Micah 7:12 Study Bible: In that day they will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt even to the River, and from sea to sea, and mountain to mountain.

◄ Micah 7:12 ►

On that day they will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates, from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.

Study Bible

In that day
This phrase often signifies a future time of divine intervention or fulfillment of prophecy. In the Hebrew context, "that day" is a marker of hope and restoration, pointing to a time when God will act decisively. It is a reminder of God's sovereignty and the assurance that His plans will come to fruition.

they will come to you
The phrase suggests a gathering or return, indicating a movement towards a central point, which in this context is likely Jerusalem or the people of Israel. This can be seen as a prophetic vision of the nations recognizing the God of Israel, symbolizing unity and reconciliation.

from Assyria
Assyria was a dominant empire during Micah's time, known for its military might and conquests. The mention of Assyria highlights the extent of God's reach and influence, suggesting that even powerful nations will acknowledge Him. Historically, Assyria was an enemy of Israel, so this indicates a reversal of fortunes and a time of peace.

and the cities of Egypt
Egypt, like Assyria, was a significant power in the ancient world. The reference to Egypt's cities emphasizes the breadth of the gathering, as Egypt was often seen as a place of refuge and also of bondage for Israel. This signifies liberation and the breaking of old enmities.

even from Egypt to the Euphrates
The Euphrates River was a boundary of the known world for the Israelites. This phrase indicates a vast geographical area, symbolizing the far-reaching impact of God's plan. It suggests a gathering from the ends of the earth, highlighting the inclusivity of God's kingdom.

and from sea to sea
This expression is a poetic way of describing the entirety of the earth. In the biblical context, it often refers to the Mediterranean Sea to the Dead Sea or the Red Sea. It underscores the universality of God's reign and the comprehensive nature of His salvation.

and mountain to mountain
Mountains in biblical literature often represent stability, permanence, and divine presence. This phrase suggests a journey or pilgrimage, indicating that people will traverse great distances and obstacles to come to the Lord. It reflects the idea of seeking God with determination and faith.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Assyria
A powerful empire during the time of Micah, often seen as an enemy of Israel. It represents the far-reaching influence and power of nations that were historically hostile to God's people.

2. Egypt
Another significant nation in biblical history, often symbolizing bondage and oppression, as well as a place of refuge.

3. Euphrates
A major river in the ancient Near East, marking the boundary of the Promised Land and symbolizing the extent of God's promise and influence.

4. Sea to Sea
This phrase suggests a vast geographical area, indicating the widespread gathering of people to God's kingdom.

5. Mountain to Mountain
Mountains often symbolize stability and permanence in the Bible, suggesting the enduring nature of God's promises.

Teaching Points

God's Sovereign Plan
God's plan includes the gathering of people from all nations, demonstrating His sovereignty over all the earth.

Unity Among Nations
The prophecy points to a future where former enemies will come together in worship, emphasizing the power of God's reconciliation.

Hope for Restoration
Despite current circumstances, there is hope for a future restoration where God's people will be gathered from all corners of the earth.

The Global Reach of the Gospel
This passage foreshadows the spread of the Gospel to all nations, encouraging believers to participate in global missions.

Enduring Promises
The imagery of "sea to sea" and "mountain to mountain" reminds us of the enduring and expansive nature of God's promises.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does the inclusion of Assyria and Egypt in this prophecy challenge our understanding of God's plan for all nations?

2. In what ways can we see the fulfillment of this prophecy in the New Testament and the spread of the Gospel?

3. How can the vision of unity among diverse peoples in Micah 7:12 inspire our approach to cultural and racial reconciliation today?

4. What practical steps can we take to participate in God's global mission as suggested by the imagery of gathering from "sea to sea"?

5. How does the promise of restoration in Micah 7:12 provide hope and encouragement in our current personal or communal challenges?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Isaiah 19:23-25
This passage speaks of a future where Egypt and Assyria will be united in worship with Israel, highlighting a vision of peace and unity among former enemies.

Zechariah 8:20-23
These verses describe a time when many peoples and nations will seek the Lord in Jerusalem, echoing the gathering theme in Micah 7:12.

Revelation 7:9
This vision of a great multitude from every nation worshiping before the throne of God parallels the inclusive gathering described in Micah.

Sermons

The Good Time Coming	Homilist	Micah 7:11-12
The Good Time Coming	D. Thomas	Micah 7:11, 12

People

Jacob, Micah

Places

Assyria, Bashan, Bethlehem, Egypt, Euphrates River, Gilead

Topics

Asshur, Assyria, Cities, Egypt, Euphrates, Fortified, Fortress, Mount, Mountain, River, Towns

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Micah 7:11

5240 building

Library

Whether a Sin is Aggravated by Reason of the Condition of the Person against whom it is Committed?
Objection 1: It would seem that sin is not aggravated by reason of the condition of the person against whom it is committed. For if this were the case a sin would be aggravated chiefly by being committed against a just and holy man. But this does not aggravate a sin: because a virtuous man who bears a wrong with equanimity is less harmed by the wrong done him, than others, who, through being scandalized, are also hurt inwardly. Therefore the condition of the person against whom a sin is committed …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether we Ought to Love those who are Better More those who are More Closely United Us?
Objection 1: It would seem that we ought to love those who are better more than those who are more closely united to us. For that which is in no way hateful seems more lovable than that which is hateful for some reason: just as a thing is all the whiter for having less black mixed with it. Now those who are connected with us are hateful for some reason, according to Lk. 14:26: "If any man come to Me, and hate not his father," etc. On the other hand good men are not hateful for any reason. Therefore …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether Prophecy is a Habit?
Objection 1: It would seem that prophecy is a habit. For according to Ethic. ii, 5, "there are three things in the soul, power, passion, and habit." Now prophecy is not a power, for then it would be in all men, since the powers of the soul are common to them. Again it is not a passion, since the passions belong to the appetitive faculty, as stated above ([3658]FS, Q[22] , A[2]); whereas prophecy pertains principally to knowledge, as stated in the foregoing Article. Therefore prophecy is a habit. …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

