Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (OTA)

Micah 4:6-13

⁶  In that day, declares the Lord, 

I will assemble the lame 

and gather those who have been driven away 

and those whom I have afflicted; 

⁷  and the lame I will make the remnant, 

and those who were cast off, a strong nation; 

and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion 

from this time forth and forevermore. 

⁸  And you, O tower of the flock, 

hill of the daughter of Zion, 

to you shall it come, 

the former dominion shall come, 

kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem. 

⁹  Now why do you cry aloud? 

Is there no king in you? 

Has your counselor perished, 

that pain seized you like a woman in labor? 

¹⁰  Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion, 

like a woman in labor, 

for now you shall go out from the city 

and dwell in the open country; 

you shall go to Babylon. 

There you shall be rescued; 

there the Lord will redeem you 

from the hand of your enemies. 

¹¹  Now many nations 

are assembled against you, 

saying, “Let her be defiled, 

and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.” 

¹²  But they do not know 

the thoughts of the Lord; 

they do not understand his plan, 

that he has gathered them as 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 hoofs bronze; 

you shall beat in pieces many peoples; 

and shall devote their gain to the Lord, 

their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth. 

The people are going to writhe and groan like a woman in labor. They are going to suffer. They are going to be removed from their city and their place of comfort or strength. This text even illustrates the people who are going to be gathered as "lame." God is going to drive his people away in order to bring back the afflicted. Those that are cast off he will transform into his strong nation.

You know of people that are suffering in all kinds of different ways. Some suffer with physical problems. Others suffer from mental distress. Some people even suffer from loneliness, or being separated from those they love. Here God is reminding the people how he is going to send them into exile in Babylon. He is going to remove them from comfort and security.

It is only when we are broken and removed from our comfort and security that God can truly rescue his people. When we are made weak, he is made strong. God shows his people their weaknesses. He reminds us of our sinful disobedience. He reminds us that we are lame, afflicted, and in need. It is during this time of need, like a woman in labor desiring relief from her pain. God comes to gather the daughter of Zion. He comes to make her strong.