Micah 2
Notes
Transcript
Gloom but Glory
Gloom but Glory
Last week was all gloom but we still had a little hope for us in the call to compassion we saw through Micah as he still mourned for the judgment of his people, though it was just. But for the rest of Gloom in this section we’re going to see why all the judgment from Chapter one was happening. This is something that follows along today. You reap what you so. Gal 6.7-8
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
So can we guess where the blame lies based on our experience with the other minor prophets? - The leadership
Woe to those who devise wickedness
and work evil on their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
because it is in the power of their hand.
This is the P3 actions of evil Plan, Plot, Perform. First they plan or devise wickedness. Then they plot or work evil on their beds, which sounds like it’s trying to communicate something with fornication but it doesn’t intend that. This is like Psalm 36.4 “He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil.” It’s just telling us they’re taking a plan to the plotting stage at night time. By the morning we see they’re out to perform their evil deed. Why? because they can, they have the power to get this thing done.
They covet fields and seize them,
and houses, and take them away;
they oppress a man and his house,
a man and his inheritance.
Now we see what has sprouted the P3 actions of verse one. The root here is covet, desiring someone else’s things. This is the last of the commandments in Exod 20:17 ““You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”” Interestingly something I read pointed out how all of these come back to idolatry. Which is a topic we’re normally dealing with in the minor prophets, though not always. We see this actually stated outright in Col 3:5 “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” When your heart is set on earthly things it is idolatry of self. You have put yourself above God. That leads to response from God.
Therefore thus says the Lord:
behold, against this family I am devising disaster,
from which you cannot remove your necks,
and you shall not walk haughtily,
for it will be a time of disaster.
Notice the use of the word devising compared to verse one where they devise wickedness. This set’s up their planning against God’s planning.
In that day they shall take up a taunt song against you
and moan bitterly,
and say, “We are utterly ruined;
he changes the portion of my people;
how he removes it from me!
To an apostate he allots our fields.”
Micah even makes a bit of a song at in here in the verse the part that is “against you and moan bitterly” or “and they will wail with a bitter wailing” in the Hebrew is we.na.ha ne.hee ni.he.yah sounds catchy… very nana nana booboo esk. But we see that they are removed from their wealth and an apostate? or someone unworthy. This word might have been used for the wordplay as it ties into the word for field. Micah really likes wordplay and this Micah wishes he was much better at it than he is. I did find a new book called Wordplay in the Bible which is really cool when you run across a weird word like apostate where you would expect foreigner or something else. The word is often used of just the unfaithful as well. The book did clue me in on how “we are ruined utterly” is the same word used twice in a differently way to convey that meaning… almost “we are ruinedly ruined” if ruinedly was a real word in English. It also confirmed the wordplay of the sing songy we.na.ha ne.hee ni.he.yah
Back to the story they lose everything and the unfaithful get it.
Therefore you will have none to cast the line by lot
in the assembly of the Lord.
In other words you and all your kin will be gone and no one will be left to divide up the land for redemption. You’re out from under the promises of God. You do not have a redemption story. The land and wealth became your god in it’s fullness and now you will see how empty it can be.
Now it seems we switch gears a little and move from those rich exploiting evil doers to the false prophets who have a message of prosperity in a time there should be repentance.
“Do not preach”—thus they preach—
“one should not preach of such things;
disgrace will not overtake us.”
Micah 2:7a (ESV)
Should this be said, O house of Jacob?
Has the Lord grown impatient?
Are these his deeds?
This is what the false prophets are telling people, though they are telling Micah not to preach. They claim disgrace will not overtake Israel, They say does God get impatient? Is this what God does? - i.e. does God not bless us because we’ve blessed ourselves in these riches? Isn’t God’s patience unlimited towards sin? Would God take riches away from us??? Yes He will and he did.
Continuing in verse 7
Micah 2:7 (ESV)
Do not my words do good
to him who walks uprightly?
For those who live righteously, when the Word of God comes is it a blessing or a curse? So if you hear the word of God as a curse are you someone who is living righteously?
But lately my people have risen up as an enemy;
you strip the rich robe from those who pass by trustingly
with no thought of war.
They’re attacking the innocent people and stealing their outer garments as a result the people have no clue about the outside threat because these rich exploiters are the biggest threat to the people and they’re from the inside!
The women of my people you drive out
from their delightful houses;
from their young children you take away
my splendor forever.
It’s a guess here that we’re speaking of women driven out and separated from their children because they are widows otherwise where were the husbands in all this and why wouldn’t it be considered their house and their children, because that’s how it would be described at that time otherwise. So the widows are being exploited out of their only inheritance, a house, and out of their only means of continued survival and care by removing their children from them who would have taken care of them as they got older. This also steals the future inheritance of the children. I like the way J.M. Boice phrased it. They “robbed men of their clothes, women of their homes, and children of their inheritance.”
Arise and go,
for this is no place to rest,
because of uncleanness that destroys
with a grievous destruction.
In verse 8 they had “risen up” as essentially an internal enemy now the Lord says Arise and go. They need to flee because the rising up they did before defiled and destroyed the place they live now. They will now have to be exiles.
If a man should go about and utter wind and lies,
saying, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,”
he would be the preacher for this people!
I don’t know how words from a page speak to you as you read them… When I read this I almost hear the muttering indignation of Micah bringing this gloom of chapter 2 full circle. We started with false prophets and we end with false prophets. Almost just saying outright a false prophet is what these people deserve! It was certainly the only kind of prophet they were listening too. It is absolutely no different today. You could probably flip on cable tv and watch one right now. How do we recognize a false prophet?
“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
So even if someone shows up doing miracles, or prophesies and that prophecy comes to pass, if they take you away from the Lord and conradict the Character of God they aren’t from God. period dot com the end.
In ancient israel if you went to a fortune teller the penalty was death. If you had a different opinion about the age of the earth, whether we were on a globe or a flat plane, no punishment let’s have a discussion. But the moment you went after your horoscope you should be put to death. I’m not saying that’s how we handle it in church now but we should understand God’s priority on what’s more serious for the spiritual health of our brothers and sisters okay.
Now… the good news to end these two weeks of Gloom!
I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob;
I will gather the remnant of Israel;
I will set them together
like sheep in a fold,
like a flock in its pasture,
a noisy multitude of men.
Now we are told explicitly there is a remnant that God the great Shepherd will gather together. God will gather the few that remain but they will grow again to be a multitude. There are likely multiple fulfillments of this promise certainly at least in the return from the Babylonian exile and the future salvation in the end times.
He who opens the breach goes up before them;
they break through and pass the gate,
going out by it.
Their king passes on before them,
the Lord at their head.
This large multitude is lead out of bondage by passing through the Gate, it is their King who goes ahead of them, at their head. This makes me think simultaneously of the Exodus where The Lord breaks through the hardened heart to free His people and then leads out in front of them as a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. But also as the Christ who comes and walks the walk we have to walk passing through all our temptations but breaking them leading us forward to the victory he achieved. I think there is also an eschatological perspective about Christ’s return in victory breaking through the oppression of his people and his destruction of the enemy that stands before us as we follow him.
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
Give us discernment over false prophets and let us never relent in our desire for your return, O Lord!
