John Calvin Commentary Micah 7:11-12

"A day for building thy walls! in that day shall the decree be far removed. In that day shall they come unto thee from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt even to the River, and from sea to sea, and [from] mountain to mountain." — Micah 7:11-12 (ASV)

Micah pursues the subject on which he had previously spoken—that though the Church thought itself for a time to be wholly lost, yet God would become its deliverer. He says first, that the day was near in which they were to build the wall. The word גדר, gidar, means either a mound or a wall, so it ought to be distinguished from a wall, that is, a strong fortress.

He then intimates that the time would come when God would gather His Church and preserve it, as though it were defended on every side by walls. For we know that the scattering of the Church is compared to the pulling down of walls or fences. For instance, when a person pulls down the fence of a field or a vineyard, or breaks down all enclosures, the Church, when exposed as a prey to all, is similarly said to be like an open field or a vineyard without any fence.

Now, on the other hand, the Prophet says here that the time would come when the faithful will again build walls by which they may be protected from the assaults and plunder of enemies—A day then to build thy walls.

Then he adds, This day shall drive afar off the edict. Some translate it as tribute, but the word properly means an edict, and this best fits the passage. For the Prophet’s meaning is that the people would not, as before, be subject to the tyranny of Babylon.

After the subversion of Jerusalem, the Babylonians, no doubt, triumphed very unfeelingly over the miserable people and uttered dreadful threatenings. The Prophet, therefore, under the name of edict, includes that cruel and tyrannical dominion which the Babylonians for a time exercised. We know what God declares to the Jews through Ezekiel:

Ye would not keep My good laws;
I will therefore give you laws which are not good,
which ye shall be constrained to keep;
and yet ye shall not live in them (Ezekiel 20:25).

Those laws that were not good were the edicts of which the Prophet now speaks: That day then shall drive far away the edict, so that the Jews might not dread the laws of their enemies.

For the Babylonians no doubt forbade, under the severest punishment, anyone from building even a single house in the place where Jerusalem formerly was, because they wished that place to remain desolate so that the people might know they had no hope of restoration.

That day then shall put afar off, or drive to a distance, the edict. For liberty will be given to the Jews to build their city. Then they will not tremblingly expect every hour for new edicts to come forth denouncing grievous punishments on whoever would dare to encourage his brethren to build the temple of God.

Some interpret the Prophet’s words differently: they first think that he speaks only of the spiritual kingdom of Christ. Then they take רחק, rechek, in the sense of extending or propagating, and consider this to be the Gospel which Christ, by the command of the Father, promulgated throughout the whole world.

It is indeed true that David uses the word decree in Psalm 2 while speaking of the preaching of the Gospel. It is also true that the promulgation of that decree is promised in Psalm 110: The rod of his power will Jehovah send forth from Zion.

But this passage ought not to be so violently distorted, for the Prophet no doubt means that the Jews would be freed from all dread of tyranny when God restored them to liberty. Furthermore, רחק, rechek, does not mean to extend or propagate, but to drive far away.

Thus, That day then shall drive away the decree, so that the faithful will no longer be subject to tyrannical commands. We now perceive the true meaning of the Prophet.

The faithful doubtless prayed in their adversities and depended on such prophecies as we find in Psalm 102:

The day is now come to show mercy to Zion, and to build its walls; for thy servants pity her stones.

Nor did the faithful pray in this way presumptuously. Instead, taking confidence as though God had dictated a form of prayer by His own mouth, they appealed to God according to His promise: O Lord, You have promised the rebuilding of the city, and the time has been set by Jeremiah and by other Prophets. Since the time is now completed, grant that the temple and the holy city may again be built.

Some translate the words as: In the day in which thou shalt build (or God shall build) thy walls—in that day shall be removed afar off the decree.

But I do not doubt that the Prophet here distinctly promises to the faithful both the restoration of the city and civil freedom. For the sentence is in two parts: the Prophet first intimates that the time was now near when the faithful would build their own walls, so that they might not be exposed to the will of their enemies.

