BOOK OF MICAH
Chapter One
Historically Micah prophesied
from King Jotham (739 B.C.) of Judah through King Hezekiah (687 B.C). Jeremiah
26.18 supports Micah prophesying during Hezekiah‘s reign. His name means “Who
is like Yahweh?”
Micah speaks a word to the
wickedness in the cities of Judah and Israel. This included the political and
spiritual leaders of the time. He saw the growing power of Assyria and future Babylon
as God raising up foreign nations to chastise Judah and Israel for their
sins.
God was going to bring his
judgment on the wicked leaders and citizens who oppressed the poor, debauched
themselves in sensual pleasures, and flouted the law through bribes and
disobedience to God. This study will focus on God’s end
time warnings through Micah to the church in our day. When
reading the prophets we should always try to understand them in their
historical (that time), personal (our lives), and prophetic (future) context.
Chapter One: Divine Judgment and Exile
1:1-5...The
word of the LORD that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz,
and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. Hear, all ye peoples; hearken, O earth, and
all that is therein: and the Lord GOD, the Lord from his holy temple shall be a
witness against you…the LORD comes forth out of his place and will come
down and tread upon the high places of the earth…the mountains shall melt under
him, and the valleys shall be split…All
this for the rebellion of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the rebellion of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places
of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?
Note: Nation in
the context of this study, Israel = the nation which was scattered among the
Gentiles and lost their identity. According to prophecy in Genesis 48.9-22
Ephraim and Manasseh represent the nations of Britain and America in the end
times. These are “Israelite Nations” that God blessed prior to the end of the
age. These two nations were highly responsible for spreading the gospel to the
nations in modern times.
Hosea 7.8-9
As we enter into
end time events both Britain and America will withdraw from the world scenes as
their power is broken. Both nations will become marginalized. Both nations are
isolated by geography. Britain from Europe and America by two great oceans.
Brexit was the
beginning of British withdrawal and “America First” is the beginning of
America’s withdrawal from the world. Other local events such as financial
crisis will accelerate this withdrawal as events move forward. Micah is
predicting this in his prophecy.
Micah did not have a dream or
vision…he had a word from Yahweh! This word was for Israel who would be taken
into captivity first and then for Judah who would later fall to Babylon. This
is a word to all the peoples of the earth direct from the Lord’s holy temple.
This is an end time word to
the Israelite nations of Britain and America today. It is a warning to these
nations which have fallen into apostasy--but who think they are righteous and
tolerant (human secularism). The rebellion in Micah’s day was the worship of
idols--and it is the same today.
Israel is full of pagan
mixture and human secularism. They think they are in a “high place” but they
are rebellious! This word is to the apostate secular church and nation. God’s
people are to “come out of her” or they will be severely chastised.
Only in God’s holy temple can
we receive His word. It is time to come out of Babylon and walk in obedience to
Yeshua. The Israelite are those who are in the process of laying down their
lives to Him and one another. The true Israelite has experienced “rebirth” and
have a personal relationship with Yeshua. Many of us are comfortable in our
denomination but it is time to “come out.” If you are reading this blog and
understand the things we have been studying then you know it is time to come
out.
It is time to hear the Lord
and to return to our roots. It is time we understand church history and begin
to understand His-story. The Lord is revealing His feasts and times to His
people. The day of compromise is coming to an end. If we want to move on we
must come out. Sacrifice and offering are not what God wants. He desires we
obey His commands. It is time to forget the traditions of men and observe God’s
appointed times. It is time to understand what it means to be “grafted into the
commonwealth of Israel” as written in Ephesians 2.11-13
1:6-9...I will make Samaria
into heaps in the field, into a land of vineyards: and I will scatter her
stones throughout the valley, and I will uncover her foundations. All her graven images shall be broken to
pieces, and all her gifts shall be burned in the fire, and I will destroy all her idols, for
she gathered it of the gifts of harlots, and they shall return unto gifts of
harlots…I will wail and howl, I will go
stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the jackals and mourning
as the owls…her wound is painful, for it is come unto Judah; it is come unto
the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.
