Rebellion in the Kingdom Part i

There are few things more destructive in life than rebellion.

We can all identify with this statement because we’ve all been rebellious.

Rebellion appears in our lives like an uninvited guest, but it soon takes up residence in our hearts. For me, it began to appear in my early teenage years—perhaps it was the same for you. One day I was happy to do whatever my parents told me; the next, I began to question every decision they made. What caused this shift in my thinking? Rebellion. Simply put, rebellion is defiance against authority. It begins with rebellion against our parents, teachers, and coaches. Left unchecked, it grows to be rebellion against employers, law enforcement, and government. Ultimately, though, rebellion is always against God because God institutes all forms of authority.

We live in a world plagued by rebellious people.

Micah 1:1 ESV

The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

Micah is sandwiched between Jonah and Nahum.

Jonah, Micah, and Nahum. Each of these books has a meditation on the significance of the divine name for salvation and Judgement.

The word (“I am”) is coming through Micah to Samaria and Jerusalem regarding what he saw.

This verse reveals that Micah served God as a prophet during the reigns of three Judean kings. Micah is one of 32 minor prophets even though Micah prophesied for some 30-50 years his prophecy only has 7 chapters as apposed to Isaiah’s 66. This does not, however, make it any less significant. He is writing during the day’s of king Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, all kings of Judah.

We see from this verse that Micah prophesied both to the southern kingdom of Judah, whose capital was Jerusalem, and to the northern kingdom of Israel, whose capital was Samaria.

He was a prophet from Moresheth, a small town in the southern region of Judah. Like his contemporary Amos, who described himself as a “fig-picker,” he was a country boy. Micah and Amos were living proof that God calls people to serve Him from the most unlikely of backgrounds.

Despite Micah’s rural roots he probably spent more of his time sprawling the metropolis of Jerusalem than anywhere else.

Micah is writing during a time of Crisis. We will see in fact three separate crisis's in Micah.

The crises came upon the people because of their idolatry and the failure to honor the covenant they had with God.

People were interested in performance and ritual over spiritual transformation.

Personal prosperity was more important than one’s neighbor.

Spiritual leaders stressed the Love of God but never His judgment.

The entire establishment cooperated with the wealthy and elite while hijacking Israel’s covenant.

Micah 1:2–4 ESV

2 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. 3 For behold, the Lord is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. 4 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.

The first part of Micah’s prophecy is what is known as a theophany.

The word theophany is a combination of two Greek words, meaning God and appearance. A theophany is an appearance of God. More precisely, it is a visible display to human beings that expresses the presence and character of God. Examples include the thunderous display at the top of Mount Sinai, the burning bush.

Isaiah 66:1 ESV

1 Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?

Footstools are often symbolic of defeated enemies, crushed underfoot by the victor (Ps 110:1). A footstool symbolizes what is subdued.

Why is this Picture of God at the Beginning?

1) The universal scope of the world that is called to witness to the judgment of God that is coming.

2) The depiction of the awesome transcendence of God indicates that God is incomparable as the divine King, and He will not tolerate any rivals or injustice in His world.

All eyes and ears are directed at the divine king who is now rising from His throne in His heavenly temple and now making his way to descend to earth to judge Samaria and then carving a path towards the judgement of Judah.

Before we are to hard on God’s chosen people we must take a heart inventory and see how we are prone to the same pitfalls. Though we are no longer bound to the OT Covenant the principles still remain for our lives today.

1. Rebellion Leads to Disloyal Kingdom Residents?

Are you Living as Loyal Kingdom Residents?

In the Bible, rebellion against God is often depicted as sin, and is described as a willful act of disobedience or defiance. According to the Bible, people are responsible for responding to God's revelation through faith and obedience.

Is God alone seated on the throne of our hearts or are we prone to build up hear idols that separate us from Christ?

*Rebellion Always Begins in the Heart.

Our sinful natures do not want to bow to the authority of another, even God. We want to be our own bosses, and that rebellion in the human heart is the root of all sin (Romans 3:23).

The clearest demonstration in the Bible of rebellion and its consequences is found in 1 Samuel 15. King Saul, chosen by God to lead Israel, got too big for his britches.

He thought he knew better than God what God wanted from him, so he disobeyed God’s direct instruction (1 Samuel 15:3) and substituted his own idea. Instead of following God’s directive to destroy all the plunder from the enemy’s camp, Saul kept the best of the livestock. And instead of killing the wicked king Agag as God had commanded, Saul brought him back as a prisoner. Both these acts were in rebellion against God’s orders, yet Saul was pleased with his initiative and tried to justify his disobedience—the animals were to be sacrificed to the Lord, after all (verse 15).

Micah is foretelling the nation of Israel and Samaria that God is going to come down in flesh fully God and fully man out of his holy temple, and in case you have forgotten it is all His. He will tread on the mountain’s and valley’s of this earth and they all melt before Him.

