Micah 7:17
They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee. They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee.
The crawling images show the nations brought utterly low, humbled to the dust, reduced to the weakness of serpents and worms, and left with no power to resist. In its historical setting that helplessness was their inability to stand before the Medes when Babylon fell, and their dread of the Lord was the dread of defeated men in that overthrow. In context the saying belongs to God's vindication and restoration of His people after long reproach, when their enemies are put to shame before the Lord. It describes the terror that seizes the nations when they witness His power put forth for His people in their final deliverance, leaving them low and afraid before Him.
The chapter traces the history of the church onward to the second coming of Christ, moving from judgment to promises of blessing. Within it this saying belongs to a striking prophecy of last-day conditions. Applied to the persecuted remnant church, it means the nations will be confounded by its God-given might and will learn to fear God. Those who profess to be Christians while persecuting God's faithful people are thereby shown not to be true followers of Christ, and those now scoffed at for faith in a coming Christ will in time be honored, while their detractors are humbled and made afraid before God and because of His people.