◄ Micah 4:6 ►
"On that day," declares the LORD, "I will gather the lame; I will assemble the outcast, even those whom I have afflicted.
Study Bible
On that day
This phrase is often used in prophetic literature to denote a specific time of divine intervention or fulfillment of God's promises. In the context of Micah, "that day" refers to a future time when God will restore His people. The Hebrew term "yom" (day) can signify a literal day or an era, emphasizing the certainty and divine timing of God's plan. This phrase assures believers that God's promises are not vague but are set for an appointed time, encouraging trust in His sovereign timeline.

declares the LORD
This phrase underscores the authority and certainty of the message. The Hebrew word for "declares" is "ne'um," which is often used in prophetic contexts to affirm that the message comes directly from God. The use of "LORD" (YHWH) highlights the covenantal relationship between God and His people, reminding readers of His faithfulness and unchanging nature. This declaration is a divine promise, assuring believers of God's active role in their redemption and restoration.

I will gather the lame
The act of gathering signifies God's intention to bring together those who are scattered or marginalized. The "lame" represents those who are weak, disadvantaged, or suffering. In the Hebrew context, the word "lame" (pisseach) can also symbolize spiritual or moral weakness. This promise reflects God's compassion and His desire to restore and heal those who are broken, both physically and spiritually. It is a powerful reminder of God's inclusive love and His commitment to uplift the downtrodden.

I will assemble the outcast
To "assemble" indicates a deliberate and purposeful action by God to bring together those who have been rejected or exiled. The "outcast" refers to individuals who have been marginalized or separated from the community. In the Hebrew context, this could include those exiled due to sin or societal rejection. God's promise to assemble them highlights His redemptive plan to restore community and belonging, emphasizing His grace and mercy towards those who have been alienated.

even those I have afflicted
This phrase acknowledges that some of the suffering experienced by God's people is a result of divine discipline. The Hebrew word for "afflicted" (ra'a) can mean to cause distress or trouble. This acknowledgment of divine affliction serves as a reminder of God's justice and the consequences of sin. However, it also underscores His mercy, as He promises to restore even those He has disciplined. This dual aspect of God's character—justice and mercy—offers hope and assurance of His ultimate plan for redemption and restoration.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant-keeping God of Israel, who speaks through the prophet Micah, promising restoration and gathering of His people.

2. The Lame
Symbolic of those who are weak, marginalized, or disadvantaged, both physically and spiritually, within the community of Israel.

3. The Outcast
Refers to those who have been exiled or rejected, either by society or due to their own circumstances, representing the dispersed people of Israel.

4. The Afflicted
Those who have suffered due to divine judgment or life's hardships, indicating God's discipline and the resulting need for restoration.

5. Micah
A prophet in the 8th century BC, who delivered messages of judgment and hope to the people of Judah and Israel.
Teaching Points
God's Heart for the Marginalized
God shows special concern for those who are weak, outcast, and afflicted. This reflects His compassionate nature and calls us to mirror His love in our communities.

Restoration and Hope
The promise of gathering and restoration offers hope to those who feel abandoned or judged. It reminds us that God's discipline is not the end but a pathway to renewal.

Inclusivity in God's Kingdom
The inclusion of the lame and outcast in God's gathering challenges us to embrace inclusivity in our churches and communities, welcoming all regardless of their status or past.

Divine Sovereignty and Compassion
God's ability to gather and restore highlights His sovereignty and compassion. We can trust in His plans, even when circumstances seem dire.

Responding to God's Call
As recipients of God's grace, we are called to participate in His mission by reaching out to the marginalized and sharing the message of hope and restoration.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding God's promise to gather the lame and outcast in Micah 4:6 influence our view of those who are marginalized in society today?

2. In what ways can we, as a church or individuals, actively participate in God's work of restoration and inclusion as described in Micah 4:6?

3. Reflect on a time when you felt like an outcast or afflicted. How does God's promise of gathering and restoration bring comfort and hope to your situation?

4. How do the themes of Micah 4:6 connect with Jesus' teachings in the New Testament about the Kingdom of God and its inclusivity?

5. What practical steps can we take to ensure that our communities reflect God's heart for the marginalized, as seen in Micah 4:6 and related scriptures?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Isaiah 35:5-6
This passage speaks of the healing and restoration of the lame and the blind, paralleling the promise of gathering and healing in Micah 4:6.

Zephaniah 3:19
Similar themes of gathering the afflicted and restoring the outcast are found here, emphasizing God's redemptive plan for His people.