Then he adds that they would be freed from the dread of tyranny, for God, as it is said by Isaiah, would break the yoke of the burden and the scepter of the oppressor (Isaiah 9:4). It is altogether the same kind of sentence.

He afterwards adds, In that day also to thee shall they come from Asshur. There is some obscurity in the words, so interpreters have considered different words to be implied. But to me, the Prophet's meaning seems clear.

He says, In that day, to thee shall they come from Asshur, and cities of the fortress, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain. However, some think הר, er, is a proper name and translate the last clause as, And from mount Hor; and we know that Aaron was buried on this mountain.

But the Prophet, no doubt, alludes here to some other place, and to translate it as Mount Hor is a forced interpretation. Therefore, I do not doubt that the Prophet repeats a common name, as though he said, From mountains to mountains.

Let us now see what the Prophet means. Regarding the passage, as I have said, there is no ambiguity if we keep in mind the main subject. Now, the Prophet had this in view: that Jerusalem, when restored by God, would be held in such honor among all nations that people would be flowing to her from all parts.

He then says that the state of the city would be very splendid, so that people from all quarters would come to it. Therefore, the copulative 'vau' is to be interpreted twice as even for emphasis: In that day, even to thee, and then, even to the river. For it was not believed that Jerusalem would have any dignity after it had been entirely destroyed, together with the temple.

It is no wonder then that the Prophet so distinctly confirms here what was by no means probable, at least according to ordinary human expectations—that Jerusalem would attract to itself all nations, even those far away.

Thus, Come, then, shall they (for the verb יבוא, ibua, in the singular, must be taken indefinitely as having a plural meaning), Come, then, shall they from Asshur even to thee.

But the Assyrians had previously destroyed every land, overturned the kingdom of Israel, and almost blotted out its name. They had also laid waste the kingdom of Judah; only a small portion remained.

The Assyrians came afterwards, we know, with the Chaldeans, after the seat of empire was transferred to Babylon, and destroyed Nineveh. Therefore, by naming the Assyrians, the Prophet no doubt, taking a part for the whole, included the Babylonians. He says, Come, then, shall they from Asshur, and then, from the cities of the fortress, that is, from every fortress.

For those who take צור, tsur, for Tyre are mistaken, because מצור, metsur, is mentioned twice, and it means citadels and strongholds.

And then, even to the river, that is, to the farthest borders of the Euphrates. For many take 'the river' to mean the Euphrates par excellence, as is often the case in Scripture. However, it might be just as appropriately interpreted as any or every river, as though the Prophet had said that there would be no obstacle to stop the course of those who would hasten to Jerusalem.

So, Even to the river then, and from sea to sea, means that they will come in troops from remote countries, being led by the fame of the holy city. For when it is rebuilt by God’s command, it will acquire new and unusual honor, so that all people from every part will assemble there.

And then, from mountain to mountain, that is, from regions far apart. This is the sum of the whole.

The Prophet then promises what all people considered fabulous—that the dignity of the city Jerusalem would be so great after the return of the Jews from exile that it would become, as it were, the metropolis of the world.

One thing must be added: those who confine this passage to Christ indeed seem to have a plausible reason. For a threat concerning the desolation of the land follows immediately, and there seems to be some inconsistency unless we consider the Prophet here as comparing the Church gathered from all nations with the ancient people.

But these things will harmonize well if we consider that the Prophet proclaims vengeance against the unbelieving who then lived, and yet also declares that God will be merciful to His chosen people.

However, the restriction they maintain is too rigid. For we know that it was usual for the Prophets to extend God's favor from the return of the ancient people to the coming of Christ.

Whenever, then, the Prophets proclaimed God’s favor in the deliverance of His people, they made a transition to Christ but also included the whole intermediate time.

The Prophet now pursues this same approach, and we ought to keep this in mind. Let us go on—