“He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”
Micah 4:3 (NIV)
Micah and Isaiah ministered to the same people at the same time, though Isaiah’s ministry was longer and seemed to be centered in Jerusalem, whereas Micah ministered in the countryside.
The message of Isaiah 9 and Micah 4 are so similar that people who think the bible is created by human reasoning might wonder which prophet copied the other. Of course, you and I know that God says the same things through His many different apostles and prophets, and that a wise person pays special attention to those things that are repeated by our LORD. He is saying it again for a reason - He wants us to learn something, to see Him more clearly and to worship Him.
In Micah the weapons of war are broken down, whereas in Isaiah the boots and cloaks of warriors are burned, and yet both images convey the message that the rule of the King will eliminate war.
I enjoyed history class in school, especially the parts about our wars, and when you study how they get started you realize it doesn’t take much! Disagreement over a boundary, over an insult, over a woman, over just about anything will get a war going- and those root causes is what Micah is addressing here in Micah 4. The King of kings settles disputes between people, which Christians who follow our Lord and His apostles’ teachings realize quickly for His righteous rule in our lives, makes it possible to live in peace with one another. Yet there is still war to this day, we still train for war and go to war, even Christian fighting Christian, and so we know that while we taste this righteous rule in part now, the full reality of a world with many people from many nations and tribes and languages living in peace without dispute is yet to come.
Until it comes each of God’s children are called to live their lives without dispute. How can we dispute with each other while living in the grace of our Lord Jesus who settled the great dispute between us and God on the cross through His body and blood?
When it does come, through the glorious return of our Lord to this earth, what we call social justice will not be an abstract idea but will be practised by all.
Come Lord Jesus come
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