The sins of the people are
idolatry and mixture. It is compared to harlotry. Micah is so upset he is going
stripped naked and wailing like a jackal. He sees this as a painful wound to
Israel and Judah. All is going to be burned in the fire. Micah sees terrible
devastation and destruction coming to God’s people!
He is crying out to God’s
people in this day. The apostate nation is not listening. Even those who call
on Him are turning their backs to God’s truth. They embrace abortion,
homosexuality, and pagan mixture in church ritual. This is a message to us
today! The fire
he sees is nuclear destruction in our day.
America is withdrawing from
the world stage. We are appeasing Iran in their determination to build a
nuclear bomb and a delivery system. We appease radical Islam. We promote
abortion and homosexuality to the world--we demand all nations accept our
immorality. This is our incurable wound. Micah is speaking to our generation
and warning us. God is calling His people to extreme obedience and to come out
of this Babylonian system.
1:10-16...Don’t spread the news in Gath! Don’t shed even a single tear! In Beth
Leaphrah sit in the dust!
Residents of Shaphir, pass by in nakedness and humiliation!… Beth Ezel
mourns…Indeed, the residents of Maroth hope for something good to happen…the
Lord has sent disaster against the city of Jerusalem. Residents of Lachish…
You influenced Daughter Zion to sin, for Israel’s rebellious deeds can be
traced back to you!… Residents of Mareshah, a conqueror will attack you, the
leaders of Israel shall flee to Adullam.
Shave your heads bald as you mourn for the children you love…for they are taken
from you into exile.
In historical context these
verses describe the results of military actions which eventually lead to defeat
and captivity.
Prophetically they say much
more to us in this day. This is a warning to God’s people and the apostate nations
in our time.
The city Lachish named
above means “obstinate, smitten and taken captive” in the Hebrew.
When we are obstinate, disobey and walk in the ways of the world we will be
smitten and taken captive. Lachish, according to Nelson’s New Bible
Dictionary is “an important city…guarding the main road to Jerusalem.” It
was the southern outpost to protect Jerusalem from Egypt--a type of the world
and sin.
Instead of protecting the
nation this city was leading them in sin and rebellion! This is the apostate human
secular nation of our day! God does not want pagan mixture--we are to come out!
How can you be part of a nation that condones sin and mixture? Those who refuse
to come out are in rebellion to the word of God. Some in the nation are trying
to live right spiritually--but it is time to come out!
In 1 Samuel 21 and 22
David is fleeing from Saul. In 1 Samuel 22.1 he “escaped to the cave Adullam.”
David was with a small group of people, strongly dedicated to the Lord, whose
place of safety was the cave Adullam. God has a hiding place for
the small group who obey and walk according to His ways.
David and his people came
into power after they left that cave.
They ruled Israel and the world. The time is coming when we will rule and reign
with Yeshua in the Millennial Kingdom. This remnant of people are those who
learn God’s ways and obey His commands. I believe those who refuse to obey will
also be part of the MK but they will be weeping in sorrow at what they could
have been in this life and in the Kingdom.
As we head toward Jacob’s
trouble and the tribulation God is contrasting two groups of people. This word
in Micah is to all God’s people. There are those who claim to walk with Yeshua
who don’t obey and there is a small group who walk in grace while actively
learning to obey.
If you have been reading this
blog you are aware of many of the things the Lord is showing His people. He is
teaching us anew about His Sabbath, His feasts, and His ways. He is looking for
a people who understand their roots and will become the salt of the earth--a
witness to the world. There is a place of safety for those who are willing to
follow. We are not “raptured out” but refined and purified in, and through, the
fire. The Bride is being made ready!