"But if we Walk in the Light, as He is in the Light, we have Fellowship one with Another, and the Blood of Jesus Christ His
1 John i. 7.--"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." Art is the imitation of nature, and true religion is a divine art, that consists in the imitation of God himself, the author of nature. Therefore it is a more high and transcendent thing, of a sublimer nature than all the arts and sciences among men. Those reach but to some resemblance of the wisdom of God, expressed in his works, …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

My God Will Hear Me
"Therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you. Blessed are all they that wait for Him. He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when He shall hear it, He will answer thee."--ISA. xxx. 18, 19. "The Lord will hear when I call upon Him."--PS. iv. 3. "I have called upon Thee, for Thou wilt hear me, O God!"--PS. xvii. 6. "I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me."--MIC. vii. 7. The power of prayer rests in the faith …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

The Truth of God
The next attribute is God's truth. A God of truth and without iniquity; just and right is he.' Deut 32:4. For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.' Psa 57:10. Plenteous in truth.' Psa 86:15. I. God is the truth. He is true in a physical sense; true in his being: he has a real subsistence, and gives a being to others. He is true in a moral sense; he is true sine errore, without errors; et sine fallacia, without deceit. God is prima veritas, the pattern and prototype …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Best Things Work for Good to the Godly
WE shall consider, first, what things work for good to the godly; and here we shall show that both the best things and the worst things work for their good. We begin with the best things. 1. God's attributes work for good to the godly. (1). God's power works for good. It is a glorious power (Col. i. 11), and it is engaged for the good of the elect. God's power works for good, in supporting us in trouble. "Underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deut. xxxiii. 27). What upheld Daniel in the lion's den? …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

The Morning Light
Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. O ne strong internal proof that the Bible is a divine revelation, may be drawn from the subject matter; and particularly that it is the book, and the only book, that teaches us to …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Rest for the Weary
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. W hich shall we admire most -- the majesty, or the grace, conspicuous in this invitation? How soon would the greatest earthly monarch be impoverished, and his treasures utterly exhausted, if all, that are poor and miserable, had encouragement to apply freely to him, with a promise of relief, fully answerable to their wants and wishes! But the riches of Christ are unsearchable and inexhaustible. If millions and millions …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

The Twofold Testimony of John - the First Sabbath of Jesus's Ministry - the First Sunday - the First Disciples.
THE forty days, which had passed since Jesus had first come to him, must have been to the Baptist a time of soul-quickening, of unfolding understanding, and of ripened decision. We see it in his more emphasised testimony to the Christ; in his fuller comprehension of those prophecies which had formed the warrant and substance of his Mission; but specially in the yet more entire self-abnegation, which led him to take up a still lowlier position, and acquiescingly to realise that his task of heralding …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Mercy of God
The next attribute is God's goodness or mercy. Mercy is the result and effect of God's goodness. Psa 33:5. So then this is the next attribute, God's goodness or mercy. The most learned of the heathens thought they gave their god Jupiter two golden characters when they styled him good and great. Both these meet in God, goodness and greatness, majesty and mercy. God is essentially good in himself and relatively good to us. They are both put together in Psa 119:98. Thou art good, and doest good.' This …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Stedfastness in the Old Paths.
"Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls."--Jer. vi. 16. Reverence for the old paths is a chief Christian duty. We look to the future indeed with hope; yet this need not stand in the way of our dwelling on the past days of the Church with affection and deference. This is the feeling of our own Church, as continually expressed in the Prayer Book;--not to slight what has gone before, …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

Discourse on the Good Shepherd.
(Jerusalem, December, a.d. 29.) ^D John X. 1-21. ^d 1 Verily, verily, I say to you [unto the parties whom he was addressing in the last section], He that entereth not by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. [In this section Jesus proceeds to contrast his own care for humanity with that manifested by the Pharisees, who had just cast out the beggar. Old Testament prophecies were full of declarations that false shepherds would arise to …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Covenanting Adapted to the Moral Constitution of Man.
The law of God originates in his nature, but the attributes of his creatures are due to his sovereignty. The former is, accordingly, to be viewed as necessarily obligatory on the moral subjects of his government, and the latter--which are all consistent with the holiness of the Divine nature, are to be considered as called into exercise according to his appointment. Hence, also, the law of God is independent of his creatures, though made known on their account; but the operation of their attributes …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

On Earthly Things
The earth is man himself; in the gospel: another has fallen into the good earth. The same in a bad part about the sinner: you devour the earth all the days of your life. [Mark 4:18; Genesis 3:14] The dry lands are the flesh of a fruitless man; in Ecclesiastes, to work in a dry land with evil and sorrow. [Ecclesiastes 37:3] The dust is a sinner or the vanity of the flesh; in the psalm: like the dust, which the wind blows about. [Ps. 1:4 Vulgate] The mud is the gluttony of sinners; in the psalm: tear …
St. Eucherius of Lyons—The Formulae of St. Eucherius of Lyons

How Shall one Make Use of Christ as the Life, when Wrestling with an Angry God Because of Sin?
That we may give some satisfaction to this question, we shall, 1. Shew what are the ingredients in this case, or what useth to concur in this distemper. 2. Shew some reasons why the Lord is pleased to dispense thus with his people. 3. Shew how Christ is life to the soul in this case. 4. Shew the believer's duty for a recovery; and, 5. Add a word or two of caution. As to the first, There may be those parts of, or ingredients in this distemper: 1. God presenting their sins unto their view, so as …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

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