Our Daily Homily
F B Meyer
THE MOUNTAINS SHALL BE MOLTEN UNDER HIM, AND THE VALLEYS SHALL BE CLEFT. Micah 1:4.
WE must stay to admire the sublimity of these words. Of course, it is a very human way of describing the movements of the Eternal: but how forcibly the prophet's words suggest the interest of God in human life. He comes out of His place to deliver His own, and to judge the ungodly: to remove obstacles to the fulfillment of His purposes.
Are you looking out to-day on a range of mountains that block your passage and screen off the rays of the sun? Do your difficulties seem to have accumulated till they act as insuperable obstacles to the fulfillment of your most cherished purposes? Perhaps, divided from your friends; hemmed and blocked in from the fair sunny lands of the vineyard and the goldening corn; despairing of tunnelling or scaling the Himalaya and the Alps. It is a sad and drear prospect, enough to daunt the most courageous spirit, and break down the most heroic courage. But look again at this text.
"Behold, the Lord cometh forth out of His place. He steps forth from His pavilion, intent on some great and glorious project. He treads on thy high mountains as on the furrows of a ploughed field. They are nothing to Him. Beneath His tread the mountains melt, and the valleys cleave. Wax melting before the fire is the simple but sublime image of the instant subsidence of whole ranges of difficulty. Wilt thou not walk with Him? Dare to believe that He can make His mountains a way. Who art thou, great mountain before Zerubbabel? Thou shalt become a plain.
"For whom the heart of man shuts out,
Sometimes the heart of God shuts in;
And fences them all round about
With silence 'mid the world's loud din."
Micah 1:2 Hear ye peoples, all of you.. . Micah 1.2
Micah 1 - G Campbell Morgan - Life Applications
Micah was a prophet to the people of God contemporary with Isaiah and Hosea. His messages were concerned with Samaria and Jerusalem, the capitals respectively of the Northern and Southern kingdoms, as being the centres of national thought and action. Their burden "vas that of authority. He denounced the false, and announced the true. The book contains three discourses, each commencing with the same formula "Hear" (see Mic 1.2; Mic 3.1 and Mic 6.1). The words we have emphasized constitute the introduction to the first of these. Necessarily the message was for the nation to which he spoke, but he couched it in the form of an address to all nations; and to the whole earth. The burden of the message is that of declaring the coming judgment of God upon the chosen nation on account of its apostasy. The nations are called upon to listen to this message, and to witness the Divine judgment. Micah recognized the Divine purpose of the chosen nation. It was to be the medium through which God bore witness concerning Himself to all the nations of the world. Israel, obedient to the Divine government, realized the blessings of the Divine government, and revealed its beneficence to the world. Israel disobedient to that law must be judged and punished, and thus the righteousness of the Divine government would be manifested to all the nations of the earth. Either in blessing or in blasting, Jehovah reveals Himself to the nations by His dealing with His ancient people. This is still so, if men have minds to apprehend. Let the rulers among the nations consider the history of the Hebrew people; let them ponder the reason of their long-continued suffering and scattered condition. God is speaking yet to the nations through the Jew.
TODAY IN THE WORD
It's a scene straight out of a Leave It to Beaver rerun. Two brothers are misbehaving, both equally at fault. But when Dad arrives he ignores one of the boys and heads for his brother, saying something like, ""I saw what you did!""
In the meantime, the first brother breathes a quiet sigh of relief, thinking dad was overlooking his part in the fiasco. His relief melts away when his father suddenly turns to him and says, ""And now for you, young man!""
The kingdom of Judah may have felt relief when God miraculously delivered Jerusalem from Sennacherib, king of Assyria (2 Kings 18:13-19). This occurred in 701 B.C., a full twenty years after Israel and its capital had fallen to Assyria.
But God had a message of judgment for Judah as well. One of the prophets charged with delivering that message was Micah, a messenger to the common people. He served as a prophet during the reigns of three kings.
Jotham was generally a good king, although he failed to remove Judah's ""high places"" where God's people practiced idolatry (see 2 Kings 15:35). God would take care of these evil places Himself when He came in judgment (Micah 1:3).
Jotham's son Ahaz, a wicked man, inherited a kingdom that was strong both militarily and politically. But Ahaz greatly corrupted God's people, adopting the evil worship practices of the northern kingdom.
Ahaz's son Hezekiah was one of Judah's greatest kings. He turned the nation back to serving the Lord.
Although Micah prophesied primarily to Judah, his frequent references to Israel show that God had given Micah a word of warning for the entire nation.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Americans are fond of pointing to 200 years of God's blessing as evidence that He will not really judge us in the same way He judged His ancient people. . (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)
TODAY IN THE WORD
We all have those times when we hear only what we want to hear, not what we need to hear. Sometimes the refusal to admit the truth has relatively small consequences. At other times, however, it can be the prelude to disaster. One example that continues to stand out in history is the Flood during the days of Noah. Imagine the people jeering and laughing at Noah and his family as they built an ark--on dry land! They probably brushed aside his claims that there would be a flood. But in the end, all but Noah and his family were destroyed.
The prophet Micah must have seemed like a ""wet blanket"" in Judah, a stubborn naysayer who refused to paint a rosy picture of the nation's future. There was no lack of prophets to say what the people wanted to hear. ""Do not prophesy about these things,"" the false prophets said. ""Disgrace will not overtake us"" (v. 6). Those who prophesied good things for the nation were the people's choice (v. 11).
But God's Word leaves no doubt about who was right. Judah was too much like her sister Israel for God to ignore her sins. In today's verses, we are introduced to one of Judah's great sins: terrible injustice. Those in power, both socially and in the government, defrauded their brother and sister Israelites of their land (also see Micah 3:1-4).
Taking away a man's land in an agricultural society meant sentencing him and his family to poverty. The coveting of the powerful for the land and homes of the powerless was a direct violation of God's law. The word covet (v. 2) is the same as the one used in the tenth Commandment (Exod. 20:17). To defraud a person of his land portion was also to rob his children of their future, because an Israelite's land was his inheritance.
Throughout Hosea, we have seen God's indictments against Israel set in the context of the Mosaic covenant. To break the covenant was the height of sin against God. Now we know that Judah was also cursed by covenant-breakers.
What would be an appropriate judgment against those who seized the land of others by violence and fraud? Their land would be taken away by foreign invaders (Micah 2:4).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
It is so human to hear only the good things people have to tell us. But it's a temptation we need to guard against. (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)
Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! - Micah 2:1
Dr. Robert G. Lee, a great Baptist preacher, once delivered one of the most famous sermons of this century when he spoke on the subject, "Payday Someday!." The sermon, three hours in length in its original form, is a spellbinding retelling of Ahab's and Jezebel's wicked reign and gruesome end. Dr. Lee's title captures perfectly the principle of God's certain justice, played out in the lives of Israel's infamous king and his pagan wife.
In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak . . . he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord. - Psalm 10:2, 3
TODAY IN THE WORD
The vineyard had been in the family forever, or so it seemed. Although others might have been tempted by the king’s offer to pay a good price for the land, Naboth was shocked that Ahab would even suggest that he sell the family inheritance--even to a king. How could a price be put on such a precious possession?
The evil king sulked away--pouting like a child who hadn’t gotten his way. Seeing him in such a despondent mood, his wife naturally wanted to know what was wrong. Never at a loss for what to do, Jezebel--even more evil than Ahab--arranged for a sham of a trial whose outcome was fixed to ensure that her husband would get what he wanted.
Righteous Naboth was falsely accused by two scoundrels, was quickly found “guilty,” and was executed. The king was finally able to have the object of his greed--Naboth’s vineyard.
God’s severe condemnation and just anger made it quite clear that such blatant evil could not go unpunished (1 Kings 21:19–24). This divine indictment humbled Ahab (v. 29)--for a while at least.
As we saw yesterday, the well-being and preservation of a family was integrally tied to its land inheritance. Naboth was entirely right to refuse to sell his land. Moreover, the law specifically forbade the sale of land (Lev. 25:23; see Nov. 9). As king, Ahab should have known that family land was not to be sold. Instead of protecting those over whom he ruled, he greedily exploited them.
Today’s passage from Micah seems to describe Ahab and Jezebel perfectly! Although Micah prophesied at a much later time (Mic. 1:1), this passage applied to any number of kings during this sad period in Israel’s history, for abuse of power and injustice against the poor was widespread.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
You’ve probably never fallen asleep plotting an evil act (Micah 2:1), but you may have drifted off nursing a grudge. . (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)
Micah 2:3 - Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil . . .Micah 2.3
G Campbell Morgan - Life Applications
After a graphic description of the coming judgment (Mic 1.6-16) the prophet declared the nature of the sin of the nation (Mic 2.1). It will be noticed that the sin was peculiarly the sin of the ruling classes. The period was one of material prosperity, but the power of this was in the hands of the rulers. In view of this power, they planned and plotted in the night, and in the day carried out their plans. Their rule was that of oppression. The note in this charge which reveals the deepest wrong, is that in which the prophet declared that the oppression was not an action of sudden passion, or of swift moral collapse. It was premeditated. Observe the force of the word devise: "Woe to them that devise iniquity." This gives force to the declaration: "Behold against this family do I devise an evil." Men deliberately plot and plan in the darkness, devise iniquity in the night, when their fellow men cannot see, do not know. But God is not deceived, He knows; and over against the devising of wickedness, is set His devising. They devise iniquity against their fellows; but Jehovah devises evil against them. This is ever so, and the evil which God devises against the devising of iniquity is ever the outworking .of that very iniquity in its reaction upon the evil workers. There is no escape from God; and that fact is the reason of confidence, and the secret of peace, in the days most full of the apparent triumph of evil men.
Micah 2:7 (et al) - IS THE LORD’S HAND SHORTENED?
- Asked respecting the Father. Num. 11:23.
- Asked respecting the Son. Isa. 50:2.
- Asked respecting the Spirit. Micah 2:7.
Micah 2:10 “Arise, and depart.”
Spurgeon - Morning and Evening
The hour is approaching when the message will come to us, as it comes to all—“Arise, and go forth from the home in which thou hast dwelt, from the city in which thou hast done thy business, from thy family, from thy friends. Arise, and take thy last journey.” And what know we of the journey? And what know we of the country to which we are bound? A little we have read thereof, and somewhat has been revealed to us by the Spirit; but how little do we know of the realms of the future! We know that there is a black and stormy river called “Death.” God bids us cross it, promising to be with us. And, after death, what cometh? What wonder-world will open upon our astonished sight? What scene of glory will be unfolded to our view? No traveller has ever returned to tell. But we know enough of the heavenly land to make us welcome our summons thither with joy and gladness. The journey of death may be dark, but we may go forth on it fearlessly, knowing that God is with us as we walk through the gloomy valley, and therefore we need fear no evil. We shall be departing from all we have known and loved here, but we shall be going to our Father’s house—to our Father’s home, where Jesus is—to that royal “city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” This shall be our last removal, to dwell for ever with him we love, in the midst of his people, in the presence of God. Christian, meditate much on heaven, it will help thee to press on, and to forget the toil of the way. This vale of tears is but the pathway to the better country: this world of woe is but the stepping-stone to a world of bliss.
“Prepare us, Lord, by grace divine,
For thy bright courts on high;
Then bid our spirits rise, and join
The chorus of the sky.”
Micah 2:10.
Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest.
