I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel – Gods mercy on the penitent and believing being the end of all His threatenings, the mention of it often bursts in abruptly. Christ is ever the Hope as the End of prophecy, ever before the prophets mind. The earthquake and fire precede the still small voice of peace in Him. What seems then sudden to us, is connected in truth. The prophet had said Mic 2:10, where was not their rest and how they should be cast forth; he saith at once how they should be gathered to their everlasting rest. He had said, what promises of the false prophets would not be fulfille Mic 2:11. But, despair being the most deadly enemy of the soul, he does not take away their false hopes, without shewing them the true mercies in store for them. Jerome: Think not, he would say, that I am only a prophet of ill. The captivity foretold will indeed now come, and Gods mercies will also come, although not in the way, which these speak of.

The false prophets spoke of worldly abundance ministering to sensuality, and of unbroken security. He tells of Gods mercies, but after chastisement, to the remnant of Israel. But the restoration is complete, far beyond their then condition. He had foretold the desolation of Samaria Mic 1:6, the captivity of Judah Mic 1:16; Mic 2:4; he foretells the restoration of all Jacob, as one. The images are partly taken (as is the prophets custom) from that first deliverance from Egypt . Then, as the image of the future growth under persecution, God multiplied His people exceedingly Exo 1:12; then the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them the way Exo 13:21; then God brought them up out of the house of bondage (see below, Mic 6:4).

But their future prison-house was to be no land of Goshen. It was to be a captivity and a dispersion at once, as Hosea had already foretold . So he speaks of them emphatically, as a great throng, assembling I will assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; gathering I will gather the remnant of Israel. The word, which is used of the gathering of a flock or its lambs Isa 40:11; Isa 13:14, became, from Moses prophecy (Deu 30:3-4, see Neh 1:9), a received word of the gathering of Israel from the dispersion of the captivity (see below, Mic 4:6; Psa 106:47; Psa 107:3; Isa 11:12; Isa 43:5; Isa 54:7; Isa 56:8; Zep 3:19-20; Jer 23:3; Jer 29:14; Jer 31:8, Jer 31:10; Jer 32:37; Eze 11:17; Eze 20:34, Eze 20:41; Eze 28:25; Eze 34:13; Eze 37:21; Eze 38:8; Eze 39:27; Zec 10:10). The return of the Jews from Babylon was but a faint shadow of the fulfillment. For, ample as were the terms of the decrees of Cyrus Ezr 1:2-4 and Artaxerxes Ezr 7:13, and widely as that of Cyrus was diffused Ezr 1:1, the restoration was essentially that of Judah, that is, Judah, Benjamin and Levi : the towns, whose inhabitants returned, were those of Judah and Benjamin Ezra 2; Neh. 7; the towns, to which they returned, were of the two tribes.

It was not a gathering of all Jacob; and of the three tribes who returned, there were but few gathered, and they had not even an earthly king, nor any visible Presence of God. The words began to he fulfilled in the many Act 21:20 tens of thousands who believed at our Lords first Coming; and all Jacob, that is, all who were Israelites indeed, the remnant according to the election of grace Rom 11:5, were gathered within the one fold of the Church, under One Shepherd. It shall be fully fulfilled, when, in the end, the fullness of the Gentiles shall come in and all Israel shall be saved Rom 11:25-26. All Jacob is the same as the remnant of Israel, the true Israel which remains when the false severed itself off; all the seed-corn, when the chaff was winnowed away. So then, whereas they were now scattered, then, God saith, I will put them together (in one fold) as the sheep of Bozrah, which abounded in sheep Isa 34:6, and was also a strong city of Edom ; denoting how believers should be fenced within the Church, as by a strong wall, against which the powers of darkness should not prevail, and the wolf should howl around the fold, yet be unable to enter it, and Edom and the pagan should become part of the inheritance of Christ . As a flock in the midst of their fold, at rest , like sheep, still and subject to their shepherds voice. So shall these, having one faith and One Spirit, in meekness and simplicity, obey the one rule of truth. Nor shall it be a small number; for the place where they shall be gathered shall be too narrow to contain them, as is said in Isaiah; Give place to me, that I may dwell Isa 49:20.

They shall make great noise – (it is the same word as our hum, the hum of men,) by reason of the multitude of men He explains his image, as does Ezekiel Eze 34:31, And ye are My flock, the flock of My pasture; men are ye; I, your God, saith the Lord God: and Eze 36:38, As a flock of holy things, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be full of a flock of men and they shall know that I am the Lord. So many shall they be, that throughout the whole world they shall make a great and public sound in praising God, filling Heaven and the green pastures of Paradise with a mighty hum of praise; as John saw a great multitude which no man could number Rev 7:9, with one united voice praising the Good Shepherd, who smoothed for them all rugged places, and evened them by His Own Steps, Himself the Guide of their way and the Gate of Paradise, as He saith, I am the Door; through whom bursting through and going before, being also the Door of the way, the flock of believers shall break through It. But this Shepherd is their Lord and King . Not their King only, but the Lord God; so that this, too, bears witness that Christ is God.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Mic 2:12-13

I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee

Gospel work

The prophet here passes from threats to promises.

The future was to embrace two things.

1. A grand gathering. Jacob and the remnant of Israel was to be gathered as a mighty flock in the fruitful and lovely region of Bozrah.

2. A triumphant deliverance. The breaker is come up before them. Who is the breaker? If reference is here made to Jewish bonds, it was to Moses; if to Babylonish captivity, it was to Cyrus; if to the bondage of the devil, it was Christ. We shall apply the words to illustrate the grand work of the Gospel. The fulfilment of this prophecy, says Delitzsch, commenced with the gathering together of Israel to its God and King by the preaching of the Gospel, and will be completed at some future time, when the Lord will redeem Israel, which is now pining in dispersion, out of the fetters of its unbelief and life of sin. We must not exclude all allusion to the deliverance of the Jewish nation only out of the earthly Babylon by Cyrus; at the same time, it is only in its typical significance that this comes into consideration at all, namely, as a preliminary stage and pledge of the redemption to be effected by Christ out of the spiritual Babylon of this world. Taking the words, then, as an illustration of Gospel work, two thoughts are suggested.

I. Unification. I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah. Men are morally divided; there is a schism in the great body of humanity. Men have not only lost interest in their fellows, but an antipathy prevails amongst them. They are scattered abroad in different countries, under different governments, and in connection with different religions and interests. The great work of the Gospel is to bring men together, to gather them together in some moral Bozrah, to unite them in the fold of Christ. There is only one way, and that is the presentation of an object of supreme moral attraction to all men. That object the Gospel presents: it is Christ. And He Himself said: I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me. As a mater of philosophy, I proclaim that there is nothing but the Gospel that can hush the discords, heal the divisions, and terminate all wars and strifes amongst men; and historically.

II. Emancipation. The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up and passed through the gate. Men everywhere are in moral bondage. They are the slaves of sin and the devil. Carnally sold unto sin. Moral bondage is the worst of all bondage; it is a bondage–

(1) Connected with self-compunction; it is a bondage

(2) Of the soul, the self; it is a bondage

(3) That death cannot terminate.

Who shall free us from this bondage? There is One, and but One, who can. Christ, the Breaker. (Homilist.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 12. I will surely assemble] This is a promise of the restoration of Israel from captivity. He compares them to a flock of sheep rushing together to their fold, the hoofs of which make a wonderful noise or clatter. So when one hundred sheep run, eight hundred toes or divisions of these bifed animals make a clattering noise. This appears to be the image.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

There are three different interpretations of this verse, of which it is hard to say which is most agreeable to the intent of this scripture; I will propose all three, and leave each reader to choose for himself. First, Some will that these words be a continuation of the false prophets preaching prosperity and good days. So the words are a promise made to them contradictory to the menaces of the Lord by Micah; he foretold all would end in destruction; the false prophet foretells the assembling of all the seed of Jacob into their land and cities, and bringing back the remnant of the captive Israelites carried away by Tiglath-pileser, and their safety in their own fold as the flock of Bozrah, and should make great noise of joy and rejoicing in their multitudes. All which, spoken by the false prophet, Micah refutes in the 13th verse. Secondly, Others make it an evangelical promise of the restitution of Israel by the Messiah, and many Jews agree with Christian expositors herein, though, the Jews refer it to a temporal restitution, not yet fulfilled: the Christians refer it to a spiritual, partly fulfilled, yet more fully to be accomplished hereafter; and suitably to this hypothesis they interpret all the passages of this text and the 13th verse; both which will very fairly bear the sense by these put upon them, and may be the mystical sense of the words, but we, who inquire into the literal meaning, think it advisable not to swell the volume by long digressions. A third opinion ought to be considered ere we can choose which we shall adhere to. Now the third opinion, in expounding the text, makes it a commination or dreadful threat against this people, and thus suits it:

I, i.e. God, offended with them. Will surely assemble; by his providence will cause to come together.

O Jacob; he calls to the house of Israel to consider it.

All of thee; all who were fleeing, upon hope of what their false prophets promise, to return to their own land and cities.

I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; the same thing in little different words, repeated to assure us the truth of the thing.

I will put them together; all that remain of the ten tribes (for some were before carried away by Tiglath-pileser) shall most assuredly be gathered together, that they may all be in one covey covered with the Assyrian net.

As the sheep of Bozrah; in multitudes like those flocks.

