Peace and security come through obedience to God. This is a Bible study teaching for “Humble Beginnings” on Micah 4-5 from the “Explore the Bible” series from Lifeway.

The assigned passages in this lesson from the Lifeway Explore the Bible series is another where we are assigned bits and pieces of the chapter, Micah 4:6-8 and Micah 5:1-9, but we’re going to go over the full chapters.

But before we start, I want to share some news from Pakistan. Last year about this time, I asked for prayer for Pastor John.* He joined us several times, and I think he came on screen at least once. He was the main person that translated for me when I started teaching. He had a legal issue at the end of last year that we were praying about. That resolved, and I think I shared that he got engaged earlier this year.

John was married just a couple of weeks ago.

Friday, I joined Mark’s Friday group Bible study and he shared that he had just received a message from John and his wife that she had been beaten in their home. While we were on the Zoom call for the Bible study, they called Mark. They then joined in the Zoom call and shared their story.

Since they got married, they have been teaching and preaching in Faisalabad. John’s wife, Jennifer, was teaching the women and girls. They were teaching a conference this past week and Jennifer wasn’t feeling well and so she went home. When John finished the conference and went home, he found her in their house beaten. Men had come in and attacked her, and were threatening that they should stop evangelizing. She was treated at the hospital, as you can see, it is a lot different than what we would have for treatment here. After they went home, people came to their home and were throwing rocks at it and were harassing them. They ended up fleeing their home, leaving everything behind, and they are in hiding in a small village right now.

I came across a report from the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom this week.[1] They have a database on their site of incidents of persecution across the world. This is only what the council hears of, and as I mentioned before, there is very little news in English media about what is going on in Pakistan.

John and Jennifer are Pakistani citizens, and this is treatment they are subject to. As I mentioned before, even though Christianity isn’t specifically outlawed,[2] being a Christian in Pakistan means that you are a second-class citizen, and they know they can’t go to the authorities for help.

The Afghan Christians waiting to find a way out of Pakistan have even less standing than John and Jennifer. In addition to the hostility towards Christians in general, there is increasing animosity towards the Afghan refugees. Just like here, prices for everything have gone up.[3] [4] [5] [6] Housing prices have gone up.[7] And then Pakistan had massive flooding just a few months ago.[8] [9] [10] Imagine we had Harvey flooding plus Katrina evacuees at the same time … and there was no help from neighboring states, no Cajun Navy to come and help us out. Before the flooding, before the pandemic, 77 percent of people in Pakistan lived in poverty. It’s like if we went to the Sunnyside area of Houston and expected the residents there to help and provide for the Kings Point residents that flooded. This is basically what we’ve done as a country when we handed Afghanistan back over to the Taliban and then left the poorest countries in the world to deal with the fallout.

I’m just sharing this so you can understand how dire the situation is. They need your prayers, but they also need help.

Now on to our lesson for today. I’m going to read all of chapter 4. It begins with a description of the Messianic kingdom.

In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house
will be the highest of all—
the most important place on earth.
It will be raised above the other hills,
and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.

We read this, and it doesn’t seem like that strange of a prophecy does it? Christianity is the largest religion in the world.^[11] If you add other Abrahamic religions to that total like Islam and Judaism, that makes up over half of the population of the world. “The mountain of the Lord’s house,” The Temple Mount is already one of the most contested places in the world.^[12]

As we’ve studied over the past few weeks, Micah was prophesying a judgment and captivity, but the people were in a time of prosperity. They were at ease. However, they were not major player on the scene. Then, just like now, they are a small country that relied on alliances with more powerful neighbors. Assyria, which is what is now northern Iraq, was the major power during Micah’s day. The countries around them worshipped foreign gods, they didn’t follow Yahweh.^[13] As the dominant power of the area, Ashur, the Assyrian god would have been seen as the most powerful.^[14]

But today, people do come from all over the world to worship at the mountain of the Lord’s house.

2 People from many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of Jacob’s God.
There he will teach us his ways,
and we will walk in his paths.”
For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion;
his word will go out from Jerusalem.

God’s word has gone out from Jerusalem. Even people who don’t believe in any God at all know who Jesus is and what he taught.

3 The Lord will mediate between peoples
and will settle disputes between strong nations far away.
They will hammer their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will no longer fight against nation,
nor train for war anymore.

