Micah 5:10-15 meaning

As Micah 5:10-15 will elude to, the last task of the Messiah-Ruler during the Messianic Kingdom will be to purify Israel of their reliance on earthly things for their existence and peace. The first thing the Messiah-Ruler will do in that day (v. 10) will be to remove the people’s trust in military might. The day spoken of is the time of restoration for Israel promised in the preceding verses. God promised to cut off your horses from among you And destroy your chariots.

The horses and chariots represent military power (Deuteronomy 11:4), and the LORD prohibited the accumulation of them and trusting in them (Deuteronomy 17:16). In the Messianic Kingdom, He will cut off (Heb. “wəhiḵrattî”, “to purge” or “to destroy”) these things (see also Zechariah 9:10).

During this time, He will also cut off (or “destroy”, same as in v. 10) the cities of your land (v. 11). He will tear down all your fortifications (fortified cities) because they were places of refuge in times of danger. The purification of the LORD’s people includes the removal of things that they might depend on rather than having complete faith in God’s ability to protect them.

This is an interesting contrast to Micah 5:8-9, which promises that those in the “remnant of Jacob” reigning in the earth will have incredible power, like a lion among sheep. It would seem then that their power comes from their dependence upon the Lord and His servants reigning with Him rather than in the might of arms and men.

In addition to removing reliance on military power, the Messiah-Ruler promised to remove every trace of the practice of false religion from their midst. This included cutting off:

• sorceries from your hand (v. 12). The word sorceries (Heb. “ḵəšāp̄îm”) refers to the practice of witchcraft to get information from satanic sources. Israel was prohibited from practicing sorceries (Deuteronomy 18:10).
• fortune-tellers no more. The fortune-tellers were people who depended on pagan sources to predict the future. Though common in the Ancient Near East, the Israelites were not allowed to practice fortune-telling (Deuteronomy 18:10; 2 Kings 21:6).

The LORD will also destroy the symbols of pagan worship in the land. First, He will cut off their carved images (v. 13). These were idols carved from wood or stone representing foreign gods. The Ruler/Messiah included their sacred pillars in the list of things He would destroy.

These were made to represent pagan gods and goddesses and were the objects of pagan worship (Exodus 23:24). Because the Ruler/Messiah will ban all idolatry from His people, they will no longer bow down to the work of their hands (Jeremiah 32:30; Haggai 2:14). Instead, they will worship the LORD and Him alone.

The Ruler/Messiah also promised to root out your Asherim from among you (v. 14).

Asherim are also called “Asherah poles.” Asherah was a Canaanite goddess of the sea and the Canaanite god Baal’s consort. Worship of these deities included sexual immorality. All of the Asherim pillars were supposed to be destroyed by the Israelites and never used again (Exodus 34:13; Deuteronomy 7:5).

Unexpectedly, after condemning idolatry, the LORD said that He would destroy the cities of Israel as well. This probably refers to the destruction of the cities that were centers of the pagan worship described in the previous verses. Not only will the pagan worship centers be eliminated, so will the cities in which they exist be levelled. The purification of Israel from pagan worship would then be complete.

Paganism promotes an illusion that the worshipper has control over spiritual forces; the giving of sacrifices supposedly causing the deity to do one’s bidding (Isaiah 44:16-17). It also provides moral justification for exploiting others (see exploitative pagan practices noted in Leviticus 18). Paganism breeds a culture of “do unto others what you can gain for yourself” rather than “love your neighbor as yourself” which is God’s design for Shalom/harmony/righteousness. Therefore, God is eradicating all vestiges of paganism so that the earth might be restored to the harmony and blessing for which He designed it.

Having purified Israel of its dependence on its own military power (vv. 10-11) and its pagan practices (vv. 12-13), the Ruler/Messiah will then turn His attention to the nations that oppose Him. Though not under the Mosaic Law, they are under natural law, and refused to acknowledge the Ruler/Messiah as their Creator-God and follow His ways. God has given ample evidence of Himself for all to acknowledge and follow Him:

• In the very design of creation (Psalm 19, Romans 1:19-21, 10:18)
• In the inner design of each person’s conscience (Romans 2:14)

In God’s evidence of Himself, He has made known to every person how they ought to behave. Just as God created the physical universe with laws of nature, so He did with moral laws. Both are evident. Both have consequences built in as a part of His creative design. When we love others as ourselves and serve rather than exploit, we create social harmony, benefit, and life (rather than death) as God intended. This is apparent from observation.

However, nations and peoples choose to ignore this testimony and follow their own way (Romans 1:18). They prefer to exploit and seek control rather than serve and trust God. They turn to pagan gods to justify their choices.

Because of this, the Messiah King would execute vengeance in anger and wrath On the nations which have not obeyed (v. 15). These nations deserve His vengeance because they rebelled against the Ruler-Messiah (Psalm 2:1-3), commit wickedness (Amos 1:1 - 2:3), and oppress His people Israel (Obadiah 10-15).

The word vengeance (Heb. “nāqām”) is a legal term that refers to what a ruler does to rebels who do not submit to his sovereignty. His vengeance will be done in anger and wrath, an intense phrase meaning “extreme anger.” God reserves all vengeance to Himself (Romans 12:19).

God took all the sin of the world upon Himself, because of His love for humanity (Colossians 2:14, John 3:16). He has patiently waited for all to receive His free offer of His grace, not desiring that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). When Jesus took on the sins of the world, He cried out because He had been forsaken (Matthew 27:46). At this point it would seem that all the Father’s anger and vengeance against sin was poured out upon His Son.

But that atonement for sin comes only through faith in Jesus. And many have not or will not receive Him. Therefore, Jesus’s payment does not apply to those who did not receive God’s grace by faith. And justice must be done. So for those who reject God’s grace in taking their judgment on their behalf, He will execute judgement upon them. This will apply to the nations which have not obeyed.

In conclusion, the LORD, the Ruler/Messiah, after the disciplining of His people, promised to restore them and place them in a position of authority over the nations of the earth. Thus, the final cleansing of the nations will happen during the reign of the Ruler/Messiah during the Messianic Kingdom (Revelation 19:15).