미가 4:4 주석

Comparing this chapter with the close of the foregoing chapter, the comfortable promises here with the terrible threatenings there, we may, with the apostle, "behold the goodness and severity of God," (Rom 11:22), towards the Jewish church which fell, severity when Zion was ploughed as a field, but towards the Christian church, which was built upon the ruins of it, goodness, great goodness; for it is here promised, I. That it shall be advanced and enlarged by the accession of the nations to it (Mic 4:1, Mic 4:2). II. That it shall be protected in tranquility and peace (Mic 4:3, Mic 4:4). III. That it shall be kept close, and constant, and faithful to God (Mic 4:5). IV. That under Christ's government, all its grievances shall be redressed (Mic 4:6, Mic 4:7). V. That it shall have an ample and flourishing dominion (Mic 4:8). VI. That its troubles shall be brought to a happy issue at length (Mic 4:9, Mic 4:10). VII. That its enemies shall be disquieted, nay, that they shall be destroyed in and by their attempts against it (Mic 4:11-13).

INTRODUCTION TO MICAH 4 This chapter contains some gracious promises concerning the glory and happiness of the church of Christ in the last days; as of its stability, exaltation, and increase, and of the spread of the Gospel from it, Mic 4:1; and of the peace and security of it, and constant profession and exercise of religion in it, Mic 4:3; and of the deliverance of it from affliction and distress, and the ample and everlasting kingdom of Christ in it, Mic 4:6; and then follow some prophecies more particularly respecting the Jews; as that, though they should be in distress, and be carried captive into Babylon, they should be delivered from thence, Mic 4:9; and, though many people should be gathered against them, yet should not be able to prevail over them, but their attempts would issue in their own destruction, Mic 4:11.

But they shall sit every man under his vine, and under his fig tree,.... A proverbial phrase, expressive of the greatest tranquillity, security, and enjoyment of property; see Kg1 4:25; when persons need not keep within their walled towns and cities, and lack themselves up in their houses, but may sit down in their gardens, fields, and vineyards, and enjoy the fruit thereof; as the Targum interprets it, "under the fruit of his vine, and under, the fruit of his fig tree.'' It was usual for persons in the eastern countries to sit under vines and fig trees to read, meditate, pray, or converse together, where they grow very large, as were their vines; and even with us they are frequently raised and carried over supporters, so as to be sat under; and of fig trees, we frequently read in Jewish writings of their being very large, and of their going up to them, and praying on the top of them; and of sitting under them, and studying in the law there. So one of the Rabbins says (p), he went up into his mustard tree, as one goes up to the top of a fig tree; and it is said (q), he that prays on the top of an olive tree, or on the top of a fig tree must come down, and pray below; and again (r), R. Jacob and his companions were fasting, studying in the law, under a certain fig tree; and sometimes they speak of all these together, of sitting under olives, and under vines, and under fig trees, and studying in the words of the law (s); see Joh 1:48. This is to be understood, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi explain it, of all men; not of the Israelites only, but of all nations, since there will be no more war any where; hence it follows: and none shall make them afraid; the enemies of God's people will be no more, neither Turk nor pope, eastern or western antichrist, beast or, false prophet; wherefore, in those days of the Messiah, Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, even all the spiritual Israel of God, Jews and Gentiles; there shall be none to hurt in the holy mountain of the Lord, or any violence and oppression, wasting and destruction, anywhere; see Jer 23:5; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it; who speaks nothing but truth, and who is able and faithful to perform what he has spoken; and therefore all this may be depended on. (p) T. Hieros. Peah, c. 7. fol. 20. 2. (q) T. Hieros. Beracot, c. 2. fol. 5. 1. (r) Ib. col. 3. (s) Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 16. 4.

The vine, and that not in a few places, refers to the Lord himself, and the fig tree to the Holy Spirit, as the Lord “makes glad the hearts of men,” and the Spirit heals them. Hezekiah is commanded to make plaster with a lump of figs—that is, the fruit of the Spirit—that he may be healed. According to the apostle this healing begins with love. For he says, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” On account of their great pleasantness, the prophet calls these spiritual fruits figs. Of them Micah also says, “They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid.” Now it is certain that those who have taken refuge and rested under the Spirit and under the shadow of the Word shall not be alarmed or frightened by the one who troubles the hearts of humankind.