Every human heart heart is born with the seek of rebellion germinating deep below the service.

We are “Right Fighters,” and when we feel that someone is hindering or not respecting our “rights” we rebel.

In the words of the great philosopher Twisted Sister, “You gotta fight for your right to Party.”

Living for the glory of God through loyalty and obedience is a challenging task in any age.

Thankfully, Jesus provided us with the template for accomplishing this task.

Towards the end of Jesus ministry he was approached by the religious teachers of the day the conversation went like this.

Matthew 22:34–40 ESV

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Jesus offered the two requirements for honoring the covenant of God.

First, Love God with a single focus of the heart, soul, and mind.

Second, the command is given to Love our neighbor

The following chart represents how God expects us to relate to him and other people.

As you can see, “Love” has been listed as the source for covenant loyalty because Jesus said that love is the motive behind every act of loyalty and obedience to God (for now, focus on the right side of this chart).

Loyalty requires two distinct things: obedience to God’s law and surrender to His purpose. In response to their loyalty, God would bless them, providing freedom from their enemies and provision for their lives.

How are you living in Obedience to Obedience today?

How are you surrendering to God’s purposes today?

Micah 1:5–16 ESV

5 All this is for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? 6 Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the open country, a place for planting vineyards, and I will pour down her stones into the valley and uncover her foundations. 7 All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces, all her wages shall be burned with fire, and all her idols I will lay waste, for from the fee of a prostitute she gathered them, and to the fee of a prostitute they shall return. 8 For this I will lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will make lamentation like the jackals, and mourning like the ostriches. 9 For her wound is incurable, and it has come to Judah; it has reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem. 10 Tell it not in Gath; weep not at all; in Beth-le-aphrah roll yourselves in the dust. 11 Pass on your way, inhabitants of Shaphir, in nakedness and shame; the inhabitants of Zaanan do not come out; the lamentation of Beth-ezel shall take away from you its standing place. 12 For the inhabitants of Maroth wait anxiously for good, because disaster has come down from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem. 13 Harness the steeds to the chariots, inhabitants of Lachish; it was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion, for in you were found the transgressions of Israel. 14 Therefore you shall give parting gifts to Moresheth-gath; the houses of Achzib shall be a deceitful thing to the kings of Israel. 15 I will again bring a conqueror to you, inhabitants of Mareshah; the glory of Israel shall come to Adullam. 16 Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair, for the children of your delight; make yourselves as bald as the eagle, for they shall go from you into exile.

2. Rebellion Leads to Abandoning Loyalty to God through Idolatry.

Micah identified a second problem of evil in this chapter as well. Israel and Judah had abandoned their loyalty to God through idolatry, so it was easy for them to take the next step and look to pagan nations for protection and provision. He provided a cryptic explanation of this in verses 13–14. Micah referenced two historic cities that had great significance for Israel and Judah.

The cities of Lachish and Moresheth-gath were located on the main road between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean coastal town of Gaza. Strategically located about half way between the two prominent cities, Lachish and Moresheth-gath were Amorite cities that Israel had defeated and captured under Joshua (Josh 10).

The land was given to the tribe of Judah and continued to be part of the southern kingdom during the time of Micah. Rehoboam, whose pride led to the division of Israel into two distinct nations, rebuilt and fortified a number of cities, including Lachish and Moresheth-gath (2 Chr 11:5–12). The problem occured when they adopted the God’s of the Amorites.

Rehoboam continued in the idolatry of his father Solomon, and his sinful influence spread throughout Judah. Micah claims here that Lachish was the first city to adopt his idolatrous practice, and it became systemic throughout the southern kingdom.

These cities became strategic to Judah because the enemy typically would attack from the sea.

As a result, Lachish and Moresheth-gath were critical for the defense of Jerusalem, the capital city of Judah. They were located in a mountain pass so to attack Jerusalem you would have to go through Lachish.

For Micah, Lachish and Moresheth-gath represented all that was wrong with Israel and Judah. They were cities that represented the failure of the people to honor their covenant obligation to God. As a result, the following chart reveals the conditions that actually existed in Israel and Judah during the ministry of Micah:

Why is idol worship such a powerful temptation for us?

Ultimately the short answer is sin the sin nature we are all born into from birth.

The temptation to worship ourselves in various ways is a powerful temptation indeed. In fact, it is so powerful that only those who belong to Christ and have the Holy Spirit within them can possibly hope to resist the temptation of modern idolatry. Even then, resisting the worship of idols is a lifelong battle that is part of the Christian life.

Romans 1:22–23 ESV

22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

There is another form of idolatry prevalent today. Its growth is fostered by cultures that continue to drift away from sound biblical teaching, just as the apostle Paul warned us, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:3). In these pluralistic, liberal times, many cultures have, to a large degree, redefined God.

