Verse 6
Israel’s leaders will then lead and care for the land of Assyria with the sword; they will bring it under Israelite control. The "land of Nimrod" is a synonym for Assyria (cf. Genesis 10:8-9; 1 Chronicles 1:10), and its entrances imply the strategic areas of its territory. The Redeemer, and Yahweh behind Him, would deliver the Israelites from the Assyrian-like enemy that they would face in that day (cf. Zechariah 14:3).
"Only the most hyperliteral interpreter would suggest that a revived Assyrian Empire will reappear during the messianic era. Assyria is an archetype here. In terms that would have been very inspiring and meaningful to an eighth-century B.C. Israelite audience, Micah assured God’s people that a time was coming, unlike their own day, when they would no longer be threatened by powerful, hostile nations. In other words, Micah’s vision of Israel’s future is contextualized so that his contemporaries might fully appreciate it. The essential point is that the new era will be one of peace and security for God’s people where God’s ideal king prevents the lionlike ’Assyrians’ of the world from terrorizing helpless sheep." [Note: Chisholm, Handbook on . . ., p. 424.]
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