The Story: These verses convey a message of great hope in the face of coming judgment. Jerusalem is instructed to be fearless and warned against becoming slack in her service to Yahweh. In order to obey these commands, she needs to remember several things. (1) “The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save.” Yahweh’s saving presence is a great stimulus to obedience. (2) “[H]e will rejoice over you with gladness.” Yahweh is not some distant, angry judge. Rather, He gladly rejoices over His own. (3) “[H]e will quiet you by his love.” A more literal translation would be, “He will be quiet in His love.” The image is of a lover resting quietly in the pleasure of the company of his beloved. (4) “[H]e will exult over you with loud singing.” Yahweh sings with joy over His covenant people! Taken together, these statements paint a beautiful portrait of divine love. If we would truly believe this is God’s disposition toward us, surely we would be motivated to fearlessness and obedience. These winsome words to Jerusalem of old are also powerful words to the Church today. Are we willing to believe God loves us this extravagantly?

The Structure: In verse 15, believers are called to sing, rejoice, and exult in response to God’s grace. We can understand the appropriateness of this. But now God Himself is pictured as singing, rejoicing, and exulting over believers. Surely, we are not worthy of such divine celebration! But the message of Scripture is that God makes us worthy when He washes away our sins and clothes us in the righteousness of Christ. This passage shows that God’s love for us in Christ is utterly magnificent. We are called to believe it, to bask in it, and to respond in fearless obedience.

Read verse 17, substituting “me”/“my” for “you”/“your” to personalize its message. Ask the Lord for faith to believe His love for you is this great. Thank and praise Him for His love.

For more insight to the prophet Micah, order the book, The Minor Prophets, Vol. 2: Micah-Malachi, by James Montgomery Boice, from our online store.

The Worldview Bible examines the teaching of Scripture according to the Story and Structure of Truth – the Framework of Christian Worldview – using only other Scriptures for illumination. Information about The Framework of Truth is available on this site. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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