4 Everyone will live in peace and prosperity,
enjoying their own grapevines and fig trees,
for there will be nothing to fear.

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies
has made this promise!
5 Though the nations around us follow their idols,
we will follow the Lord our God forever and ever.

I’ve read this passage many times before, but it has special meaning for me this week. Our Afghan friends are in this position because of circumstances they have no control over, bad decisions were made at their expense. But the Lord is promising a time when he will judge, and he is absolutely just and righteous. He will mediate. There will be no manipulating or jockeying for power. No one skimming aid or selling people groups because they want control of resources. There will be no war, war will even be forgotten.

Our world is full of so much inequity. I’m sure there were people that spent many times over on Astros gear than an entire family lives on in Afghanistan in a year.

But God is promising a time when all will live in peace and prosperity. No one will have to depend on the charity of others because they will have their own resources.

And there will be nothing to fear. They won’t have to worry about being attacked in their own home, or their children killed when going to school.

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen. If you want to know God’s will on what society should look like, this is it, because this is the way he will make it to be.

As I’ve been sending emails trying to find a path out for them, some people care but don’t know how to help. Some are cautious about saying anything because they don’t want to be expected to engage more, for there to be any expectation from them to help. And then some don’t even care enough to respond.

But what does Jesus say to the lost and lonely? To the people who are told by everyone else that there is no place for them … that they can’t come? He says, “in my Father’s house, there are many rooms” and he is preparing a place for us. Anyone who wants to come is welcome. There is no angling, maneuvering, or knowing the right people. There are no forms to fill out and no price that has to be paid, because Jesus has already paid the price.

There is no queue, no waiting list, because today is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Those are powerful words, especially if you’ve ever been through a period when hope has been deferred.

Israel’s Return from Exile

6 “In that coming day,” says the Lord,
“I will gather together those who are lame,
those who have been exiles,
and those whom I have filled with grief.

7 Those who are weak will survive as a remnant;
those who were exiles will become a strong nation.
Then I, the Lord, will rule from Jerusalem
as their king forever.”

8 As for you, Jerusalem,
the citadel of God’s people,
your royal might and power
will come back to you again.
The kingship will be restored
to my precious Jerusalem.

The Jews did return from exile. They did build a second temple, but as we’ve discussed before, this was not the full fulfillment. Even that initial return was just a foreshadowing. This passage is referring to “the last days,” “in that coming day,” or it is sometimes referred to as “the Day of the Lord.” It is the day, when the Lord himself will rule from Jerusalem.

Mobilize! Marshal your troops!
The enemy is laying siege to Jerusalem.
They will strike Israel’s leader
in the face with a rod.

The NET study Bible notes that striking Israel’s leader in the face with a rod is a symbol that Israel’s leadership would be humiliated.

A Ruler from Bethlehem

2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
are only a small village among all the people of Judah.
Yet a ruler of Israel,
whose origins are in the distant past,
will come from you on my behalf.

This is a prophecy of the coming Messiah. We are given several details in this passage. First that the Messiah would come from a seemingly insignificant place, not a place of power. He would come from David’s hometown, Bethlehem.

When the wise men, the men from the East, went to the palace searching for Jesus, they asked Herod the Great where to find him. He asked the religious leaders who quoted this passage. This is the account in Matthew 2

 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. 4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”

The quotation in Matthew is slightly different than my translation. First, I am reading from the New Living Translation which is a dynamic equivalence translation from the Hebrew Bible. Second, Matthew himself is connecting a few dots between several passages and relying on Jewish midrash that would have been familiar to his original hearers. Matthew’s main audience for his Gospel was to the Jews and his purpose was to illustrate how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the promised Messiah. This quotation is not a straight word for word translation from Micah 5:2, but draws on the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible that many Jews used during the time of Jesus, and his paraphrase pulls in 2 Samuel 5:2 and Genesis 49:10. I found a journal article that explains this in detail. I’ll send a link to it online when I send a link to this video.^[15]

Fun fact: one of the other things I learned this week. During the time of Jesus, what is now known as Afghanistan was part of the kingdom of Parthia. Parthia is where the “wise men from the east” came from.

3 The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies
until the woman in labor gives birth.
Then at last his fellow countrymen
will return from exile to their own land.