He is indeed the field blessed by the Lord: not this earthly one, or rough with woods, or rocky with torrents, or marshy with stagnant waters, or barren of crops, or useless for vines, or infertile with stony gravel, or gaping and dry from drought, or soaked with blood, or uncultivated with thorns and brambles: but that field, of which the Church says in the Canticles: I have adjured you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and fortitude of the field. For this is the field of which the Lord says: 'And the appearance of the field is with me'. In this field is found that grape which, when pressed, shed blood and cleansed the world. In this field is that fig tree under which the saints will rest, refreshed by the sweetness of spiritual grace. In this field is that fruitful olive tree, flowing with the ointment of the Lord's peace. In this field flourish pomegranates, which cover many fruits under the protection of one foundation of faith and nourish them with the embrace of charity.

However, since here in Genesis we read that paradise was planted by God in the East, and there the man whom God formed was placed; we can now find the author of this paradise. For who else could have created paradise but the all-powerful God, who spoke and things came into being, never needing those things which he desired to be generated? Therefore, he himself planted the paradise of which Wisdom says: Every planting that my Father has not planted will be rooted up. Good planting of angels, good saints. For saints are called under the fig tree and vine in that future time of peace, in which there is a type of angels.

(Chapter IV - Verses 1 onwards) And it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, and many nations shall come, and say: 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem; he shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. On that day, says the Lord, I will gather the lame and gather her whom I have driven away, and the one whom I have afflicted; I will make the lame a remnant, and the one who was cast off a strong nation; and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion from now on and forever. And in the last days, the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come and say: 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem; he shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. For all the peoples walk, each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. But we will go in the name of the Lord our God forever and beyond. In that day, says the Lord, I will gather her who was crushed, and her who was cast out, I will receive, and those whom I had rejected: and I will make the crushed into a remnant, and the cast out into a strong nation, and the Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion, from now and forever. For the leaders of Judah have despised justice, and have perverted all that is right, and have built Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity: and not only have they done these things, but they have also judged for bribes, and the priests of Jerusalem have answered for payment, and her prophets have divined for money, and because of them, Zion was like a plowed field, and Jerusalem had fallen into heaps of stones, and the mountain of the temple of God, desolate among the high forests. Therefore now, their house is abandoned and deserted, when the Son of God, going out of the temple, said: Rise, let us go hence (John 14:31): And: Your house shall be left to you desolate (Luke 13:15). The angels also, with Joseph reporting, said: Let us go forth from our abodes, for the mountain of Zion is exalted, of which it is said to the prince of Tyre. And you were wounded on the mountain of the Lord (Ezek. XXVIII). But this mountain of the Lord was revealed in the last days, when the kingdom of heaven was drawing near. For in the consummation of the ages, for the condemnation of sinners, our Savior appeared through his sacrifice, and he came at the eleventh hour to hire workers. And completing His passion, John says: It is the last hour (1 John 2:18): in six thousand years, if five hundred years are divided by the hours of each day, the last hour will consequently be called the time of the faith of the Gentiles. And it will be made manifest, he says, the mountain of the Lord prepared upon the tops of the mountains. It will be made manifest, which was previously hidden, and prepared not only in the mountains, but upon the tops of the mountains, Moses and the Prophets, who prophesied about Him. For although they have written all things holy, nevertheless, in comparison to the prophecy in which they foretold the coming of the Savior, all other things are humble and do not reach to the top of the mountains. And it is said, 'He will be exalted upon the hills.' (Philippians 2:8-9) Indeed, he appeared as a man and took on the form of a servant; he humbled himself unto death, even death on a cross. But the Father exalted him and gave him a name that is above every name, and the whole life of mankind, compared to his way of life, is called fields and valleys. So to this mountain, which is prepared on the top of the mountains, and exalted above the hills, all people will hasten, or as it is written in Hebrew, all the people will flow, that is, in the manner of rivers, innumerable crowds will gather. But the people will hasten when the Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and the inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya which are near Cyrene, and Roman visitors, Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs will have believed in him together. Do they not seem to you to have hurried to the mountain, to whom it was said: Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men (Matt. 4:19-20), and they immediately followed the Savior? And again, the Scripture relates about James and John, that having left the boat and father and the waves of the world, they hurried to the mountain. And when Matthew the tax collector heard: Follow me (Matt. 9), he immediately ran. And that too in the Gospel, when great crowds from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and beyond the Jordan followed him, and he healed them, he approves the peoples who hurried. But as the people hasten, many nations will also go to the mountain: indeed, the whole world believing in it, and they will say to the standard, mutually challenging themselves to the gallows: Come, let us ascend to the mountain of the Lord. Ascension is necessary in order for anyone to be able to reach Christ, and to the house of God of Jacob, the Church, which is the house of God, the pillar and foundation of truth. Moreover, what Jacob signifies the Savior, as we have said: Jacob, my servant, I will uphold him (Isaiah 2:3). But they will also say to those to whom they had spoken: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and they will add: So that they may show us His way, which we either understand in the Angels who are present in the Churches, or in the holy Scriptures, which show the way of the Lord, and Him who says: I am the way (John 14). And let us walk in His paths, namely in the Apostles, through whom we have believed in Christ. For from