Perfect peace

"Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the LORD Almighty has spoken." Micah 4.4

How attractive: the idea of resting undisturbed and without a care in the world, under the shade of one's favourite tree! Micah provides some of the most evocative images in the Bible. Yet these are couched in some of the most uncompromising verbal lashings. Everything the prophet describes stands either in stark contrast or in deep irony in relation to prevailing conditions. Life might seem to be following a certain course but the underlying reality is quite different; one may feel secure in one's wealth, power and privilege yet still be on the brink of collapse due to a rotten core.

Micah looks forward to a day when Isarel-Judah's peace and prosperity are sure - because they are founded upon the solid rock of God's glory and secured by the integrity of his people. That will come about when people honour God above all idols and when they prefer his commands to their own selfish interests. It is easy enough to project such prospects as as having an external application (what others should do); how shall we embrace them personally, so they guide our own character and behaviour?