Scripture: He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke strong nations afar off; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore. Micah 4:3 (NKJV)
Observation: Micah speaks of a time when sin will be gone forever and the world s we know will not exist anymore. Instead, in the earth made new, peace and justice will reign. In specific ways, people sand even strong nations will bring their disputes to the Lord. They will submit to God’s judgment, realizing that He will decide what and who is right. Micah’s readers were aggravated under the Word of God, not wanting to be told by Him or by His prophet that they were wrong. By contrast eventually the whole world will submit willingly to God’s Word and His decisions. As a result, peace will be universal, implements of warfare (swords and spears) will be changed into tools of agriculture (plowshares and pruning hooks). Neither will there be a need to train people for warfare because the nations will be at peace.
Application: Sometimes we look at this verse and make application only to the injustice, hatred, and warfare that we witness today among peoples and nations, but we fail to realize that the application begins with each of us. When God establishes His kingdom on earth, He first establishes it in the heart of each of His children. It is when He abides in our heart (mind/life) that the principles of justice and peace flow naturally from us to others.
The question is, why do we have to wait until the Second Coming of Jesus for this experience to take place in our lives, in our marriages, and in our families? In practical terms, what does this verse mean in our homes?
1. Justice: Instead of looking for ways to show that we are right and the others are wrong, why don’t we bring our disagreements to God so that He can bring conviction of wrongdoing to each of us? Some of the conflict in marriage is the result of one or both spouses trying to show the other person how wrong they are. The result, very often, is defensiveness on the part of the other. If we submit ourselves to God, and allow Him to show us where we have erred (because we all contribute to the conflict among us), then we can also ask Him to help us eliminate our judgmental attitude toward one another.
2. Swords: Most of us probably don’t have a physical sword which we use against each other. What we all have, however, is a tongue that at times can be sharper than any sword we may use to hurt others. (Spend some time reading James 3:1-12 to be reminded of the power of the tongue). Allowing God to live in our heart will help us to control the tongue so that we don’t use it to hurt our loved ones.
3. War: No more war in marriage and our family means that when God reigns in our heart we will learn to deal with conflict in a constructive rather than a destructive way. The goal is not to eliminate all conflict, because as individuals we each have the right to feel differently, to express our wishes and opinions, to tell others what we like and dislike. The goal is to manage conflict in a positive way, in a way that benefits the couple and the family.
A Prayer You May Say: Father God, come into our heart today and establish the principles of Your kingdom there so that your justice will reign in our lives, so that our words will build and not tear down, and so that even our disagreements will become a stepping stone in our relationship.
Used by permission of Adventist Family Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