Next: Chapter Two: Social
Ethics, Divine Judgment, and Hope
Chapter Two:
Social Ethics, Divine Judgment, and Hope
2:1-5...Woe unto those that devise iniquity and
fabricate evil upon their beds! When the morning is light, they put it
into effect because they have power in their hands…they coveted fields and
stole them, and houses and took them away; so they oppressed the man and his house, even the man and his heritage...The LORD says; Behold, I devise an evil
against this family, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither
shall ye walk haughtily; for the time shall be evil. In that time shall one
take up a saying against you and lament with a doleful lamentation and say, We
have been utterly destroyed; he has changed the portion of my people; how has
he taken our fields! He has given and divided our fields unto others…you shall
have no one to cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the LORD.
Historically, in Micah’s
time, we see how the leaders of the nation plot and devise evil. They steal
property and trample upon the rights of the citizens. The Lord warns the
leaders that He is devising an evil against them for their wicked deeds. These
leaders should have been following the instructions in the Torah but are only
interested in their personal gain.
Look at the World Economic Forum and the World Health Organization. Look at their agenda! They want to enslave the nations according to their desires!
This is so true of what is
happening in our nation politically and financially today! We are slowly losing
our freedoms because we prefer to surround ourselves in pleasure and sin. Look
at the music and entertainment business today. So much demonic and witchcraft
type music and movies. We love violence in our movies and video games. We kick
God out of our schools and government and glorify that which was at one time
considered wrong. Isaiah 5.20
When evil comes and tragedy
strikes the people cry out and wonder why God would allow this to happen. They
were the ones who told God to get out of their lives, schools, government, and
ethics! Doesn’t anyone understand? God was only doing what was demanded of
Him--to leave! Micah is speaking to this issue in a strong voice.
2:6-11...Do
not prophesy, they say to those that prophesy: Do not prophesy unto them that
they are to understand shame. O thou
that calls thyself the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the LORD shortened? are
these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walks uprightly? He who yesterday was my people is risen up as
an enemy…Ye have cast the women of my people out from their pleasant
houses; from their children ye have taken away my continual praise…Arise and
depart, for this is not your rest because it is polluted; it has become
corrupted and with a great corruption. If there is one walking in the spirit of
falsehood, he shall lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of
strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.
In the Hebrew, these evil
doers represent the apostate nation, the Lord’s people. The Lord is speaking to
His people. In this context the Lord will not refrain from acting against them.
In our day He is speaking to the church and nation at large and exhorting us to
seek the truth of His word and walk therein.
God’s people are telling His
prophets not to prophesy! They don’t want to hear anything that will make them
uncomfortable. They are not interested in letting the Bible interpret
itself--they take verses out of context and devise doctrines that suit them and
their agenda. It is about the Laodicean and Philadelphia churches (Rev
3:7-22). It seems God’s own church has become His enemy! Beware the secular
human institutions (Laodiceans) that call themselves God’s church. Strive to be
like the Philadelphia church
2:12-13...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. The breaker
shall go up before them; they shall break through and pass through the gate and
go out by it; and their king shall pass before them, the LORD at the head of
them.
Suddenly Micah speaks of the
remnant of Israel. He has been speaking about judgment on God’s people and now
apeaks with a reassuring message of hope. We see God gathering a remnant together
in the sheepfold (Bozrah). We see the Lord as the “Good Shepherd” breaking out
with His people and passing through the gate.
God always warns His people
of coming judgment for their sins. He demands purity and a sanctified people.
He wants His people to practice
righteousness. This means we obey His commandments or instruction.
Torah means “instruction” and it is our “code of conduct”. The majority in the
church say, “We are not under the law, we have Jesus.” This is true, Jesus has
saved us from the “curse of the law”, but we are still to practice law. By this I mean we are to walk according to a code of conduct and that is what the
law is. We are to practice righteousness.
If we say we love Him we obey
His commands (instructions) and walk accordingly (1 John 2.1-5). If we
were a soldier in the military we would have to abide by a Code of Conduct. This is not legalism--this is practicing
righteousness as instructed in the law (Torah=instruction).
