Matthew Poole and continuators on Micah 2:12

12 ¶ I will surely assemble , O Jacob , all of thee : I will surely gather the remnant of Israel ; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah , as the flock in the midst of their fold : they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men .

i. e. God offended with them.

By his providence will cause to come together.

He calls to the house of Israel to consider it.

Who were flying, shall upon hope of what their false Prophets promise to return to their own Land and Cities,

The same thing in little different words repeated to assure us the truth of the thing.

All that remain of the Ten Tribes, (for some were before carryed away by Tiglath-Pi[illegible: 1 letter]eser) shall most assuredly be gathered together, that they may all be in one Covey covered with the Assyrian net.

In multitudes like those flocks,

whence none of the sheep can get and make their escape, so should this people be enclosed and taken.

Of cryes and lamentation for their distresses, and lost condition.

Such great multitudes coopt up, shall hideously lament their own condition like multitudes that suffer shipwrack together; all this God will bring upon them by the multitude of the Assyrian Souldiers which come up against them.

There are three different interpretations of this verse, of which 'tis hard to say, which is most agreeable to the intent o[illegible: 1 letter] this Scripture, I will propose all three, and, leave each reader to choose for himself. First, Some will that these words be a continuation of the false Prophets preaching prosperity and good dayes. So the words are a promise made to them contradictory to the Menaces of the Lord by Micah, he foretold all would end in destruction; the false Prophet foretels the assembling of all the seed of Iacob into their Land and Cities, and bringing back the remnant of the Captive Israelites, carryed away by Tiglath-Pileser, and their safety in their own fold as the flock of Bozrah, and should make great noise of joy and rejoycing in their multitudes. All which spoken by the false Prophet Micah refutes in the 12th verse. Secondly▪ Others make it an Evangelical promise of the restitution of Israel by the Messiah, and many Jews agree with Christian Expositors herein, though the Jews refer it to a temporal restitution, not yet fulfilled: the Christians refer it to a spiritual partly fulfilled, yet more fully to be accomplisht hereafter, and suitably to this hypothesis they interpret all the passages of this Text, and the 13th verse, both which will very fairly bear the sense by these put upon them, and may be the mystical sense of the words, but we who inquire into the literal meaning, think it adviseable not to swell the Volum by long digressions. A third opinion ought to be considered e're we can choose which we shall adhere to: now the third opinion in expounding the Text, makes it a commination or dreadful threat against this people, and thus suits it.