4 And he will stand to lead his flock with the Lord’s strength,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
Then his people will live there undisturbed,
for he will be highly honored around the world.
5     And he will be the source of peace.

This is a comment from the leader’s guide

This peace means more than the absence of war. It connotes both external and internal satisfaction and sufficiency. Isaiah, Micah’s contemporary, called Him the “Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6). He will eliminate every threat.

Micah is promising a time when there will be complete and absolute peace. But every Christian who has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit does not have to wait until that final fulfillment. Jesus said that he gives peace not as the world gives. It is peace even in the middle of chaos and turmoil. He is our peace while we are in the middle of trials. (John 14:27) He didn’t leave us to our troubles, he came and walked through those troubles with us. And he still is.

We may live in more safety than our friends in Afghanistan do, but no can control every aspect of their life. Ahmad said this week, “It is the love of God that we are still breathing.”

And that is true. It is true for them and it is true for us. Whatever you have, whatever you think you can control, all of it can be taken in a moment.

When the Assyrians invade our land
and break through our defenses,
we will appoint seven rulers to watch over us,
eight princes to lead us.

6 They will rule Assyria with drawn swords
and enter the gates of the land of Nimrod.
He will rescue us from the Assyrians
when they pour over the borders to invade our land.

The leader’s guide points out that Micah is using a Hebrew idiom in this passage, writing:

The seven . . . eight statement was a common Hebrew way of communicating that they would have an abundance of leaders to do what was needed. They would be shepherds who protect their sheep just as David did his actual flock in the field (1 Sam. 17:34-37). Under the rule of the Messiah, these leaders and their people will be able to have peace of mind as they fight, confident of the peace that will be won when their enemies are defeated.[16]

Judah would have the actual Assyrian nation, but this passage is saying that even after their return, that the troubles won’t cease. But that when we have the King of Peace with us, we can stand against the worst of the enemies. This is a description of the terror the Assyrians inspired:

The Assyrian army was known for their courage, toughness, violence and cruelty. Their weaponry was state of the art for their time – composite bows, horses, chariots, and powerful battering rams for besieging city walls. Their prior tactics of impaling, hamstringing, or flaying their enemies as well as leading captives away with hooks in their noses and lips caused a great fear to precede them, motivating some towns and cities to capitulate rather than fight.[17]

This is really a promise for now as well. The Messiah has come, he has given his holy spirit to us. Micah is talking about once this Messiah has come, he will be with us in our troubles. These verses are about stepping up to face challenges with the confidence that God is delivering us.

The Remnant Purified

7 Then the remnant left in Israel
will take their place among the nations.
They will be like dew sent by the Lord
or like rain falling on the grass,
which no one can hold back
and no one can restrain.

8 The remnant left in Israel
will take their place among the nations.
They will be like a lion among the animals of the forest,
like a strong young lion among flocks of sheep and goats,
pouncing and tearing as they go
with no rescuer in sight.

9 The people of Israel will stand up to their foes,
and all their enemies will be wiped out.

When Micah was ministering to Judah, it’s leaders were catering to the powers of the day. They were trying to placate the Assyrians rather than putting their trust in God to deliver them.

Micah is prophesying a confident and courageous people. A people who knew their God and put their hope in him. Because of this, they are “like dew sent by the Lord or like rain falling on the grass.” They are a blessing to those around them, they bring refreshment and what is needed.

This is something we need to ask ourselves, are we being a blessing. When we interact with someone, do they walk away feeling refreshed or worn out?

This is a passage about courage, about standing up and doing the hard and overwhelming things because we trust God to get us through.

12 So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. 13 Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong. – Hebrews 12:12-13

This Bible lesson was originally taught by Carla Alvarez on November 20, 2022 in the Kingdom Citizens Bible study Class at the Second Baptist North campus in Kingwood, Texas.

Endnotes

This lesson was originally written to be given in person. I have added additional citations to support some of the statements made in the lesson when I added the written version to Raised to Walk in 2025.

* The names of the Pakistani Christians have been changed.

[1] “US Commission on International Religious Freedom.” USCIRF, Accessed November 19, 2022. https://www.uscirf.gov/.