We have forsaken the God revealed to us in Scripture and have recast Him to comply with our own inclinations and desires—a “kinder and gentler” god who is infinitely more tolerant than the One revealed in Scripture. One who is less demanding and less judgmental and who will tolerate many lifestyles without placing guilt on anyone’s shoulders.

*The things of this world were never meant to Satisfy the Human Heart.

The major indictment being destroyed here in Samaria is the practice of the cult prostitutes. These representations of the real God are the real target of God’s anger and destruction.

These idols were the tangible picture of this pagan cultures worldview springing up from it’s twisted value system.

These idols that are so attractive to the flesh and demand no moral restraints seduced Samaria to break all kinds of moral laws which are no different than the seductive nature of sex and the Devils Lettus that plague our culture today.

“The fee of a prostitute she gathered them, and the fee of a prostitute she shall return.”

The payment price of these cult prostitutes consisted of money food and clothing. Cultic prostitution finds its basis in the idea that the forces of life in nature, especially at the spring season, were revived through the union of a god and goddess.

They arrayed themselves elaborately and flashily with scarlet garments and much jewelry and cosmetics (Jer 4:30; Ezek 23:40).… Possibly they sang to attract attention (Isa 23:16), and had a special mark on the forehead (Jer 3:3).… They were found by the wayside (Tamar [Gen 38:19], Ezek 16:25 and Prov 7:12), “on every high hill and under every green tree” (Jer 2:20), by the shrines (Ezek 16:23), and at the threshing floor (Hos 9:1).…

What Motivates Idol Worship?

Church leaders who are more indebted to psychology than to the Scriptures in their endeavor to make their parishioners happy instead of holy today condone all sorts of sexual immorality.

The idols in which Samaria trusted, though so popular, far from protecting her brought its judgment. So also modern man’s trust in his defense budgets and technological skills, instead of in the living God, will actually destroy him.

3. Rebellion Leads to Assuming that We are Still Under God’s Protection.

Assumption of God’s Protection in our Disobedience

Over time they began to trust more in their national identity than in God. They believed God would provide for them and protect them because they were children of Abraham, not because they were obedient and loyal to the covenant. They believed that they could live any way they wanted, even as idolaters, and God would bless them. We should not be surprised that Israel and Judah drifted into this mentality. This is the bondage that came to them through idolatry: Once we place our hope in someone or something besides God, we make ourselves vulnerable to falsehood. Ultimately, the people believed the lie that their nationality was enough.

Let’s Pause to Consider how this Assumption Weaves it’s way into our way of thinking today?

God wants us, like Israel, to love Him with our whole heart, soul, and mind. When we do, we will choose to be loyal to God by obeying His word.

The two units now function as an introduction to the entire book, stressing that the nations are called to listen in particular to what the divine judge is going to do to Israel and Judah for their violations of the covenant. The images are breathtaking as the divine judge descends to the heights of the earth and all creation rocks and reels before him as he comes first to Samaria and then to the towns of Judah.

Note: Every Israelite would have understood the ominous importance of these words as they would have become ingrained in them since early childhood when they learned “The Lament of the Bow” (2 Sam 1:19–20).

Similarly, the reference to the “glory of Israel” going to Adullam recalls the true king of Israel hiding in a cave from sure death (1 Sam 22).

Where is Your Hope?

Our hope as Christ-followers must never reside in our nations, our military, or our political leaders. There is only one Person who offers hope for the world, and His name is Jesus! Jesus is the promised Messiah of Israel (Mic 5:2), and He is the Savior of the church.

He alone provides the hope of salvation and significance for every person on earth, and He alone is worthy of our obedience and loyalty. When we follow after Him with our whole hearts, we are recipients of His Favor, and Jesus Christ alone as our only hope in life and death.

*We Should Engage in Mourning Rights Over our Rebellion.

This judicial sentence takes the more specific form of a funeral dirge, which can be analyzed as follows:

I. Introduction: Micah chooses to engage in a mourning ritual symbolizing captivity. (v. 8)

English Standard Version (Chapter 1)

For this I will lament and wail;

I will go stripped and naked;

I will make lamentation like the jackals,

and mourning like the ostriches.

II. Body: After exhorting the nation to mourn he exacts a bunch of puns with a number of place names that fall off of Judah. (10b - 15)

III. Conclusion: The daughter of Zion is called to engage in funeral rights because her sons are going into exile.

Micah 1:16 ESV

16 Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair, for the children of your delight; make yourselves as bald as the eagle, for they shall go from you into exile.

Notice that this motif is bonded with mourning and wailing as at the sudden death of someone we desperately love.

Do you Mourn over the Sin’s in your Own Life?

