Micah

Introduction:

Micah prophesied around 740 BC, so approximately 20 years before the northern nation of Israel was taken captive by the Assyrians.

If you remember, the nation of Israel was at that time divided into 2 sections:

The northern section known as Israel

The southern section known as Judah

The prophet Micah was from a small town in southern Judah that was a productive agricultural town.

The town that he was from was called “Moresheth-gath.

It was about 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem.

The NLT Fire Bible states that while Isaiah was in Jerusalem addressing the king and international affairs, Micah was a country prophet who was deeply sensitive to social issues that affected the small towns and villages throughout Judah.

I think we can all relate to Micah’s call to “small town” areas.

I like to think of Billy Graham or Dutch Sheets being called on the national scene to warn presidents or higher up leaders that we will never have a connection with.

While, we are all called to warn our local leaders, mayor and school leaders, that we need to be leading in a way that pleases the Lord.

We know that we are also called to all people around us to help bring lost people out of darkness and into God’s marvelous light.

Warning:

Micah 1:3-7

He mentions that the problems rooted in the northern region of Israel is rooted within its capital of Samaria.

He then mentions that the problems rooted in the southern region of Judah is rooted within its capital of Jerusalem.

It is so important that we pray for the leaders of our country in Washington DC.

I feel like we can read this and put America in the place of Israel or Judah because we too are going away from God.

Micah 2:8-11

It seems like many of these warnings from the prophets has to do with the rich oppressing the poor.

James 5:1–6 “1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.”

In 1 Kings 21, King Ahab approached Naboth about buying his vineyard, but he did not want to sell it to Ahab,

Ahab then went home and cried to Jezebel, so she ended up having Naboth killed so that Ahab could get what he wanted.

They used their authority to get what they wanted.

How many times do we see things happen like this today?

“The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.’

We do know that we have the Lord fighting for us.

Micah 3:1-4 L

The northern and southern kingdom both had turned their backs against God and were not representing Him well.

They were sinning against God so there were consequences to their actions.

This passage describes the time when trouble was to come upon the nation.

We know that when the northern region of Israel was taken into captivity by the Assyrians around 722 BC and the southern region of Judah taken into captivity by the Babylonians around 586 BC.

They were crying out to God when it happened and He heard their cries but their was still consequences to their actions.

If I leave church tonight to go to the store for Amanda and I’m going 60 through Mt. Joy and I get pulled over, I should ask God for forgiveness.

He will forgive me, but I still will most likely get a ticket.

There are consequences for our wrong choices.

Ted Bundy was a mass murderer who was convicted of killing 36 women and young girls in the 1970’s.

I have read many stories that while waiting his execution he accepted the Lord and confessed his sins.

This is something that is hard for many people to understand, “How can God forgive someone that was so bad?”

God can forgive someone like that, but there were still consequences to his actions.

I remember listening to an interview with him where he said that he really was sorry for what he had done, but he believed that he had to pay for what he had done.

When our boys do something wrong they get really upset when they know punishment is coming, but I tell them we forgive them but there still are consequences.

The Israelites may have cried out to God, but they still went into captivity.

God did provide them with hope for the future.

Promised Future Restoration:

Micah 4:1-5

I love the fact that God doesn’t just tell His people that disaster will come on them from their disobedience to Him, but He gives them hope be giving them a glimpse into the future.

He describes a day when the nations of the world will flock the Israel.

He says that swords will be beat into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks.

There will be no need for weapons because there will be no more war with eternal peace.

Verse 4 says that every man will sit under his own vine and fig tree.

There is a story in John 1 where Jesus approached Nathaniel sitting under the Fig tree.

This was a picture of a person’s devotional life to the Lord.

You can say that this was their prayer closet.

The Israelites go from having word that they will be taken into captivity, but that there is a time coming when their nation will be at peace.

It’s amazing to me that all throughout history there were times when Israel should have been no more.

Slavery in Egypt for 400

Slavery in Babylon for 70

The destruction of the temple in AD 70

The Holocaust in 1933-1945 where 6 million Jews were murdered

And all the other wars up until now, but Israel continues to exist as a nation and will always continue to because God promises that they will be.

He also promises that at some point they will be at rest from all of their enemies.

That is amazing.

Micah 5, we see the promise of the Messiah.

Micah 7:12 “12 In that day people will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates and from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.”

We hear of these protests for the Palestinian people saying, “From river to sea,”

What they mean is for Israel to be gone so they can have the land from the Jordan river to the Mediterranean Sea.

But God says that people will be coming from sea to sea to Israel.

He is the one who is in control.