As the flock in the midst of their fold; whence none of the sheep can get out and make their escape: so should this people be enclosed and taken.

They shall make great noise of cries and lamentation for their distresses and lost condition.

By reason of the multitude of men; such great multitudes cooped up, shall hideously lament. their own condition, like multitudes that suffer shipwreck together: all this God will bring upon them by the multitude of the Assyrian soldiers which come up against them.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

12. A sudden transition fromthreats to the promise of a glorious restoration. Compare a similartransition in Hos 1:9; Hos 1:10.Jehovah, too, prophesies of good things to come, but not like thefalse prophets, “of wine and strong drink” (Mic2:11). After I have sent you into captivity as I have justthreatened, I will thence assemble you again (compare Mic 4:6;Mic 4:7).

all of theeTherestoration from Babylon was partial. Therefore that here meant mustbe still future, when “all Israel shall be saved”(Ro 11:26). The restorationfrom “Babylon” (specified (Mic4:10) is the type of the future one.

Jacob . . . Israeltheten tribes’ kingdom (Ho 12:2)and Judah (2Ch 19:8; 2Ch 21:2;2Ch 21:4).

remnantthe electremnant, which shall survive the previous calamities of Judah, andfrom which the nation is to spring into new life (Isa 6:13;Isa 10:20-22).

as the sheep of Bozraharegion famed for its rich pastures (compare 2Ki3:4). GESENIUS forBozrah translates, “sheepfold.” But thus there will betautology unless the next clause be translated, “in the midst oftheir pasture.” English Version is more favored bythe Hebrew.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee,…. These words are either the words of the false prophet continued, that prophesied of wine and strong drink, as Aben Ezra; promising great plenty and prosperity, and that the remnant of the ten tribes carried captive by Tiglathpileser should be returned, and they should all live together in safety and plenty, and rejoice because of their numbers: or else they are a denunciation of threatenings and judgments, as Kimchi; that the Israelites should be gathered indeed together, but as sheep for the slaughter, even those that remained, not as yet carried captive; these should be shut up, and closely besieged in their cities, and make a noise, and cry for fear of their enemies, and because of the great number of them: or rather they are a comfortable promise of the gathering of the people of Israel in the times of the Messiah, in the last days the Gospel dispensation, even all of Jacob, all the then posterity of Israel; for then “all Israel shall be saved”, Ro 11:26; and this is introduced, though abruptly, as often such promises are, for the comfort of the Lord’s people, amidst sorrowful and sad tidings brought to the people in general: I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; the remnant according to the election of grace, whom the Lord will reserve for himself, those that are left of them in the latter day; these shall be gathered effectually by the grace of God unto Jesus, the true Messiah, they shall now seek after; and into his church, to join themselves to his people, embracing his Gospel, and submitting to his ordinances; when there shall be “one fold” for Jews and Gentiles, and “one Shepherd” over them, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Joh 10:16;

I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah; a place famous for flocks and pastures; signifying that they should be took care of by the great and good Shepherd, have a good fold, and good pastures provided for them, where they should feed comfortably together, in great unity and affection:

as the flock in the midst of their fold; lying down safely, and resting quietly; see Eze 34:13;

they shall make great noise by reason [of the multitude] of men: a joyful noise, because of their own numbers being increased with men like a flock, and so numerous, that the place will be too strait for them; and because of the number of good and faithful shepherds under Christ, to feed and protect them, even pastors after God’s own heart, given them to feed them with knowledge and understanding, Jer 3:15.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

In Mic 2:12, Mic 2:13 there follows, altogether without introduction, the promise of the future reassembling of the people from their dispersion. Mic 2:12. “I will assemble, assemble thee all together, O Jacob; gather together, gather together the remnant of Israel; I will bring him together like the sheep of Bozrah, like a flock in the midst of their pasture: they will be noisy with men. Mic 2:13. The breaker through comes up before them; they break through, and pass along through the gate, and go out by it; and their King goes before them, and Jehovah at their head.” Micah is indeed not a prophet, prophesying lies of wine and strong drink; nevertheless he also has salvation to proclaim, only not for the morally corrupt people of his own time. They will be banished out of the land; but the captivity and dispersion are not at an end. For the remnant of Israel, for the nation when sifted and refined by the judgments, the time will come when the Lord will assemble them again, miraculously multiply them, and redeem them as their King, and lead them home. The sudden and abrupt transition from threatening to promise, just as in Hos 2:2; Hos 6:1; Hos 11:9, has given rise to this mistaken supposition, that Mic 2:12, Mic 2:13 contain a prophecy uttered by the lying prophets mentioned in Mic 2:10 (Abenezra, Mich., Ewald, etc.). But this supposition founders not only on the , inasmuch as the gathering together of the remnant of Israel presupposes the carrying away into exile, but also on the entire contents of these verses. Micah could not possibly introduce a false prophet as speaking in the name of Jehovah, and saying, “I will gather;” such a man would at the most have said, “Jehovah will gather.” Nor could he have put a true prophecy like that contained in Mic 2:12, Mic 2:13 into the mouth of such a man. For this reason, not only Hengstenberg, Caspari, and Umbreit, but even Maurer and Hitzig, have rejected this assumption; and the latter observes, among other things, quite correctly, that “the idea expressed here is one common to the true prophets (see Hos 2:2), which Micah himself also utters in Mic 4:6.” The emphasis lies upon the assembling, and hence and are strengthened by infinitive absolutes. But the assembling together presuppose a dispersion among the heathen, such as Micha has threatened in Mic 1:11, Mic 1:16; Mic 2:4. And the Lord will gather together all Jacob, not merely a portion, and yet only the remnant of Israel. This involves the thought, that the whole nation of the twelve tribes, or of the two kingdoms, will be reduced to a remnant by the judgment. Jacob and Israel are identical epithets applied to the whole nation, as in Mic 1:5, and the two clauses of the verse are synonymous, so that coincides in actual fact with . The further description rests upon the fact of the leading of Israel out of Egypt, which is to be renewed in all that is essential at a future time. The following clauses also predict the miraculous multiplication of the remnant of Israel (see Hos 2:1-2; Jer 31:10), as experienced by the people in the olden time under the oppression of Egypt (Exo 1:12). The comparison to the flock of Bozrah presupposes that Bozrah’s wealth in flocks was well known. Now, as the wealth of the Moabites in flocks of sheep is very evident from 2Ki 3:4, many have understood by not the Edomitish Bozrah, but the Moabitish Bostra (e.g., Hengstenberg). Others, again, take botsrah as an appellative noun in the sense of hurdle or fold (see Hitzig, Caspari, and Dietrich in Ges. Lex. after the Chaldee). But there is not sufficient ground for either. The Bostra situated in the Hauran does not occur at all in the Old Testament, not even in Jer 48:24, and the appellative meaning of the word is simply postulated for this particular passage. That the Edomites were also rich in flocks of sheep is evident from Isa 24:6, where the massacre which Jehovah will inflict upon Edom and Bozrah is described as a sacrificial slaughtering of lambs, he-goats, rams, and oxen; a description which presupposes the wealth of Bozrah in natural flocks. The comparison which follows, “like a flock in the midst of its pasture,” belongs to the last verse, and refers to the multiplication, and to the noise made by a densely packed and numerous flock. The same tumult will be made by the assembled Israelites on account of the multitude of men. For the article in , which is already determined by the suffix, see at Jos 7:21. In Jos 7:13 the redemption of Israel out of exile is depicted under the figure of liberation from captivity. Was Egypt a slave-house (Mic 6:4; cf. Exo 20:2); so is exile a prison with walls and gates, which must be broken through. , the breaker through, who goes before them, is not Jehovah, but, as the counterpart of Moses the leader of Israel out of Egypt, the captain appointed by God for His people, answering to the head which they are said to choose for themselves in Hos 2:2, a second Moses, viz., Zerubbabel, and in the highest sense Christ, who opens the prison-doors, and redeems the captives of Zion (vid., Isa 42:7). Led by him, they break through the walls, and march through the gate, and go out through it out of the prison. “The three verbs, they break through, they march through, they go out, describe in a pictorial manner progress which cannot be stopped by any human power” (Hengstenberg). Their King Jehovah goes before them at their head (the last two clauses of the verse are synonymous). Just as Jehovah went before Israel as the angel of the Lord in the pillar of cloud and fire at the exodus from Egypt (Exo 13:21), so at the future redemption of the people of God will Jehovah go before them as King, and lead the procession (see Isa 52:12).

The fulfilment of this prophecy commenced with the gathering together of Israel to its God and King by the preaching of the gospel, and will be completed at some future time when the Lord shall redeem Israel, which is now pining in dispersion, out of the fetters of its unbelief and life of sin. We must not exclude all allusion to the deliverance of the Jewish nation out of the earthly Babylon by Cyrus; at the same time, it is only in its typical significance that this comes into consideration at all, – namely, as a preliminary stage and pledge of the redemption to be effected by Christ out of the spiritual Babylon of this world.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

      12 I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.   13 The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them.

