"MICAH: SHEPHERDING GOD'S FLOCK"

>>>Micah was prophet mainly to Judah (though prophesied against Samaria-capital of Israel).

>>>Prophesied during reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah

*King Ahaz burned sons as offering in Valley of Hinnom.

Micah 1:2–4 “Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and let the Lord God be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. For behold, the Lord is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.”

Micah 1:15 “I will again bring a conqueror to you, inhabitants of Mareshah; the glory of Israel shall come to Adullam.”

>>>The LORD comes as a witness against Judah, testifying of their sins against Him.

>>>He promises to raise up a nation to conquer them.

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Micah 2:1–3 “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. They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance. 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.”

>>>This chapter turns the guilt to the leaders of Judah, saying they devise evil on their beds.

*“Devise” (first time) means “to plot”

>>>The response of God is to devise disaster on Judah.

*“Devise” (second time) means “to plan”

*God will humble His people through the exile.

GOD TAKES SIN SERIOUSLY.

>>>The language of these verses show the seriousness of how God views the sin of His people-especially when it is purposely planned and committed.

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>>>The second chapter ends switching from judgment.

Micah 2:12–13 “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. 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.”

>>>Already there is a promise from God that He will bring back the faithful remnant, comparing it to a shepherd gathering his sheep.

*Intro to this theme of shepherd/sheep.

>>>The King-the LORD-will lead Judah and Israel to victory.

Micah 3:1–4 “And I said: Hear, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to know justice?— you who hate the good and love the evil, who tear the skin from off my people and their flesh from off their bones, who eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them, and break their bones in pieces and chop them up like meat in a pot, like flesh in a cauldron. Then they will cry to the Lord, but he will not answer them; he will hide his face from them at that time, because they have made their deeds evil.”

>>>This first oracle is against Israel’s leaders. They were to supposed to know justice and execute it. Yet they take advantage of and mislead the people into evil and idolatry.

>>>There was a care kings were supposed to have for their people.

KINGS WERE TO BE SHEPHERDS OF GOD’S PEOPLE.

*2 Samuel 5:2 “In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.’ ””

>>>The LORD will oppress the oppressors and ignore them in the same way they ignored His people.

*God was going to bring back the remnant and be their true Shepherd

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Micah 3:5–8 “Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry “Peace” when they have something to eat, but declare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths. Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without divination. The sun shall go down on the prophets, and the day shall be black over them; the seers shall be disgraced, and the diviners put to shame; they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God. But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.”

>>>This second oracle is against Israel’s false prophets, who prophesy falsely based on the people’s treatment of them, including bribes.

PROPHETS WERE TO BE PREACHERS TO GOD’S PEOPLE.

>>>Their punishment is disgrace and shame.

>>>Micah claims himself as a true prophet of God who is going to prophesy against Israel’s transgressions.

>>>In the last portion of the chapter, the leaders/prophets do these things while claiming that the LORD is still on their side, but Micah says their city will be in ruins.

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Micah 4:1–4 “It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, and many nations shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.”

>>>This chapter promises a day God will be leading His people again. Nations will come and have Him settle their disputes.

>>>His teaching will be desired by all.

>>>There will be eternal security and protection with no threat of war.

Micah 4:5 “For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.”

>>>Nations will walk in the name of their temporal false gods, but God’s people will walk eternally with Him.

*“Walk” means to live and behave in a specific manner.

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Micah 5:2 “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”

Micah 5:4–5 “And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men;”

>>>Among the clans of Judah is the city of Bethlehem, the smallest of all.

>>>Out of Bethlehem is promised a ruler Who will shepherd the flock of God forever, the greatest Shepherd to ever live.

*Bethlehem is the City of David, who was also a shepherd.

*“Shepherd” is “to rule”

JESUS WILL RULE HIS PEOPLE.

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Micah 6:6–8 ““With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

GOD WANTS HIS PEOPLE TO SIMPLY FOLLOW HIM.

>>>God’s people should humbly walk with Him as sheep do their shepherd.

>>> This is same use of “walk” as earlier.

*Same use as “Enoch walked with God” (Genesis 5:22,24)

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Micah 7:7 “But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.”

>>>Micah confidently looks to God for his salvation and guidance.

Micah 7:14–17 “Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, who dwell alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land; let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old. As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them marvelous things. The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hands on their mouths; their ears shall be deaf; they shall lick the dust like a serpent, like the crawling things of the earth; they shall come trembling out of their strongholds; they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God, and they shall be in fear of you.”

>>>This is a call to God to rule His people-a desire for Him to rule His people.

GOD’S ETERNAL RULE BRINGS HOPE TO HIS PEOPLE.

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Micah 7:18–20 “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.”

>>>The book ends not being able to name another God Who is able to forgive sins as great as what Israel has committed.

GOD WILL FORGIVE HIS PEOPLE.

>>>God desires to love more than He wants to be angry. He wants to rule a forgiven people.