Zion's Future Triumph

Micah 4:6-13 

6 "In that day," says the LORD,
"I will assemble the lame,
I will gather the outcast
And those whom I have afflicted;

7 I will make the lame a remnant,
And the outcast a strong nation;
So the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion
From now on, even forever.

8 And you, O tower of the flock,
The stronghold of the daughter of Zion,
To you shall it come,
Even the former dominion shall come,
The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem."

9 Now why do you cry aloud?
Is there no king in your midst?
Has your counselor perished?
For pangs have seized you like a woman in labor.

10 Be in pain, and labor to bring forth,
O daughter of Zion,
Like a woman in birth pangs.
For now you shall go forth from the city,
You shall dwell in the field,
And to Babylon you shall go.
There you shall be delivered;
There the LORD will redeem you
From the hand of your enemies.

11 Now also many nations have gathered against you,
Who say, "Let her be defiled,
And let our eye look upon Zion."

12 But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD,
Nor do they understand His counsel;
For He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

13 "Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion;
For I will make your horn iron,
And I will make your hooves bronze;
You shall beat in pieces many peoples;
I will consecrate their gain to the LORD,
And their substance to the Lord of the whole earth."

The remnant left of the faithful to the LORD God were to triumph over their enemies at last.  Once afflicted and outcasts, the called children who were left were to be called to the LORD by His word to reign over them forever as a loving Sovereign.  They had endured the trials and hard times because of God’s watchcare and according to the faith given them which they held to in the times of affliction brought on by their nation’s sin.  They would be given rule over the surrounding nations again as they were brought back to the kingdom of God and in worship to Him once more in Zion.  They were still overcome with fear as the nation was to go into captivity in Babylon, a fear of the pain as of childbirth which was a picture of their deliverance from bondage to their sin.  This also is a picture and foreshadowing of the gospel which delivers us from the pain and suffering of sin in which we are all born in bondage to.  Just as God redeemed Israel from their sin’s consequences out of the symbolism so Babylonian captivity, we are redeemed from sin’s consequences of eternal banishment to the lake of fire due to all who sinned as the devil (Matthew 25:41, Revelation 20:14-15) who led us there out of Eden’s Garden (Genesis 3:13, 2 Corinthians 11:3) and back into God’s presence.  As Israel was to be redeemed from the hand of her enemies who mocked her and gathered against that people to destroy them in vain, so also the followers of the fallen one pursue us till the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ at the final judgment.  The world set against Christ and His sheep cannot understand God’s thoughts or His word when heard.  They will be gathered up as wheat to be threshed on His floor of winnowing (Matthew 3:12, 13:30) and only the grain chosen to be saved will escape the fire consuming the sheathes.  Those who are the Lord’s will be saved from that never-ending destruction and be victorious in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57) as gain to all creation because we are His image bearers made to honor and glorify Him.  Like the remnant of Israel, we who are chosen and delivered from sin’s consequences will be with our Lord God and loving Creator forever to enjoy Him and magnify His grace and mercy in endless praise!  That is our future triumph in the new Zion on earth as one eternal nation under God.