“You just wait till I tell daddy!”  Ah…I
remember it so well.  My brothers would
pick on me (I was the poor, mistreated and totally innocent youngest son of
three) and my greatest comeback was something along those lines.  Yes, my brothers may win the battle against
me, but the war would be mine…when daddy found out.  Of course, I wasn’t innocent every time—okay
most of the time.  The reality is this: I
would start something but be too small to back it up.  My brothers would then rain down on me
exactly what my actions deserved and I would try to get them to stop
“rewarding” me for my actions by threatening to tell dad.  More often than not…it didn’t work.

 

But then there are those
times in life when we are beaten down emotionally or spiritually and we keep
praying to our Daddy in Heaven and wait for His deliverance.  Judah (the southern kingdom of the former
Israel) was about to face their punishment from the Lord.  Their actions deserved it but the Lord was
gracious and told them of a day when their punishment would be over.  He would not turn them away forever.  More than that, He would preserve a faithful
remnant that would sing His praise.     

 

6 “In
that day,” declares the Lord, “I will gather the lame; I will assemble the
exiles and those I have brought to grief. 7 I will make the
lame my remnant, those driven away a strong nation. The Lord will rule over
them in Mount Zion from that day and forever. 8 As for you,
watchtower of the flock, stronghold of Daughter Zion, the former dominion will
be restored to you; kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem.”

Micah 4:6–8 (NIV)

 

It would be the Lord—and
the Lord alone—orchestrating their return. 
“The Lord builds up Jerusalem, He gathers the exiles of
Israel” (Psalm 147:2).  It was the love of the Lord punishing them
and it would be His love gathering them back again.  There is typically a “near” and “far”
fulfillment in Biblical prophecy.  The
“near fulfillment” of this passage was the return from Assyrian and Babylonian
exile (recorded in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah), but the entirety of this
prophecy didn’t occur then. 

 

In A.D. 70, the Romans
destroyed the Temple of Jerusalem and the Jewish people went into a dispersion
lasting for almost two thousand years. 
Even as the Lord delivered them from their exile then and created the
nation of Israel today, there is still the issue of the Lord’s rule from verses
seven and eight.  

 

This started in the life of
Jesus Christ, the Greater Son of David, and will reach its glorious fulfillment
when Jesus returns.   The best is yet to
come for the faithful remnant of Israel. 
The “remnant” referred to in Scripture is not just a random group of people.  The remnant the Lord “will
make” (verse 7) is the repository
of God’s grace and promise.  The faithful
remnant included those Jews who have accepted Jesus as their Messiah and those
of us (Gentiles) who have accepted Jesus and have been grafted into the family
tree (cf. Romans 11). 


When Jesus comes again, the kingdom He will establish will dwarf anything ever
seen or imagined on earth. “He will be great and will be called the
Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father
David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will
never end” (Luke 1:32–33).

 

When you feel down and
defeated, dear one, remember we are on the winning team.  Our Heavenly Father has already determined
the end before the beginning was ever created. 
Rest in His word.  Trust His
heart.  Rejoice in His deliverance.

 

Soon and very soon my King is coming

Robed in righteousness and crowned with love

When I see Him I shall be made like Him

Soon and very soon

 

Soon and very soon

I’ll be going to the place He has prepared for me

There my sin erased my shame forgotten

Soon and very soon

 

Soon and very soon see the procession

The angels and the elders ’round the throne

At His feet I’ll lay my crowns my worship

Soon and very soon

 

Though I have not seen Him

My heart knows Him well

Jesus Christ the Lamb

The Lord of heaven

 

I will be with the One I love

With unveiled face I’ll see Him

There my soul will be satisfied

Soon and very soon

“Soon”

© 2009 Hillsong Music
Publishing (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

Brooke Ligertwood

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