Micah 4:4

But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(4) They shall sit . . .—This was a proverbial expression for the feeling of security brought about by a peace which no foreign power was strong enough to disturb. It describes the state of the Israelites under Solomon—“Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even unto Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.” The vine and the fig-tree are the representative trees of Palestine.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

4:1-8 The nations have not yet so submitted to the Prince of Peace, as to beat their swords into ploughshares, nor has war ceased. But very precious promises these are, relating to the gospel church, which will be more and more fulfilled, for He is faithful that has promised. There shall be a glorious church for God set up in the world, in the last days, in the days of the Messiah. Christ himself will build it upon a rock. The Gentiles worshipped their idol gods; but in the period spoken of, the people will cleave to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and delight in doing his will. The word halteth, describes those who walk not according to the Divine word. The collecting the captives from Babylon was an earnest of healing, purifying, and prospering the church; and the reign of Christ shall continue till succeeded by the everlasting kingdom of heaven. Let us stir up each other to attend the ordinances of God, that we may learn his holy ways, and walk in them, receiving the law from his hands, which, being written in our hearts by his Spirit, may show our interest in the Redeemer's righteousness.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But - And

They shall sit every man, under his vine and under his fig-tree - Palestine was a home of the vine and the fig-tree. Vineyards were a common property, possessed by all but the very poor , or even by them Nehemiah 5:4; Jeremiah 39:10. The land was "a land of bread and vineyards" 2 Kings 18:32. The vine was the emblem of the people, in Psalmists and prophets (Psalm 80:8 ff; Isaiah 3:14; Isaiah 5:1 ff; Isaiah 27:2; Jeremiah 2:21; Jeremiah 12:10; Ezekiel 15:1-8; Ezekiel 17:5-10; Ezekiel 19:10; Hosea 10:1). The bunch of grapes or the vine-leaf appear as characteristic emblems on Jewish coins , chiefly in the times of their revolts under Vespasian and Hadrian . The fig is also mentioned as part of the characteristic fruitfulness of Palestine Deuteronomy 8:8.

It too was an universal property 2 Kings 18:32. Both formed natural arbors; the fig had its name probably from its length, the vine from the arch made by its drooping boughs. Both formed, in those hot countries, a grateful shade. The vine, rising with its single stem, was spread over trellis-work or by props, so as to enclose a considerable space . Even in Italy, a single vine shaded a portico . In Palestine it grew by the walls of the house Psalm 128:3.

Rabbis relate how their forefathers sat and studied under the fig-tree , as Nathanael was doubtless meditating or praying under one, when Jesus, being God, saw him John 1:48. It exhibits a picture of domestic peace, each family gathered in harmony and rest under the protection of God, each content with what they have, neither coveting another's, nor disturbed in their own. Wine is explained in Holy Scripture to be an emblem of gladness, and the fig of sweetness . Cyril: "For exceeding sweet is the word of the Saviour, and it knoweth how to gladden man's heart; sweet also and full of joy is the hope of the future, wherewith we are enriched in Christ.

Such had been Israel's lot in the peaceful days of Solomon 1 Kings 4:25, the peace of whose times had already been made the image of the Gospel Psalm 72; the coming of the Queen of the South from the uttermost parts of the earth, to hear the wisdom of Solomon Matthew 12:42, had made her kingdom to be selected as an emblem of those who should fall down before Christ and serve Him Psalm 60:12 :10-11. Lap.: "Such is that most quiet fearlessness which the law of Christ bringeth, as being the law of charity, peace, and concord."

And none shall make them afraid - o: "Neither man, nor devil; for the Lord hath given us power to "tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and said, nothing shall by any means hurt you" Luke 10:19, and bade us, "fear not them which kill the body" Matthew 10:28. Witness the might which He gave to His Apostles and Martyrs.

For the mouth of the Lord of Host hath spoken it - The prophets often add this, when what they say, seems, for its greatness, past belief Yet it will be, because He hath spoken it, "the Lord" who changeth not, "the Lord of Hosts," to whose commands all creatures are subject, whose word is truth with whom to speak is to do.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

4. sit every man under his vine, &c.—that is, enjoy the most prosperous tranquillity (1Ki 4:25; Zec 3:10). The "vine" and "fig tree" are mentioned rather than a house, to signify, there will be no need of a covert; men will be safe even in the fields and open air.

Lord of hosts hath spoken it—Therefore it must come to pass, however unlikely now it may seem.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

But they, the redeemed of the Lord, redeemed from Babylonish captivity, and brought back into their own land, the type of a greater redemption by Jesus Christ,

shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree: the planting vines and fig trees was one part of that husbandry which the Jews made great profit by; to this husbandry they were much addicted in times of peace, 1 Kings 4:25, and when peace, security, and riches or plenty are promised, among other ways of expressing it, this is one: so Zechariah 3:10. So in the type, the Jews returned (whilst they walked in the ways of the God of Jacob) did enjoy safety and plenty, as Ezekiel 34:25-28 36:8,9, &c. This was made good in the gospel days more universally and fully, both in outward and inward peace under the Messiah.

