--- title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible" author: "Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown" languages: [en] shelf: "Commentaries" section: 531 of 927 url: https://scriptura.si/works/jamieson-fausset-brown-commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/531/ cite: "Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, section 531. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/jamieson-fausset-brown-commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/531/" --- # Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible *Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown* The Victorian standard commentary, critical and practical, from Genesis to Revelation. ## 531. Micah · 4 of 8 Source: https://scriptura.si/works/jamieson-fausset-brown-commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/531/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/jamieson-fausset-brown-commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/531/#p-N ### Chapter 4 ### Mi 4:1-13. Transition to the Glory, Peace, Kingdom, and Victory of Zion [¶2] 1-3. Almost identical with [Is 2:2-4]. [¶3] the mountain of the house of the Lord--which just before ([Mi 3:12]) had been doomed to be a wild forest height. Under Messiah, its elevation is to be not that of situation, but of moral dignity, as the seat of God's universal empire. [¶4] people shall flow into it--In Isaiah it is "all nations": a more universal prophecy. [¶5] 4. sit every man under his vine, &c.--that is, enjoy the most prosperous tranquillity ([1Ki 4:25]; [Zec 3:10]). The "vine" and "fig tree" are mentioned rather than a house, to signify, there will be no need of a covert; men will be safe even in the fields and open air. [¶6] Lord of hosts hath spoken it--Therefore it must come to pass, however unlikely now it may seem. [¶7] 5. For--rather, Though it be that all people walk after their several gods, yet we (the Jews in the dispersion) will walk in the name of the Lord. So the Hebrew particle means in the Margin, [Ge 8:21]; [Ex 13:17]; [Jos 17:18]. The resolution of the exile Jews is: As Jehovah gives us hope of so glorious a restoration, notwithstanding the overthrow of our temple and nation, we must in confident reliance on His promise persevere in the true worship of Him, however the nations around, our superiors now in strength and numbers, walk after their gods [Rosenmuller]. As the Jews were thoroughly weaned from idols by the Babylonian captivity, so they shall be completely cured of unbelief by their present long dispersion ([Zec 10:8-12]). [¶8] 6. assemble her that halteth--feminine for neuter in Hebrew idiom, "whatever halteth": metaphor from sheep wearied out with a journey: all the suffering exiles of Israel ([Eze 34:16]; [Zep 3:19]). [¶9] her ... driven out--all Israel's outcasts. Called "the Lord's flock" ([Jr 13:17]; [Eze 34:13]; ). [¶10] 7. I will make her that halted a remnant--I will cause a remnant to remain which shall not perish. [¶11] Lord shall reign ... in ... Zion--David's kingdom shall be restored in the person of Messiah, who is the seed of David and at the same time Jehovah ([Is 24:23]). [¶12] for ever--([Is 9:6], ; [Da 7:14], ; [Lu 1:33]; [Re 11:15]). [¶13] 8. tower of the flock--following up the metaphor of sheep (see on [Mi 4:6]). Jerusalem is called the "tower," from which the King and Shepherd observes and guards His flock: both the spiritual Jerusalem, the Church now whose tower-like elevation is that of doctrine and practice ([So 4:4], "Thy neck is like the tower of David"), and the literal hereafter ([Jr 3:17]). In large pastures it was usual to erect a high wooden tower, so as to oversee the flock. Jerome takes the Hebrew for "flock," Eder or Edar, as a proper name, namely, a village near Beth-lehem, for which it is put, Beth-lehem being taken to represent the royal stock of David ([Mi 5:2]; compare [Ge 35:21]). But the explanatory words, "the stronghold of the daughter of Zion," confirm English Version. [¶14] stronghold--Hebrew, "Ophel"; an impregnable height on Mount Zion ([2Ch 27:3]; ; [Ne 3:26], ). [¶15] unto thee shall ... come ... the first dominion--namely, the dominion formerly exercised by thee shall come back to thee. [¶16] kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem--rather, "the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem shall come (again)"; such as it was under David, before its being weakened by the secession of the ten tribes. [¶17] 9. Addressed to the daughter of Zion, in her consternation at the approach of the Chaldeans. [¶18] is there no king in thee?