[2] Islam is the state religion of Pakistan; however, the Pakistan constitution states “Subject to law, public order, and morality, every citizen shall have the right to profess, practice, and propagate his religion.” There is a stated freedom of religion, but the state religion in reality overrides the free exercise of other religions and even other traditions of Islam. Ahmadis, a sect of Islam (Nabeel Qureshi was a former Ahmadi Muslim) are considered nonMuslims by the Pakistan constitution. Muslims of other sects and individuals following other faiths can practice their religion; however, they are under the continual threat of being accused of blasphemy whether there is any basis or not. There will be waves of violence against churches and Christians in Pakistan and the excuse is usually that they blasphemed against a tenet of Islam or Mohammad. As of February 2025, according to Open Doors International, Pakistan is considered the eighth most dangerous country to be a Christian, more dangerous than Afghanistan, which is ranked #10.

“2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Pakistan.” United States Department of State, 2021, accessed February 6, 2025, https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/pakistan/

“World Watch List 2025.” Open Doors International. Accessed February 9, 2025. https://www.opendoors.org/en-US/persecution/countries/.

[3] Ali Asad Sabir, “Food Insecurity Fears Rise as Purchasing Power Weakens in Pakistan.” Pro Pakistani, December 19, 2022. Accessed February 8, 2025, https://propakistani.pk/2022/12/19/food-insecurity-fears-rise-as-purchasing-power-weakens-in-pakistan/.

[4] Salman Masood and Christina Goldbaum. “Pakistan Raises Fuel Prices in Effort to Stabilize Economy,” The New York Times, May 27, 2022. Accessed February 8, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/27/world/asia/pakistan-fuel-price-crisis.html.

[5] Ghulam Abbas, “Inflation Reaches 21.32pc in June, Highest in 14 Years.” Profit by Pakistan Today, July 1, 2022. Accessed February 8, 2025, https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/07/01/inflation-reaches-21-32pc-in-june-highest-in-14-years/.

[6] “Pakistan’s Oct CPI Accelerates to 26.6% y/y on Food and Fuel Costs.” Reuters. November 1, 2022, sec. Retail & Consumer. Accessed February 8, 2025, https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/pakistans-oct-cpi-accelerates-266-yy-food-fuel-costs-2022-11-01/.

[7] “World Bank Hints at Impending Housing Crisis in Pakistan.” ProPakistani, September 12, 2022. Accessed February 8, 2025, https://propakistani.pk/2022/09/12/world-bank-hints-at-impending-housing-crisis-in-pakistan/.

[8] Kathleen Magramo, “A Third of Pakistan Is Underwater amid Its Worst Floods in History. Here’s What You Need to Know.” CNN, September 2, 2022. Accessed February 8, 2025, https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/02/asia/pakistan-floods-climate-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html.

[9] The Visual Journalism Team. “Pakistan Floods: Map and Satellite Photos Show Extent of Devastation.” BBC News, August 30, 2022. Accessed February 8, 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62728678.

[10] Hong, Chi-Cherng, An-Yi Huang, Huang-Hsiung Hsu, Wan-Ling Tseng, Mong-Ming Lu, and Chih-Chun Chang. “Causes of 2022 Pakistan Flooding and Its Linkage with China and Europe Heatwaves.” Npj Climate and Atmospheric Science 6, no. 1 (October 14, 2023): 1–10. Accessed February 8, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-023-00492-2.

^[11] Anshool Deshmukh, “Mapped: The World’s Major Religions,” Visual Capitalist, last modified February 11, 2022, accessed November 19, 2022, https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-major-religions-of-the-world/.

^[12] “Temple Mount – Early History & Traditions,” Be Bold, Be Booqify – Tours and Tour Guides around the World, n.d., accessed November 19, 2022, https://www.booqify.com/guide/temple-mount-early-history-traditions/.

^[13] Eric a Mitchell | Southwestern Journal of Theology Vol 46- Fall 2003, “Micah – The Man and His Times | Preaching Source,” n.d., accessed November 19, 2022, https://preachingsource.com/journal/micah-the-man-and-his-times/.

^[14] “Ashur | Mesopotamian Deity | Britannica,” accessed November 19, 2022, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ashur-Mesopotamian-deity.

^[15] Homer Heater, “Matthew 2:6 and Its Old Testament Sources,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 26, no. 4 (December 1983): 395–397.

[16] “Humble Beginnings | Session 12.” In Explore the Bible Leader Guide. Lifeway Christian Resources, 2022., 128.

[17] Ibid.