      After threatenings of wrath, the chapter here concludes, as is usual in the prophets, with promises of mercy, which were in part fulfilled when the Jews returned out of Babylon, and had their full accomplishment in the kingdom of the Messiah. Their grievances shall be all redressed. 1. Whereas they were dispersed, they shall be brought together again, and shall jointly receive the tokens of God’s favour to them, and shall have communion with each other and comfort in each other (v. 12): “I will surely assemble, O Jacob! all of thee, all that belong to thee, all that are named of the house of Jacob (v. 7) that are now expelled your country, v. 10. I will bring you together again, and not one of you shall be lost, not one of you shall be missing. I will surely gather the remnant of Israel, that remnant that is designed and reserved for salvation; they shall be brought to incorporate in one body. I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah.” Sheep are inoffensive and sociable creatures; they shall be as the flock in the midst of their fold, where they are safe under the shepherd’s eye and care; and they shall make great noise (as numerous flocks and herds do, with their bleating and lowing) by reason of the multitude of men (for the sheep are men, as the prophet explains this comparison, Ezek. xxxiv. 31), not by reason of their strifes and contentions, but by reason of their great numbers. This was accomplished when Christ by his gospel gathered together in one all the children of God that were scattered abroad, and united both Jews and Gentiles in one fold, and under one Shepherd, when all the complaint was that the place was too strait for them–that was the noise, by reason of their multitude (Isa 49:19; Isa 49:20), when there were some added to the church from all parts of the world, and all men were drawn to Christ by the attractive power of his cross, which shall be done yet more and more, and perfectly done, when he shall send forth his angels to gather in his elect from the four winds. 2. Whereas God had seemed to desert them, and cast them off, now he will own them, and head them, and help them through all the difficulties that are in the way of their return and deliverance (v. 13): the breaker has come up before them, to break down all opposition, and clear the road for them; and under his guidance they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, the door of escape out of their captivity, and have gone out by it with courage and resolution, having Omnipotence for their van-guard. Their King shall pass before them, to head them in the way, even Jehovah (he was their king) on the head of them, as he was on the head of the armies of Israel when they followed the pillar of cloud and fire through the wilderness and when he appeared to Joshua as captain of the Lord’s host. Christ is the church’s King; he is Jehovah; he heads them, passes before them, brings them out of the land of their captivity, brings them into the land of their rest. He is the breaker, that broke through them, that rent the veil, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. The learned bishop Pearson applies it to the resurrection of Christ, by which he obtained the power and became the pattern of our resurrection. The breaker has gone up before us out of the grave, and has carried away its gates, as Samson did Gaza’s, bar and all, and by that breach we go out. The learned Dr. Pocock mentions, as the sense which some of the ancient Jews give of it, that the breaker is Elias, and their King the Messiah, the Son of David; and he thinks we may apply it to Christ and his forerunner John the Baptist. John was the breaker; he broke the ice, prepared the way of the Lord by the baptism of repentance; in him the gospel began; from his time the kingdom of heaven suffered violence; and so the Christian church is introduced, with Messiah the Prince before it, on the head of it, going forth conquering and to conquer.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Verses 12, 13:

Promise To The Remnant

Verse 12 expresses divine assurance to the nation of Israel that a remnant shall be preserved through captivity, for a day of joy and regathering to their land, when they shall be multiplied and governed by Jehovah, the king. They are to be brought together again as the sheep of Bozrah, a territory rich in sheep and pastures, Isa 1:9; Mic 4:1-7; Rom 11:5; 2Ki 3:4. There is a sudden turn in the text from judgment woes to restoration gladness, as also assured, Hos 1:9-10. All Israel shall one day be saved, Rom 11:25-26. Beyond the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities, and their subjection to and dispersion under the Roman Empire, after their rejection of the king of glory, they shall yet dwell in Palestine at rest, governed by the King of glory, Luk 1:31-33; 1Co 15:24-26.

Verse 13 describes their deportation into Babylon and how Cyrus would deliver them from Babylon, perhaps a type of our Lord’s liberation from the slave-holds or shackles of sin, Joh 8:32; Joh 8:36. They shall be divinely led by the Lord in the final liberation day, as surely as He led them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and the wilderness, going before and over-shadowing them by day and by night, as a nation, as He does His children, Exo 13:21; Deu 1:30; Deu 1:33; Psa 34:7; Heb 13:5.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

The exposition of this passage is twofold. The greater part of interpreters incline to this view, — that God here promises some alleviation to the Israelites, after having sharply reproved them, and threatened them with utter ruin. They therefore apply this passage to the kingdom of Christ, as though God gave hope of a future restoration. But when I narrowly weigh every thing, I am, on the contrary, forced to regard these two verses as a commination, that is, that the Prophet here denounces God’s future vengeance on the people. As, however, the former opinion is almost universally received, I will briefly mention what has been adduced in its favor, and then I shall return to state the other meaning, which I prefer.

It is suitable to the kingdom of Christ to say, that a people who had been dispersed should be gathered under one head. We indeed know how miserable a dispersion there is in the world without him, and that whenever the Prophets speak of the renovation of the Church, they commonly make use of this form of expression, that is, that the Lord will gather the dispersed and unite them together under one head. If then the passage be referred to the kingdom of Christ, it is altogether proper to say, that God by gathering will gather the whole of Jacob. But a restriction is afterwards added, that no one may extend this restoration to the whole race of Abraham, or to all those who, according to the flesh, derived their descent from Abraham as their father: hence the word שארית, sharit, is laid down. Then the whole of Jacob is not that multitude, which, according to the flesh, traced their origin from the holy Patriarchs, but only their residue. It then follows, I will set them together as the sheep of Bozrah, that is, I will make them to increase into a large, yea, into an immense number; for they shall make a tumult, that is, a great noise will be made by them, as though the place could not contain so large a number. And they explain the next verse thus, — A breaker shall go before them, that is, there shall be those who, with a hand, strong and armed, will make a way open for them; inasmuch as Christ says that the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, (Mat 11:12) they then mean that the people will have courageous leaders, whom nothing will stop from breaking through, and that they will also lead the whole people with them. They shall therefore go forth through the gate, and their king shall pass through. This also well agrees with the kingdom of Christ. For whenever God declares that he will be propitious to his Church, he at the same time adds, that he will give a king to his people; for their safety had been placed in that kingdom, which had been erected by the authority and command of God himself. It is therefore a common thing, and what occurs everywhere in the Prophets, that God would give a king from the seed of David to his people, when it would be his will to favor them with complete happiness. Thus they understand that a king shall pass on before them, which is the office of a leader, to show them the way. And Jehovah shall be at their head; that is, God himself will show himself to be the chief king of his people, and will ever defend by his help and grace those whom he adopts as his people.

But I have already said that I more approve of another. exposition: for I see not how the Prophet could pass so suddenly into a different strain. He had said in the last verse that the people could endure no admonitions, for they only desired flatteries and adulation. He now joins what I have lately referred to respecting the near judgment of God, and proceeds, as we shall see, in the same strain to the end of the third chapter: but we know that the chapters were not divided by the Prophets themselves. We have therefore a discourse continued by the Prophet to the third chapter; not that he spoke all these things in one day; but he wished to collect together what he had said of the vices of the people; and this will be more evident as we proceed. I will now come to the words.

Gathering, I will gather thee, the whole of Jacob; collecting, I will collect the remnant of Israel. God has two modes of gathering; for he sometimes gathers his people from dispersion, which is a singular proof of his favor and love. But he is said also to gather, when he assembles them together to devote and give them up to destruction, as we say in French, Trousser; and this verb is taken elsewhere in the same sense, and we have already met with an instance in Hosea. So, in the present passage, God declares that there would be a gathering of the people, — for what purpose? Not that being united together they might enjoy the blessings of God, but that they might be destroyed. As then the people had united together in all kinds of wickedness, so God now declares, that they should be gathered together, that the one and the same destruction might be to them all. And he adds, the remnant of Israel; as though he said, “Whatever shall remain from slaughters in wars and from all other calamities, such as famine and pestilence, this I will collect, that it may be wholly destroyed.” He mentions the remnant, because the Israelites had been worn out by many evils, before the Lord stretched forth his hand at last to destroy them.

He afterwards subjoins, I will set them together as the sheep of Bozrah; that is, I will cast them into one heap. Bozrah was a city or a country of Idumea; and it was a very fruitful place, and had the richest pastures: hence Isa 34:0, in denouncing vengeance on the Idumeans, alludes at the same time to their pastures, and says, “God will choose for himself fat lambs and whatever is well fed, and will also collect fatness, for the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah.” So also, in this place, the Prophet says, that the Jews, when collected together as it were into a bundle, shall be like the sheep of Bozrah. And he further adds, as the sheep in the middle of the sheepfolds, though some render it, leading: דבר, daber, sometimes means to lead; but I see no reason why it should be drawn so far from its meaning in this connection. I take it as signifying a sheepfold, because sheep are there collected together. Some interpreters consider that a siege is referred to here, that is, that God would confine the whole people within cities, that they might not be open to the incursions of enemies; but I extend the meaning much wider, namely, that God would gather the people, in order at last to disperse them. I will then gather them, as I have already said, Je vous trousserai; as the sheep of Bozrah in the middle of the sheep fold; and there shall be a noise on account of their number; that is, “Though ye now glory in your number, this will avail you nothing; for I shall be able to reduce you all to strait, so that you may, as ye deserve, perish together.”

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

JUDGEMENTS TEMPERED BY PROMISES . . . Mic. 2:12-13

RV . . . I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as a flock in the midst of their pasture; they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men. The breaker is gone up before them: they have broken forth and passed on to the gate, and are gone out thereat; and their king is passed on before them, and Jehovah at the head of them.
LXX . . . Jacob shall be completely gathered with all his people: I will surely receive the remnant of Israel; I will cause them to return together, as sheep in trouble, as a flock in the midst of their fold: they shall rush forth from among men through the breach made before them: they have broken through and passed the gate, and gone out by it: and their king has gone out before them, and the Lord shall lead them.