“As an eagle stirreth up her nest.” This illustration is one of the most beautiful and appropriate that could be conceived. It is taken from the habits of the eagle, which, when her young ones are well-fledged and would prefer to linger in downy ease, disturbs their nest, that they may be taught how to fly. Look at that parent bird picking at the nest which she hath built for her tender offspring: see how she breaks off one twig after another, exciting her brood to leave their nest and soar on high amid the sunshine of heaven. And if they will not leave it, she will break it further and further, until it is utterly broken up, and they are forced to fly or fall. Thus God deals with us. He knows our tendency to make this earth our rest, and He disturbs our nest to teach us to rise on the wings of faith toward the enduring realities of heaven. How often does God take away our earthly comforts when He sees that we cling too fondly to them! How often, in this world of vicissitude and change, do riches make themselves wings and fly away! By some unfortunate speculation, or in some way we know not how, lands and possessions are swept away at a stroke, and stranger feet now tread that abode which was once the home of competence and ease. The hopes of a rising family are blighted, and those who were fostered in the downy softness of luxury are turned out into a cold and pitiless world to work for their daily bread. Perhaps something upon which we placed the utmost reliance, upon which seemed to rest our only stay, is suddenly and mysteriously taken from us, and when we attempt to grasp it we find it gone. A gale at sea may destroy the hopes of the merchant; depression in trade may bring want to your door; the bankruptcy of some large mercantile firm, or the failure of a bank, may involve numbers in ruin, and plunge many families in misery hitherto unknown. How many have had occasion, from these and similar causes, and how many more will yet have occasion, to mourn over altered circumstances! Marvel not if it be thus with you; it is God stirring up your nest to teach you to wing your flight to heaven. All these things have a voice if ye will but hear, and seem to say, “Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest.” BROCK.
Micah 2:11 False Prophets are Characterized by...
- Adultery (Jer. 23:14)
- Lying (Micah 2:11)
- Treachery (Zeph. 3:4)
- Opportunistic (Micah 3:11)
- Drunkenness (Isa 28:7)
Our Daily Homily
F B Meyer
THE BREAKER IS GONE UP BEFORE THEM. Micah 2:13 (R. V.)
THE mind of the prophet conceives of the people as captives in a foreign city, surrounded by lofty walls and frowning gates. Like impassable barriers, these lie between them and liberty. There seems no hope of their being able to break forth; but all suddenly a Breaker appears, who, summoning them to follow, breaks through the opposition of armed men and of mighty bulwarks. With resistless might, He breaks His way through; and they that follow Him are described as having broken forth, and passed on to the gate, and gone out thereat. First the Lord, then their king, and then hosts of men.
No finer description could be imagined of the resurrection, which we celebrate as the first day of every week recurs. Looking forth from heaven at the mystery of the resurrection, when the triumphant Lord stepped forth from the restraint of watch, and ward, and stone, and demon hate, and the grim fortress of the grave, the angels might fitly have appropriated these words, "The Breaker is gone up" before His redeemed ones. See! they too are breaking forth, and passing on through the gate--their King passing on before them.
This is also true of every new era of time and novelty of circumstance. Circumstances, like prison walls, may confine us; but our Breaker is always preceding us, breaking down opposition and strong ramparts of apparently impassable difficulty; breaking down the suspicion and hatred of men; breaking down the mailed force of hell. Keep close beside Him, as the armor bearer behind Jonathan. Let there be no perceptible interspace. The iron gate of the city will open of its own accord, through which you shall pass into perfect liberty.
Micah 2:13 “The breaker is come up before them.”
Spurgeon - Morning and Evening
Inasmuch as Jesus has gone before us, things remain not as they would have been had he never passed that way. He has conquered every foe that obstructed the way. Cheer up now thou faint-hearted warrior. Not only has Christ travelled the road, but he has slain thine enemies. Dost thou dread sin? He has nailed it to his cross. Dost thou fear death? He has been the death of Death. Art thou afraid of hell? He has barred it against the advent of any of his children; they shall never see the gulf of perdition. Whatever foes may be before the Christian, they are all overcome. There are lions, but their teeth are broken; there are serpents, but their fangs are extracted; there are rivers, but they are bridged or fordable; there are flames, but we wear that matchless garment which renders us invulnerable to fire. The sword that has been forged against us is already blunted; the instruments of war which the enemy is preparing have already lost their point. God has taken away in the person of Christ all the power that anything can have to hurt us. Well then, the army may safely march on, and you may go joyously along your journey, for all your enemies are conquered beforehand. What shall you do but march on to take the prey? They are beaten, they are vanquished; all you have to do is to divide the spoil. You shall, it is true, often engage in combat; but your fight shall be with a vanquished foe. His head is broken; he may attempt to injure you, but his strength shall not be sufficient for his malicious design. Your victory shall be easy, and your treasure shall be beyond all count.
“Proclaim aloud the Saviour’s fame,
Who bears the Breaker’s wond’rous name;
Sweet name; and it becomes him well,
Who breaks down earth, sin, death, and hell.”
TODAY IN THE WORD
One of the most telling criticisms against America's growing scourge of government-sponsored lotteries is the evidence that many who regularly play the lottery can ill afford to do so. The lottery, as one critic has pointed out, has become like an extra tax on the poor. By selling the fantasy of a life of ease and luxury with just one ""lucky"" play of the lottery, governments across this country are defrauding their citizens. And it's all legal.
But legality has never been the only test of justice. It's possible to know what is right and yet do the opposite. Consider the question the prophet Micah asked the leaders of Israel: ""Should you not know justice?"" (v. 1).
Micah 3:1 begins the prophet's second of three messages, this one extending through chapter 5. This and the other two messages (chaps. 1-2 and 6-7) are introduced either by a call to ""Hear"" or ""Listen.""
The prophet was speaking to ""Jacob"" (Micah 1:5), a synonym for the twelve tribes of Israel. Although Micah's primary emphasis was on the southern kingdom of Judah, he spoke to the nation as a whole in many portions of his prophecy. That's also evident in Micah 1:5 when the prophet refers to both capitals, Samaria and Jerusalem.
Israel's leaders come in for condemnation in Micah 3:1-4. They may have known justice, but they certainly weren't interested in practicing it. These verses offer a stark image--leaders devouring their people as if they were wild animals instead of God's appointed guardians of righteousness and justice. People like this need not expect God to answer their cries for help when invaders come to take them away.
Next, the Lord speaks through Micah to the prophets who had also abandoned their true calling. They were ""for hire,"" saying whatever the people wanted to hear if the price was right. Their judgment would be appropriate (vv. 6-7).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY - History is littered with people who compromised their character when a promised pleasure or payoff looked too good to pass up. Are you being tempted to compromise your Christian character and testimony in some way? It doesn't have to be something ""big"" like bribery or blatant dishonesty. It may be something as small as what you allow yourself to watch on television, cutting a little corner at work, or any one of a dozen other temptations. (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)
Our Daily Homily
F B Meyer
I TRULY AM FULL OF POWER BY THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD.
Micah 3:8
NOTHING needs more of the Spirit of God than the preaching which declares to men their sins. No one is so thoroughly hated as the candid friend. Just because conscience attests the truth of our utterances, the soul of the sinner resents our plain speaking. You may condemn sin generally as much as you like; but when your hand comes near the broken bone, or the diseased flesh, then there is at once a violent outcry. Nothing is more needed in the present day than particular preaching, the careful analysis of motive, the discrimination of shades of wrongdoing; but the ministry of John the Baptist is only possible to those who come in the spirit and power of Elijah.
We need power like that with which the apostles gave witness to Jesus Christ. And it is not difficult to discern when a man is dealing with sin in the power of the eternal God. We need judgment to detect graver and lighter offences, and trace the connection between sin and its consequence. We need might to withstand the opposition we shall inevitably meet.
But all these may be had with the filling of the Holy Ghost, which is the privilege and right of every child of God in this the age of the Holy Ghost. Our ascended Lord received of the Father the fullness of the Spirit, that He might communicate Him to all who believe; but we, in our turn, must receive. Do not be content with a few drops at the bottom of the bucket; ask to stand always beneath the flowing spring and be filled. The disciples were filled suddenly on the day of Pentecost; but they were being filled perpetually (Acts 13:52, Gr.). The fullness of God for you is only limited by your capacity to receive
Micah 3:11 IS NOT THE LORD AMONG US?
Spurgeon
Sometimes great sweetness is found with intense bitterness. I have experienced immense joy in the depths of depression when I lean only on my God. I hardly know how to express this unrivalled pleasure of resting only on the Lord, for when I am hurled on God alone, my soul finds divine peace.
Dear friend, if both your circumstances and your spirit sink, all will be well if you lean on God alone. Never fear that you will become weary to Him, and never ask as little as possible. He says, “Open you mouth wide, and I will fill it” (Ps. 81:10). Never trust Him just a little. Never give Him only a part of your cares. Never rest just a portion of your trials on Him. Lean on Him with all your weight. Bring all the tons, pounds, and ounces and throw them all on God. Do not carry an extra ounce yourself. God loves His children to place their entire confidence in Him.
Do you know the Aesop’s fable about the polite little gnat who when he flew off of the ox apologized for burdening him? The ox replied that he did not know he was there. God will never tell you that. He will tell you that your load is no burden. If you had fifty kingdoms burdening your brain, if you carried the politics of a hundred nations in you mind, and if you were loaded with all the cares of a thousand worlds, still you could safely leave them with the Wonderful Counsellor and go your way rejoicing. Lean hard brothers, lean hard sisters, for “is not the LORD among us?” “Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7). He counts the very hairs on your head (Matt. 10:30).
Micah 3:11-The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money. Micah 3.11
G Campbell Morgan - Life Applications
The second of Micah's messages was addressed to the rulers, and was concerned with the coming of God's true Ruler. Its first movement is contained in this chapter. It consisted of a denunciation of those in authority, both princes and priests and prophets, and an exposure of the falseness of their authority. In these words the whole evil is graphically stated, and relentlessly unmasked. The heads, that is the civil rulers or princes, exercised their judicial function for reward. They were open to bribery, their decisions could be bought by those able to reward them. The priests taught for hire, and therefore their teaching was accommodated to the desires of those who paid them. The prophets were seeking for money, and therefore—let this be carefully noticed—they divined. That was not the true method. The prophet speaks what God gives him to speak. But God's word cannot be bought. Therefore the prophets turn to wizardry, to necromancy; they divine. In each case the inspiration of the exercise of authority, whether that of prince, or priest, or prophet, was the desire of self-enrichment. This is the evil principle in false authority. When government is in the interest of the governing classes, instead of the governed, it is evil. Let all human attempts at government, whether autocratic or democratic, be examined in the light of this principle, and an explanation will be found of persistent failure, and also of any measure of real success. By it, Tsarism and the reign of the proletariat stand condemned. Rule, inspired by the self-interest of the rulers, spells ruin.
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. --Micah 4:3
Charles Darwin's famous On the Origin of Species was subtitled The Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life. Darwin viewed human progress as inevitably tied to conflict, where the strong overcome the weak.
This was the basis for Nazi ideology. Because Adolf Hitler believed that Aryans (non-Jewish Caucasians) were superior to all others, he sought to eliminate all non-Aryans.
Marxism promotes the struggle between classes, in which the proletariat (the working class) must destroy the bourgeoisie (the property owners). Some refer to this as "social Darwinism."
The prophet Micah rejected any idea of a super race. He envisioned the day when the blessings God poured upon Israel, a nation favored with a special relationship to Himself, would be shared by all people everywhere. God's one purpose in revealing Himself to the Jews was to convey His life-transforming message of salvation to all nations.
Christians must deplore the suppression of any class of people. We must desire and pray that all people, even those who hate us or defy God's laws, will believe on Jesus Christ and share the wonderful salvation He offers. --H V Lugt (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
The righteousness of Christ is free
To those of every tribe and race;
The Savior died that all may see
The boundless reaches of God's grace. --D J De Haan
No one is too good or too bad to qualify for salvation.
Micah 4:2
I read a story about an aged lighthouse keeper who had been on the job more than twenty years. At his lighthouse, a gun was set to go off every hour to warn the ships. Year after year the keeper had heard the blast of the shotgun on the hour throughout the day and night. Then the inevitable happened. Something went wrong with the mechanism in the middle of the night, and the gun didn't go off. Within minutes the keeper was startled awake and said, "What was that?" The absence of the sound had alarmed him.
Likewise, the habits of the Christian life should be so instilled in us that missing one of them will sound a silent "alarm" inside us. When we neglect prayer, disobey the Lord, fail to fellowship with God's people, or fall short in one of the other Christian virtues, something inside alerts us. Like the old lighthouse keeper, we will respond, "What was that?" —D. C. Egner
THE WAY OF OBEDIENCE IS THE WAY OF BLESSING.
