Wednesday 10 August 2022
- Bible Book:
- Micah
In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised up above the hills. Peoples shall stream to it, and many nations shall come and say: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth instruction and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (vs 1-2)
Background
There is a thread running through the Hebrew scriptures which necessarily establishes God’s hand on the Jewish people. They are God’s chosen. This offers great assurance. But there is a problem, a stumbling block.
If you are chosen, you feel special. That is right and proper. But God’s choice is a matter of grace. It offers security but also presumes responsibility. At the same time it risks the possibility of exclusivity. It's easy to think: 'We are chosen, but, of course, YOU are not.' There was, from the start, the possibility of this being built into the assumption that God’s people would make of their own status and, conversely, that of others. At certain points in their history the purity of the nation was asserted, not least after exile, as we read in Ezra and Nehemiah.
Micah, along with other prophets recognises this natural human failing and counters it. The charge is not so much: ‘you are not as special as you think you are’. They are, indeed, special. But alongside them others are also precious to God. So, after the people had become somewhat pretentious they are informed that “... and many nations shall come and say: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways.’” (v. 2) The implication is that while Zion is first, it is not alone. Rather the first among equals…perhaps?
To this end change and healing must come to the people, both literally and figuratively. People will be judged. Those who have been driven away will be gathered in. The process will be peaceable for there is a vision of people who "shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks." (v. 3)
The future is one of hope. As we read in verse 8, there will be change, but ultimately Zion will regain its place: "….O tower of the flock, hill of daughter Zion, to you it shall come the former dominion shall come, the sovereignty of daughter Jerusalem."
To Ponder:
- What does the imagery of Zion/Jerusalem have to offer us today?
- In what ways is it helpful, or unhelpful, to think of Jerusalem as a gathering place for all peoples today?