COMMENTS

A word must be said here regarding the textual unity of the Scriptures. The sudden shift from threats and warnings of doom to glowing promises of restoration is seen by some scholars as evidences that the book of Micah was not actually written by the prophet, or that it was not all written by the same man no matter what his identity. An example of this is seen in Professor J. E. McFaydens statement made as part of his comments on Mic. 2:12-13. Dr. McFayden wrote, It is curious to find so gracious a promise following immediately upon denunciation and threat. This, however, is not an uncommon feature in prophecy. Sometimes it is open to suppose the promise was appended by a later hand: here, the scattered sheep seem to suggest the Exile, note that a century after Micahs time . . . whoever added these and similar promises was inspired by the sound conviction that threat and disaster could never exhaust the whole purpose of God.

The idea that, because the stern judgements of the prophet are interspersed with promises, the book must have been compiled by an editor, completely fails to grasp the distinction in the mind of the prophet between the unfaithful majority who are the objects of Gods wrath and the faithful remnant who are the recipients of His promises.
The idea of a restored remnant presupposes the capture and destruction of the political commonwealth and the rejection of the race per se. If it was ever in the purpose of God to redeem a total political commonwealth or a race as an ethnic unit, that concept is abandoned with the introduction of the remnant idea. Few real students of the Bible believe such was ever the intent of God in the nation or race.

The remnant concept so dominated the thought of Isaiah that he named his son Shear-Jashub, the Salvation of the Remnant. (Cf. Isa. 7:3; Isa. 8:2; Isa. 8:18; Isa. 9:12; Isa. 2:21; Isa. 6:9-13) It is not strange to find the same idea voiced by Isaiahs contemporaries such as Micah.

In Rom. 11:5, Paul refers to Isa. 10:22 in his exposition of the final grafting together of the faithful Gentiles and the faithful remnant of Israel into a single people of God. In referring to the rejection of the race and commonwealth per se, Paul insists that God has not rejected His true people.

In identifying the remnant, as distinct from the whole of the race and nation descended from Abraham, Paul refers to Elijahs seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal, i.e. those Israelites indeed who had refused to compromise their covenant relationship to Jehovah. So, says Paul, the present remnant (the faithful of the first century) is the people chosen by the grace of God. This choice, or election, of grace is everywhere in the Bible related to the covenant.

Pauls argument is that God has not repudiated His true people, in allowing the Gentiles access to the ranks of the election. He has rather identified them! His true people, the real Israel of God prior to the beginning of the gospel age as well as now, are not marked off from other men by their semetic ancestry or their national citizenship. They are those within the national-racial structure of the commonwealth, as well as those Jews now citizens of other nations, who are faithful to the covenant of God. As Barclay has it, The prophet began to see that there never was a time, and there never would be a time, when the whole nation was true to God, but at the same time, always within the nation there was a remnant left who had not forsaken their loyalty or compromised their faith.

Amo. 9:8-10 sees the separation of the remnant from the race. Zep. 3:12-13 sees the gathering of the remnant people from among the dispersed Jews throughout the world. Eze. 14:14; Eze. 14:20; Eze. 14:22 sees salvation itself not as a national matter but as an individual matter; not determined by racial origins of family heredity, but based on personal righteousness. Righteousness which is acceptable to God is always related to God through the covenant on the basis of obedient faith. All else, as Isaiah says is as filthy rags.

As we have seen, Isaiahs entire concept of the people of God is dominated by the remnant idea.
In our present text, and later in chapter 5, verse three, Micah conceives of God gathering the remnant first from Babylon and then in specific Messianic terms.
The threats against the northern and southern kingdoms, coupled with the promises of salvation to the faithful remnant should serve a real purpose today. We need to know, for our own sakes, and to shout from the rooftops for the sake of others . . . NO nation or race is saved per se. God commands all men everywhere to repent. The remnant . . . the real Israel of God is the fellowship of individuals related to one another on the basis of a common covenant with God. God has not, and never will reject His people, regardless of outward appearances to the contrary. No nation or religious institution is his people. The remnant of the human race, as well as of the commonwealth of Israel is saved by grace through faith.

The sin of denominationalism is essentially the sin of counting oneself part of Gods people on the basis of identity with a religious institution just as the Jews of Micahs day, and Jesus day, and Pauls day, and one suspects even of our day, counted themselves as Gods people because they were citizens of a kingdom whose identity was based on a religious law.
The sin of racism is the twin brother to the sin of denominationalism. The Jews could trace their ancestry back to a common origin in Abraham. God had worked with them, through the influence of faithful men, in special ways. To prevent the entrance of paganism into their thinking as a deterrent to faith, He had forbidden them to marry non-Hebrew mates. All this and many other similar factors combined to bring them to the conclusion that as a race God considered the Hebrews superior to all others. During the reign of terror that was Nazi Germany this race found itself threatened with extinction by the very same kind of thinking that historically they had exercised toward other races and which they today evidence toward their middle-eastern neighbors. The conclusion of the Christian Gospel is that, among Gods people there is no East or West, North or South, Jew or Greek, Black or White. Gods covenant people are one in the promised Seed of Abraham.

Micahs first mention of the remnant has as its primary concern the promise that Gods people would not be brought to extinction in the judgements just pronounced. Rather, a remnant would return from the captivity. The restoration, as history shows, was to be only partial. The deeper meaning of the words; I will assemble, O Jacob, all of thee . . . is to be realized in the Messianic fulfillment of the everlasting covenant. In chapters four and five Micah will expound this theme in some depth.

Those who did return from Babylon were Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, the components of the southern kingdom, which God had preserved for His covenant purposes. (Cf. 1Ki. 12:23-24) It is doubtful if even all of these who returned were true Israelites in the covenant sense of the word. At the beginning of the nation, all its people had been given the opportunity to be true Israel. From the captivity on, Israels national identity was (and is) important only as it bears directly on the fulfillment of the everlasting covenant.

Another indication of the Messianic overtones of Micahs remnant is the great noise by reason of the multitude of men. This would seem to indicate a much more numerous gathering than the faithful few within the small number who actually returned after the captivity. The terminology is more reminiscent of the multitude whom no man could number, i.e. all Gods covenant people through all time, finally gathered together in His presence. (Cf. Rev. 7:9)

In connection with the remnant, Micah pictures Jehovah by the use of three figures; the shepherd, the breaker (or lead ram), and the king. He is pictured as the shepherd of the sheep of Bozrah. The sheep of Bozrah was a popular saying, like the kine of Bashan (Amo. 4:1), and alludes to the fine flocks which were the wealth of Bozrah, a key city of Moab. Jehovah is pictured as shepherd of the finest of flocks, and the remnant is that flock.

The breaker, or lead ram, was the ram who went before the flock to butt or break down any and all barriers. So the Lord, leader of the remnant flock, will break through all barriers to the ultimate accomplishment of Gods purpose in the covenant people, If God be for us, who can stand against us?
The Messianic overtones expressed in the figure of the Lord passing as king before the remnant are obvious. It was in David particularly that the Messianic prophecies of the Lords kingship found their personification. From Davids reign on, the Messiah was expected to sit upon the throne of His father David. There have been many and conflicting ideas as to the nature of His kingship and His kingdom, but there is a unanimity of conviction among Gods people that the Lord is King over His people.

Beginning with Abraham and the Patriarchs, the covenant emphasis was nearly, if not entirely, upon the development of a people. In David is added the idea that this people are to compose a kingdom. The king idea, which became the obsession of the first century Jew, was introduced by God only after He had made it crystal clear that all His dealings with Israel, including the establishment of a king over them, were primarily concerned with the fulfillment of His promise to Abraham to bless all the people of the earth, through the people of the covenant.

David was taken from his fathers pasture to become a prince over the people of God. To this end God was with him and reduced his enemies to defeat. For this reason God made the name of David ring out even above that of Moses in the assemblies of Israel. And it was for the accomplishment of His eternal purpose that the Lord promised David, And it shall come to pass when the days are fulfilled that thou must go to thy fathers, that I will set up thy seed after thee who shall be of thy sons and I shall establish his kingdom . . . and his throne shall be established forever. (1Ch. 17:7-14)

Two things are to be noted here. First, the throne of the son of David is to be established forever. In view of what happened just following the death of Solomon, who succeeded David on his earthly throne, and of the subsequent desolation of the commonwealth, the fulfillment of Gods promise to David must be found elsewhere than in the perpetuation of an earthly dynasty. The eternal, or everlasting throne of David is to find its fulfillment in the King of Kings.

Secondly, the promise to David that his seed would sit upon the everlasting throne of His people was unconditional! The promises made to Abraham were conditioned by obedient faith. Among these was the promise of a land in which to dwell. To break the covenant was to forfeit all claim to the land. Gods determination to set the seed of David over this faithful people was absolute and unconditioned.

From David on the faithful within Israel, who were of the Davidic line became the particular branch of Abrahams progeny through which the Promised Seed would come.