TODAY IN THE WORD
On the grounds of the United Nations headquarters in New York City is an impressive statue crafted by Russian sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich. The sculpture, a gift to the UN from the then-Soviet Union, depicts a man with a huge mallet raised in his right hand. His left hand holds a sword, which the man is beating into a plowshare. The piece is called, not surprisingly, ""Let Us Beat Swords into Plowshares."" It was designed to echo the main purpose of the United Nations.
If you read today's text, you know that the artist got his inspiration from Micah 4:3. Whatever we may think of the United Nations' attempts to achieve world peace, the goal is a noble one. And it will be achieved some day, but it will require a far greater King and a far greater kingdom than any this earth has ever seen.
The portion of Micah's prophecy we are studying today and tomorrow describes that King and His kingdom. The prophet's second message, comprising chapters 3-5, begins with judgment but ends with a promise of restoration.
People have been quoting Micah 4:3 for generations, expressing their wish for the day when weapons will not be needed because ""nation will not take up sword against nation."" That day will come ""in the last days"" (v. 1). In this glorious millennial age, Jesus Christ will return to establish His 1000-year reign with Jerusalem, here called ""Zion,"" as His throne (v. 2).
One reason that swords will no longer be necessary is that peoples and nations will stream to the house of the Lord to be taught His ways and to walk in His paths. Israel will then be a place where every person will be able to live in safety, free from fear (v. 4). Any rebellion against Messiah the King will be dealt with quickly and completely.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
As God's people, we look forward to the day when Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, will return and establish His true peace on earth. . (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)
A World At Peace
READ: Isaiah 2:1-9
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. --Isaiah 2:4
President Woodrow Wilson was a staunch idealist whose hope for world peace was deeply embedded in his thinking. Therefore, when he declared war on Germany in 1917, his decision cut to his very heart. It is said that when he returned to the White House, he put his head down on a table and sobbed.
World War I was seen by many as "the war to end all wars." Wilson himself became the leading advocate for the League of Nations, which he hoped would ensure peace. But World War II and many subsequent wars have dashed such hopes.
So the question remains: Can this world ever know true peace? The Bible answers, "Yes!" Two Old Testament prophets describe a future disarmament unlike any in man's history (Isaiah 2:1-4; Micah 4:1-5). And Revelation 20 declares that Satan will be bound and unable to deceive the nations when Jesus Christ comes to reign in righteousness.
What about right now? When individuals trust Jesus as their Savior, they are reconciled to God and are motivated to be peacemakers in their own world of relationships—even with their enemies. God's peace in believers' hearts is a present reality, and the Lord's return to earth is the world's only hope for lasting peace. And it will come! —Dennis J. De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
God gives me peace and I long to share it—
With Christ's gospel message I'll go;
I'll speak of His grace and joy that He gives me
Till He comes, then world peace we'll know. —Cetas
Only the Prince of Peace can bring lasting peace
Our Daily Homily
F B Meyer
IN THE LATTER DAYS IT SHALL COME TO PASS. Micah 4:1 (R. V.)
THESE words are repeated in Isa. 2:2-4. The holy men that wrote the Bible lived upon the inspired words of their predecessors. Amid the dark night this promise of God shone like binary stars.
No doubt they have been fulfilled in the Gospel dispensation. In a deep and true sense it has come to pass that the Lord's house has been established in the top of the mountains, and has been exalted above the hills. The Church is a conspicuous and influential object among the forces of the world; and peoples are flowing toward it. In very many cases whole nations have flung away the religion of their ancestors, and gathered within that Christian temple which has been built upon the foundations of Judaism. Out of Zion there has gone forth the law; and from Jerusalem the Word of the Lord. In Jesus, the Jew is still the centre of the world's vision.
But the full accomplishment of these words waits behind the curtain that is so soon to be rent at the coming of our Lord. Then holy influences will proceed from the chosen people (those in Israel) who shall have been led to recognize Christ as their Messiah. From these the Gospel shall go forth unto all the world. Beneath the hallowing influences of that age swords shall be beaten into ploughshares, and spears into pruning hooks; the cannon shall be as obsolete as the tomahawk; the explosives of war shall be stored in museums; whilst schools for training the art of war shall be used as missionary seminaries.
There shall be no war, because there shall be no fear. "None shall make them afraid." And there shall be no fear, because universal love shall reign toward God and man.
The passage, found in Isaiah 2 and in Micah 4, where “swords” will be made into “ploughshares,” is inscribed on a stone wall facing the U.N. building in New York.
Khrushchev saw a figurative fulfillment of the prophecy when he visited the John Deere factory near Des Moines, Iowa: The plant was built early in World War II for manufacture of machine-gun bullets. Today it produces farm implements.
Micah 4:2 - Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.—Micah 4.2
G Campbell Morgan - Life Applications
Having denounced the false rulers and revealed the evil principle of their exercise of authority, the prophet described the true order in a prediction concerning its establishment. His outlook was that of the true Israelite; he recognized the Divine purpose in the national life of his people. Not for themselves did they exist in an isolation of privilege, but rather as a rallying centre for humanity, an order to which the people would flow, a revelation and realization, attracting the nations and inspiring them to inquire for the ways of Jehovah, the God of Jacob. In these particular words the chief glory of the national life of Israel is revealed. Zion is to be the hill of Jehovah, and out of it the law which men need, shall go forth; Jerusalem will become indeed the city of the Great King, and from it the word of Jehovah will be uttered. That is what the world waits for, and failing to find, or rather refusing to receive, it carries on, under a false interpretation of life, and cursed by the oppressions of false rulers. When life is governed by the law of Jehovah, and sustained by His word, strife will end, war will be no more; then peace and prosperity will be realized. That day has not yet come, but the gleams of its glory are everywhere appearing. Peace is found to-day in men in whom He is well pleased; and prosperity is the portion of the meek, who already inherit the earth, even though they seem to be excluded from its possession. The men in whom He is well pleased are those who live by His law; and the meek are such as are sustained by His word. But the Day is yet to be.
D L Moody's Notes on Micah
The Rod in Micah:—
Micah 5:1. Upon the Saviour; cf. Lam. 3:1.
Micah 6:9. Upon the sinner; cf. Ps. 2:9.
Micah 7:14. Upon the saint; cf. Ps. 23:4.
TODAY IN THE WORD
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. - Luke 2:11
Come, Thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free.
From our fears and sins release us
Let us find our rest in Thee
Born Thy people to deliver
Born a child and yet a King.
Born to reign in us forever
Now Thy gracious Kingdom bring
These words, based on Micah 5:1–5, were penned by Charles Wesley, the famous evangelist and composer of over 6,000 hymns. Many theologians think this Scripture passage is the most important prophecy in the Old Testament since it distinguishes Christ’s human birth from His eternal existence (v. 2). The words “from ancient times” could also be translated “from days of eternity.” Jesus was born as a baby in Bethlehem, but He had existed throughout all time.
The sentence, “They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod” (v. 1) probably refers to Zedekiah, the last king in the line of David to rule in Judah. King Zedekiah was captured by the Babylonians and hauled off in bronze shackles after seeing his sons murdered just before his eyes were put out (2 Kings 25:7). Many Jews feared that the line of David had come to an end with the Babylonian captivity and wondered how the promise God made to David, that one was to come in his line and reign forever, could ever be fulfilled.
Since there were two Bethlehems, “Bethlehem Ephrathah” (v. 2) is used to distinguish between them. The word ephrathah means “fruitful.”
King David and his line had come from Bethlehem, so it was well respected. Yet, after the dispersion of the Jews, no descendants of David lived in Bethlehem. One family in the line of David, however, did live in the town of Nazareth, about 80 miles away. And a decree issued by Augustus Caesar, one that fit perfectly into God’s plan, brought Mary, the mother of Jesus, and her husband, Joseph, to Bethlehem.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
In the midst of foretelling of death and destruction, God encouraged His people through the prophet, Micah, by offering the hope of a Savior and the promise of peace.
Because of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem and His death on the Cross we, too, have the opportunity to experience peace with God with no fear of retribution. Our sins are forgiven; our slate is wiped clean. . (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)
"What If?"
When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His son, born of a woman, born under the law. - Galatians 4:4
Several years ago a group of historians authored a book called "If - Or History Rewritten." Some of the "ifs" those scholars considered were these: What if Robert E. Lee had not lost the battle of Gettysburg? What if the Moors in Spain had won? What if the Dutch had kept New Amsterdam? What if Booth had missed when he shot at Abraham Lincoln? What if Napoleon had escaped to America?
The attempt to reconstruct the past on the basis of these "ifs" was only a historian's game. But apply it for a moment to the central event in history - the birth of Jesus Christ. It was foretold with pinpoint accuracy hundreds of years before by the prophet Micah. The greatest "if", therefore - the most startling question to the imagination - is, "What if Jesus had not been born as predicted?"
Such an "if" staggers the mind. It is like imagining the earth without a sunrise or the heavens without a sky. Yet this "if" must be taken seriously, especially at Christmas, because our world is oblivious to
the true meaning of Christ's coming.
On the first Sunday of Advent, try to think of the world without Christ.
What would history have been without Him? And at a personal level, what would your life be without Him? Thank God that there are no "ifs" in history. - Haddon W. Robinson (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
If Christ had never left His throne
To enter time and space,
We'd have no hope beyond the grave,
No knowledge of His grace.- Sper
A world without Christ would be a world without hope.
Micah 5:2
Rob Morgan
It's getting harder to visit Bethlehem because of ongoing political tensions, but visitors to Israel still trek that way; and many are surprised at how close this little town is to Jerusalem—only about five miles away, and so small—"only a small village among all the people of Judah."
Sometimes we think our place is too small, and we're disappointed at our meager lot. Perhaps we're in a small church, a small town, a small ministry, or a small house. Don't underestimate how greatly Jesus uses small things.
Historian David Hackett Fischer points out that, compared to the great battles of history, Washington's crossing of the Delaware was a very small event. But the outcome saved the United States of America.
French Jesuit Father Jean Nicolas Grou once wrote, "Let your aim be to please our dear Lord perfectly in little things."
If your place is a small one, remember Bethlehem. Of all the cities of Judah, God chose this little town as the birthplace of the Messiah and as the junction of time and eternity.
Jesus bids us shine
With a pure, clear light,
Like a little candle
Burning in the night.
In this world of darkness
So let us shine—
You in your small corner,
And I in mine.
—Susan Warner
Our Daily Bread
Born In Us
READ: Micah 5:1-5
Bethlehem Ephrathah, . . . out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel. —Micah 5:2
During a visit to England's picturesque Stratford-upon-Avon, I was struck by how a town's identity and future can be affected just because someone was born there. Every year, half a million people come to visit the birthplace of William Shakespeare, whom some consider the most influential playwright in the English language.
And what about Bethlehem? With the birth of Jesus, Micah's prophecy of significance was fulfilled: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2). Bethlehem is defined by Jesus' birth.
Isn't the same true for us? When Christ comes to live in us, we are changed. No longer just ordinary human beings, we become the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Our identity and destiny are marked by Him, just as surely as a town becomes known for the significant person who was born there.
Christmas is a wonderful time to celebrate the presence of Christ in us, and the change He brings to all who invite Him in. —David C. McCasland (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in-
Be born in us today. -Brooks
God came to live with us so we could live with Him
Micah 5:2
Eat This Bread
Christmas isn’t the time of year when our thoughts naturally turn to the Last Supper—or what the Jews called Passover. But that particular Passover is critical to Christmas. After breaking bread and giving it to His disciples, Jesus said, “Take, eat; this is My body” (Matt. 26:26). Breaking bread was a traditional part of Passover, but adding “this is my body” was a striking departure from the familiar liturgy. The disciples must have been bewildered.
Later the meaning became clear. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which means “house of Bread.” He was laid in a manger—a feeding trough. He once said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh” (John 6:51).
The prophet Micah indicated that One born in Bethlehem would rule over Israel (5:2). But not until Jesus came did anyone realize the uniqueness of this Kingdom. Christ’s rule would not be imposed upon anyone; it would be imparted to those who accepted this new citizenship.