--asked tauntingly. There is a king in her; but it is the same as if there were none, so helpless to devise means of escape are he and his counsellors [Maurer]. Or, Zion's pains are because her king is taken away from her ([Jr 52:9]; [La 4:20]; [Eze 12:13]) [Calvin]. The former is perhaps the preferable view (compare [Jr 49:7]). The latter, however, describes better Zion's kingless state during her present long dispersion ([Ho 3:4], ). [¶19] 10. Be in pain, and labour--carrying on the metaphor of a pregnant woman. Thou shalt be affected with bitter sorrows before thy deliverance shall come. I do not forbid thy grieving, but I bring thee consolation. Though God cares for His children, yet they must not expect to be exempt from trouble, but must prepare for it. [¶20] go forth out of the city--on its capture. So "come out" is used [2Ki 24:12]; [Is 36:16]. [¶21] dwell in the field--namely, in the open country, defenseless, instead of their fortified city. Beside the Chebar ([Psa 137:1]; [Eze 3:15]). [¶22] Babylon--Like Isaiah, Micah looks beyond the existing Assyrian dynasty to the Babylonian, and to Judah's captivity under it, and restoration ([Is 39:7]; ; ). Had they been, as rationalists represent, merely sagacious politicians, they would have restricted their prophecies to the sphere of the existing Assyrian dynasty. But their seeing into the far-off future of Babylon's subsequent supremacy, and Judah's connection with her, proves them to be inspired prophets. [¶23] there ... there--emphatic repetition. The very scene of thy calamities is to be the scene of thy deliverance. In the midst of enemies, where all hope seems cut off, there shall Cyrus, the deliverer, appear (compare [Jud 14:14]). Cyrus again being the type of the greater Deliverer, who shall finally restore Israel. [¶24] 11. many nations--the subject peoples composing Babylon's armies: and also Edom, Ammon, &c., who exulted in Judah's fall ([La 2:16]; Ob 11-13). [¶25] defiled--metaphor from a virgin. Let her be defiled (that is, outraged by violence and bloodshed), and let our eye gaze insultingly on her shame and sorrow ([Mi 7:10]). Her foes desired to feast their eyes on her calamities. [¶26] 12. thoughts of the Lord--Their unsearchable wisdom, overruling seeming disaster to the final good of His people, is the very ground on which the restoration of Israel hereafter (of which the restoration from Babylon is a type) is based in [Is 55:8]; compare with [Mi 4:3], 12, 13, which prove that Israel, not merely the Christian Church, is the ultimate subject of the prophecy; also in [Ro 11:13]. God's counsel is to discipline His people for a time with the foe as a scourge; and then to destroy the foe by the hands of His people. [¶27] gather them as ... sheaves--them who "gathered" themselves for Zion's destruction ([Mi 4:11]) the Lord "shall gather" for destruction by Zion ([Mi 4:13]), like sheaves gathered to be threshed (compare [Is 21:10]; [Jr 51:33]). The Hebrew is singular, "sheaf." However great the numbers of the foe, they are all but as one sheaf ready to be threshed [Calvin]. Threshing was done by treading with the feet: hence the propriety of the image for treading under foot and breaking asunder the foe. [¶28] 13. thresh--destroy thy foes "gathered" by Jehovah as "sheaves" ([Is 41:15], ). [¶29] thine horn--Zion being compared to an ox treading corn, and an ox's strength lying in the horns, her strength is implied by giving her a horn of iron (compare [1Ki 22:11]). [¶30] beat in pieces many--([Da 2:44]). [¶31] I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord--God subjects the nations to Zion, not for her own selfish aggrandizement, but for His glory ([Is 60:6], ; [Zec 14:20], with which compare [Is 23:18]) and for their ultimate good; therefore He is here called, not merely God of Israel, but "Lord of the whole earth." ### Chapter 5 ### Mi 5:1-15. The Calamities Which Precede Messiah's Advent. His Kingdom, Conquest of Jacob's Foes, and Blessing upon His People [¶34] 1. gather thyself in troops--that is, thou shalt do so, to resist the enemy. Lest the faithful should fall into carnal security because of the previous promises, he reminds them of the calamities which are to precede the prosperity. [¶35] daughter of troops--Jerusalem is so called on account of her numerous troops. [¶36] he hath laid siege--the enemy hath. [¶37] they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek--the greatest of insults to an Oriental. Zedekiah, the judge (or king, [Am 2:3]) of Israel, was loaded with insults by the Chaldeans; so also the other princes and judges ([La 3:30]). Hengstenberg thinks the expression, "the judge," marks a time when no king of the house of David reigned. The smiting on the cheek of other judges of Israel was a type of the same indignity offered to Him who nevertheless is the Judge, not only of Israel, but also of the world, and who is "from everlasting" ([Mi 5:2]; [Is 50:6]; [Mt 26:67]; ). [¶38] 2. Beth-lehem Ephratah--([Ge 48:7]), or, Beth-lehem Judah; so called to distinguish it from Beth-lehem in Zebulun. It is a few miles southwest of Jerusalem. Beth-lehem means "the house of bread"; Ephratah means "fruitful": both names referring to the fertility of the region. [¶39] though thou be little among--though thou be scarcely large enough to be reckoned among, &c. It was insignificant in size and population; so that in [Jos 15:21], &c., it is not enumerated among the cities of Judah; nor in the list in [Ne 11:25], &c. Under Rehoboam it became a city: [2Ch 11:6], "He built Beth-lehem." [Mt 2:6] seems to contradict Micah, "thou art not the least," But really he, by an independent testimony of the Spirit, confirms the prophet, Little in worldly importance, thou art not least (that is, far from least, yea, the very greatest) among the thousands, of princes of Judah, in the spiritual significance of being the birthplace of Messiah ([Joh 7:42]). God chooses the little things of the world to eclipse in glory its greatest things ([Jud 6:15]; [Joh 1:46]; [1Co 1:27], ). The low state of David's line when Messiah was born is also implied here. [¶40] thousands--Each tribe was divided into clans or "thousands" (each thousand containing a thousand families: like our old English division of counties into hundreds), which had their several heads or "princes"; hence in [Mt 2:6] it is quoted "princes," substantially the same as in Micah, and authoritatively explained in Matthew. It is not so much this thousand that is preferred to the other thousands of Judah, but the Governor or Chief Prince out of it, who is preferred to the governors of all the other thousands. It is called a "town" (rather in the Greek, "village"), [Joh 7:42]; though scarcely containing a thousand inhabitants, it is ranked among the "thousands" or larger divisions of the tribe, because of its being the cradle of David's line, and of the Divine Son of David. Moses divided the people into thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, with their respective "rulers" ([Ex 18:25]; compare [1Sa 10:19]). [¶41] unto me--unto God the Father ([Lu 1:32]): to fulfil all the Father's will and purpose from eternity. So the Son declares ([Psa 2:7]; 40:7, 8; [Joh 4:34]); and the Father confirms it ([Mt 3:17]; , compare with [Is 42:1]). God's glory is hereby made the ultimate end of redemption. [¶42] ruler--the "Shiloh," "Prince of peace," "on whose shoulders the government is laid" ([Ge 49:10]; [Is 9:6]). In [2Sa 23:3], "He that ruleth over men must be just," the same Hebrew word is employed; Messiah alone realizes David's ideal of a ruler. Also in [Jr 30:21], "their governor shall proceed from the midst of them"; answering closely to "out of thee shall come forth the ruler," here (compare [Is 11:1-4]). [¶43] goings forth ... from everlasting--The plain antithesis of this clause, to "come forth out of thee" (from Beth-lehem), shows that the eternal generation of the Son is meant. The terms convey the strongest assertion of infinite duration of which the Hebrew language is capable (compare [Psa 90:2]; [Pr 8:22], ; [Joh 1:1]). Messiah's generation as man coming forth unto God to do His will on earth is from Beth-lehem; but as Son of God, His goings forth are from everlasting. The promise of the Redeemer at first was vaguely general ([Ge 3:15]). Then the Shemitic division of mankind is declared as the quarter in which He was to be looked for ([Ge 9:26], ); then it grows clearer, defining the race and nation whence the Deliverer should come, namely, the seed of Abraham, the Jews ([Ge 12:3]); then the particular tribe, Judah ([Ge 49:10]); then the family, that of David ([Psa 89:19], ); then the very town of His birth, here. And as His coming drew nigh, the very parentage ([Mt 1:1-17]; Lu 1:26-35; 2:1-7); and then all the scattered rays of prophecy concentrate in Jesus, as their focus ([He 1:1], ). [¶44] 3. "Therefore (because of His settled plan) will God give up to their foes His people Israel, until," &c. [¶45] she which travaileth hath brought forth--namely, "the virgin" mother, mentioned by Micah's contemporary, [Is 7:14]. Zion "in travail" ([Mi 4:9], ) answers to the virgin in travail of Messiah. Israel's deliverance from her long travail-pains of sorrow will synchronize with the appearance of the Messiah as her Redeemer ([Ro 11:26]) in the last days, as the Church's spiritual deliverance synchronized with the virgin's giving birth to Him at His first advent. The ancient Church's travail-like waiting for Messiah is represented by the virgin's travail. Hence, both may be meant. It cannot be restricted to the Virgin Mary: for Israel is still "given up," though Messiah has been "brought forth" eighteen and a half centuries ago. But the Church's throes are included, which are only to be ended when Christ, having been preached for a witness to all nations, shall at last appear as the Deliverer of Jacob, and when the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled, and Israel as a nation shall be born in a day ([Is 66:7-11]; [Lu 21:24]; [Re 12:1], 2, 4; compare [Ro 8:22]).