It must be kept in mind that the Davidic covenant is simply the Abrahamic covenant restated. As with the conditional promise to Abraham, so the unconditional promise to David had universal purposes in the blessing of all men. That Micah was aware of this is obvious in Mic. 4:1 -ff as we shall see in a later chapter. In his presentation of the fulfillment of the Kingly promise, Matthew identifies the two covenants as one and the same. Mat. 1:1 begins the genealogy of the Eternal King with the words, The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. (Italics mine)

From the demise of Solomon and the division of the kingdom onward, God preserved the institutions of Israel for Davids sake. The southern kingdom is established to preserve the Davidic line (1Ki. 11:11-13) Jerusalem was saved for Davids sake. (2Ki. 19:34) Throughout the prophets, the Messianic hope is Davidic. (Cp. Isa. 55:1-3, Amo. 9:11, Hos. 3:5, Zechariah 12:17-21)

And so, for at least a thousand years before the birth of the King, Gods concern is seen to be not with the race or the national political entity but with the unconditional promise to set the Seed of David upon the throne of His people. More than ever, the people existed for the sake of the Seed. When the time came that the Jews as a nation and the religious institutions of that nation rejected the Christ, God would cast them off. But the promise which was the heart of the covenant would be fulfilled through a covenant remnant ruled by the promised Seed of David.
It does violence to the awesomeness of this promise to limit it to any earthly experience of God and His people.

Chapter VIIQuestions

Second Cycle

1.

Discuss the relationships between individual and social sins.

2.

Discuss power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely in reference to the situation denounced by Micah.

3.

How do power and authority test a persons character?

4.

Discuss Pascals statement power without justice is tyranny.

5.

How is this evidenced in the circumstances addressed by Micah?

6.

How can a just God devise evil? (Mic. 2:3)

7.

What was the power by which the social leaders of Micahs day enforced their evil designs?

8.

How does Gods punishment predicted by Micah fit the crime of those He will punish? (Mic. 2:5)

9.

What is the relationship between the wickedness addressed by Micah and the false prophets of the day?

10.

What part did national pride and racial arrogance play in the downfall of the wicked northern and southern kingdoms?

11.

How does Gods purpose in Israel rule out such pride and arrogance on the part of the faithful?

12.

How do you answer the tendency to blame God for social calamities?

13.

Discuss mistreatment of people as evidence of enmity with God.

14.

What single fact made Gods punishment of social sin in Israel and Judah necessary to the accomplishment of His purpose in the covenant?

15.

What single characteristic of the Israelites during the Babylonian captivity stood out above all else?

16.

Describe the kind of prophet the people desired in Micahs time. (Mic. 2:11)

17.

Discuss the problem of textual unity of the scriptures. (cf. Mic. 2:12-13)

18.

The idea of a restored remnant, as presented by Micah, presupposes the destruction of ____________ and the rejection of the ____________ per se.

19.

The doctrine of election, divine choice, is, in the Bible, always related to the ____________.

20.

What is the similarity of modern denominationalism and the attitude of racial and national priority with God on the part of the Jewish people of Bible times?

21.

Discuss the figures of the shepherd, the breaker, and the king in connection with the remnant.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(12, 13) I will surely assemble . . .With a characteristic abruptness Micah turns from the height of sin and punishment to the height of the deliverancefrom Ebal to Gerizim. Israel and the remnant shall be gathered together as a goodly flock in the luxuriant pastures of Iduman Bozrah. The Breaker shall go before them as their Saviour and Deliverer, yea, even Jehovah at their head. The return from captivity symbolised the eventual restoration of the people of God into His everlasting kingdom.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

Mic 2:12-13 transpose us abruptly from the present corruption, facing imminent doom, to the distant future, when a remnant of the people carried into exile (3, 4) will be restored. On the surface the transition from Mic 2:11 to Mic 2:12 appears abrupt, but there is a real logical connection between the two verses. The people are ready to turn to a prophet who will promise pleasant things. This Micah cannot do; nevertheless his message is not one of unmitigated doom; he too has salvation to proclaim, though not for the immediate future or for all. Judgment, distress is all he sees ahead of him; all will be banished from the land. In exile the corrupt will be annihilated, but the loyal remnant, purified through suffering, will be assembled again by Jehovah; he himself will redeem it and restore it to its old home.

Jacob, Israel Seem to be identical in meaning, denoting the whole nation; similarly “all” and “remnant” appear to be synonymous. The thought is one found in other prophetic utterances, that at the time of the restoration the present distinction between north and south will be obliterated, that the call will be extended to the whole nation, but that only a remnant will respond (Eze 34:11-14). This remnant will be numerous, however, and noisy like a flock of sheep.

As the sheep of Bozrah If the text is correct the “sheep of Bozrah” must be regarded as a popular saying like “kine of Bashan” (Amo 4:1), alluding to Bozrah’s wealth in sheep (see on Amo 1:12). The suggestion that a Moabite city is meant here rather than the Edomite Bozrah has little in its favor. LXX. suggests a different translation; it read the same consonants that are contained in the Hebrew word for Bozrah, but evidently it took these consonants as representing two elements, the preposition “in” and the noun “affliction.” “In affliction” is not suitable here; still the reading of LXX. may indicate that “Bozrah” is not the original. The parallel line would lead one to expect here an expression similar to “in the midst of their fold.” There is a modern Arabic word meaning “sheep-stall,” containing the same consonants as the word “affliction” but different vowels, which is applied to the place in which the sheep are kept during the night to protect them against wild beasts. The corresponding Hebrew word may be intended here; the erroneous vocalization being due to the Masorites, who were more familiar with the proper noun Bozrah than with the common noun. With this change the sentence may be read, “I will put them together as sheep in the sheep-fold,” that they may be safe from all enemies.

Great noise Their numbers will be great; hence the noise made by them will be loud.

The gathering will take place before the actual deliverance; united, the remnant will be strong enough to overcome all obstacles and return to its old home.

The breaker The one who breaks down the obstacles and opens the way. If the picture of the flock is continued the expression is best understood as denoting the shepherd who opens the gate to let the sheep pass through; if, as is not impossible, the figure changes to that of an army, it denotes the captain who is to lead the host in triumph from exile. In either case the term is of Messianic import (see on Hos 1:11).

Through the gate The land of exile is likened, in the one case, to a sheepfold; in the other, to a prison house. Through the gates the remnant will march in triumph on its way home. Broken up [“broken forth”] passed through gone out “The three verbs describe in a pictorial manner progress which cannot be stopped by any human power”

Their king Before the returning host will go their king, Jehovah, as at the time of the Exodus (Exo 13:21; compare Isa 52:12); Jehovah is not identical with the “breaker.”

The connection of Mic 2:12-13 with Mic 2:11 is not very close; the leap into the future appears to be abrupt. This abruptness is responsible for a great deal of discussion concerning these two verses. Some have held that the words were spoken not by Micah, but by the false prophets. This view is shown to be improbable by the following considerations: (1) The restoration of a remnant implies a carrying into exile, but the latter is the very thing the false prophets deny. (2) In Mic 2:12 Jehovah is the speaker “ I will assemble.” Would Micah introduce Jehovah as speaking through the prophets whom he condemns so severely? (3) The prophecy is a true prophecy; it is one which in essence is found in all the prophetic books (compare Mic 4:6). It is not likely that Micah would put a true prophecy into the mouth of a false prophet. Others consider the verses exilic or postexilic, and thus a later addition to the oracles of Micah. “They presuppose the exile and dispersion” (Wellhausen). However, it is by no means certain that the exile is presupposed as an actual fact. All the prophets seem to have penetrated the darkness of the present and the immediate future and to have seen, in a more distant era, a ray of light and glory. The modern tendency, which treats as later exilic or postexilic interpolations all passages in pre-exilic prophecies which promise a restoration, does not appear to be well founded (see pp. 35f.). It seems almost unthinkable that the prophets, with their lofty conception of Jehovah, should leave the nation in the despair of exile. If the existence of pre-exilic prophecies pointing to a restoration is granted, the only objection remaining against these verses is the looseness of connection with their context. This looseness of connection has led some to think that, while the words may be Micah’s, they are not in their original position. “The entire context leads me to expect after Mic 2:11 a return to and repetition of the threat of punishment, and there can be no question that the contrast between Mic 2:11, and Mic 3:1, is greatly weakened by these two verses. To deny them to Micah we have no reason, but it is possible that they may have been transposed from another context. Their original place might have been after Mic 4:8, preparing the way for chapter v, but separated from it by Mic 4:9-13, which verses look back to the present.” The only support, then, for this view is the seeming abruptness with which the prophet passes from denunciation to promise, and the interruption in thought between Mic 2:11, and Mic 3:1. The latter objection vanishes if chapter iii is taken as the beginning of a new section rather than as a continuation of chapter ii (see p. 384); the first loses much of its force if logical connection can be established between Mic 2:11, and Mic 2:12-13. The existence of such connection has already been pointed out in the beginning of the comments on Mic 2:12-13, and it seems close enough to warrant the belief that the verses are from Micah and that they are in their original place. It is not even necessary to suppose that the fall of Samaria occurred between the time when Mic 2:11, was uttered and the time when Mic 2:12-13, was spoken; the prophet simply looks beyond the exile announced in Mic 2:3-4.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

YHWH Will Gather The Remnant of Israel Like A Shepherd Gathers His Sheep And Leads Them Home ( Mic 2:12-13 ).

As regularly happens on the prophets Micah now follows the bad news with good news. This was a common practise with Isaiah. For the prophets had a twofold purpose, to deal with the sins of the people, and to enable them to recognise that in spite of all their failure God would ensure their future. He would bring His people back to Himself.