As we sing of Bethlehem’s manger, let’s remember that the heaven-sent infant King came so that we might “eat this bread” and partake of His divine nature.— by Julie Ackerman Link
Thou art the bread of life, O Lord, to me,
Thy holy Word the truth that saveth me;
Give me to eat and live with Thee above,
Teach me to love Thy truth, for Thou art love. —Lathbury
Only Christ the Living Bread can satisfy our spiritual hunger.
Micah 5:2-6
I have a piece of old plaster on my desk that comes from the ancient site of the Herodium in the land of Israel. It reminds me of the humility of our Lord Jesus.
Herodium was a lavish residence that served as King Herod’s summer palace, a sumptuous villa with opulent apartments furnished for the royal family and their guests. It boasted a Roman bath with hot and cold pools, surrounded by colonnaded gardens.
It’s said that Herod built his palace to commemorate a victory in battle, but knowing Herod’s selfish ambition it’s possible he had another purpose in mind. Some have conjectured that Herod, despite inquiring of the scribes (Matt. 2:4-6), knew about Micah’s prediction that Israel’s Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. He may have wanted Israel’s King to be born in his palace.
The Father’s plan, however, was for our Lord to be born not in a castle but in a cave. It was in a lowly manger that the little Lord Jesus was born.
This is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, “Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). This is the gift of lavish salvation—of all gifts, the greatest gift that you and I will ever receive.— by David H. Roper
He did not use a silvery box
Or paper green and red;
God laid His Christmas gift to me
Within a manger bed. —Prentice
The goodness and love of God became incarnate at Bethlehem.
Micah 5:2 Matthew 16:13-20
You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. - Matthew 16:16
TODAY IN THE WORD
Some things aren’t what they appear to be! In 1867 Secretary of State William H. Seward purchased Alaska for $ 7.2 million--about $12 per square mile! At the time, the deal was called “Seward’s Folly” and Alaska was dubbed “Seward’s Icebox.” Then, in 1880, gold was discovered. During the 1930s, drought-weary Midwesterners began to farm Alaska’s fertile soil. By the 1970s, oil was flowing through the Alaska Pipeline. Some things aren’t what they appear to be!
Jews living in Palestine at the time of Jesus’ birth certainly weren’t expecting their deliverer, or messiah, to be born in a feeding trough for cattle! Everyone knew that God’s messiah would come in power, conquering the Romans, reestablishing the throne of David, and restoring the temple! Yet, contrary to expectations, the promised Messiah was born in the lowliest circumstances.
These mistaken notions made it impossible for Jesus to openly claim this title, even though He alone was the promised Messiah. Jesus didn’t want people to settle for a liberator from Rome when He knew that what they really needed was a liberator from their sin.
But Jesus didn’t have to call Himself the Messiah--His birth and life revealed both the true nature of the Messiah and that He was the Messiah. When Jesus proclaimed the coming kingdom of God, He associated it with His own coming (Matt. 12:28). As Jesus taught, healed, and performed miracles, people began to recognize that He was the Christ (John 4:29). (Christ is Greek for Messiah; cf. John 4:25.)
Even more significantly, when people identified Jesus as the Messiah, He never corrected them. Indeed, Jesus blessed Peter when he realized that Jesus was the Christ (Matt. 16:17). At Jesus’ trial, He never denied that He was the Christ (Mark 14:61–62).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Many in Jesus’ day were so sure that they knew how the Messiah would come that they overlooked Jesus.
The Place Of Going Forth
READ: Micah 5:1-4
Bethlehem . . . , out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel. —Micah 5:2
A lot of attention was suddenly focused on the small town of Bethlehem. Jews from many parts of the world came to be counted in a census. Mary and Joseph traveled there from Nazareth. Shepherds came from the fields to see the Baby lying in a manger (Luke 2:15-16) after a multitude of angels had come to announce, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" (vv.13-14).
Every Christmas, in our imagination, we go to Bethlehem to celebrate Jesus' birth. But we cannot stay there; we must leave. The angels returned to heaven. Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem, then sought safety in Egypt.
The shepherds' exit gives a clear message to us. They left the stable and told everyone about the holy Child. "And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds" (v.18).
It's appropriate for us to do the same. Micah prophesied that from Bethlehem would go forth a Ruler of Israel, the eternal Maker of the world, who had come to save mankind from sin (Micah 5:2). This season, let's join those who have gone forth from their visits to Bethlehem to proclaim the good news of Christ, who came to save us.—David C. Egner (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
Go tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere—
Go tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born! —Traditional
The gospel is one gift you can keep and still pass on to others
TODAY IN THE WORD
Abraham Lincoln's humble beginnings have become part of American lore. But one historian says that the most difficult part of young Abraham's life came not during his early years in a Kentucky cabin, but after Thomas Lincoln moved the family to Indiana in 1816. The family arrived in Indiana during early winter, needing immediate shelter. Thomas and his son built a three-sided log shelter called a ""half-faced camp,"" the only protection on the fourth side being a fire that burned day and night. The Lincolns began building a log cabin after finishing the shelter, and the family moved in during February, 1817.
Many of the world's great rulers came from humble beginnings, but none more so than earth's rightful Ruler, Jesus Christ the Messiah. Actually, Micah's famous prophecy in verse 2 speaks both of Jesus' earthly beginnings as the Son of Man and of His eternality as the Son of God.
This great verse is like an early touch of Christmas joy, since it is so much a part of the Advent story. But the prophecy is even more glorious in its context of the coming judgment and ultimate blessing. The Ruler from Bethlehem of Judah will one day reign in power and majesty over His millennial kingdom.
Of course, the fifth chapter of Micah does not end with verse 2. That's good news, because the remainder of the chapter outlines a half dozen items on the Messiah's list to accomplish at His Second Coming and the establishment of His kingdom.
First, He will reunite the nation of Israel (v. 3). Second, He will rule His people as a caring and protecting Shepherd (vv. 4-5a). Their security and peace will never be in doubt.
What about Israel's enemies? That's the third item on Micah's list. They will be routed before the Messiah (vv. 5b-9), never to rise up again. Therefore, fourth, Israel will no longer need to rely on military might, but only on the Lord (vv. 10-11).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Yesterday we praised God for the peace we can enjoy today as His children.
We urge you to praise God for the coming peace of His kingdom. Remember, we who know Christ will rule with Him in the Millennium! Our strife-filled world makes universal peace seem like a pipe dream. On the contrary, it is a wonderful reality recorded for us in the pages of God's Word . (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)
Believing Christ died—that’s history
Believing Christ died for me—that’s salvation.
Isaiah, Micah, and many of the other prophets foretold many details of Jesus' birth, life, and death hundreds of years before they were fulfilled. The likelihood of these events occurring exactly as they were prophesied is too remote to explain away the phenomenon by calling it coincidence.
In Science Speaks, Peter Stoner applies the modern science of probability to just eight prophecies. He said,
"The chance that any man might have...fulfilled all eight prophecies is one in ten to the seventh degree. That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000."
Stoner said that if we took that many silver dollars and laid them across Texas they would cover the state two feet deep.
Since Christ's first coming was the exact fulfillment of many prophecies, we can expect the same of His second coming. —D. J. De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
PROPHECY IS HISTORY WRITTEN AHEAD OF TIME.
Micah 5:2 - G Campbell Morgan - Life Applications
And now in the prophet's message the great secret was out. This was the reason of his confidence that the Day of perfect realization would come. Here is the solution of the long problem of authority. The Kingdom will be realized under the King; the true order of life will result from the exercise of the true authority. The wonderful thing, that which sets this prophecy of Micah among the noblest of all, is this detailed and explicit prediction of the birthplace of God's King; and this description of the mystery of His Person. As to human history and human experience, He would come forth from Bethlehem. This was so definite that hundreds of years afterwards, both scholarly opinion (see the view of chief priests and scribes, Matt. 2.6), and popular belief (see the view of the multitudes, John 7.42), accepted it as true. But this One would not begin to be, in that coming forth from Bethlehem; His "goings forth are from of old, from everlasting." The men of His day knew that Jesus had come forth from Bethlehem. That His goings forth were "from of old from ever-lasting" was that which, men believing, found life. That is the key to the Gospel of John (John 20.30-31). Thus God gave the world its King. The world rejected Him. It can find no authority and no peace. But God has not done with the world. That King is reigning now; and will be manifested again to establish the Kingdom. Until He come there will be no final peace, no true prosperity. It is for those who love His appearing to hasten it by loyalty to Him in life and service.
Micah 5:2 Spurgeon - Morning and Evening
The Lord Jesus had goings forth for his people as their representative before the throne, long before they appeared upon the stage of time. It was “from everlasting” that he signed the compact with his Father, that he would pay blood for blood, suffering for suffering, agony for agony, and death for death, in the behalf of his people; it was “from everlasting” that he gave himself up without a murmuring word. That from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot he might sweat great drops of blood, that he might be spit upon, pierced, mocked, rent asunder, and crushed beneath the pains of death. His goings forth as our Surety were from everlasting. Pause, my soul, and wonder! Thou hast goings forth in the person of Jesus “from everlasting.” Not only when thou wast born into the world did Christ love thee, but his delights were with the sons of men before there were any sons of men. Often did he think of them; from everlasting to everlasting he had set his affection upon them. What! my soul, has he been so long about thy salvation, and will not he accomplish it? Has he from everlasting been going forth to save me, and will he lose me now? What! Has he carried me in his hand, as his precious jewel, and will he now let me slip from between his fingers? Did he choose me before the mountains were brought forth, or the channels of the deep were digged, and will he reject me now? Impossible! I am sure he would not have loved me so long if he had not been a changeless Lover. If he could grow weary of me, he would have been tired of me long before now. If he had not loved me with a love as deep as hell, and as strong as death, he would have turned from me long ago. Oh, joy above all joys, to know that I am his everlasting and inalienable inheritance, given to him by his Father or ever the earth was! Everlasting love shall be the pillow for my head this night.
Micah 5:2 - Mary Had The Little Lamb
Mary had the little Lamb, who lived before His birth;
Self-existent Son of God, from Heaven He came to Earth.
Micah 5:2
Mary had the little Lamb; see Him in yonder stall --
Virgin-born Son of God, to save man from the Fall.
Isaiah 7:14
Mary had the little Lamb, obedient Son of God;
Everywhere the Father led, His feet were sure to trod.
John 6:38
Mary had the little Lamb, crucified on the tree
The rejected Son of God, He died to set men free.
1 Peter 1:18
Mary had the little Lamb -- men placed Him in the grave,
Thinking they were done with Him; to death He was no slave!
Matthew 28:6
Mary had the little Lamb, ascended now is He;
All work on Earth is ended, our Advocate to be.
Hebrews 4:14-16
Mary had the little Lame -- mystery to behold!
From the Lamb of Calvary, a Lion will unfold.
Revelation 5: 5,6
When the Day Star comes again, of this be very sure:
It won't be Lamb-like silence, but with the Lion's roar.
Psalm 2:12, Revelation 19:11-16
Can meekness and majesty exist in the same person?
Amazingly, they co-existed in the God-man, Jesus.
He was humble and meek. He didn't insist on luxury or seek for material possessions. In fact, He didn't own or possess any property except for the clothes He wore. In terms of pursuing fame and glory, He walked away from more crowds than He called together. He was the leader, but He knelt to wash the feet of His disciples (John 13).
Yet, with such beautiful humility, there was also an awesome majesty about Jesus. One word or look from Jesus could quiet a crowd, calm a storm, or make a disciple weep. Thousands followed Him as He lived and taught with unequaled power and authority. Although He died bearing our sin and shame, He rose from the grave in glory. One day He will return in majesty as King of kings and Lord of lords, vanquishing His foes and judging the nations. —D. C. Egner (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
THE HIGH AND HOLY ONE BECAME THE MEEK AND LOWLY ONE.
Micah 5:4 “He shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord.”
Spurgeon - Morning and Evening
Christ’s reign in his Church is that of a shepherd-king. He has supremacy, but it is the superiority of a wise and tender shepherd over his needy and loving flock; he commands and receives obedience, but it is the willing obedience of the well-cared-for sheep, rendered joyfully to their beloved Shepherd, whose voice they know so well. He rules by the force of love and the energy of goodness.
