Mic 1:3-4 | KingComments | STEP | Here the day of the LORD has dawned. He appears. Until now He has hidden Himself ( ), but now He is going to create order on earth, where sins have risen to a climax (cf. ). His steps “on the high places of the earth” show that He is the unlimited Ruler of the world ( ; ; ). This expression also implies that He judges the arrogant ones ( ). High places are also places of idolatry. He deals with everything that is high with people in a way that shows the nullity of that high. His performance emphasizes His majesty. What seems high and mighty, what impresses people, is for God less than what the dust is for people who step on it. In this performance of the LORD we see that God is above the world created by Him. He is not part of His creation. Creation was created by Him, by His word of power, and exists in Him ( ). He is also able to intervene at any moment in history to carry out His will. If in Christ He participates “in flesh and blood” ( ), it does not mean that He becomes a creature and as such becomes part of His creation. Even as a Man on earth, He is God, for He was conceived by God the Holy Spirit ( ). He is the One “Who was revealed in the flesh” ( ), the incarnate Word ( ). Only of Him can it be said that He “has come in the flesh” ( ). This cannot be said of anyone else. As the only Man, He has come into the world from a place outside of creation.

‏ Micah 1:3-4

The LORD Comes Forth From His Place

Here the day of the LORD has dawned. He appears. Until now He has hidden Himself (Isa 45:15), but now He is going to create order on earth, where sins have risen to a climax (cf. Gen 18:21). His steps “on the high places of the earth” show that He is the unlimited Ruler of the world (Amos 4:13; Job 9:8; Deu 32:13). This expression also implies that He judges the arrogant ones (Isa 2:11-19). High places are also places of idolatry.

He deals with everything that is high with people in a way that shows the nullity of that high. His performance emphasizes His majesty. What seems high and mighty, what impresses people, is for God less than what the dust is for people who step on it.

In this performance of the LORD we see that God is above the world created by Him. He is not part of His creation. Creation was created by Him, by His word of power, and exists in Him (Col 1:17). He is also able to intervene at any moment in history to carry out His will.

If in Christ He participates “in flesh and blood” (Heb 2:14), it does not mean that He becomes a creature and as such becomes part of His creation. Even as a Man on earth, He is God, for He was conceived by God the Holy Spirit (Lk 1:35). He is the One “Who was revealed in the flesh” (1Tim 3:16), the incarnate Word (Jn 1:14). Only of Him can it be said that He “has come in the flesh” (1Jn 4:2). This cannot be said of anyone else. As the only Man, He has come into the world from a place outside of creation.

Consequences of His Coming

When He steps on the earth, the consequences become immediately noticeable. When He touches the mountains, they become like wax before the fire. His majesty is a consuming fire. The valleys diverge, they lose all cohesion and have no firmness anymore, like water flowing down a steep place.

Micah uses visual language here. Now the world does not perish through fire, which will literally happen in the end times (2Pet 3:7 ; 10 ; 12). The judgment of God that Micah announces seems to change the earth into chaos. The events that will bring about this in the short term are the imminent destruction of the northern ten tribes realm by Assyria led by Shalmaneser and the subsequent invasion by the Babylonians led by Nebuchadnezzar of the southern two tribes realm. What Micah says here finds its final fulfillment at the return of the Lord Jesus, when “He is coming to judge the earth” (Psa 96:13).

There is also a comforting application of this verse. We can see in the mountains the great difficulties for which we are sometimes placed. If we cannot look over them, we can look up to Christ. He is able to let these difficulties melt like wax in order to make them a passable path for us (cf. Isa 49:11).