Mic 2:12

‘I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of you.

I will surely gather the remnant of Israel.

I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah,

As a flock in the midst of their pasture,

They will make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.

While he has been warning the rich and the powerful of the captivity that awaited them, he also wanted to assure the people that that would not simply be the end. For God’s promises were sure. Many Israelites might disappear into the great beyond, but they are not to think that they are lost sight of by God.

For God intends one day to bring back many of those in exile, as a sheep gathers His flock, and there He will feed them and they will make a great noise because they are men. What He has done will not be hidden. These words need not have the Babylonian captivity in mind. Micah had watched even his own townsfolk taken into exile. He could not doubt that some of them would return under God’s gracious hand. The sheep of Bozrah were plentiful and well-favoured. Compare here Isa 40:11.

Mic 2:13

‘The breaker out is gone up before them,

They have broken forth and passed on to the gate,

And are gone out of it,

And their king is passed on before them,

And YHWH at the head of them.’

The picture is a triumphant one. Just as YHWH the great Escapist, had broken them out of Egypt and had gone up before them, so that they too were able to break out, He now enables them to break out of wherever they are settled, passing out through the gate, for nothing can hold Him in, and going with them out of the city. They will go forward with their King passing on before them, with YHWH at their head.

The picture is the typically Isaianic one concerning God as the great Deliverer. See for example the constant movement from present sin to glorious future in Isaiah 1-5, and the constant references to God as bringing righteousness and salvation. And compare Isa 52:12.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Mic 2:12. As the flock, &c. They shall make a great noise on account of the multitude of men, as the flock in the midst of the fold. God is often styled the Shepherd of Israel; and his care over his believing people is compared to that of a shepherd over his flock, when he gathers them into the fold, and defends them from beasts of prey. See Houbigant and Lowth.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Remark, Reader, in the worst of times, how the Lord is richly giving out sweet promises concerning the Lord Jesus Christ to his people. For to whom is the gathering of the people to be, but to the Lord Jesus Christ? And observe the expression, all of Jacob; not an hoof, as Moses told Pharaoh, should be left behind. Exo 10:26 . Bozrah was a place remarkable for cattle. And therefore under this figure is shown what a multitude of Israel shall be assembled. Sweet thought! Christ’s fold is many. John saw in his day, already in glory, a multitude which no man could number. And who shall say what a vast accession since? Rev 7:9 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Mic 2:12 I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of [the multitude of] men.

Ver. 12. I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee ] An evangelical promise (saith Diodati, after others) of gathering together the universal Church, under the kingdom of Christ, contrary to the precedent dispersion, Mic 2:10 . Assembling, I will assemble, and gathering, gather them, sc. into the bosom of the Church, called therefore ecclesia (as culled and collected out of the world), and Church, or Kirk, of K ; because it belongs to the Lord Christ, who gathereth his together as the hen doth her chickens, “and died not for that nation of Jews only, but that also he might gather together into one the children of God that were scattered abroad,” Joh 11:51-52 . Here he is called the breaker up, and his apostles likewise those that have broken up, and have passed through the gate, doing great exploits, and subduing souls to the obedience of the faith, as here in Britain, where Caesar himself could not break through, but

“ Territa quaesitis ostendit terga Britannis, ”

as Pompey in Lucan upbraids him. Hence Tertullian saith, Christ brake into those places of Brittany that the Romans could never come at, Britannorum inaccessa Romanis loca Christo patueruut. He is that “king against whom there is no rising up,” Pro 30:31 . He is Jehovah on the head of his people, or in the forefront of them, as their captain general, to lead them on, Quasi antesignanus et ductor (Lapid.), and bring them off safely in all encounters. Habent ista amplissimam promissionem, saith Gualther here; this is an excellent promise, and carrieth in it a most sweet consolation. But I rather think it to be a continuation of the former threatening: “I will surely assemble them,” sc. to the slaughter. I will gather them together, sc. that they may be broken in pieces, Isa 8:9 . I will put them (or pen them up) together as the sheep of Bozrah, that are fat and fit, and appointed for the slaughter. See Isa 34:6 . Bozrah was a rich pasture country in Edom, from whence most fat sheep and meet for meat were sent to the shambles.

As the flock in the midst of their fold ] So will God first shut you up by strait sieges, and then number you out to the sword, and ye shall “all bow down to the slaughter,” Isa 65:12 . There is a memorable story of the suffering of certain good people in Calabria, A.D. 1560, by the hands of the bloody Papists there. A great sort of them being thrust up in one house together, as in a sheepfold, the executioner comes in, and among them takes one, and blindfoldeth him with a muffler about his eyes, and so leadeth him forth to a larger place, where he commandeth him to kneel down, which being done, he cutteth his throat, and so, leaving him half-dead, and taking his butcher’s knife and muffler, all of gore blood, cometh again to the rest; and so leading them one after another, he dispatched them all, to the number of eighty-eight. In Ireland many like barbarous butcheries have been committed by those breathing devils, the Romish rebels, those fat wolves, worrying Christ’s flock in the midst of the land, , Act 20:29 . But “shall they thus escape by iniquity?” No verily, “in thine anger cast down that people, O God,” Psa 56:7 . Give them blood again to drink, for they are worthy. A Lapide saith, that Bozrah signifieth Rome, and that Micah here, after a sort, foretelleth that the Church of Rome should be the common sheepfold of the sheep of Christ, under one chief shepherd, the Pope. But this conceit is far fetched; and Rome (the slaughter house of the saints) is no otherwise Bozrah than that she is of Edom (the Rabbis for Dumah, Isa 21:11 , read Roma, and call the court of Rome the wicked kingdom of Edom), and that her brats, as the vulture’s young ones, do glut glut blood (so the Hebrew soundeth, Job 39:30 , ), and where the slain are there is she.

They shall make a great noise ] Heb. a humming noise. By reason of the multitude of men, or rather wolves, Lycanthropi, wherewith they are environed, to their no small heartbreak.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mic 2:12-13

2I will surely assemble all of you, Jacob,

I will surely gather the remnant of Israel.

I will put them together like sheep in the fold;

Like a flock in the midst of its pasture

They will be noisy with men.

13The breaker goes up before them;

They break out, pass through the gate, and go out by it.

So their king goes on before them,

And the LORD at their head.

Mic 2:12-13 These verses are a radical change from judgment to hope, which characterizes this book. There have been several theories concerning this radical change: (1) John Calvin and Kimchi see Mic 2:12-13 as referring to the deportation into exile; (2) it is possibly another quote from the false teachers (i.e., a response to Mic 2:10); (3) this is Micah’s personal hope in YHWH’s protection; or (4) an insertion of the later redactor. I prefer the sudden shifts to the poetic parallelism known as antithetical parallelism, so common in Hebrew Wisdom Literature, and prophetic poetry. See Special Topic: Hebrew Poetry .

Mic 2:12 I will surely assemble all of you, Jacob This is a promise of future restoration to the Promised Land through YHWH’s power by YHWH Himself (cf. Deu 30:4; Jer 23:3; Jer 31:8). Even though Israel was judged because of the wicked, all of its people paid the price of invasion and exile. God will set it straight for those (and their descendants) who truly trust and obey Him!

Mic 2:12 is in the first person (I), but Mic 2:13 is in the third person. This is common in Hebrew, but here, possibly Mic 2:12 is YHWH speaking and Mic 2:13 Micah’s comment and development.

the remnant of Israel This theological concept becomes a recurrent hope in the Prophets. It refers to a small group of faithful, believing, obedient, covenant Israelites from which YHWH will build His kingdom (cf. Mic 4:6-7). The majority of the covenant people (i.e., descendants of Abraham) are not believers, not obedient, and not right with God. They deserve temporal and eschatological judgment.

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE REMNANT, THREE SENSES

like sheep in the fold,

Like a flock in the midst of its pasture This may be a play on (1) a place name, Bozrah (MT, JPSOA), which was known for its excellent sheep or (2) a parallel to a pasture and, therefore, a protected enclosure (i.e., sheepfold, which requires an emendation to the MT).

These allusions to sheep and shepherding are covenant metaphors for YHWH’s care and provision (cf. Psalms 23). The sheep are guarded and cared for. The last line of Mic 2:12 seems to imply (1) a joyful group or (2) as in NKJV and NIV, a large number of people.

Mic 2:13 Micah seems to be speaking again (i.e., third person references to YHWH). This verse is Messianic text. The Davidic kingship will be restored (cf. 2 Samuel 7).

There is a word play between breaker (Mic 2:13 a, BDB 829, KB 971, Qal PARTICIPLE) and break out (Mic 2:13 b, BDB 829, KB 971, Qal PERFECT). The king will lead his people out of the pen of the exile into a large pasture, where they run and jump with joy! Notice the concept of pen is used in two senses: in Mic 2:12 as a protective enclosure, but in Mic 2:13 as a restrictive enclosure.

Notice how the Davidic King (cf. Mic 2:13 c) is paralleled with YHWH (cf. Mic 2:13 d). This implies a divine king (cf. Mic 5:2-4)! However, this context could be seen as YHWH, the One who caused the exile is the very One who reverses it. The king may be a way of referring to God (cf. Mic 4:7; 1Sa 8:7).

the gate This was an Old Testament metaphor for the power of a city or city-state. This is a word play between the gate of the sheepfold and the national power (i.e., Assyria), which exiled the Northern Ten Tribes (in. 722 B.C.).