None shall make them afraid; those that were once enemies shall be friends; the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, Isaiah 11:6-9. These proverbial allusions do assure us that they who were redeemed out of Babylon, and the servitude of sin, should enjoy their own with great safety and security, which literally was performed to the returned, resettled captives, and spiritually or mystically is made good among those that are redeemed by Christ, and who embrace the gospel.

For the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it: this gives us the greatest confirmation and assurance of the future accomplishment of the prediction and promise; the merciful, wise, faithful, and almighty God hath spoken it; he hath promised it, whose word spoken, commanding it should be, can make their state what he saith it shall be.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

But they shall sit every man under his vine, and under his fig tree,.... A proverbial phrase, expressive of the greatest tranquillity, security, and enjoyment of property; see 1 Kings 4:25; when persons need not keep within their walled towns and cities, and lack themselves up in their houses, but may sit down in their gardens, fields, and vineyards, and enjoy the fruit thereof; as the Targum interprets it,

"under the fruit of his vine, and under, the fruit of his fig tree.''

It was usual for persons in the eastern countries to sit under vines and fig trees to read, meditate, pray, or converse together, where they grow very large, as were their vines; and even with us they are frequently raised and carried over supporters, so as to be sat under; and of fig trees, we frequently read in Jewish writings of their being very large, and of their going up to them, and praying on the top of them; and of sitting under them, and studying in the law there. So one of the Rabbins says (p), he went up into his mustard tree, as one goes up to the top of a fig tree; and it is said (q), he that prays on the top of an olive tree, or on the top of a fig tree must come down, and pray below; and again (r), R. Jacob and his companions were fasting, studying in the law, under a certain fig tree; and sometimes they speak of all these together, of sitting under olives, and under vines, and under fig trees, and studying in the words of the law (s); see John 1:48. This is to be understood, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi explain it, of all men; not of the Israelites only, but of all nations, since there will be no more war any where; hence it follows:

and none shall make them afraid; the enemies of God's people will be no more, neither Turk nor pope, eastern or western antichrist, beast or, false prophet; wherefore, in those days of the Messiah, Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, even all the spiritual Israel of God, Jews and Gentiles; there shall be none to hurt in the holy mountain of the Lord, or any violence and oppression, wasting and destruction, anywhere; see Jeremiah 23:5;

for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it; who speaks nothing but truth, and who is able and faithful to perform what he has spoken; and therefore all this may be depended on.

(p) T. Hieros. Peah, c. 7. fol. 20. 2.((q) T. Hieros. Beracot, c. 2. fol. 5. 1.((r) Ib. Colossians 3. (s) Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 16. 4.

Geneva Study Bible

But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

4. every man under his vine …] Comp. 1 Kings 4:25, 2 Kings 18:31. The old agricultural ideal. The depression of the peasantry, owing to the growing concentration of wealth, naturally made a peasant-prophet like Micah look forward with hope to a reaction, when each family should have its own allotment of land. This verse is omitted in Isaiah 2; it would no doubt have been unsuitable in that connexion.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 4. - This verse is omitted in Isaiah. They shall sit every man under his vine. This image of plenty and security is derived from the account of the material prosperity of Israel in the days of Solomon (1 Kings 4:25), in accordance with the Mosaic promise (Leviticus 26:4, etc.). It passed into a proverb expressive of peace and happiness (comp. Zechariah 3:10; 1 Macc. 14:12). The mouth of the Lord of hosts. The great promise is thus confirmed (Isaiah 58:14). The LXX. usually renders this expression in Jeremiah and the minor prophets by Κύριος παντοκράτωρ, elsewhere by Κύριος σαβαώθ, and Κύριος δυνάμεων. It means, "the Lord of the powers of heaven and earth," the idea being originally that God was the Leader of the armies of Israel. Micah 4:4

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The promise of salvation opens, in closest connection with the destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple, with a picture of the glory awaiting in the remotest future the temple mountain, which has now become a wild forest-height. Micah 4:1. "And it comes to pass at the end of the days, that the mountain of Jehovah's house will be established on the head of the mountains, and it will be exalted above the hills, and nations stream to it. Micah 4:2. And many nations go, and say, Up, let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, and to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us of His ways, and we may walk in His paths: for from Zion will law go forth, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. Micah 4:3. And He will judge between many nations, and pronounce sentence on strong nations afar off; and they forge their swords into coulters, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation will not lift up sword against nation, nor will they learn war any more. Micah 4:4. And they will sit, every one under his vine, and under his fig-tree, and no one will make them afraid: for the mouth of Jehovah of hosts hath spoken it."