The Lord has a place of
safety amidst tribulation and chaos. It is His sheepfold. Those who know him
know His voice. The breaker, Yeshua, will go before us! You can’t be a part of
an apostate human secular rebellious nation and expect to find safety in the
sheepfold! He who has ears to hear will hear. Our shepherd has a sheepfold for
His sheep.
Next: Chapter Three: Do We
Follow the Lord or Traditions of Men?
Chapter Three: Do We Follow the Lord or Traditions of
Men?
3.1-4...I
said, Hear, I pray you, O princes of Jacob, and ye heads of the house of
Israel. Did it not pertain to you to
know that which is right? Who hate the good, and love the evil, who
steal their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; and eat
the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their
bones and chop them in pieces as for the pot and as flesh within the caldron.
Then they shall cry unto the LORD, but he will not respond to them: he will even hide his face from them at that
time because of their evil doings.
Historically the destruction
of Jerusalem is explained by Micah as due to the failures of leadership. In the
Torah the king is told he must read and copy the law in order that he wouldn’t
stray (Deut 17.18). Micah is talking to the nation--God’s people. In our
day we must be able to discern the truth. We are moving towards a new or one
world order. That means there will be a “harlot” world church. We are to come
out from that beast system.
God’s people were given the
truth and then led away from it. Today many are allowing themselves to be led
astray. Everyone talks about a remnant. The remnant are those who formerly were
rebellious but have repented and returned to the Lord. They walk in obedience
and often seem peculiar to those who are lukewarm in the faith. God
wants us to hunger for the truth and walk in a close personal relationship with
Him. Nobody can do that for us. No institution can do it for us. We need to
hunger and thirst for God Himself.
3:5-8...Thus hath the LORD said concerning
the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry,
Peace; and he that does not give them something to eat, they even prepare war
against him…the vision shall be made night unto you, and darkness unto those
that divine, and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall
be dark over them…Then the prophets shall be ashamed, and the diviners
confounded; and they shall all cover their lips because they shall have no
answer from God. But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD,
and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his rebellion, and to
Israel his sin.
The prophets of Micah’s day
spoke to please their clients in order to increase the gifts and payments from
them. They were perverting their office for gain. Micah was stating that he was
prophesying by the power of the Lord--he was speaking a message of judgment and
exposing sin.
Many in the nation were
practicing sin rather than righteousness. Many couples live together refusing
to marry. Many find no harm in abortion. Others do not understand that gay
marriage is an attack on God’s family values. Many have been seduced by human
secularism. Many follow astrology, witchcraft, and other pagan beliefs--in the
church! The Lord is crying out to the leaders and the people to turn away from
these things and return to Him.
In Micah’s time children were
sacrificed by fire unto idols! This is the same as the sin of abortion today.
An abortion can be had for any reason. We are sacrificing our future to the
idol of our selfish desires. More than 60 million abortions have been done in
this country alone. There is blood on many hands. God is not pleased.
He is crying out to His people. Micah was full of the Spirit of the Lord and
declared the sin and rebellion to the nation.
3:9-12...Now hear this, ye heads of the
house of Jacob and captains of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment and
pervert all equity; that build up Zion with blood and Jerusalem with
iniquity; the heads thereof judge for bribes, and the priests thereof teach
for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet they come near unto
the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? No evil can come upon us…Zion
shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins and
the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.
Micah is speaking to Zion
and Jerusalem, the house of God. They are sacrificing their children’s
blood to idols, they are perverting justice and
equity. They are comfortable in their sin. Is not the LORD among us? No evil
can come upon us they say.
This is our nation today. We
export our culture overseas--tie it to financial aid. We export abortion,
homosexuality, porn, sexual music and videos. We mistake immorality for
righteousness. Many churches go along with this. God’s people are at ease. They
find teachers that will tickle their ears. It is the same in our day as in
Micah’s day. This is an end time book. The world is racing towards wrath and
judgment--nuclear destruction. We will do it to ourselves because we refuse to
obey God’s commandments. He will leave us to our own imaginations. Only those
who repent and turn to Him will find salvation. As the West decays, the East is
rising!