His reign is practical in its character. It is said, “He shall stand and feed.” The great Head of the Church is actively engaged in providing for his people. He does not sit down upon the throne in empty state, or hold a sceptre without wielding it in government. No, he stands and feeds. The expression “feed,” in the original, is like an analogous one in the Greek, which means to shepherdize, to do everything expected of a shepherd: to guide, to watch, to preserve, to restore, to tend, as well as to feed.
His reign is continual in its duration. It is said, “He shall stand and feed”; not “He shall feed now and then, and leave his position”; not, “He shall one day grant a revival, and then next day leave his Church to barrenness.” His eyes never slumber, and his hands never rest; his heart never ceases to beat with love, and his shoulders are never weary of carrying his people’s burdens.
His reign is effectually powerful in its action; “He shall feed in the strength of Jehovah.” Wherever Christ is, there is God; and whatever Christ does is the act of the Most High. Oh! it is a joyful truth to consider that he who stands to-day representing the interests of his people is very God of very God, to whom every knee shall bow. Happy are we who belong to such a shepherd, whose humanity communes with us, and whose divinity protects us. Let us worship and bow down before him as the people of his pasture.
Micah 5:4-5 - Our Daily Homily - F B Meyer
AND THIS MAN SHALL BE OUR PEACE. Micah 5:4-5 (R. V.)
HE that comes from Bethlehem Ephratah, leaving a trail of light that conducts the eyes of all generations back to the little village, "the least amongst the thousands of Judah," is the Everlasting Jehovah, whose goings forth have been from of old.
What majesty is His! He shall stand amid the swirling waves of change, the shifting quicksands of time, and the drifting cloud wrack of revolution; erect, unchangeable, unmovable. And not He alone, but His flock which has gathered around Him out of the windy storm and tempest. No common majesty mantles that gentle form; it is the majesty of the Name of Jehovah, the glory that He had with the Father before the worlds were.
What tenderness is His! He feeds His flock like a shepherd, and gathers the lambs in His arm. Though He is great to the ends of the earth, He is the Prince of Peace. He makes peace; does His work calmly and tenderly; lays the foundations of peace by yielding His life to the death of the Cross without resistance or complaint.
What strength is His! Strong with the original strength of Deity, with the acquired strength of perfect obedience, with the strength that accrues from the successful prevalence over His foes. His strength is ours, because He loves us perfectly; and it is the boast of the strong to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to seek its own.
And this Man is our Peace.--He came and preached Peace to them that were far off, and Peace to them that were nigh. He has made Peace by the Blood of His Cross. He is the Prince of Peace to loyal and loving hearts. He sheds abroad in our hearts His own Peace, which the world cannot take away.
Micah 5:7 At God’s Bidding
“And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, as the showersupon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, norwaiteth for the sons of men.”—Micah 5:7
IF this be true of the literal Israel, much more is it true of the spiritual Israel, the believing people of God. When saints are what they should be, they are an incalculable blessing to those among whom they are scattered.
They are as the dew; for in a quiet, unobtrusive manner they refresh those around them. Silently but effectually they minister to the life, growth, and joy of those who dwell with them. Coming fresh from heaven, glistening like diamonds in the sun, gracious men and women attend to the feeble and insignificant till each blade of grass has its own drop of dew. Little as individuals, they are, when united, all-sufficient for the purposes of love which the Lord fulfills through them. Dewdrops accomplish the refreshing of broad acres. Lord, make us like the dew!
Godly people are as showers which come at God’s bidding without man’s leave and license. They work for God whether men desire it or not; they no more ask human permission than the rain does. Lord, make us thus boldly prompt and free in thy service, wherever our lot is cast. (Faith's Checkbook)
TODAY IN THE WORD
Despite the mind-numbing brutality of the Joseph Stalin regime in the Soviet Union, his propaganda machine did its job well. Many Russians hailed him as a hero and a savior, including a young school girl who was chosen to greet Stalin on one occasion.
Years later, this woman recalled Stalin taking her onto his lap, smiling like a loving father. She was starry-eyed, and she cherished the moment for many years. Only later did she learn that during this period, Stalin had her parents arrested and sent to the labor camps, never to be seen again.
Such deceit staggers the imagination. Regarding the Soviet regime, we could say: what else could we have expected from leaders who denied the existence of God and sought to stamp out His memory?
But it's harder to explain away the deceit and treachery on the part of God's chosen people. The prophets Hosea and Micah catalogued the nation's sins, with Micah carrying a particular burden for the cruel injustice that marked the nation in his day.
We have already learned that when God issues an indictment against an individual or a people, there is no answer and no defense. Here in 6:1-5, God issued another such indictment. These accusations are not those of an impersonal prosecutor assigned to a case by the courts.
Instead, they comprise the plea of a loving and caring Father, innocent of any wrongdoing. Talk about ungrateful children. God, of course, had done nothing to earn their disobedience. Rather, He delivered them from slavery in Egypt, gave them the great leader Moses, prevented the false prophet Balaam from cursing them, and brought them by a miracle across the Jordan River (Josh. 4:18).
In response, the people proposed to approach God with sacrifices (Micah 6:6-7). But unless accompanied by justice, mercy, and humility--which would evidence genuine repentance-- Israel's sacrifices were useless.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Integrity seems to be a topic that keeps coming up this month--and it's no wonder, given our subject matter.
One aspect of integrity we have not discussed yet is that of accountability. One way we can help to keep our lives in line with God's requirements is by developing a relationship with another person who can help keep us accountable. (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)
Micah 6:1-8 A “Banana Slug” Lesson
Sports team names have a variety of origins. They come from history (Spartans, Mountaineers), nature (Cardinals, Terrapins), and even colors (Orange, Reds). One even comes from the mollusk family.
In the 1980s, the University of California at Santa Cruz was just starting to get involved in competitive sports. UCSC had a bit of disdain for the overemphasis some big-time schools place on athletics, so the student body sought a team name that would reflect a somewhat different approach. They decided on the Banana Slug, a yellow, slimy, slow, shell-less mollusk. It was a clever way for UCSC to give a balanced perspective on the relative worth of sports.
I have always loved sports, but I know that they can easily become more important than they should be. What matters most in life is what Jesus said is most vital—loving God with all of our hearts and loving our neighbors as ourselves (Matt. 22:37-39). Micah listed God’s requirements this way: “do justly,” “love mercy,” and “walk humbly with your God” (6:8). For believers in Jesus, it is vital that nothing else takes top priority over God’s expectations for us.
What matters most to you? The Spartans? The Red Sox? Or loving God in thought, word, and action?— by Bill Crowder
Lord, what matters most to You today?
What can direct us in each thing we do?
Could it be to let nothing at all
Interfere with our deep love for You? —Branon
Beware of spending too much time on matters of too little importance.
Micah 6:3 - O My people, what have I done unto thee? And wherein have I wearied thee? Testify against Me. Micah 6.3 - G Campbell Morgan - Life Applications
The last message of Micah was ad-dressed to the chosen people, and was concerned with the controversy between them and Jehovah. It is highly dramatic. The prophet summoned Israel to hear, and the mountains also; and then the controversy proceeded. In reading this message it is of the utmost importance to distinguish between the alternating voices of Jehovah, the people, and the prophet. This the reader will do. It opens with a plaintive appeal by Jehovah, of which these are the first words. What a radiant revelation they afford of the love of Jehovah for His people; and the unutterable wrong of their infidelity: They had turned their back on Him, they had grown weary of Him. They had broken His law, neglected His word; and sought to govern themselves, and to find sustenance in debased forms of life. Jehovah appealed to them to declare what He had done to them to cause this infidelity; by what action or attitude of His their weariness of Him had been caused. Necessarily there was no answer to this, except that their deflection was the result of something in themselves, rather than something in Him. The question is a very arresting one, and a very searching one. It is ever the inquiry of God when His people prove unfaithful; and whenever they will hear it, and face it, there must result the sense of the wrong and shame of their infidelity. His ways have ever been those of love, redeeming from bond-age, and defeating the evil consultations ,of those who would harm us. Thus the heinousness of all our wanderings is revealed.
Micah 6:6-8 Spurgeon
The true proof of godliness is not expensive rites, but hearty obedience; not a loud profession, but holy living; not large subscriptions, but a yielding up of the heart. Have we this vital godliness? Has the Holy Spirit wrought in us a change of heart?)
Not streaming blood, nor cleansing fire,
Thy righteous anger can appease;
Burnt offerings thou dost not require,
Or gladly I would render these.
The broken heart in sacrifice,
Alone, will thine acceptance meet:
My heart, O God, do not despise,
Abased and contrite at thy feet.
Micah 6:6-8 A Cure for Futility
I once heard interviews with survivors from World War II. The soldiers recalled how they spent a particular day. One sat in a foxhole; once or twice, a German tank drove by and he shot at it. Others played cards and frittered away the time. A few got involved in furious firefights. Mostly, the day passed like any other. Later, they learned they had just participated in one of the largest, most decisive engagements of the war, the Battle of the Bulge. It didn’t feel decisive at the time because none had the big picture.
Great victories are won when ordinary people execute their assigned tasks.
When followers of Ignatius (1491–1556) endured periods of futility, he always prescribed the same cure: “In times of desolation we must never make a change, but stand firm and constant in the resolutions and determination in which we were the day before the desolations.” Spiritual battles must be fought with the very weapons hardest to wield at the time: prayer, meditation, self-examination, and repentance.
Perhaps you sense you’re in a spiritual rut. Stay at your assigned task! Obedience to God—and only obedience—offers the way out of our futility.— by Philip Yancey
When comforts are declining,
He grants the soul again
A season of clear shining,
To cheer it after rain. —Cowper
If you sense your faith is unraveling, go back to where you dropped the thread of obedience.
D L Moody's Notes on Micah
Micah 6:8. A trinity of precepts:—
- Do justly.
- Love mercy.
- Walk humbly with thy God.
Micah 6:8 Depending Or Pretending?
You might have heard someone say, “I wrote the book Humility And How I Achieved It.” Most people, however, would not seriously mention the word humility and their own name in the same sentence. We know that the moment we lay claim to humility it eludes us—rather like this “confession” that appeared in a poem in the magazine Village Voice:
“I felt like a fraud. So I took a full-page ad in the newspaper and confessed to the world that I was a fraud! I read the ad and I thought, A fraud is pretending to be honest.”
Humility without pretending—is it possible? Micah 6:8 provides a vital clue. Micah didn’t say, “Be humble,” or “Walk humbly.” He said, “Walk humbly with your God.” His advice pointed to the need for faithful dependence on God and looked ahead to our Lord’s words, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart” (Mt. 11:29).
Jesus demonstrated humility by walking in total dependence on His Father (Jn. 5:19,30; 8:28) and by serving others (Mt. 20:28). Only as we take up His yoke and walk humbly with the Father will we learn true humility.
Are we humbly depending on God—or just pretending to be humble? — by Joanie Yoder
Humility's a slippery prize
That seldom can be won;
We're only humble in God's eyes
When serving like His Son. —Gustafson
To learn to walk humbly, start out on your knees.
Micah 6:8 Spurgeon
If a man once really comes to live and act as in the sight of God, his life must be one of eminent holiness, and if, under a sense of God’s glory, he abides in deep humility of spirit, we may expect to see about him all that is tender and quiet. Like his Lord, he will be ‘meek and lowly in heart’. He will not domineer over his fellow-men; he will not be hard, cruel, unkind; he cannot be. He who feels that he must walk with great softness and tenderness before his God, cannot trample on others as if they were only fit to be the dust of his feet. You will not see him supremely disdainful, carrying his head among the stars as though he were some great one; no, he has learned to walk humbly with God, and he thinks of himself soberly, as he ought to think. For a man to put on humility before God and throw it off before men would be hypocrisy of the vilest kind. Alas, it is too often seen, but it is base to the utmost; flee from it as you would from forgery and counterfeit, and in very truth ‘walk humbly with thy God’. I cannot tell you all that my text means, nor if you know it yourself can you make others understand it; still they will know that it is something very admirable which makes you to be a good neighbour and a considerate friend, the comfort of the sorrowful, the helper of all. They may not understand whence the quiet spirit derives its gentle dew, but they will perceive its freshness, its sparkling purity, and its goodness, and wonder at its cause. True humility begets a suavity, a gentleness, a tenderness, a Christ-likeness, which men may mock at for a while, but which for the most part wins their hearts. The more instructed soon take knowledge of a meek-spirited man that he must have been with Jesus and have learned of him.
