Micah 4:5

[dagnarus]

One of the sticky points I came across while reading the Bible was the matter of Micah chapter 4.

 

1And it will come about in the (A)last days

That the (B)mountain of the house of the LORD

Will be established as the chief of the mountains

It will be raised above the hills,

And the ©peoples will stream to it.

2(D)Many nations will come and say,

"(E)Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD

And to the house of the God of Jacob,

That (F)He may teach us about His ways

And that we may walk in His paths "

For (G)from Zion will go forth the law,

Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

3And He will (H)judge between many peoples

And render decisions for mighty, distant nations

Then they will hammer their swords (I)into plowshares

And their spears into pruning hooks;

Nation will not lift up sword against nation,

And never again will they train for war.

4Each of them will (J)sit under his vine

And under his fig tree,

With (K)no one to make them afraid,

For the (L)mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.

5Though all the peoples walk

Each in the (M)name of his god,

As for us, (N)we will walk

In the name of the (O)LORD our God forever and ever.

6"In that day," declares the LORD,

"I will assemble the (P)lame

And (Q)gather the outcasts,

Even those whom I have afflicted.

7"I will make the lame a ®remnant

And the outcasts a strong nation,

And the (S)LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion

From now on and forever.

 

When I read these verses it seemed obvious that Micah was prophesying about the last days, after God had set up his kingdom on Earth, and that in these days while the Israelites would be walking with YWHW, that all the different Pagan peoples would also be walking around worshiping their gods. Obviously this doesn't fit very well with standard Christian theology.

 

I'd be interested in knowing if anybody who knows a bit more about the history of the old testament and it's construction knows a bit more about Micah and how his theology fits in with the rest of the OT. Is my interpretation of the verses a reasonable interpretation of what it's talking about.

 

As a secondary question I would kind of like to know a bit more about whether or not their are any reasonable Christian apologetics explaining Micah 4:5. Not dumb ones like in the name of his god means each people will worship YWYH in his own language's name for him.

[Shyone]

One of the sticky points I came across while reading the Bible was the matter of Micah chapter 4.

 

When I read these verses it seemed obvious that Micah was prophesying about the last days, after God had set up his kingdom on Earth, and that in these days while the Israelites would be walking with YWHW, that all the different Pagan peoples would also be walking around worshiping their gods. Obviously this doesn't fit very well with standard Christian theology.

 

I'd be interested in knowing if anybody who knows a bit more about the history of the old testament and it's construction knows a bit more about Micah and how his theology fits in with the rest of the OT. Is my interpretation of the verses a reasonable interpretation of what it's talking about.

 

As a secondary question I would kind of like to know a bit more about whether or not their are any reasonable Christian apologetics explaining Micah 4:5. Not dumb ones like in the name of his god means each people will worship YWYH in his own language's name for him.

I'm not a bible scholar, but this seems to be consistent with the teachings that Yahweh is the God of the people of Israel alone and they are his chosen people.

 

It also appears to accept that God causes lameness: "I will assemble the (P)lame And (Q)gather the outcasts, Even those whom I have afflicted."

 

So it offers a vision of God as the protector of "Mount Zion" and the Hebrews alone rather than a ruler or god of all peoples.

 

Ah, but the NT changed all that!

[NotBlinded]

I don't know, but at least I know where Disturbed got their lyrics for the song "Liberate".

 

snip

 

"Out of Zion shall come forth a law

And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem

Nation shall not raise sword against nation

And they shall not learn war anymore

For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken"

 

Waiting, for your modern messiah

To take away all the hatred

That darkens the light in your eye

How long will we be

Waiting, for your modern messiah

To take away all the hatred

That darkens the light in your eye

Still awaiting, I

 

Still awaiting, I

 

Damn good song!