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

I will, &c. See the Structure, p. 1253.

Israel. See note on Gen 32:28; Gen 43:6; Gen 45:26, Gen 45:28.

of Bozrah: or, with Septuagint, in tribulation. The member (verses: Mic 2:12, Mic 2:13) does not speak of mercy, but of judgment, corresponding with the member (Mic 1:2-4). Not “a complete change”, and no “promise to a remnant” Compare Isa 34:6. Amo 1:12.

make great noise = be in commotion.

men = human beings. Heb ‘adam. App-14.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Mic 2:12-13

JUDGEMENTS TEMPERED BY PROMISES

(Mic 2:12-13)

A word must be said here regarding the textual unity of the Scriptures. The sudden shift from threats and warnings of doom to glowing promises of restoration is seen by some scholars as evidences that the book of Micah was not actually written by the prophet, or that it was not all written by the same man no matter what his identity. An example of this is seen in Professor J. E. McFaydens statement made as part of his comments on Mic 2:12-13. Dr. McFayden wrote, It is curious to find so gracious a promise following immediately upon denunciation and threat. This, however, is not an uncommon feature in prophecy. Sometimes it is open to suppose the promise was appended by a later hand: here, the scattered sheep seem to suggest the Exile, note that a century after Micahs time . . . whoever added these and similar promises was inspired by the sound conviction that threat and disaster could never exhaust the whole purpose of God.

The idea that, because the stern judgements of the prophet are interspersed with promises, the book must have been compiled by an editor, completely fails to grasp the distinction in the mind of the prophet between the unfaithful majority who are the objects of Gods wrath and the faithful remnant who are the recipients of His promises.

The idea of a restored remnant presupposes the capture and destruction of the political commonwealth and the rejection of the race per se. If it was ever in the purpose of God to redeem a total political commonwealth or a race as an ethnic unit, that concept is abandoned with the introduction of the remnant idea. Few real students of the Bible believe such was ever the intent of God in the nation or race.

The remnant concept so dominated the thought of Isaiah that he named his son Shear-Jashub, the Salvation of the Remnant. (Cf. Isa 7:3; Isa 8:2; Isa 8:18; Isa 9:12; Isa 2:21; Isa 6:9-13) It is not strange to find the same idea voiced by Isaiahs contemporaries such as Micah.

In Rom 11:5, Paul refers to Isa 10:22 in his exposition of the final grafting together of the faithful Gentiles and the faithful remnant of Israel into a single people of God. In referring to the rejection of the race and commonwealth per se, Paul insists that God has not rejected His true people.

In identifying the remnant, as distinct from the whole of the race and nation descended from Abraham, Paul refers to Elijahs seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal, i.e. those Israelites indeed who had refused to compromise their covenant relationship to Jehovah. So, says Paul, the present remnant (the faithful of the first century) is the people chosen by the grace of God. This choice, or election, of grace is everywhere in the Bible related to the covenant.

Pauls argument is that God has not repudiated His true people, in allowing the Gentiles access to the ranks of the election. He has rather identified them! His true people, the real Israel of God prior to the beginning of the gospel age as well as now, are not marked off from other men by their semetic ancestry or their national citizenship. They are those within the national-racial structure of the commonwealth, as well as those Jews now citizens of other nations, who are faithful to the covenant of God. As Barclay has it, The prophet began to see that there never was a time, and there never would be a time, when the whole nation was true to God, but at the same time, always within the nation there was a remnant left who had not forsaken their loyalty or compromised their faith.

Amo 9:8-10 sees the separation of the remnant from the race. Zep 3:12-13 sees the gathering of the remnant people from among the dispersed Jews throughout the world. Eze 14:14; Eze 14:20; Eze 14:22 sees salvation itself not as a national matter but as an individual matter; not determined by racial origins of family heredity, but based on personal righteousness. Righteousness which is acceptable to God is always related to God through the covenant on the basis of obedient faith. All else, as Isaiah says is as filthy rags.

As we have seen, Isaiahs entire concept of the people of God is dominated by the remnant idea.

In our present text, and later in chapter 5, verse three, Micah conceives of God gathering the remnant first from Babylon and then in specific Messianic terms.

The threats against the northern and southern kingdoms, coupled with the promises of salvation to the faithful remnant should serve a real purpose today. We need to know, for our own sakes, and to shout from the rooftops for the sake of others . . . NO nation or race is saved per se. God commands all men everywhere to repent. The remnant . . . the real Israel of God is the fellowship of individuals related to one another on the basis of a common covenant with God. God has not, and never will reject His people, regardless of outward appearances to the contrary. No nation or religious institution is his people. The remnant of the human race, as well as of the commonwealth of Israel is saved by grace through faith.

The sin of denominationalism is essentially the sin of counting oneself part of Gods people on the basis of identity with a religious institution just as the Jews of Micahs day, and Jesus day, and Pauls day, and one suspects even of our day, counted themselves as Gods people because they were citizens of a kingdom whose identity was based on a religious law.

The sin of racism is the twin brother to the sin of denominationalism. The Jews could trace their ancestry back to a common origin in Abraham. God had worked with them, through the influence of faithful men, in special ways. To prevent the entrance of paganism into their thinking as a deterrent to faith, He had forbidden them to marry non-Hebrew mates. All this and many other similar factors combined to bring them to the conclusion that as a race God considered the Hebrews superior to all others. During the reign of terror that was Nazi Germany this race found itself threatened with extinction by the very same kind of thinking that historically they had exercised toward other races and which they today evidence toward their middle-eastern neighbors. The conclusion of the Christian Gospel is that, among Gods people there is no East or West, North or South, Jew or Greek, Black or White. Gods covenant people are one in the promised Seed of Abraham.

Micahs first mention of the remnant has as its primary concern the promise that Gods people would not be brought to extinction in the judgements just pronounced. Rather, a remnant would return from the captivity. The restoration, as history shows, was to be only partial. The deeper meaning of the words; I will assemble, O Jacob, all of thee . . . is to be realized in the Messianic fulfillment of the everlasting covenant. In chapters four and five Micah will expound this theme in some depth.

Those who did return from Babylon were Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, the components of the southern kingdom, which God had preserved for His covenant purposes. (Cf. 1Ki 12:23-24) It is doubtful if even all of these who returned were true Israelites in the covenant sense of the word. At the beginning of the nation, all its people had been given the opportunity to be true Israel. From the captivity on, Israels national identity was (and is) important only as it bears directly on the fulfillment of the everlasting covenant.

Another indication of the Messianic overtones of Micahs remnant is the great noise by reason of the multitude of men. This would seem to indicate a much more numerous gathering than the faithful few within the small number who actually returned after the captivity. The terminology is more reminiscent of the multitude whom no man could number, i.e. all Gods covenant people through all time, finally gathered together in His presence. (Cf. Rev 7:9)

In connection with the remnant, Micah pictures Jehovah by the use of three figures; the shepherd, the breaker (or lead ram), and the king. He is pictured as the shepherd of the sheep of Bozrah. The sheep of Bozrah was a popular saying, like the kine of Bashan (Amo 4:1), and alludes to the fine flocks which were the wealth of Bozrah, a key city of Moab. Jehovah is pictured as shepherd of the finest of flocks, and the remnant is that flock. The breaker, or lead ram, was the ram who went before the flock to butt or break down any and all barriers. So the Lord, leader of the remnant flock, will break through all barriers to the ultimate accomplishment of Gods purpose in the covenant people, If God be for us, who can stand against us?

Zerr: Mic 2:13. Breaker is said with reference to the Lord because he will use his agency (the Persians) to break through the gates of the city to release His people. Their king means Cyrus who will be the instrument in Gods hands for the delivering of Israel.

The Messianic overtones expressed in the figure of the Lord passing as king before the remnant are obvious. It was in David particularly that the Messianic prophecies of the Lords kingship found their personification. From Davids reign on, the Messiah was expected to sit upon the throne of His father David. There have been many and conflicting ideas as to the nature of His kingship and His kingdom, but there is a unanimity of conviction among Gods people that the Lord is King over His people.

Beginning with Abraham and the Patriarchs, the covenant emphasis was nearly, if not entirely, upon the development of a people. In David is added the idea that this people are to compose a kingdom. The king idea, which became the obsession of the first century Jew, was introduced by God only after He had made it crystal clear that all His dealings with Israel, including the establishment of a king over them, were primarily concerned with the fulfillment of His promise to Abraham to bless all the people of the earth, through the people of the covenant.

David was taken from his fathers pasture to become a prince over the people of God. To this end God was with him and reduced his enemies to defeat. For this reason God made the name of David ring out even above that of Moses in the assemblies of Israel. And it was for the accomplishment of His eternal purpose that the Lord promised David, And it shall come to pass when the days are fulfilled that thou must go to thy fathers, that I will set up thy seed after thee who shall be of thy sons and I shall establish his kingdom . . . and his throne shall be established forever. (1Ch 17:7-14)

Two things are to be noted here. First, the throne of the son of David is to be established forever. In view of what happened just following the death of Solomon, who succeeded David on his earthly throne, and of the subsequent desolation of the commonwealth, the fulfillment of Gods promise to David must be found elsewhere than in the perpetuation of an earthly dynasty. The eternal, or everlasting throne of David is to find its fulfillment in the King of Kings.

