“I will make the lame a remnant
And the outcasts a strong nation,
And the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion
From now on and forever. ” -Mic. 4.7
The remnant of Israel will call upon the name of the Lord from the ashes of tribulation at the end of this age. I believe the “remnant” will actually constitute millions of Jewish souls, according to my understanding of Zechariah 13, one-third of the entire population of those who are in “the land.” It will be a time of great shaking and trial, and a time of great glory and harvest.
In the time leading up to their salvation, they will be a despised and rejected people, considered by the nations to be the “scum of the earth.” The kings and potentates of the nations will see them as worthless, and they will pursue them with a vehemence and bitterness that can only be explained when we make note of how intensely the powers of darkness hate the God of covenant. There will be immeasurable trial and bloodshed during that distressful hour, and the Lord has declared that He will permit it as a necessary “affliction” before the salvation of Israel will be permanently established. (v. 6)
But here is where we see the glory of God’s brand of government. When Israel has been reduced to the category of the “lame” and the “outcasts,” it is “in that day” that He will “assemble” and “gather” them, setting into motion their remarkable national destiny. We ought to love how the Lord turns the wisdom of man on it’s head.
He makes “the lame a remnant and the outcasts a strong nation.” He will take the broken and fragmented nation, now dispersed throughout the earth and despised by all peoples, and anoint them as His own precious remnant, even a strong nation that He will reign over “from now on and forever.”
The mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be elevated above the hills, and peoples of the earth will make long pilgrimages in hopes of catching a glimpse of its glorious light. That previously despised people Israel, will be recognized as a “strong nation,” and her King will be present in the land. Everlasting joy will mark her as an entire nation, and not one sinner will be found among them. They will be a model nation for the rest of the earth, and their Ruler and King will be the One who governs with a rod of iron in one hand, and the towel and basin in the other.
Israel will pass through an unspeakable death before the glory of God rests upon her nationally, for her self-sufficiency and idolatry must first be purged from her midst. The prophets indicate that “Jacob’s trouble” will mean great trial and sifting for Israel, but when she emerges from the rubble, having called upon the name of the Lord, she will be crowned with mercy and grace, and God will raise her up, “a mighty and vast army.” We have a calling to set forth the Gospel to the Jew both now, and in the midst of the great trouble to come. We need to learn God’s government, that we are called to identify with those who are despised by men, even if it means a threat to our livelihood. We have been called to pray, to fast, and to set forth the Gospel of the Kingdom, until God Himself makes “the lame a remnant and the outcasts a strong nation, and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion from now on and forever.” Amen.
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Bryan Anthony ( - )
Bryan Anthony is the lead Pastor/Elder of The Pilgrimage, a church in midtown Kansas City, MO. He has served pastorally in Kansas City since 2002, and has labored and preached in Turkey, China, and to various communities throughout America. His chief jealousy is for God to be glorified in the Church; for a "demonstration of the manifold wisdom of God" to be given through the lives of His people, as they orient their lives around the Gospel and find their ultimate satisfaction in Him.To this end he preaches and writes with an especial emphasis on the supremacy of Christ, the knowledge of God, the centrality of the Cross, the mystery of Israel and the Church, prayer and the abiding life, biblical manhood and womanhood, the glories of marriage and parenting, the Church as community, and a recovery of the apostolic witness unto Israel, and to the "uttermost parts of the earth." He has been happily married since 1998, and is the father of five beautiful children.