Next: Chapter Four: The
Good News of the Future Millennial Kingdom
Chapter Four: The Good News of the Future Millennial
Kingdom
4.1-5...But it shall come to
pass in the last days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be
established as the top of the mountains and higher than all the hills, and
peoples shall flow unto it. And many Gentiles shall come and say, Come, and let
us go up to the mountain of the LORD and to the house of the God of Jacob; and
he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth from Zion and the word
of the LORD from Jerusalem…he shall judge among many peoples and correct strong nations even afar off;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into
pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall
they train for war any more…each one
shall sit under their vine and under their fig tree, and no one shall make them
afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of the hosts has spoken it. Even if
all the peoples should walk each one in the name of their gods; with all this
we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and eternally.
Chapters four and five
present an image of the future millennial kingdom. It is important to
understand that Christian eschatology is fundamentally based on Jewish
eschatology. Most, if not all, of our ideas of the end of the age are based on
the Old Testament scriptures and Hebrew thinking. The Book of Revelation was
written by a Jew and sums up all the writings of the prophets. Micah saw well
into the future of this world!
In Micah’s portrait of the
future kingdom, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount are the center of the world. His
view is nearly the same as found in Isaiah 2.2-4. The instruction the
gentiles will receive and the law going forth from Zion is Torah. In Jewish
liturgy verse 2 of chapter 4 in Micah is read when the Torah is taken out of the ark.
The Messiah is the one who
will be judging. He will be judging out of the book of the law: our code of
conduct. Verse five in this chapter indicates that gentiles will accept the
word of the Lord from Jerusalem and still maintain their own identities. The
world will be learning of God during the Millennial Kingdom and His resurrected
saints will be doing much of the teaching.
Those who were rebellious and
disobedient in this world will have missed a great chance to rule and reign.
Our merciful Lord will have a place for them but they will spend the thousand
years learning what they refused to learn in our present world. He will dry
their tears and send them back to school!
The fact is many who were
disobedient will repent and turn back to the Lord during the tribulation
period. They will not be raptured out as they expect but will be purified and
tried during this awful period. All who go through the tribulation will be
purified, tested, and tried--some will have much more to overcome than others.
The Bride will be made ready and when Yeshua returns in Rev 19.11-20 we
will meet Him in the air and accompany Him to the battle of Armageddon.
4:6-10...In
that day, saith the LORD, I will assemble her that is lame, and I will gather
her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted, and I will make her that is lame to be heirs,
and her that was cast off a strong
nation, and the LORD shall reign
over them in the mount of Zion from now, and for evermore. And thou, O
tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion shall come unto
thee; and the dominion shall come first, the kingdom, to the daughter of
Jerusalem.
Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is
there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as
a woman in travail. Be in pain, and
labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail; for
now thou shalt go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and
thou shalt go even to Babylon; there
shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of
thine enemies.
These verses reinforce the
thought of Messiah as the shepherd of the flock gathering His sheep together in
Jerusalem. Micah even saw as far as the
Babylonian captivity. Why is she crying in travail? Because she is going
through great tribulation. Here the Laodicean church will struggle to overcome
their sins and turn back to the Lord. It will be a very difficult time for them
but the Lord will redeem them from their enemies if they turn back to Him!
A final captivity of the Israelite nations of Israel,
Britain, and America will signal the soon return of Messiah.
The Lord wants us to work out
our salvation with fear and trembling. This is always difficult on us. A generation
is coming who will have to work out their salvation during the tribulation. We
take our tribulation(s) now little by little--but in the last days those who
have been in apostasy will have a much higher price to pay for their salvation!
God wants none to perish but we often must learn hard lessons. Now is the time
of salvation--now is the time to seek the Lord and walk in His ways. Too many
are being held captive to Babylon in this day!