Secondly, the promise to David that his seed would sit upon the everlasting throne of His people was unconditional! The promises made to Abraham were conditioned by obedient faith. Among these was the promise of a land in which to dwell. To break the covenant was to forfeit all claim to the land. Gods determination to set the seed of David over this faithful people was absolute and unconditioned.

From David on the faithful within Israel, who were of the Davidic line became the particular branch of Abrahams progeny through which the Promised Seed would come.

It must be kept in mind that the Davidic covenant is simply the Abrahamic covenant restated. As with the conditional promise to Abraham, so the unconditional promise to David had universal purposes in the blessing of all men. That Micah was aware of this is obvious in Mic 4:1 -ff as we shall see in a later chapter. In his presentation of the fulfillment of the Kingly promise, Matthew identifies the two covenants as one and the same. Mat 1:1 begins the genealogy of the Eternal King with the words, The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. (Italics mine)

From the demise of Solomon and the division of the kingdom onward, God preserved the institutions of Israel for Davids sake. The southern kingdom is established to preserve the Davidic line (1Ki 11:11-13) Jerusalem was saved for Davids sake. (2Ki 19:34) Throughout the prophets, the Messianic hope is Davidic. (Cp. Isa 55:1-3, Amo 9:11, Hos 3:5, Zec 12:10-14)

And so, for at least a thousand years before the birth of the King, Gods concern is seen to be not with the race or the national political entity but with the unconditional promise to set the Seed of David upon the throne of His people. More than ever, the people existed for the sake of the Seed. When the time came that the Jews as a nation and the religious institutions of that nation rejected the Christ, God would cast them off. But the promise which was the heart of the covenant would be fulfilled through a covenant remnant ruled by the promised Seed of David.

It does violence to the awesomeness of this promise to limit it to any earthly experience of God and His people.

Questions

Second Cycle

1. Discuss the relationships between individual and social sins.

2. Discuss power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely in reference to the situation denounced by Micah.

3. How do power and authority test a persons character?

4. Discuss Pascals statement power without justice is tyranny.

5. How is this evidenced in the circumstances addressed by Micah?

6. How can a just God devise evil? (Mic 2:3)

7. What was the power by which the social leaders of Micahs day enforced their evil designs?

8. How does Gods punishment predicted by Micah fit the crime of those He will punish? (Mic 2:5)

9. What is the relationship between the wickedness addressed by Micah and the false prophets of the day?

10. What part did national pride and racial arrogance play in the downfall of the wicked northern and southern kingdoms?

11. How does Gods purpose in Israel rule out such pride and arrogance on the part of the faithful?

12. How do you answer the tendency to blame God for social calamities?

13. Discuss mistreatment of people as evidence of enmity with God.

14. What single fact made Gods punishment of social sin in Israel and Judah necessary to the accomplishment of His purpose in the covenant?

15. What single characteristic of the Israelites during the Babylonian captivity stood out above all else?

16. Describe the kind of prophet the people desired in Micahs time. (Mic 2:11)

17. Discuss the problem of textual unity of the scriptures. (cf. Mic 2:12-13)

18. The idea of a restored remnant, as presented by Micah, presupposes the destruction of ____________ and the rejection of the ____________ per se.

19. The doctrine of election, divine choice, is, in the Bible, always related to the ____________.

20. What is the similarity of modern denominationalism and the attitude of racial and national priority with God on the part of the Jewish people of Bible times?

21. Discuss the figures of the shepherd, the breaker, and the king in connection with the remnant.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

remnant

(See Scofield “Jer 15:21”)

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

surely assemble: Mic 4:6, Mic 4:7, Isa 11:11, Isa 27:12, Jer 3:18, Jer 31:8, Eze 37:21, Hos 1:11

I will put: Mic 7:14, Jer 23:3, Jer 31:10, Eze 34:11, Eze 34:22, Eze 34:31

Bozrah: Gen 36:33, Isa 34:6, Amo 1:12

they: Jer 31:7-9, Eze 36:37, Zec 8:22, Zec 8:23, Zec 9:14, Zec 9:15, Zec 10:6-8

Reciprocal: 1Ch 1:44 – Bozrah 1Ch 14:15 – for God Isa 24:13 – there Isa 43:5 – I will Jer 39:2 – was Amo 5:15 – the remnant Mic 7:18 – the remnant Zep 2:7 – the remnant Zec 10:2 – therefore Joh 10:4 – he goeth

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Mic 2:12. The subject, changes and the prediction pertains to the restoration of Israel to the home land. Gather the remnant refers to the comparatively small number of the Jews that survived the ravages of the captivity (Ezr 2:64). Put them together as sheep denotes they will he gathered from their scattered condition and grouped together as a flock In their own fold. .Make a noise refers to the lively expressions that the people will make on being released.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Mic 2:12-13. I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee, &c. Many commentators, connecting these verses with the preceding, interpret them as a prediction of the captivity of Israel and Judah. By assembling all of Jacob, and gathering the remnant of Israel, as a flock in the midst of their fold, they understand bringing them together into Samaria and Jerusalem, to be besieged in those cities, and thence taken out for slaughter or captivity. By the breaker being come up before them, breaking up and passing through the gate, they understand the enemies assaulting their cities, (namely, the Assyrians and Chaldeans,) breaking down their walls, and entering in and going out the gates of them, just as the citizens used to do; and by their king passing before them, his being carried into captivity along with them. By the Lord on (or, at) the head of them, they understand, God being on the side of, or prospering the Assyrians and Chaldeans in their attempts against the Israelites and Jews. Others, however, interpret these verses of the restoration of the Jewish people from captivity, and therefore understand by the breaker coming up before them, him who was to break the bonds of their captivity, or break through all obstacles that hindered their restoration, and open to them the way home. The following expressions, They have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it, they consider as metaphorical, describing their return, in allusion to a flock of sheep, which, as soon as a passage is opened for one to get out, do all of them follow; and that these expressions are made use of because it is said, in the foregoing verse, that they should be put or gathered together as a flock of sheep in the midst of their folds. The last clause they render, Their king shall pass before them, even the Lord on the head of them That is, the Messiah, who is both the Lord and their King, shall lead and conduct them as their captain-general. Thus the Jewish commentators generally understand the breaker and their king of the same person, namely, the Messiah, as may be seen in Dr. Pocock on the place. Bishop Pearson cites the words of Moses Hadarson to the same purpose, in his exposition of the Sixth Article of the Creed. It may be observed further, that most of those who understand the Messiah as being meant by the breaker and their king, though they consider the promise as receiving its first accomplishment in the restoration of the Jews from Babylon, yet suppose it will receive a much more complete fulfilment in the latter days, when the general conversion of the Jews and Israelites, and their restoration to their own land, shall take place; it being very usual with the prophets, after they have denounced the destruction of the Jewish republic, to foretel their grand and spiritual deliverance; that the people might not think themselves entirely forsaken of God, before the promises made to their fathers were completed. As this passage is so extremely obscure, it has been thought best to lay both these interpretations before the reader, that he may judge which is most consistent with the words of the text.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Mic 2:12 f. A Promise of Restoration.This is a later insertion in Micahs prophecy, analogous to Micah 4, and presupposing the Jewish exile and dispersion. Yahweh will shepherd (Psa 23:1) the remaining flock of Israel (N. and S.) into the fold (of Palestine); their numbers will be shown by the noise of their return. Yahweh will break through the barrier of their present captivity. like the ram of the flock (J. M. P. Smith), and will lead them out through the gate so made, as their king.

Mic 2:12. of Bozrah means rather into a fold.

Mic 2:13. their king refers to the Lord, by Heb. parallelism (cf. Isa 33:22). The perfects of this verse are prophetic.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

2:12 I will surely assemble, O Jacob, {o} all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of [the multitude of] men.

(o) To destroy you.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

D. A prediction of future regathering and leadership 2:12-13

The message of the false prophets was not completely wrong; it presented the positive aspects of God’s promises to Israel but omitted the negative. Micah’s message had been mainly negative; the people needed to repent or they would experience divine chastening. Now Micah reminded his hearers that there were positive blessings ahead for Israel, but they would come later.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

The Lord Himself would assemble the scattered remnant of all the Israelites (Jacob and Israel; cf. Mic 1:5) following His dispersion of them in exile. The Assyrian and Babylonian exiles were only the first of several that the Jews have experienced. More recently, the Romans scattered them in A.D. 70, and since then most Jews have lived dispersed around the world rather than in a homeland of their own. The return of many modern Jews to the State of Israel does not fulfill this prophecy, as is clear from what Micah and the other prophets said about that future regathering.

The remnant refers to the part of the people that would remain following the dispersion of the majority. Yahweh would assemble them as a shepherd gathers sheep in a fold in the midst of a pasture (cf. Mic 5:4; Mic 7:14). This pictures the regathering of the Israelites in the Promised Land, which is similar to an island in the world. This pen would be full of noise and people because it would be a time and place of great rejoicing, like the city of Jerusalem was during one of Israel’s annual feasts.

"That long-awaited time of blessing will come about for the nation of Israel in the Millennium. Some interpreters claim that this promise of blessing is being fulfilled now in the church, rather than in the future for Israel [i.e., covenant theologians]. However, if Mic 2:12 refers to spiritual blessing for the church, then Israel has been misled all these centuries since Abraham to think that she will inherit the land forever." [Note: Martin, p. 1481.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)