Luke 14:13-14
Jesus' teaching on inviting the poor, crippled, lame, and blind to the banquet reflects God's heart for the marginalized, as seen in Micah 4:6.
Sermons
The Restoration of IsraelE.S. Prout Micah 4:6, 7
Prophecies Relative to the Jewish NationHugh M'Neile.Micah 4:6-8
The Blessing of the Ingathered OnesT. B. Baker.Micah 4:6-8
The Moral Monarchy of Christ in the WorldHomilistMicah 4:6-8
The Moral Monarchy of Christ in the WorldD. Thomas Micah 4:6-8
People
Eder, Jacob, Micah
Places
Babylon, Jerusalem, Mount Zion, Zion
Topics
Affirmation, Afflicted, Assemble, Bring, Declares, Driven, Evil, Exiles, Gather, Goes, Grief, Halteth, Halting, Lame, Outcasts, Says, Steps, Uncertain
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Micah 4:6-7

     5278   cripples
     5296   disabilities
     7145   remnant

Micah 4:6-8

     7271   Zion, as symbol
     9145   Messianic age
     9220   day of the LORD

Library
As God, So Worshipper
'... All the peoples will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.'--MICAH iv. 5 (R.V.). This is a statement of a general truth which holds good of all sorts of religion. 'To walk' is equivalent to carrying on a course of practical activity. 'The name' of a god is his manifested character. So the expression 'Walk in the name' means, to live and act according to, and with reference to, and in reliance on, the character of the worshipper's …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

"And we Will --"
The prophet Micah was struck with the energy and devotion of the heathen to their gods. He saw the grip these idols had of their votaries, how no expense was spared, no sacrifice withheld, for the sake of a filthy lie embodied in a stone or golden image. While he listened to the songs of the heathen, his heart warmed as he thought of the greatness of Jehovah, and so he cried out--"All people will walk every one in the name of his God, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and …
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread

The Battle of Armageddon.
The Battle of Armageddon! What extravagant speculations have been indulged concerning it! What unscriptural theories have been entertained respecting it! To begin with; this appears from the term employed. Nowhere in the Bible do we read of "The Battle of Armageddon." The Scriptural expression is "The Battle of that great day of God Almighty" (Rev. 16:14). This Battle of the great day of God Almighty will bring the Tribulation period to a close and will witness the return of Christ to the earth to …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

"Is the Spirit of the Lord Straitened?"
THERE MAY BE SOME who think they can convert the world by philosophy; that they can renew the heart by eloquence; or that, by some witchcraft of ceremonies, they can regenerate the soul; but we depend wholly and simply and alone on the Spirit of God. He alone worketh all our works in us; and in going forth to our holy service we take with us no strength, and we rely upon no power, except that of the Spirit of the Most High. When Asher's foot was dipped in oil, no wonder he left a foot-mark wherever …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

A vision of the Latter-Day Glories
We shall not, to-day, look through all the dim vista of Zion's tribulations. We will leave the avenue of troubles and of trials through which the church has passed and is to pass, and we will come, by faith, to the last days; and may God help us while we indulge in a glorious vision of that which is to be ere long, when "the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it." The prophet saw two …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859

Place of Jesus in the History of the World.
The great event of the History of the world is the revolution by which the noblest portions of humanity have passed from the ancient religions, comprised under the vague name of Paganism, to a religion founded on the Divine Unity, the Trinity, and the Incarnation of the Son of God. It has taken nearly a thousand years to accomplish this conversion. The new religion had itself taken at least three hundred years in its formation. But the origin of the revolution in question with which we have to do …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

The Redeemer's Return is Necessitated by the Declarations of Old Testament Prophecy.
It is very apparent to any one who has read thoughtfully through the Old Testament that the First Advent of our Lord did not exhaust the burden and scope of the numerous predictions which had been made concerning Him. Many of the things foretold of Israel's Messiah were not accomplished during the days when He tabernacled among men. Many of the promises found in God's Word connected with the Person of Christ, still await their ratification. While it is true that the First Advent of the Lord Jesus …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

