Verses 7-9
This is a passage that is speak directly to Israel concerning the remnant of Jacob.
Now this remnant mentioned in verse 7 could be the remnant that comes back from captivity in Babylon. Others see this remnant as faithful Jews who will reign will Christ in the future during the 1000-year reign of Christ. It could also be a reference to another time in the history of Israel. But regardless of the timeframe of this prophecy, these are significant words for us in understanding the heart and the character of God in how he relates to His people. God is a God who preserves His people but not only that He is a God who preserves them for a purpose. That is an important theme that I want us to remember this morning as we look as these words of hope to Israel in a very challenging time in their history.
The word “remnant” here in verse 7 simply means a small surviving group. It is a common theme in the book of Micah.
Micah 2:12: “Someday, O Israel, I will gather you; I will gather the remnant who are left. I will bring you together again like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture. Yes, your land will again be filled with noisy crowds!”
Micah 4:7: “and the lame I will make the remnant, and those who were cast off, a strong nation…”
And of course here in Micah 5:8: “And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples…”
Micah 7:18: “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance?”
The word remnant is both a hopeful word and a troubling word. It is hopeful in the context of Scripture because God is preserving and protecting His people. In a time that Israel is about to know defeat, they have the hope they will not be fully defeated. But there is also great hope for us that God’s faithfulness does not have an end point, an expiration date, or a limit. There will not be a point where the brokenness and evil of this world overcomes God’s people and they disappear nor where there be time in which God says, “I am done with you.”
God preserves His people.
But the troubling part of the word remnant is that there were people who once were apart of a larger group and have either been wiped out or they have fallen away.
The reason a group is called a remnant is because the faithful are few. Because people have walked away from God, because they have become unfaithful. But God in his mercy, in his grace operating out of His covenant and promise to His people does not simply allow them to disappear, to vanish.
There will be a remnant that God will preserve to accomplish His purposes and His plan of salvation. No matter how dark the world gets there will always be a remnant of faithful who pursue a relationship with the living God. And that remnant is not preserved through the choosing of humans, through the perseverance of humans but through the protection, through the grace, through the faithfulness of God.
The Church today is a remnant – a faithful few. Now there have certainly been times in our history, in our world and in country in which it seems a large group of of people have at least from a cultural or morality perspective embraced the ideas ands principles of Christianity but in reality those who walk in true faith, who profess Jesus as Lord and Savior have been always been a remnant, a smaller population of people walking in the truth of God.
In Matthew 7, Jesus acknowledged this, “For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
I believe even within the church, there is a remnant of true believers. Again, in chapter 7, Jesus said, ““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Not only within the world is there is remnant of those truly seeking God through Christ but in the church there are “many” Jesus said who know Jesus by name but not as Savior. And so from Israel to the church today God continues to preserve His people and accomplish His purposes through His people.
Micah was speaking to Israel in very distressing times. Israel understood that their enemies were going to siege them and overtake them, And Micah encourages them by saying all hope is not lost because God is going to preserve a remnant for His purposes.
Verse 7
Micah says that the remnant will be in the midst of many peoples, many nations. This remnant is going to be scattered. This remnant is going to be far from home. Hearing those words doesn’t sound like hope. It doesn’t sound like reassurance. I am don’t want to be in the midst of many nations, I want to be in my homeland with the people I know. Why is this hope? Why should this news bring joy to me?
It is hope because the preservation of the remnant isn’t primary for benefit of the remnant but for the benefit of the world. Meaning, the preservation of the church today isn’t for the benefit of the church.
Remember what God said to Abraham when he called him to leave his country. He said, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
When God called Abraham before the nation of Israel was even a nation the purpose of God’s people being established was to be a blessing to the world. When Jesus commissioned His disciples before the church had been established He told them, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” You are to be a blessing to the world.
The heart of God has always been to accomplish His purposes through His people for the benefit of the world. And not simply for the benefit of His people.
In verse 7, Micah describes the remnant among the nations was like dew and rain. the images of dew and rain in Scripture are often associate with blessing.
Proverbs 19:12, “A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.”
In Isaiah 44 the Lord is speaking to Israel about how He wants to spiritual restore them and He says, “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams.”
And so the Remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of all the peoples, all the nations for the purpose of being a blessing to them. As we also consider the heart of God in this passage, I believe God desires for His people today to be a blessing to the nations.
What does it mean to be a blessing? Does it simply mean to be good and kind and nice people to the world around us. Well, that is certainly a good thing to do. But the blessing that we get to be among the nations is to proclaim the hope and truth of Christ. That there is peace and healing that can be found in this broken world. There is a salvation we can find in the messiness of humanity.
The Lord is telling Israel I am not just preserving you to have a safe and peaceful life. I am not just preserving you from something, I am preserving you for something. And I believe the same is true of the church. God is not just preserving the church so that the church can gather together on Sunday mornings, so that the church can do life together as a church family. God is not simply preserving us from the world, keep us God from that brokenness, God is preserving us for the world.
We are not a remnant simply for our own benefit, we are being preserved for the benefit of the nations. And that is how we are to view the brokenness of this world. If you are believer in Jesus Christ, He is preserving you for a purpose. And it is not to huddle together in times of despair, it is not to retreat when the world is going mad but it is to run into the brokenness of the world. To let the nations know there is one who heals.
Now we may say, “but I don’t want to be in the midst of the brokenness”. I understand that living in a broken world that we are not eager to run into that brokenness. I don’t want to go into that darkness. I don’t want to go into that mess. I would much rather find comfort and safety with fellow believers.”
And yet that is what we have the privilege of doing. Isaiah 52:7, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation…”
You also might be thinking what impact can a remnant make. What impact can a faithful few have? This is what the Lord says to the small group of Jacob.
Verses 8-9
You are not going to go into the nations to destroy people like a Lion destroys a sheep. That is not what this graphic language is telling us. It is saying that as we go into the world with the blessing of the truth of the Gospel we go in with the very power of God. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus who goes before us.
When we go into the midst of the nations, we go not as the lamb but as the Lion. When we go into the nations, we will have adversaries. There is a spiritual battle that we are in. We certainly need to be aware of that. But Jesus said He will build his church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
The words of hope from Micah to the people Israel is still our hope today. And while the fulfillment of these words may have looked different to Israel or will look different to future Israel, I believe the heart of God to His people remains the same. He is preserving a faithful few (if you are a believer in Jesus Christ you are a part of that). He is preserving a few to accomplish His purposes in that.
He is not just preserving you from something, he is preserving you for something.