Micah 6:8
On a visit to America, Princess Diana went into a department store and saw a red-and-black polka-dot silk scarf. "This is very smart looking," she said to an aide, and then instructed her to buy the $8 item. Immediately after Diana's purchase, some men from the British Embassy rushed up to the counter to buy a scarf just like it—presumably for their wives. The wife of a store executive also bought one for her daughter, noting, "She'll be thrilled!" Later, when the store was reopened to the public, a swarm of women raced to the red-and-black, polka-dot scarves, as if guided by radar.
Oh, that we would be as quick to take our cues from the Lord as those people did from royalty! How spiritually enriched we would be if we studied Christ's words and actions and carefully considered His values and choices rather than looking to the world for direction. We must remain free from the deception of the ungodly, choosing instead to follow our divine Guide. —M. R. D. II
YOU ARE EITHER LEAVING YOUR MARK ON THE WORLD, OR THE WORLD IS LEAVING ITS MARK ON YOU.
Micah 6:8 - Our Daily Homily F B Meyer
DO JUSTLY, LOVE MERCY, AND WALK HUMBLY WITH THY GOD? Micah 6:8
THE perfunctory sacrifices of lambs and rams, rivers of oil, and of tender children, were eagerly practiced by the surrounding nations, such as the Moabites, but were abhorrent to God. What to Him is the outward rite without the holy purpose; the child's form of obeisance, apart from filial love! Grave questionings as to the utility of mere ritualism suggested themselves in the old-world religions. It appears that the questions of this chapter were put by Balaam; and the words before us were uttered by the Divine Spirit to his heart. But however that may be, it is matter for our adoring gratitude that God has stepped out of the infinite to show us what is good, and what He requires.
To do justly is to preserve the balance of strict equity: if an employer, treating work-people with perfect justice; if a manufacturer or salesman, making and selling what will thoroughly satisfy the just requirements of the purchaser; if an employee, giving an exact equivalent of time and diligence and conscientious labor for money received.
To love mercy is to take into consideration all those drawbacks which misfortunes, which enfeebled health, or crushing sorrow may impose on those who owe us service or money, or in some other way are dependent upon us.
To a walk humbly with God implies constant prayer and watchfulness, familiar yet humble converse, conscientious solicitude, to allow nothing to divert us from His side or to break the holy chain of conversation. We must exchange our monologue, in which we talk with ourselves, for dialogue, in which we talk as we walk with God. Ask Him to make these good things the ordinary tenor of your life.
READ: Micah 6:1-8
What does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. --Micah 6:8
An engaging family film, The Winslow Boy, tells the story of a 13-year-old who is accused of stealing and is expelled from a British military school. The father believes his son is innocent and marshals all his resources to defend him. As the case attracts public attention, many people rally behind the boy with the slogan "Let right be done."
There is something within us that longs for justice for others and for ourselves. But there is only one aspect of justice that is fully within our control, and that is our behavior toward others.
To a people who hurt the Lord deeply by their selfishness and unjust treatment of others, the prophet Micah said, "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8). What does the Lord long for from us? He wants action ("do justly"), affection ("love mercy"), and association ("walk humbly with your God").
As Christians, instead of demanding "Let right be done to me," may our rallying cry become "Let right be done by me." Great things can happen when we say, "In my family, in my community, in my workplace, in every relationship, let right be done by me!" —David C. McCasland (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
To serve the present age,
My calling to fulfill;
O may it all my powers engage,
To do my Master's will! --Wesley
Justice is accomplished one right at a time.
Micah 6:8 Our Daily Walk F B Meyer - GOD'S REQUIREMENTS
"What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God."-- Micah 6:8.
MICAH WAS a man of the people, and a true patriot. In his day, the political outlook was dark in the extreme, and the prophet felt that one thing only could save his country, and that was a deep and widespread revival of religion. To the inquiry of the people as to whether Jehovah desired the sacrifice of animals, or little children, who were immolated by the heathen people around in order to rid their consciences from sin, the answer came that God required something more spiritual and searching: "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good, etc."
Let us make this threefold message our own. To do justly, giving not a fraction less than can be rightly claimed from us. Every one of us must acknowledge the righteous claims of our home-circle, and of our neigh-bouts, and we must adjust these claims, giving each his due.
Let us love mercy. There are some who have perhaps forfeited all claim on our mercy--the prisoner, the fallen, the helpless, our enemies--we must help all these not grudgingly, but cheerfully and willingly. Do not try to love mercy till you begin to show it. Dare to step out into a life of unselfish beneficence, and as you do so, you will come to love it. St. James insists that pure religion as much consists in visiting the widow and fatherless in their affliction as in keeping oneself unspotted from the world.
Let us also walk humbly with God, not lagging behind, nor running before, but walking with Him, hand in hand. All down the ages, from Enoch onward, there have been those who walked with God in unstained robes. It is not in sacrifices, or rites, or church-going, or almsgiving, though these will follow afterwards, but in holy and humble living, that the heart of true religion is realized.
Is that all? No! What is to be done for those who have tried and failed, who are conscious of guilt and sin? In the closing verses of this book is the answer. There we learn that God will not only forgive, but will subdue our iniquities. He will turn again and have compassion upon us, and cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. He delighteth in mercy! Who is a God like unto Thee?
PRAYER - O Lord, may Thy all-powerful grace make me as perfect as Thou hast commanded me to be. AMEN.
MICAH 6:8. Walk humbly with thy God.
In A. D. 59, not many years after Paul’s conversion, he was “the least of the apostles … not meet to be called an apostle.” Five years later in A. D.64, he speaks of himself as being “less than the least of all saints,” and in A. D. 65, he calls himself “the chief” of “sinners.” Lightly laden vessels float high in the water, heavy cargoes sink the barques to the water’s edge. The more grace the soul has the humbler it will be. - D L Moody
According to a 3rd century rabbi, Moses gave 365 prohibitions and 248 positive commands. David reduced them to 11 in Psalm 15. Isaiah made them 6 (Isaiah 33:14, 15). Micah 6:8 binds them into 3 commands. Habakkuk reduces them all to one great statement: The just shall live by faith.
Micah 6:8. Walk humbly with thy God.
In A. D. 59, not many years after Paul’s conversion, he was “the least of the apostles … not meet to be called an apostle.” Five years later in A. D.64, he speaks of himself as being “less than the least of all saints,” and in A. D. 65, he calls himself “the chief” of “sinners.” Lightly laden vessels float high in the water, heavy cargoes sink the barques to the water’s edge. The more grace the soul has the humbler it will be.
Micah 6:1-5 - A COURTROOM SCENE (Micah 6:1–5) and God is judging his people. He asks them to present any evidence that he has ever failed them, but there is none. Then the people ask what they can give the Lord to receive his forgiveness, but no sacrifice will suffice (Micah 6:6–7). Our text reveals what will please God and what he is seeking in our lives.
We must be right with others. It pleases God when we act justly and love mercy. On first sight, these two seem like oil and water, unable to blend, but thanks to the cross that isn’t true. On the cross, Jesus took the punishment we justly deserved for our sins, and now God is able to show mercy to us and not violate his own law. Christ died for us and satisfied the justice demanded by God’s law, and he rose from the dead so that he could forgive us by his grace. God is both just and the justifier of those who believe in Jesus. Paul discusses this truth in Romans 3:21–31. Because the Lord has forgiven us, we can forgive others. God in his mercy does not give us what we deserve, but in his grace he gives us what we don’t deserve; this opens the way for us to forgive others. It isn’t possible for us to have true fellowship with the Lord if we are not in fellowship with others (Matt. 5:21–26).
We must want to make progress spiritually. To walk with the Lord means to grow in grace, to overcome weaknesses and sins, and to depend on his leading and his power. Unless we really want to pay the price of spiritual progress, this text cannot help us. Jesus asked the sick man at the Pool of Bethesda, “Do you want to be made well?” but his reply was only an excuse (John 5:1–7). In spite of this, Jesus healed him and said, “Rise, take up your bed and walk” (v. 8). New life means a new walk, and a new walk enables us to experience new challenges and grow in the Lord. Are you ready to follow Jesus?
We must agree to meet. If you don’t know Jesus personally as Savior and Lord, then the only place you can meet him is at Calvary, where he died for you. If you do know Jesus, then you will meet him each day at the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16). The prophet Amos asked, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” (Amos 3:3). The NASB version of this verse reads, “Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment?” The Father wants us to make a daily appointment with him when he can speak to us from the Scriptures and we can speak to him in prayer. What a privilege it is to fellowship with the God of the universe!
We must walk in humility. If we walked down the street with a friendly neighbor, nobody would pay much attention to us; but if we walked with the mayor or the governor, that might get some attention. God is the greatest person in the universe and we get to walk with him! He is invisible, of course, but people can see us, and they should be able to see that our behavior is different. But how can we walk “humbly” when our companion is the Lord? By realizing how great he is and how small we are! Why would God deign to walk with me and help me? Who am I that he wants my companionship? Whether it is in the furnace (Dan. 3:25), through the deep waters (Isa. 43:2), or in the dark valley (Ps. 23:4), the Lord will walk with us. Enjoying his presence helps to give us a humble heart, and God gives grace to the humble (1 Pet. 5:5–6). Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble. Proverbs 3:34 (From recommended resource - Old Testament Words for Today: 100 Devotional Reflections)
TODAY IN THE WORD
Another victim of Joseph Stalin's communist regime in the Soviet Union (see yesterday's study) was author Alexander Solzhenitsyn. In his unforgettable book, The Gulag Archipelago, Solzhenitsyn described the fear of life in a nation where no one could trust a neighbor or even a family member, much as the prophet Micah says of Israel in today's reading. Solzhenitsyn was caught in the web of Stalin's secret police and sent into the Soviet leader's dreaded Siberian prison camp system known as the gulag.
As Solzhenitsyn details his ordeal and that of other innocent Soviet citizens, the picture quickly emerges of a system utterly devoid of either justice or mercy. Ultimately, the Soviet Union collapsed from the collective effects of its moral and spiritual bankruptcy, and we were witnesses to its fall.
Micah was not around to witness the southern kingdom's fall to the Babylonians, which occurred more than a century after Micah's life. But he witnessed to the event in advance through his prophecy; and he also addressed the much more imminent collapse of the northern kingdom, Israel.
Micah expressed his despair at his people's sinfulness by saying Israel was devoid of any good fruit (v. 1). This is similar to someone's saying today, ""There's not a good apple in the bunch."" Israel and Judah were inhabited by the ungodly--the kind of people who would lie in wait to ambush a brother.
Such evil had led to sin in which everyone, from the greatest to the least, was involved. The nation's sin also manifested itself in unnatural ways as friends and neighbors, husbands and wives, and parents and children devised treachery against one another.
Was there any hope in the midst of this mess? Yes, there was--and Micah expressed it in the conclusion of his third message (chaps. 6-7) and his prophecy. Today's verse is the demarcation point between despair and hope, between judgment and salvation.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Isn't it great to know that no person or situation is hopeless as long as God is in the picture? That means it's too early to give up on that difficult person or that immovable circumstance. (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)
Micah 7:1-13
Hopeful Realists
A humorist wrote, “When I was feeling down, someone told me, ‘Cheer up, things could get worse.’ So I cheered up—and they did!”
A superficial “cheer up” seldom helps people in distress. They long for reassuring news that life will soon change for the better. During my years as a pastor, though, I often had to tell very ill people that unless the Lord intervened they would soon die.
In Micah’s day, many people in Israel no doubt wanted to hear some good news. The ruthlessness and dishonesty of fellow-citizens, rulers, and even judges were frightening (Mic. 7:2-3). The nation was so fractured that people could not even trust their closest friends or relatives (vv.5-6). The decent citizens hoped the prophet would tell them that a revival would soon bring about a great change in their land. But he had to tell them that God’s judgment was at hand. The Assyrians would soon invade.
