Micah 4:8-11 (ESV)

[8] And you, O tower of the flock,

hill of the daughter of Zion,

to you shall it come,

the former dominion shall come,

kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem.

[9] Now why do you cry aloud?

Is there no king in you?

Has your counselor perished,

that pain seized you like a woman in labor?

[10] Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion,

like a woman in labor,

for now you shall go out from the city

and dwell in the open country;

you shall go to Babylon.

There you shall be rescued;

there the LORD will redeem you

from the hand of your enemies.

[11] Now many nations

are assembled against you,

saying, “Let her be defiled,

and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.”

In the first half of this chapter God promised prosperity and peace. Now he is saying that his people will be carried off to Babylon. His point is that Babylon is only temporary. Babylon is a consequence of their covenant breaking lifestyle, but Babylon is not forever. They needed to be reminded that when Jerusalem fell and they were carried off to Babylon that was not the end of the story. There was a future hope and they needed to set their eyes on Zion even when they were living in Babylon.

The same is true for believers today. Babylon is only temporary. There may be crises in your life that are the result of sin. There may be crises in your life that are just the consequence of living in a broken world. Jesus taught that God “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mt 5:45). Difficulties in life are sometimes the consequence of sin on our part, but just as often it is the result of living in a sinful, broken world. Crises and difficulties may have nothing to do with us. Just as residents of Jerusalem were carried off to Babylon whether they were the covenant breakers or not, so we live with the consequences of a broken world. Jeremiah was thrown in a well, and then dragged off to Egypt against his wishes even though he was a man of God. Bad things happen to godly people.

Whether the crises in our lives are the direct result of our own sin, or simply the residual effect of living in a fallen world, we need to remember the same truth. Babylon is temporary. The prophet Micah encouraged the people of God, “Let our eyes gaze upon Zion” (Mic 4:11) The author of Hebrews encouraged believers to look “to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Heb 12:2). In the dark times, where do we fix our eyes? We can stay fixed on the problems and difficulties. We can begin to extrapolate to the worst thing that could happen and live in fear. Or, we can fix our eyes on Jesus, knowing that Babylon is only temporary. As believers in Jesus Christ, the best is yet to come.