(Note: This promise is placed by Isaiah (Isaiah 2:2-4) at the head of his prophecy of Zion's way through judgment from the false glory to the true. The originality of the passage in Micah is open to no question. Delitzsch acknowledges this, and has given the principal arguments in its favour in the Commentary on Isaiah. For still more elaborate proofs, see Caspari's Micha, pp. 444-5.)

By the phrase "at the end of the days," which always denotes the Messianic era when used by the prophets (see at Hosea 3:5), the predicted exaltation of the temple mountain is assigned to the period of the completion of the kingdom of God. The mountain of the house of Jehovah is the temple mountain, strictly speaking, Moriah, as the distinction made between the mountain of the house and Zion in Micah 3:12 clearly shows; but as a subordinate peak of Zion, it is embraced along with Zion in what follows (compare Micah 4:2 with Micah 4:7) as the seat of Jehovah's rule, from which the law proceeds. נכון does not mean placed or set up, but established, founded. By connecting the participle with יהיה, the founding is designated as a permanent one. בּראשׁ ההרים, upon (not at) the top of the mountains, as in Judges 9:7; 1 Samuel 26:13; Psalm 72:16; whereas such passages as Micah 2:13; Amos 6:7, and 1 Kings 21:9 are of a different character, and have no bearing upon the point. The temple mountain, or Zion, will be so exalted above all the mountains and hills, that it will appear to be founded upon the top of the mountains. This exaltation is of course not a physical one, as Hofmann, Drechsler, and several of the Rabbins suppose, but a spiritual (ethical) elevation above all the mountains. This is obvious from Micah 4:2, according to which Zion will tower above all the mountains, because the law of the Lord issues from it. The assumption of a physical elevation cannot be established from Ezekiel 40:2 and Revelation 21:10, for in the visions described in both these passages the earthly elevation is a symbol of a spiritual one. "Through a new revelation of the Lord, which is made upon it, and which leaves the older revelations far behind, whether made upon Sinai or upon itself, Zion becomes the greatest and loftiest mountain in the world" (Caspari), and the mountain seen from afar, to which "nations" stream, and not merely the one nation of Israel.

עמּים is more precisely defined in Micah 4:2 as גּוים רבּים. The attractive power which this mountain exerts upon the nations, so that they call upon one another to go up to it (Micah 4:2), does not reside in its height, which towers above that of all other mountains, but in the fact that the house of the God of Jacob stands upon it, i.e., that Jehovah is enthroned there, and teacher how to walk in His ways. הורה מן, to teach out of the ways, so that the ways of God form the material from which they derive continual instruction. The desire for salvation, therefore, is the motive which prompts them to this pilgrimage; for they desire instruction in the ways of the Lord, that they may walk in them. The ways of Jehovah are the ways which God takes in His dealing with men, and by which men are led by Him; in reality, therefore, the ordinances of salvation which He has revealed in His word, the knowledge and observance of which secure life and blessedness. The words "for the law goes forth from Zion," etc., are words spoken not by the nations, but by the prophet, and assign the reason why the heathen go with such zeal to the mountain of Jehovah. The accent is laid upon מצּיון (from Zion), which stands at the head, and מירוּשׁלם (from Jerusalem), which is parallel to it. Thence does tōrâh, i.e., instruction in the ways of God, proceed, - in other words, the law as the rule of a godly life, and debhar Yehōvâh (the word of Jehovah), or the word of revelation as the source of salvation. It is evident from this that the mountain of the house of God is not thought of here as the place of worship, but as the scene of divine revelation, the centre of the kingdom of God. Zion is the source of the law and word of the Lord, from which the nations draw instruction how to walk in the ways of God, to make it their own, take it to their homes, and walk according to it. The fruit of this adoption of the word of the Lord will be, that they will not longer fight out their disputes with weapons of war, but let Jehovah judge and settle them, and thus acknowledge Him as their King and Judge. שׁפם signifies to act as judge; הוכיה (lit., to set right), to settle and put a stop to a dispute. "Many nations," in contrast with the one nation, which formerly was alone in acknowledge Jehovah as its King and Judge. This is strengthened still further by the parallel "strong, mighty nations afar off." In consequence of this they will turn their weapons into instruments of peaceful agriculture, and wage no more war; in fact, they will learn war no more, no longer exercise themselves in the use of arms. For the words וכתּתוּ וגו compare Joel 3:10, where the summons to the nations to a decisive conflict with the kingdom of God is described as turning the instruments of agriculture into weapons of war. With the cessation of war, universal peace will ensue, and Israel will have no further enemies to fear, so that every one will have undisturbed enjoyment of the blessings of peace, of which Israel had had a foretaste during the peaceful reign of Solomon. The words "sit under his vine" are taken from 1 Kings 5:5 (cf. Zechariah 3:10), and אין מחריד from the promise in Leviticus 26:6. All this, however incredible it might appear, not only for the Israel of that time, but even now under the Christian dispensation, will assuredly take place, for the mouth of Jehovah the true God has spoken it.