The outlook was gloomy but not hopeless. Micah saw beyond the judgment to a time when the nation would worship God and be blessed. Some may have called him a pessimist, but he was actually a realist. We too can be hopeful realists. With the eye of faith we can pierce the present darkness and see the eternal glory that awaits us.— by Herbert Vander Lugt
When you're afraid of what's ahead,
Remember, God is near;
He'll give you strength and joy and hope
And calm your inner fear. —Sper
Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, but faith looks up.
Micah 7:4 (et al) - The wicked are like,—
- Heath in the desert. Jer. 17:6.
- A brier. Micah 7:4.
- A green bay tree. Ps. 37:35.
- Grass, green herb. Ps. 37:2.
- The chaff. Ps. 1:4.
- The stubble. Ps. 83:13.
Micah 7:7. I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.
There is no sense in always telegraphing to heaven for God to send a cargo of blessing, unless we are at the wharf to unload the vessel when it comes. F. B. MEYER.
Micah 7:8. When I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.
When God gives faith He gives the opportunity of proving it. “Thou shalt sit in darkness,” He says to His trusting servant. But first He leads him along some flowery walk and accustoms him to a high measure of spiritual prosperity. Then suddenly an unexpected tempest gathers about him, and he finds himself in deepest, strangest night. Darkness is come; but it is different in some of its elements from what the believer had contemplated in the day of his declared faith. Yes, designedly different. It was needful that his darkness should be something never anticipated in order that his faith might have its full proof. The darkness seems to say: “God is not in me; I am sent in wrath. Thy faith is presumption.… Despair is the only thing that harmonizes with me.” The shadow thus speaks and frowns. But faith comes nobly out of this conflict.… It seizes the Word of God with a compulsory grasp, and immediately the believer is compassed about with light. BOWEN.
Micah 7:7
The slave-making ants of the Amazon are intriguing insects that can teach us a lesson. Hundreds of these ants periodically swarm out of their nest to capture neighboring colonies of weaker ants. After destroying resisting defenders, they carry off cocoons containing the larvae of worker ants. When these "captured children" hatch, they assume that they are part of the family and launch into the tasks they were born to do. They never realize that they are forced-labor victims of the enemy.
Just as these little creatures are bound from the time of their birth, so we enter the world enslaved to sin and Satan. But there is a solution. By receiving Christ we are released from the condemnation of sin. Then by the Holy Spirit's power we can begin serving Christ where we are.
We are all servants of one master or the other. Our decision is not whether we will serve, but whom we will serve. —M. R. D. II
TRUE FREEDOM IS FOUND IN BONDAGE TO CHRIST.
Micah 7:7. I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.
There is no sense in always telegraphing to heaven for God to send a cargo of blessing, unless we are at the wharf to unload the vessel when it comes. F. B. MEYER.
Micah 7:7
God Always Hears
“My God will hear me.”—Micah 7:7
Spurgeon - Faith's Checkbook
FRIENDS may be unfaithful, but the Lord will not turn away from the gracious soul; on the contrary, He will hear all its desires. The prophet says, “Keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. A man’s enemies are the men of his own house.” This is a wretched state of affairs; but even in such a case the Best Friend remains true, and we may tell him all our grief.
Our wisdom is to look unto the Lord, and not to quarrel with men or women. If our loving appeals are disregarded by our relatives, let us wait upon the God of our salvation, for He will hear us. He will hear us all the more because of the unkindness and oppression of others, and we shall soon have reason to cry, “Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy! ”
Because God is the living God, He can hear; because He is a loving God, He will hear; because He is our covenant God, He has bound Himself to hear us. If we can each one speak of Him as “My God,” we may with absolute certainty say, “My God will hear me.” Come, then, O bleeding heart, and let thy sorrows tell themselves out to the Lord thy God! I will bow the knee in secret and inwardly whisper, “My God will hear me.”
Micah 7:8 - If you are willing to choose the seeming darkness of faith instead of the illumination of reason, wonderful light will break out upon you from the Word of God. A. J. Gordon
Micah 7:8 Victory in Distress
“Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when l sit in darkness the Lord shall be a light unto me.”—Micah 7:8
Spurgeon - Faith's Checkbook
THIS may express the feeling of a man or woman downtrodden and oppressed. Our enemy may put out our light for a season. There is sure hope for us in the Lord; and if we are trusting in Him and holding fast our integrity, our season of downcasting and darkness will soon be over. The insults of the foe are only for a moment. The Lord will soon turn their laughter into lamentation, and our sighing into singing.
What if the great enemy of souls should for a while triumph over us, as he has triumphed over better men than we are, yet let us take heart, for we shall overcome him before long. We shall rise from our fall, for our God has not fallen, and He will lift us up. We shall not abide in darkness, although for the moment we sit in it; for our Lord is the fountain of light, and He will soon bring us a joyful day. Let us not despair, or even doubt. One turn of the wheel and the lowest will be at the top. Woe unto those who laugh now, for they shall mourn and weep when their boasting is turned into everlasting contempt. But blessed are all holy mourners, for they shall be divinely comforted.
Micah 7:8.
When I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.
When God gives faith He gives the opportunity of proving it. “Thou shalt sit in darkness,” He says to His trusting servant. But first He leads him along some flowery walk and accustoms him to a high measure of spiritual prosperity. Then suddenly an unexpected tempest gathers about him, and he finds himself in deepest, strangest night. Darkness is come; but it is different in some of its elements from what the believer had contemplated in the day of his declared faith. Yes, designedly different. It was needful that his darkness should be something never anticipated in order that his faith might have its full proof. The darkness seems to say: “God is not in me; I am sent in wrath. Thy faith is presumption.… Despair is the only thing that harmonizes with me.” The shadow thus speaks and frowns. But faith comes nobly out of this conflict.… It seizes the Word of God with a compulsory grasp, and immediately the believer is compassed about with light. BOWEN.
Our Daily Homily
F B Meyer
REJOICE NOT AGAINST ME, O MINE ENEMY: WHEN I FALL, I SHALL ARISE. - Micah 7:8
THOU art glad, O child of the darkness, that the child of God has fallen into the pit: thou laughest derisively and in scorn. But wait to see the end of the Lord, for He is very pitiful. Thy rock is not as our Rock, and of this thou shalt be the judge. Our God will chastise with many stripes those of His children who persist in wrongdoing. He will withdraw the light of His face. He will permit the backslider to bear His indignation. But He does not keep His anger forever, or allow the enemy and avenger to wreak all His vengeance. He may use the stripes of the children of men to a certain point; but immediately they exceed it, and take unhallowed license, He steps in and delivers His beloved, enabling the returning and restored soul to use these words.
Wait, O soul; thy God will presently arise to plead thy cause, and execute judgment for thee; do not put forth thine hand to save thyself; wait on Him, He will deliver thee; He will bring thee forth to the light, and thou shalt behold His righteousness in the ordering of thy life. Only acknowledge thy sin; cast thyself on His mercy; and accept what He may appoint by way of chastening.
What an exquisite word is here for those who sit in darkness from any cause: from the waning of human love; the darkening of increasing physical weakness; the withdrawal of beloved faces, one by one, from the family circle. Look unto the Lord; wait for the God of your salvation; when you sit in darkness, He will be a light.
"In darkest shades, if He appear,
My dawning is begun;
He is my soul's sweet morning star,
And He my rising sun."
Micah 7:9 - I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him Micah 7.9
G Campbell Morgan - Life Applications
These words occur in a section of the controversy in which the nation personified is speaking (Mic 7.1-10). It is the language of the nation realizing the truth concerning itself both as to its experience of suffering, and its purpose in the Divine Economy. It is a speech in which confession of sin and of the justice of punishment merge into hope and confidence in the redemptive victory of God. This is the language of !ermine penitence. The indignation of Jehovah is recognized as just, and-therefore the soul submits to it. Not only is it recognized as just; it is also confessed as beneficent. Through it the sufferer sees the light breaking, and the righteousness of God becoming manifest. Herein is discovered the difference between remorse and penitence. In remorse a man is sorry for himself; he mourns over his sin because it has brought suffering to him. In penitence he is grieved by the wrong sin has done to God; he yields to his personal suffering in the confidence that by it God is setting him free from his sin. This is a vital distinction. The world-penitence, through which it will be restored to God, and enter into His peace, will be of that nature: "Behold, He cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they that pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over Him." That is not remorse, the sorrow over personal pain; it is penitence, the sorrow for the wrong which sin has done to Him. When humanity is brought there, it will find release, for "the chastisement of our peace was upon Him."
Micah 7:14-20 Who is Like Him?
I know a young woman who refuses to believe that she can be forgiven of her sins because, as she says, “God wouldn’t want someone like me.” She recognizes the stain of her immoral conduct, but she doesn’t realize the wonder of God’s grace!
Actually, no one can fully comprehend God’s grace, but like the prophet Micah we can marvel at it and rejoice. Although he sorrowfully recounted the sins of his people, Micah went on to acknowledge the Lord’s goodness (7:1-20). And he expressed confidence in God’s promise to forgive and bless His people (vv.18-20).
God’s people today have even more reason to praise Him. Micah didn’t realize that God’s Son would one day become a human being, live a sinless life, and pay the price for our sins on the cross. He didn’t know that Jesus would break the power of death and live in heaven as our Advocate until we join Him there. And Micah couldn’t read Paul’s yet unwritten exclamation, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:31-32).
In the words of Micah, we can say with confidence and adoration, “Who is a God like You?” — by Herbert Vander Lugt
He left His Father's throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace!
Emptied Himself of all but love
And bled for Adam's helpless race. —Wesley
The God of all grace makes saints out of the worst of sinners.
TODAY IN THE WORD
During the 1884 presidential campaign, the Republicans charged Democratic nominee Grover Cleveland with evading military service in the Civil War. They claimed that he had hired a former convict to serve in his place. The accusation was eventually proven false--and since Cleveland's opponent, James Blaine, was not a Civil War veteran either, the issue was soon dropped.
Serious charges against leaders in high places, whether just or unjust, have become a normal part of the American landscape. The nation of Israel was the bearer of some very serious charges, too. But these accusations were just, because they originated in the court of heaven. Throughout this month, we read God's legal brief against His people.
However, Micah's prophecy ends on a high note. The day will come when God will not make any charge of sin against His people. Their sins will be pardoned, trampled under foot, and thrown into the sea (v. 19). Neither will God tolerate any charge against Israel from other parties.
This glorious era is, of course, the millennial kingdom age when God's Messiah-King, Jesus Christ, will rule in total righteousness. In response to the prophet's plea, ""Shepherd your people with your staff"" (v. 14), the Messiah promises to show wonders just as God did when He brought Israel out of Egypt.
The Egyptians could only look on in wonder and horror as God displayed His power. In the same way, the nations will be reduced to trembling before God's mighty power and will come shaking to the Lord.
Verse 18 is a wonderful question with which to end the book of Micah and our study. The obvious answer is that no god is like our God. He alone can pardon sin and show compassion to His people. Praise God--He does not stay angry with His people but delights in showing mercy.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
We've been finding some great encouragement this week from the pages of Micah's prophecy.
Today's text suggests another encouragement. No charge laid against us and no sin on our part will stand in the way of God's presence (Rom. 8:33-34). As it will be for Israel in the Millennium, so it is for us today in Christ. Obviously, this does not mean that we can be careless about sin. In Romans 8, Paul is not talking about our day-to-day condition, but about the security of our standing in Christ. . (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)
TODAY IN THE WORD
You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. - Micah 7:18b
While pleading for a man’s life in William Shakespeare’s drama, The Merchant of Venice, one of the characters says:
“The quality of mercy is not strain’d.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes.
Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown. . . .
It is an attribute of God Himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God’s
When mercy seasons justice.”
These classic lines make a good introduction to our month’s study of forgiveness and more specifically, to our discussion today of God’s pleasure in extending forgiveness. Our God is a God who delights to show mercy and to forgive sin. According to today’s reading, part of His greatness lies in the very fact that He forgives!