4.11-14...But now many nations are
gathered against thee that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eyes see our
desire carried out upon Zion…they did not know the thoughts of the LORD, neither
did they understand his counsel by which he gathered them as sheaves onto the
threshing floor. Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; for I will make
thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs bronze; and thou shalt break in
pieces many peoples; and thou shalt consecrate their spoil unto the LORD
and their riches unto the Lord of the whole earth.
The Lord is saying, “Repent
and follow me and after the tribulation I will have you rule this world.” He is
speaking to a Zion in trouble--not those who are hidden in the cave of Adullam.
He is speaking to the disobedient Laodicean believers. They are told to arise
and thresh--God is threshing His people in the tribulation. He is testing them
and making them ready. They were rebellious and disobedient but they are given
a chance now.
Do we want to obey the Lord
now or must we be threshed later? Now is the time to allow God to thresh us and
teach us His ways. We are all in a process of being changed into His image. Do
we yield now or must we go through a much more difficult experience? We can be
scourged now or scourged through tribulation. Hebrews 4 begins to
explain this process. Then go to Hebrews 12.2-13 for further
understanding. God is perfecting us for much greater things than we can
imagine! Many are called--few are chosen--or choose to move on
Next: Chapter Five: The
Coming Messiah and the Purification of His Saints
Chapter Five: The Coming Messiah and the Purification
of His Saints
5:1-5...Now thou shalt be besieged by
armies, O daughter of the army: he shall lay siege against us; they shall smite
the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah,
though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he
come forth unto me that is to be Lord in Israel; and his goings forth are
from the beginning, from the days of the ages…he will give them up until the
time that she who travails has brought forth; then the remnant of his
brethren shall return with the sons of Israel…he shall stand and feed in
the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and
they shall abide; for now he shall be great unto the ends of the earth…he shall
be our peace when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall
tread in our palaces, then we shall raise against him seven shepherds and eight
principal men.
The reference is to Yeshua
ben David, Jesus son of David from Bethlehem in Judea. Traditional Jewish
interpretation of verse two focus on the birth pangs of a woman and the
hardship of the nation of Israel prior to the coming of Messiah! Ancient rabbis
said, “Let Messiah come, but let me not see him.” They said this because of
fear of the birth pangs. They asked, “What shall a man do to be spared the
pangs of the Messiah?” The answer was, “Let him engage in study and
benevolence.”
There it is! Even the ancient
Hebrews dreaded this day. Their solution was to engage in study and
benevolence--to obey the Lord now! If we rebel now who knows how
difficult it will be to obey in that day? They knew a final end time
captivity—Jacob’s trouble would come upon the nation!
All of God’s people suffer
trials and chastisement. The focus here is to be prepared. The Laodiceans have
been sleeping like the five foolish virgins. They will have to travail in the
Tribulation until they have been brought forth. The stakes are high--they are
eternal. Judgment begins at the house of God--get right now!
5:6-8...And they shall waste the land of
Assyria with the blade, and the land of Nimrod with their swords; and he
shall deliver us from the Assyrian when he comes against our land and when he
treads within our borders…the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of
many peoples as the dew of the LORD, as the rains upon the grass, which did
not expect a man, nor did they expect the sons of men…the remnant of Jacob
shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many peoples as a lion among the
beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he
goes through and treads down and tears in pieces, there are none that can
escape.
The Lord will deliver His
people even as He chastises them. The Assyrian represents the nations of the
earth coming against Israel and His Israelite nations. Many in the apostate
church will be persecuting the true Israelites during the tribulation. The
final generation of God’s people will have the most difficult time—but the
greatest of rewards!
Jacob represents God’s people
as a light in the world--as dew of the Lord and rains upon the grass. The
saints who go through the tribulation will bring blessing on many--just as
falling rain is blessing and brings forth the crops for the harvest. A great
harvest will be simultaneously taking place during the tribulation. God will be
sifting the nations through his threshed people! This is difficult to
understand because we don’t understand God’s ways.
