artfully weaves his name, ‘Who is like Yah’, into the beginning of the people’s hymn, Who is a God like you...? None compares to him who pardons sin [guilt] and forgives... transgression (see 1:5). Israel’s breach of covenant was so great that none, apart from God, would have forgiven it (cf. 1 Tim. 1:15-17). Yet without that forgiveness Micah’s ministry would have been pointless. He would have had the satisfaction of venting his spleen, but the people would have been hardened in their sin (cf. Ps. 130:3-4). He now piles up God’s benevolent qualities, do not stay angry, show mercy (twice), have compassion and be true. God showed these same qualities when Israel sinned in making the golden calf and Moses [p. 832] asked him to show his glory (Ex. 34:6).
19 On account of his mercy, God will hurl all of his people’s iniquities into the depths of the sea so that they no longer threaten Israel’s existence, even as he had hurled Pharaoh’s army into the sea.
20 These qualities also guarantee that he will be true to keep his covenant he pledged on oath to their fathers in days long ago. All of this is possible because of Jesus Christ, who paid the penalty for his people’s sins and is God’s ‘Amen’ to his covenant promises.
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