That’s where we’ll begin this month–with God and how forgiving love is part of His character. Then we’ll take a brief look at the biblical foundations of forgiveness, such as Old Testament sacrifices and the Cross. Thirdly, we’ll examine how to seek forgiveness, including the spiritual discipline of confession. Finally, we’ll discuss when and how to offer forgiveness to others. Though our topic is quite practical, we want to stress that this is a biblical study, not a psychological one.
In our reading today, the prophet Micah asked, “Who is a God like you?” (v. 18). None–He’s incomparable! The proof is that He pardons and forgives. His anger is replaced by compassion. He rejoices to show mercy. He doesn’t forgive grudgingly or even matter-of-factly. Rather, it’s something He loves to do, something that gives Him great pleasure.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Spend some time today meditating on the perfection and mystery of God’s forgiveness. When He forgives, sin is gone–as far as the east is from the west. The Lord puts it behind His back and tramples it underfoot. He hurls it into the depths of the sea. You can search the whole world, but you won’t find it. It’s not lurking somewhere, waiting to pounce. It’s gone. When God forgives, it’s 100 percent! Not only is His forgiveness perfect in erasing any trace of our sin, it’s a joyous act of mercy by God who delights to forgive His people. (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)
Micah 7:8, 9
Where Is Your God? "Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy; when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against Him, until He plead my cause, and execute judgment for me."—Micah 7:8, 9
A nonconformist minister, Mr. Norman, had been condemned to lie in Ilchester gaol for preaching. On his way thither the officers stopped to rest at the sheriff's house. Lady Warre, the sheriff's wife, came to look at the prisoner, and to insult him with cruel words, saying, "Where is your God now, Mr. Norman?" "Madam," he replied, "have you a Bible in the house?" "Yes; we are not so heathenish as to be without a Bible." On getting it into his hands, he turned to Micah and read the words, "Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against Him, until He plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold His righteousness. Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets." The lady retired silenced, and the dealings of God with her family soon made this warning to be noted and remembered.
Micah 7:18. He delighteth in mercy.
GOD'S DELIGHT Vance Havner
The notion that God is a harsh judge, breathing vengeance and judgment on broken and wayward men, is utterly foreign to His nature. True, He hates sin and His wrath blazes on stubborn, willful wickedness. But when we are frustrated and in a dilemma, He does not turn from us fed up and furious. He delighteth in mercy and "as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him" (Psalms 103:11). This does not encourage careless living as though God were an indulgent, grandfatherly being winking at our wickedness but neither does it drive the erring child to despair.
Although space exploration has received much publicity, there is another world, equally intriguing, the exploration of which has not received so much attention. Although much closer to us, the world of the sea still contains many mysteries. One remarkable conquest took place early Saturday morning, January 23, 1960. History was made that day as a two-man crew descended to the deepest known point on the Earth’s surface. The Challenger Deep, 35,800 feet below the surface, had been conquered. Were the highest mountain to be dropped into this trench it would still be covered by over one mile of water. T P F (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
Micah 7:19. Thou will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
A Welsh minister speaking of the burial of Moses, said: “In that burial not only was the body buried, but the grave and the graveyard. This is an illustration of the way in which God’s mercy buries sins.”
Micah 7:19 From Anger to Love - Spurgeon - Faith's Checkbook
“He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities, and thou wilt castall their sins into the depths of the sea.”—Micah 7:19
GOD never turns from His love, but He soon turns from His wrath. His love to His chosen is according to His nature; His anger is only according to His office: He loves because He is love; He frowns because it is necessary for our good. He will come back to the place in which His heart rests, namely, His love to His own, and then He will take pity upon our griefs and end them.
What a choice promise is this, “He will subdue our iniquities!” He will conquer them. They cry to enslave us, but the Lord will give us victory over them by His own right hand. Like the Canaanites, they shall be beaten, put under the yoke, and ultimately slain.
As for the guilt of our sins, how gloriously is that removed! “All their sins”—yes, the whole host of them; “thou wilt cast”—only an almighty arm could perform such a wonder; “into the depths of the sea,” where Pharaoh and his chariots went down. Not into the shallows out of which they might be washed up by the tide, but into the “depths” shall our sins be hurled. They are all gone. They sank into the bottom like a stone. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Micah 7:19
‘He will subdue our iniquities.’ Micah 7:19
Spurgeon
If there is any sin that gets the mastery over you, you will be lost: you are bound to conquer every sin, mind that. You may call it a besetting sin or not, but it must be either overcome by you, or it will be your ruin. A man may plead that a certain fault is his besetting sin, but I am not so sure of it. A sin that you wilfully indulge, is that a besetting sin? Certainly not. If I had to cross Clapham Common tonight and three stout fellows beset me to take away whatever I had got, I would do my little best in self-defence. That is what I call besetting a man. A besetting sin is a sin that sometimes surprises a man; and then he ought to show fight and drive the besetting sin away. If I were to walk over the common every night, arm-in-arm with a fellow who picked my pocket, I should not say that the man ‘beset’ me. No, he and I are friends, evidently, and the robbery is only a little dodge of our own. If you go wilfully into sin, or tolerate it, and say you cannot help it, well, you have to help it or you will be lost. One thing is certain: either you must conquer sin or sin will conquer you, and to be conquered by sin is everlasting death. Well, what is to be done? Fall back upon this gracious promise: ‘he will subdue our iniquities’. They have to be subdued: Jesus will do the deed, and in his name we will overcome. If we are slothful, we will, in God’s strength, do ten times as much as we should have done had we been naturally of an active turn. If we are angry, we will school ourselves till we become meek. Some of the most angry men that I have ever known have come to be the meekest of men. Remember Moses, how he slew the Egyptian in his heat, and yet the man Moses became very meek by the grace of God. You must overcome your sin.
Micah 7:19. Thou will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
A Welsh minister speaking of the burial of Moses, said: “In that burial not only was the body buried, but the grave and the graveyard. This is an illustration of the way in which God’s mercy buries sins.” - D L Moody
Micah 7:19 A Past Long Gone
According to the English novelist Aldous Huxley, “There are no back moves on the chessboard of life.” Yet we remain aware of things we have done and things we have left undone. Our sins worry us. They motivate us to wish fervently that somehow we could undo the past.
That’s why those who put their faith in Jesus can be thankful for God’s message in both the Old and New Testaments. When Paul preached in Antioch, he said, “By [Jesus], everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:39). The law condemned us (Romans 7:10-11), but Jesus offers deliverance and new life (8:1).
Are you worried about what you’ve done in the past? Rejoice! God has “cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19). Are you still concerned about your sins? Rejoice! “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17). And “I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions” (Isaiah 44:22).
If you have put your faith in Jesus and asked Him to forgive you, the past is truly forgotten. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). Trust and rejoice!— by Vernon C. Grounds
My sin—O, the bliss of this glorious thought—
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul. —Spafford
God's forgiveness frees us from the chains of regret.
Micah 7:19 (et al) - What God does with the sins of His people.
- Remembers them no more. Jer. 31:34.
- Covers them. Ps. 32:1.
- Removes them as far as the east is from the west, Ps. 103:12.
- Casts them behind his back. Isa 38:17.
- Blots them out. Isa. 44:22.
- Casts them into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19.
- Pardons them. Jer. 33:8.
- Seeks for and cannot find them. Jer. 50:20.
Micah 7:19
In 1799, a British patrol ship ordered an American vessel into Port Royal for inspection. The British suspected that the American ship had contraband aboard. But before reaching the harbor, the captain ordered that the smuggled goods and the cargo list be tossed into the sea.
At the trial it appeared that no one would be convicted because a falsified list was presented with no evidence of contraband. The proceedings took a dramatic turn, however, when Lieutenant Michael Fitton of the British ship Ferret produced the genuine papers listing the illegal goods. Earlier, his crew had harpooned a shark and discovered them in its stomach!
This amazing story immediately brought to mind today's text. Speaking to the Lord about Israel's transgressions, the prophet Micah said, "You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." When God forgives, our sins are gone forever. Unlike that ship's papers, they will never be retrieved and brought against us. They are forgiven—forever! —R. W. De Haan.
OLD SINS CAST LONG SHADOWS BUT FORGIVENESS DRIVES THEM AWAY.
Micah 7:19
This glorious promise is addressed not only to Israel, but to all who seek forgiveness through the atoning work and Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. D. L. Moody used to say, "There are two ways of covering sin: man's way, and the Lord's way. If you seek to hide them, they will have a resurrection sometime; but let God cover them, and neither the devil nor man will be able to find them again." Someone has said, "Thank the Lord that He promises to cast them into the sea, and not a river; for a river might sometime dry up, but the depths of the sea cannot." A woman who was much troubled about her sin met her minister as she was walking along the seashore. After they had conversed for a few moments, and he saw how troubled she was, he suggested that they sit down on the beach so that they could talk about her soul. As they conversed, she began to build a little fortress of the wet sand. With tears trickling down her face she finally said to him, "Do you see the innumerable grains that make up this castle? They are like my sins — too many to be counted. Oh, how wretched I am! How can one such as I ever be saved?" Knowing that the tide would soon be coming in, the preacher suggested, "Leave your building of sand there for a few more minutes, and let's move back a little." As the waves crept up the beach, the undertow quickly lapped up her frail tower of sand and washed it down into its foaming depths. "Look!" said the minister, "your castle is gone, never to be seen again." "Oh, I see now what you mean: the blood of Christ will likewise wash all my sins away, casting them forever out of His sight in the depths of the sea." From that hour she trusted the Savior fully. Have you come to Jesus for the cleansing tide? Then do not torture yourself any longer by remembering sins which God has forgiven and forgotten!
In the deep, silent depths, far away from the shore,
Where they never may rise to trouble thee more,
I have buried them there where no mortal may see:
I have cast all thy sins in the depths of the sea. —Anon.
Micah 7:19
George Woodall was a missionary to London's inner city. One day a young woman he had led to the Lord came to him and said, "I keep getting worried. Has God really forgiven my past?"
Mr. Woodall replied, "If this is troubling you, I think I know what He would say to you. He would tell you to mind your own business." "What do you mean?" she inquired with a puzzled look. He told her that Jesus had made her sins His business. When He took them away, He put them behind His back, dropped them into the depths of the sea, and posted a notice that reads, "No fishing!"
Although the Bible doesn't put it in those terms, the principle is certainly accurate. When our sins are covered by the blood of Christ, they are blotted out completely and forever (Isa. 43:25).—H. G. B.
WHEN GOD FORGIVES, HE FORGETS.
Micah 7:19 Trampled Under Foot
Jonathan Goforth (1859-1936) and Rosalind Goforth (1864-1942) were missionaries to China. It is said of Jonathan that "when he found his own soul needed Jesus Christ, it became a passion with him to take Jesus Christ to every soul." For many years Rosalind often felt oppressed by a burden of sin, feeling guilty and dirty as she nursed an inward sense of spiritual failure. One evening she began to scour her Bible to find out God’s attitude toward the failures, faults and sins of His children. Wherever she found a verse that spoke to this topic, she would write across the top of the page "What God Does With Our Sins". Here is what this dear saint of God found regarding her (and our) sins if we are believers (and if not let this list encourage your to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and your sins will be washed away and you will be as white as snow)...
1. He lays them on his Son—Jesus Christ. Isaiah 53:6
2. Christ takes them away. John 1:29
3. They are removed an immeasurable distance—as far as East is from West. Psalm 123:12
4. When sought for, they are not found. Jeremiah 50:20
5. The Lord forgives them. Ephesians 1:7
6. He cleanses them ALL away by the blood of his son. 1 John 1:7
7. He cleanses them as white as snow or wool. Isaiah 1:18; Psalm 51:7
8. He abundantly pardons them. Isaiah 55:7
9. He tramples them under foot. Micah 7:19
10. He remembers them no more. Hebrews 10:17
11. He casts them behind his back. Isaiah 38:17
12. He casts them into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19
13. He will not impute us with sins. Romans 4:8
14. He covers them. Romans 4:7
15. He blots them out. Isaiah 43:25
16. He blots them out as a thick cloud. Isaiah 44:22
17. He blots out even the proof against us, nailing it to His Son’s Cross. Colossians 2:14