Peace on earth sounds great, but how will God deal with the problems around us and the problems within us? The first thing Micah tells us here is that God will judge, and that this judgement will have two parts.

First, God will resolve disputes among His own people. So many disputes among God’s people never get resolved. But here we read that Christ will resolve them.

Second, God will judge the enemies of His people: “Many nations are assembled against you” (4:11). That’s the reality. In Micah’s time—and this has been true ever since—there have been many nations who have wanted to destroy Israel. They want to invade the land and to do violence. What is God going to do about that?

Micah says, “They do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor" (4:12). What happens to sheaves on the threshing floor? They are destroyed. God will remove those who persist in evil from the earth.

People often say that a God of love would never send people to hell. That sounds good but it hides a great naivety about the power of evil. We need someone who can overcome the power of evil (human and demonic) that spoils life in this world.

Who can stop the thief or the murderer? Who can break the drug cartels or the terror cells? Who can break down the structures of self-interest that leave half the world hungry, while the other half is drowning in gluttony? We need the judge. Without the judge, the vision of Micah 4 would only be a dream, as it has been throughout human history.

What is your reaction to God’s work of judgement?