Chastisement brings us closer
to God and we become His sons. There is joy in tribulation once we understand
His ways. Some are harder to reach, some of us are slow to learn, some
hardhearted. God knows what each of us need to learn. This seems very tough,
but this is God’s love working out His eternal plan for us and the universe! So
the Laodiceans will also have a chance to overcome!
5:9-14...Thine hand shall be lifted up upon
thine enemies, and all thine adversaries shall be cut off…it shall come to pass
in that day, said the LORD, that I will cause thy horses to be killed
out of the midst of thee, and I will cause thy chariots to be destroyed: and
I will cause all the cities of thy land to be destroyed, and I will cause all
thy fortresses to be destroyed: and I will cause the witchcrafts to be
destroyed by thy hand; and no more soothsayers shall be found in thee: and I
will cause thy graven images and thy images to be destroyed out of the midst of
thee; and never again shalt thou worship the work of thine hands…I
will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee; so will I destroy thy
cities.
These verses historically
describe the divine purge of God’s people and the nations. The message is to be
obedient to the Lord. The destruction or judgment of Israel (God’s people) at
the final moment becomes a retribution on the nations coming against God’s
people.
Prophetically the Lord is
telling His true ones that He will protect them from their (and His) enemies.
The killing of horses and destroying of chariots is the point when we don’t
trust in our flesh and our ways--but have yielded to the Lord and are following
His instructions. His ways are above our ways--we no longer trust in ourselves.
The Lord despises witchcraft
(works of the flesh and Satan) and pagan mixture. We are to be sanctified by
His word and made holy as He is holy. The works of the flesh must be crucified.
This is the nation being purified through difficulties (and in that generation’s
day, the tribulation) as fire burns away the chaff--all of self.
Next: Chapter Six: The Lord
Takes His People to Court
Chapter Six: The Lord Takes His People to Court
6:1-8...Hear ye now what the LORD says:
Arise, contend thou with the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.
Hear ye,
O mountains, the LORD’s controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth; for the LORD has a controversy with
his people, and he will reprove Israel. O my people, what have I done
unto thee? and in what have I wearied thee? testify against me…I brought
thee up out of the land of Egypt and ransomed thee out of the house of slaves;
and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam…remember now what Balak king of
Moab consulted and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto
Gilgal: that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD. (See Numbers 22-24 and Joshua
3-4)
With what
shall I present myself before the LORD, how shall I worship the high God? shall
I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of
rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my
rebellion, the fruit of my bowels for the sin of my soul? He has declared
unto thee, O man, what is good and what the LORD requires of thee: only to do
right judgment, and to love mercy, and to humble thyself to walk with thy God.
Micah sees the Lord taking
His people to court. The lawsuit addresses the relationship between God and
Israelite nations. Mountains, hills, and the foundations of the earth are the
witnesses. The message is clear: Israel and Judah had no reason to abandon God
and act like all the pagan nations around her. God has done no wrong--He
has only acted in love and graciousness towards His people.
The Lord reproves us when we
turn away and forget His great love for us. He pleads with us to walk
righteously according to the code of conduct (Torah) and to love our neighbor.
When we obey His commands things work out and we are blessed. He pleads with us
and the nations: “…only to do right judgment, and to love mercy, and to
humble thyself to walk with thy God.”
6:9-16...The LORD’s voice cries out unto
the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and he
who has established it. Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the
house of the wicked…Can I be pure with false balances and with a bag of
deceitful weights? With which their rich men are full of violence, and the
inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth…I
have made thee weak in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy
sins.
Thou shalt
eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee;
and thou shalt take, but shalt not be saved; and that which thou dost save, I
will give it up to the sword. Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou
shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with the oil…For the
statutes of Omri have been kept and all the works of the house of Ahab, and
ye have walked in their counsels that I should make thee a desolation, and
the inhabitants thereof a hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of
my people.
What happens to those who do
not live as God has asked? The Lord says to “hear the rod” because it is His
chastisement for their wickedness (disobedience). In Isaiah 10.5 God
says the Assyrians are the rod of His anger! God is talking to His nations and
especially the Laodiceans. God is saying, “Please don’t become my enemy--don’t
make me discipline you!” His rod is chastisement through those who do not know
Him! By powerful end time nations or “Kings of the East” that will be the rod
of His chastisement.