In the Fifteenth Year of Tiberius Cæsar and under the Pontificate of Annas and Caiaphas - a Voice in the Wilderness
THERE is something grand, even awful, in the almost absolute silence which lies upon the thirty years between the Birth and the first Messianic Manifestation of Jesus. In a narrative like that of the Gospels, this must have been designed; and, if so, affords presumptive evidence of the authenticity of what follows, and is intended to teach, that what had preceded concerned only the inner History of Jesus, and the preparation of the Christ. At last that solemn silence was broken by an appearance, …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Prophet Micah.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. Micah signifies: "Who is like Jehovah;" and by this name, the prophet is consecrated to the incomparable God, just as Hosea was to the helping God, and Nahum to the comforting God. He prophesied, according to the inscription, under Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. We are not, however, entitled, on this account, to dissever his prophecies, and to assign particular discourses to the reign of each of these kings. On the contrary, the entire collection forms only one whole. At …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

John Bunyan on the Terms of Communion and Fellowship of Christians at the Table of the Lord;
COMPRISING I. HIS CONFESSION OF FAITH, AND REASON OF HIS PRACTICE; II. DIFFERENCES ABOUT WATER BAPTISM NO BAR TO COMMUNION; AND III. PEACEABLE PRINCIPLES AND TRUE[1] ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Reader, these are extraordinary productions that will well repay an attentive perusal. It is the confession of faith of a Christian who had suffered nearly twelve years' imprisonment, under persecution for conscience sake. Shut up with his Bible, you have here the result of a prayerful study of those holy …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

A Clearing-Up Storm in the Realm
(Revelation, Chapters vi.-viii.) "God Almighty! King of nations! earth Thy footstool, heaven Thy throne! Thine the greatness, power, and glory, Thine the kingdom, Lord, alone! Life and death are in Thy keeping, and Thy will ordaineth all: From the armies of Thy heavens to an unseen insect's fall. "Reigning, guiding, all-commanding, ruling myriad worlds of light; Now exalting, now abasing, none can stay Thy hand of might! Working all things by Thy power, by the counsel of Thy will. Thou art God! …
by S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks on the Crowned Christ of Revelation

Conclusion
"Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (Rev. 19:6). In our Foreword to the Second Edition we acknowledge the need for preserving the balance of Truth. Two things are beyond dispute: God is Sovereign, man is responsible. In this book we have sought to expound the former; in our other works we have frequently pressed the latter. That there is real danger of over-emphasising the one and ignoring the other, we readily admit; yea, history furnishes numerous examples of cases of each. To emphasise …
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God

The Plan for the Coming of Jesus.
God's Darling, Psalms 8:5-8.--the plan for the new man--the Hebrew picture by itself--difference between God's plan and actual events--one purpose through breaking plans--the original plan--a starting point--getting inside. Fastening a Tether inside: the longest way around--the pedigree--the start. First Touches on the Canvas: the first touch, Genesis 3:15.--three groups of prediction--first group: to Abraham, Genesis 12:1-3; to Isaac, Genesis 26:1-5; to Jacob, Genesis 28:10-15; through Jacob, …
S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks about Jesus

The Quotation in Matt. Ii. 6.
Several interpreters, Paulus especially, have asserted that the interpretation of Micah which is here given, was that of the Sanhedrim only, and not of the Evangelist, who merely recorded what happened and was said. But this assertion is at once refuted when we consider the object which Matthew has in view in his entire representation of the early life of Jesus. His object in recording the early life of Jesus is not like that of Luke, viz., to communicate historical information to his readers. …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Interpretation of Prophecy.
1. The scriptural idea of prophecy is widely removed from that of human foresight and presentiment. It is that of a revelation made by the Holy Spirit respecting the future, always in the interest of God's kingdom. It is no part of the plan of prophecy to gratify vain curiosity respecting "the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power." Acts 1:7. "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God"--this is its key-note. In its form it is carefully adapted to this great end. …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

Annunciation of the Birth of Jesus.
(at Nazareth, b.c. 5.) ^C Luke I. 26-38. ^c 26 Now in the sixth month [this is the passage from which we learn that John was six months older than Jesus] the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth [Luke alone tells us where Mary lived before the birth of Jesus. That Nazareth was an unimportant town is shown by the fact that it is mentioned nowhere in the Old Testament, nor in the Talmud, nor in Josephus, who mentions two hundred four towns and cities of Galilee. The …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Micah
Micah must have been a very striking personality. Like Amos, he was a native of the country--somewhere in the neighbourhood of Gath; and he denounces with fiery earnestness the sins of the capital cities, Samaria in the northern kingdom, and Jerusalem in the southern. To him these cities seem to incarnate the sins of their respective kingdoms, i. 5; and for both ruin and desolation are predicted, i. 6, iii. 12. Micah expresses with peculiar distinctness the sense of his inspiration and the object …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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