Zion a spiritual law has come forth, and the word of God has passed from Jerusalem to the nations, who He will judge among many peoples (John 5:22): For the Father has given all judgment to the Son. And he shall rebuke many nations unto a great distance (Ps. XCIII, 11): For the Lord takes hold of the wise in their craftiness, and he understands the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile. But he shall judge among the peoples who are deserving of salvation, and those who are unworthy, and at his coming all zeal for war shall be directed towards peace (Isai. II, 4). Swords shall be turned into plowshares, and spears into pruning-hooks, and the nation shall cease to wage war against another nation. No one will learn to fight, in the absence of the necessity to fight. And there will be such peace, that not only in cities, but also in villages and fields, everyone will be safe: and this will happen, because the mouth of the Lord has spoken. And first indeed, according to the letter, before a child was born to us, whose government was upon his shoulder, the whole world was full of blood, nations fought against nations, kings fought against kings, and peoples fought against peoples. Finally, even the Roman Republic itself was torn apart by civil wars, with Cinna and Octavius and Carbo fighting, with Sylla and Marius, Antony and Catiline, Caesar and Gnaeus Pompeius, Augustus and Brutus, and with the same Augustus and Antony: in their battles, entire kingdoms shed blood. But after the reign of Christ began, Rome obtained a unique reign; the path of the Apostles became known throughout the world, and the gates of cities were opened to them, and a unique reign of one God was established for preaching. It is also possible to interpret this saying in a tropological sense: that we may say to the faith of Christ, anger and unbridled insults are put aside, so that each person may place their hand on the plow and not look back, and desiring to reap spiritual fruits, breaking the darts of insults and spears of contempt, so that while others labor, we may enter into their labors, and it may be said of us: 'They that sow in tears shall reap in joy, carrying their sheaves.' Now no one fights against another, because we read: Blessed are the peacemakers (Matt. V, 9). No one learns to argue to the downfall of the listeners, but puts silence on his mouth, and is silent; because it is an evil time (Ps. CIII). And each one rests under his vine, to press the wine, which makes glad the heart of man, under that vine, whose farmer is the Father (John XV), and under his fig tree collecting the sweet fruits of the Holy Spirit, charity, joy, peace, and the rest. But all these things happen, according to both interpretations, because the words of the Lord are true, and he said and did them. All the peoples will go, each one on his own way: but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and beyond. They say to all the nations going astray according to their error, we hastened to the mountain of the Lord, and we said: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob (Isaiah 2:3), and we will walk in the name of Christ our Lord, because he is the mountain who is God. In that day, in which the sun of justice will shine, that which was formerly crushed will be gathered together, and that which was expelled will be received, and to this the crushed will be gathered together, so that it may be placed among the remnants, and the forsaken will be made into a strong nation. For unless the Lord of hosts had left us seed, we would have been like Sodom, and we would have been similar to Gomorrah (Rom. 9:29). But according to the Hebrew, it is beautiful: I will gather the limping one, and the one who has walked badly and to whom Elijah said: How long will you limp? (1 Kings 18:21). Whose foot had been scandalized was cut off (Mark 9). I will gather the one whom I had cast out, and to whom I had given the bill of divorce. And the one whom I had afflicted with various captivities, or had delivered to the devil and his angels. And so that a diligent reader may not immediately oppose us, saying how can you claim that the limping one has been gathered, and the one that had been cast out has been collected, when the Jews remain in unbelief? Let him hear about the first Church of Christ that believed from the Jews, from which even the Apostles came, about which Luke describes in the Acts of the Apostles: that in one day three thousand believed, and elsewhere five thousand (Acts 2). And about whom James speaks to Paul: You see, brother Paul, how many thousands there are among the Jews who believe, and all of these are zealous for the Law (Ibid., 21). But consider also the prophetic significance: He did not say, 'I will make the whole lame person whole,' but 'I will make the lame person into a remnant, so that the remnant and the chosen ones may be saved, and those who have labored may become a strong nation, namely the Christian people, which neither sword nor fire nor torments will overcome. See the faith and passion of the Martyrs, and you will not doubt the strength of this nation. And the Lord will rule over them, that is, over many nations, and over the lame remnants on Mount Zion, in the Church, in the watchtower, in the contemplation of virtues, from the present world to the future.' But if anyone wants to understand this which is said: 'I will gather that which was broken, and I will receive that which was cast out, etc.,' to refer to the human soul which, before the coming of Christ, was subject to various sufferings and vices, and was like a lost and diseased sheep torn apart by the jaws of wolves, he will not be mistaken, as long as he knows that the one that was broken and afflicted will later be part of the Lord's kingdom, and will live in Zion, and will be carried on the shoulders of the good shepherd to the former mountain. It should also be known, and this chapter which we have now exposed, and a similar one from Isaiah, refers the Jews and the heirs of their errors to the thousand-year reign of Christ and the saints. And that which is said: All peoples will worship, each one in the name of their Lord God, should be interpreted as each nation being tormented with their own idol, and being cast into the fire of eternal punishment. But from the subsequent things, it is argued that this is not said about the end of the ages, but about the first coming of Christ, in which the remnants of the limping are gathered and the nations are saved beforehand. Therefore Isaiah has given this testimony: The word that was spoken to Isaiah son of Amos concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In the last days the mountain of the Lord's house will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.' The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. 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. (Isaiah 2) It is significant here that it is said that the word of God, coming out from Jerusalem, will judge between many nations and specifically rebuke the people of Judah. For he will judge us as sinners according to the measure of our works: but he will not judge them as wicked and deniers, but will reprove and condemn them.

