Micah 5:11

And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds: AND I WILL CUT OFF THE CITIES OF THY LAND, AND THROW DOWN ALL THY STRONG HOLDS - such as are fortified for war. In that time of peace men shall live in "unwalled villages," in the Holy Land, especially the "land of unwalled villages" (: cf. ; ; )....

He afterwards subjoins, _I will cut off the cities of thy land, _and I will destroy all _thy fortresses _This verse is to be taken in the same sense. That the people dwelt in fortified cities, and had defenses and fortified places, was not of itself displeasing to God. But as the people habituated themselves to a false confidence, and as it were hardened themselves in it, so that this evil could not be remedied without taking away those things to which it is attached, the Prophet says here,_I will cut off the cities of your land, _and then, I will cut off your defenses and fortified places. Is it that they may be plundered with impunity by their enemies? By no means, but that the favor of God may be made glorious in their deliverance. For they could not ascribe it to their cities that they kept off enemies, but were constrained to acknowledge the hand of God, and to confess him to have b...

7-15 The remnant of Israel, converted to Christ in the primitive times, were among many nations as the drops of dew, and were made instruments in calling a large increase of spiritual worshippers. But to those who neglected or opposed this salvation, they would, as lions, cause terror, their doctrine condemning them. The Lord also declares that he would cause not only the reformation of the Jews, but the purification of the Christian church. In like manner shall we be assured of victory in our personal conflicts, as we simply depend upon the Lord our salvation, worship him, and serve him with diligence....

Verse Micah 5:11. _I WILL - THROW DOWN ALL THY STRONGHOLDS_] Thou shalt have no need of _fortified cities_; I will be thy defense....

I WILL CUT OFF THE CITIES OF THY LAND - So God promised by Zechariah, “Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls; for I will be unto her a wall of fire round about” Zechariah 2:4. The Church shall not need the temptation of human defense; for God shall fence her in on every side. Great cities too, as the abode of luxury and sin, of power and pride, and, mostly, of cruelty, are chiefly denounced as the objects of God’s anger. Babylon stands as the emblem of the whole city of the world or of the devil, as opposed to God. Rup.: “The first city was built by Cain; Abel and the other saints heed no continuing city” Hebrews 13:14 here. Cities then will include (Rup.) “all the tumults and evil passions and ambition and strife and bloodshed, which Cain brought in among men

EXPOSITION MICAH 5:1 _§ _8_. After Zion_'_s degradation Messiah shall be born, and shall bring the world into subjection._ MICAH 5:1 This verse is joined to the preceding chapter in the Hebrew. Jerusalem is addressed, as in Micah 4:9, Micah 4:11, not the invading army. The prophet returns to the view of the misery and humiliation expressed in that passage. GATHER THYSELF IN TROOPS; or, _thou shalt gather thyself, etc. _Jerusalem must collect its armies to defend itself from the enemy. O DAUGHTER OF TROOPS. Jerusalem is thus named from t

AND I WILL CUT OFF THE CITIES OF THY LAND, AND THROW DOWN ALL THY STRONG HOLDS. The meaning is, they should not dwell in fortified cities and walled towns; they should have none of these to trust to, nor should they stand in any need of them to defend them, their enemies being subdued; and besides, the Lord would be their strong hold and place of defence, a wall of fire round about them, but the glory in the midst of them, The phrases are expressive of the greatest tranquillity and safety, and of living in an open air, free and undisturbed; see Zechariah 2:4. The Targum is, "I will cut off the cities of the people out of thy land, and destroy all their strong fortresses;'' these shall dwell no more there, and be no more offensive and troublesome....

CHAPTER 5 _ 1. The siege and the smitten judge (Micah 5:1) _ 2. The smitten judge: Who he is (Micah 5:2) 3. The events of the future: (Micah 5:3) 4. The Rejected One, the Shepherd of Israel (Micah 5:4) 5. The remnant of Jacob and the kingdom (Micah 5:7) Micah 5:1. This interesting chapter presents difficulties, but they all vanish if we view all in the light of the future as revealed in the prophetic Word. Here it is necessary to divide the Word of Truth rightly,

THE PURGING OF ISRAEL. Some modern commentators, _e.g._ Wellhausen and Nowack, refer this to Micah; if so, it would anticipate the Deuteronomic denunciation of the pillars and Asherim (Deuteronomy 7:5; Deuteronomy 12:3); but the general character of this Divine intervention, to secure a community purified from warfare and idolatry, rather suggests a post-exilic date, when similar references to Asherim, etc., continued to be made (_e.g._ Isaiah 27:9), Yahweh will remove from Israel its means of warfare (Zechariah 9:10; Hosea 14:3; _cf._

_PURPOSING TO REMOVE INIQUITY -- MICAH 5:11-15:_ God told them that they would not have nor need their fortified cities. It was not that cities were wrong but that those cities had been places where they had devoted themselves to the service of idolatry. It was also in those cities that the people decided that they did not need God to control their lives. Instead they felt that they were doing quite well on their own. God, not some fortified city, would be their protection. He would be their single focus for worship and service. God's desire was that the people seek help only at His hand. So we have the promise that He would cut off witchcrafts and sorceries and that there would be no more soothsayers. God also told the people that idolatry would be cut off. The idea of serving a thing as a god that was made by your own hand is the height of nonsense. The people had not been c