Omri was the father of Ahab
the most evil king in Israel. Ahab, through his evil wife Jezebel, brought in
the worship of Baal--worse than the statues of his father. God is telling us to
get rid of pagan mixture. He is urging us to understand church history and to come back to His feasts. Once we do
this our understanding of his ways and His appointed times become clear. The
Bible begins to make sense in a fresh way. The eyes of our understanding begin
to open. He who has ears to hear will hear.
Next: Chapter Seven: The
Response to Social Disintegration is To Trust in the Lord
Chapter Seven: The Response to Social Disintegration
is To Trust in the Lord
7:1-7...Woe is me! for I am as when they
have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there
is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fruit. The merciful man
of the earth is missing: and there is no one upright among men: they all lie in
wait for blood; they hunt each man his brother with a net. To complete the
evil with their hands…the judge judges for a reward…The best of them is
as a brier; the most upright as a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen, thy
visitation, comes; now shall be their confusion. Do not believe in a
friend, do not trust in a prince…For the son dishonours the father, the
daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her
mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies are those of his own house. Therefore I
will wait for the LORD; I will wait for the God of my saving health; my God
will hear me.
When men and nations turn
away from God society begins to disintegrate. Justice no longer prevails--only
lawlessness. The leader of the nation takes matters into his own hands and does
whatever he wants. Judges and representatives are easily bribed. Jesus spoke
the words of verse 6 when He prophesied about the end of the age. We live in a
time when we see all these things coming to pass. Godless nations will rule for
a short time. Micah looks to the Lord and says, “My God will hear me!”
7.8-20...Do not rejoice against me, O my
enemy; for if I have fallen, I shall arise; if I sit in darkness, the LORD is
my light. I will bear the indignation of the LORD because I have sinned
against him, until he has judged my cause and executed my judgment; he will
bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness…my enemy
shall see it, and shame shall cover her who said unto me, Where is the LORD
thy God? my eyes shall behold her: now she shall be trodden down as the
mire of the streets. In the day that thy walls shall be built unto thee, in
that day shall the decree of thy slavery be far removed…the land with those
that dwell therein shall be made desolate, for the fruit of their doings.
Feed thy
people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell only in the
mountain, in the midst of Carmel; let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the
time of old…I will show you marvellous things as in the day when thou came
out of Egypt. The Gentiles shall see and be ashamed at all thy mighty acts…They
shall lick the dust like a serpent; as the serpents of the earth, they shall
tremble in their holes; they shall be filled with fear of the LORD our God and
shall also fear thee.
Who is a
God like unto thee that pardons iniquity, and passes over the rebellion with
the remnant of his heritage? He did not retain his anger for ever because he delights in
mercy. He will turn again, he will have mercy on us; he will subdue our
iniquities; and will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea…Thou wilt
perform the truth…which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the times of old.
These final verses confirm
the relationship between God and His people is forever, that the Lord forgives,
and will restore Israel (His people) and Judah. These are millennial verses
depicting the final prosperity of God’s people. The two sticks coming together
(Ezekiel 37.15-28).
Micah recognizes his own sin. He accepts the Lord’s chastisement in humility! God with raise him up in the presence of his enemy captors. Our enemies shall be ashamed in that day! Wait upon the Lord!
Even though the land will be
made desolate due to rebellion our merciful God promises restoration and
forgiveness. God says He will not be angry forever--He loves it when we repent
so He can show mercy. He wants us to be holy and sanctified because He cannot
tolerate sin. He has a great work for mankind in the Millennial Kingdom and beyond.
“Eye hath not seen, nor
ear heard what God has prepared for them that love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2.9/Isaiah 64.4
There will be a new heaven
and a new earth after one thousand years. The universe will then be the focus
of God’s eternal plan. How exciting!