In the commencement of this chapter we have a glorious prophecy of the establishment and prosperity of the Messiah's kingdom; its peaceful character, increasing spiritual and political influence, ultimate universality, and everlasting duration, Mic 4:1-4. Then breaks in a chorus of his people declaring their peculiar happiness in being members of his kingdom, Mic 4:5. The prophet resumes the subject; predicts the restoration and future prosperity of Israel, Mic 4:6-8; and exhorts them not to be discouraged at their approaching captivity, as they should in due time not only be delivered from it, but likewise be victorious over all their enemies, Mic 4:9-13. These last verses, which evidently contain a prediction of the final triumph of Christianity over every adversary, have been applied to the conquests of the Maccabees; but the character and beneficial results of their military exploits, as far as we have any account of them, correspond but in a very faint degree to the beautiful and highly wrought terms of the prophecy. The first three verses of this chapter are very similar to the commencement of the second chapter of Isaiah; and the fourth, for beauty of imagery and elegance of expression, is not unworthy of that prophet.

Under his vine and under his fig tree - A proverbial expression, indicative of perfect peace, security, and rural comfort. See on Isa 2:1 (note). This verse is an addition to the prophecy as it stands in Isaiah. See Clarke on Mic 4:1 (note).

TRANSITION TO THE GLORY, PEACE, KINGDOM, AND VICTORY OF ZION. (Mic 4:1-13) Almost identical with Isa 2:2-4. the mountain of the house of the Lord--which just before (Mic 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. people shall flow into it--In Isaiah it is "all nations": a more universal prophecy.

sit every man under his vine, &c.--that is, enjoy the most prosperous tranquillity (Kg1 4:25; Zac 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. Lord of hosts hath spoken it--Therefore it must come to pass, however unlikely now it may seem.

Glorification of the House of the Lord, and Restoration of the Dominion of Zion - Mic 4:1-13 Zion will eventually be exalted from the deepest degradation to the highest glory. This fundamental thought of the announcement of salvation contained in Mic 4:1-13 and Mic 5:1-15 is carried out thus far in Mic 4:1-13 : the first section (Mic 4:1-7) depicts the glorification of the temple mountain by the streaming of the heathen nations to it to hear the law of the Lord, and the blessing which Israel and the nations will derive therefrom; and the second section (Mic 4:8-13) describes the restoration of the dominion of Zion from its fallen condition through the redemption of the nation out of Babel, and its victorious conflict with the nations of the world.