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TOPIC: BREAKING THROUGH
TEXT MICHAH 2:12-13
SERMON PREACHED BY REV. BONFACE NYANGOLO on 7th March, 2021
I. Introduction
Have you ever received bad news? Surely, we all have. We do not like to receive bad news but we sometimes do. Have
you experienced a particularly troubling time where you wondered if it was ever going to get better? Maybe you have
been there and wondered, “How will I be able to get through this problem?”
That must have been on the minds of the Israelites who listened to Micah’s prophecy. Micah told God’s people, the
Israelites, that God was going to punish them for their disobedience, rebellion, and oppression of the weak and
innocent. The means by which God was going to do this was through a ruthless and wicked people who would destroy
the nation. Would there be a better day in Israel’s future?
Indeed, there would be. In the midst of trouble and judgment, there was hope. Within his prophecy of God’s judgment
on the Israelites, Micah abruptly announced a promise of restoration that would come after the nation’s destruction.
But in this destruction, there was hope, and God would do it in three ways:
1. God will surely gather His people
2. God will raise a king to lead His people
3. God’s people will follow their king to victory
II. God Will Surely Gather His People
Because of years of disobedience, rebellion, and oppression of the poor and innocent, God was going to punish His
people. Because of wicked and greedy men and bad leaders who had led the people astray, the whole nation of Israel
was going to be punished. But there was hope. There was going to be a better day. Verse twelve of this passage begins
with God saying to His people, “I will surely assemble all of you.” God’s promise to His people was that He would
gather them all together one day. Micah mentioned three ways God was going to help His people:
1. He will assemble them
2. He will gather them
3. He will set them together
All three of these statements basically say that God was going to bring His people together again. While the nation
was going punished, not all of the Israelites would be brought back together. God said through Micah, “I will gather
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the remnant of Israel.” Not all of Israel would be gathered, only a remnant, a portion of the nation. Micah’s prophecy
regarding this remnant is like God’s message through the prophet Isaiah:
Isaiah 10:20–21 In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him
who struck them, but will lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. A remnant will return, the remnant of
Jacob, to the mighty God.
And so, there was hope. God would restore the nation with His people. The example God gave about gathering His
people was that of “sheep in a fold.” God will set His people together “like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture.”
God would gather His people together like a shepherd gathers his sheep. The prophet Jeremiah prophesied the same:
Jeremiah 31:10 Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, “He who
scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.”
III. God Will Raise a King to Lead His People
Whereas God spoke of what He was going to do to save His people in verse twelve, Micah prophesied in verse thirteen
who would lead God’s people into this “gathering.” God would appoint a person to be the people’s king who “passes
on before them.” This king would lead God’s people out of captivity. This was God’s promise of salvation for His people.
There was hope!
IV. God’s People Will Follow Their King to Victory
Micah refers to the king as the one who breaks through the people’s captivity, who opens the way and goes before
the people. However, this king was not the only one who “breaks through.” This king also enables God’s people to
“break through.” He leads God’s remnant out of the city of bondage and they follow Him.
V. Who is the King?
And so, after reading Micah’s prophecy concerning Israel’s future king who would gather His people and lead them to
victory, we may ask, “Who is this future king?” Who would God send to lead His people out of captivity? God could
have raised another king like David to lead His people to victory. In fact, the Jewish people in Jesus’ time expected
such a hero. But Micah answered this in the very last statement of the passage:
Micah 2:13 …Their king passes on before them, the LORD at their head.
The King who breaks through and goes on before the people, who leads the remnant of God’s people to also break
through, is none other than the Lord Himself. Micah was saying that God Himself will lead the remnant of His people
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to salvation. The very one Who punished them with defeat, captivity, and exile will be the same one Who rescues
them and leads them back to their own land.
What Micah prophesied hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, has been fulfilled by Jesus Christ. God’s very own
Son is the Savior of mankind who brings God’s people together and leads them to freedom. Jesus was born in order
to set the captive free. You may ask, “What captivity am I in? What kind of bondage am I in?” It is sin! Sin holds us
captive. We are naturally under the bondage of sin with no way out. The result of sin is death.
VI. Conclusion
In closing, Micah prophesied that Israel’s sins were going to bring God’s stern discipline upon them. This is a warning
for us today. Sin brings judgment. People reap what they sow. God stands as a witness against us – against our breaking
His Law. But, the good news of the Gospel is that our Heavenly Father sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to pay
for our debt of sin. Our sinfulness and rebellion to God was so serious that it cost the life of His own Son. Won’t you
come to Him today? Won’t you turn from doing it your way and turn to the one and only Savior who offers forgiveness
and reconciliation to God. His name is Jesus Christ. This is good news. Amen!