(2 Samuel 12) When the prophet Nathan confronts David with his great sin and said, “you are that man,” David goes into his chambers, tears his clothes, lays in ashes, weeping an mourning over his sin.

According to Christian teachings, no Christian should ever assume they can live in disobedience to God's commandments and still expect to receive His blessings; the Bible clearly states that sin hinders God's blessings and actively pursuing a life of disobedience goes against the core principles of Christian faith.

Romans 6:1–2 ESV

1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

a.) Repentance and Change are Necessary.

Christians are called to daily repent of their sins and strive to live according to God’s will and commands.

1 John 1:9 ESV

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:10 ESV

10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Meaning of Repentance: "Repentance" means a change of heart and mind, acknowledging one's wrongdoings, feeling remorseful, and actively choosing to turn away from sin towards God.

b. Repentance is Not a One time Event

Repentance is not just an initial act when accepting Christ, but an ongoing process throughout a believer's life as they encounter situations where they need to acknowledge and correct their actions.

Illustration of Land Navigation.

Just being one degree of to the right or left and I miss my target. How did it start for David. It all began with a look, a glance, just one degree off missed the target. The further out he got from God’s will and plan that azimuth gets farther apart. He then brought her into his bed, farther apart, then he manipulated her husband to try to cover up the sin, farther apart, then he had her husband murdered, miles apart.

James 2:10 ESV

10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

If I am just one degree off center with God I am no better than the worst murderer, rapist, adulterer, in the world, “You are that man and woman.”

We must have a holistic view of scripture. All of God’s laws are interconnected and should be followed as a whole.

c.) Repentance is Essential for Spiritual Growth.

By repenting and seeking to change, believers can experience spiritual growth and a closer relationship with God. Failure to repent and turn to God will lead your azimuth to grow farther apart from God and lead to more rebellion and more disobedience in your lives.

Potential Situation Where Someone can Assume that the Can Live in Disobedience.

Selective interpretation of scripture: Choosing to focus on verses that seem to promote forgiveness while ignoring the consequences of sin. (we call this cherry picking scripture, Jeremiah 29:11....)

Lack of accountability: Not having a strong community or spiritual leader to guide them towards living a righteous life.

Complacency: Assuming that God's love is unconditional, regardless of their actions.

Stop being a Complacent Christian / Stop being a Passive Christian

Misunderstanding of grace:

Believing that God will bless a life of disobedience is often considered a misunderstanding of the concept of grace. God loves you too much to leave you where you are at.

Even as harsh as God’s judgment was to the Judah and Samaria it was for our good and God’s glory.

Hebrews 12:6 “God disciplines those He loves.” What if I stood up every Sunday and gave you fluffy bunny’s and fart Rainbows? What if I never told you about the justice and wrath of God? I would be a horrible shepherd and you should fire me tomorrow.

I am sure that as Micah is giving this prophecy he is agonizing over the message that he is called to bring to the people. However at the end of all of the judgment and wrath of God he is also giving the message that one is coming who will redeem and bring life out of the dead state of the nation of Israel.

The nation is fractured that is why you have the two different kingdoms, the kingdom of Judah and Samaria (Israel). However, know this for sure. God is in the business of restoring what is broken. He is in the business of taking what is broken and making it new.

CLOSING

Repentance involves recognizing that you have thought wrongly in the past and determining to think rightly in the future. The repentant person has “second thoughts” about the mindset he formerly embraced. There is a change of disposition and a new way of thinking about God, about sin, about holiness, and about doing God’s will. True repentance is prompted by “godly sorrow,” and it “leads to salvation”

2 Corinthians 7:10 ESV

10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

Repentance and Faith can be two sides of the same coin.

It is impossible to place your faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior without first changing your mind about your sin and about who Jesus is and what He has done. Whether it is repentance from willful rejection or repentance from ignorance or disinterest, it is a change of mind.

Biblical repentance, in relation to salvation, is changing your mind from rejection of Christ to faith in Christ.

Repentance is not something that you have done to earn God’s favor. Stop trying to earn God’s favor.

It is impossible to truly change your mind without changing your action.

(Here is the problem some of you have never truly changed your mind.)

To see what repentance looks like in real life, turn to the story of Zacchaeus. Here was a man who cheated and stole and lived lavishly on his ill-gotten gains—until he met Jesus. At that point he had a radical change of mind: “Look, Lord!” said Zacchaeus.

“Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (Luke 19:8).

Jesus happily proclaimed that salvation had come to Zacchaeus’s house, and that even the tax collector was now “a son of Abraham” (verse 9)—a reference to Zacchaeus’s faith. The cheat became a philanthropist; the thief made restitution. That’s repentance, coupled with faith in Christ.

Biblical repentance is changing your mind about your sin—no longer is sin something to toy with; it is something to be forsaken as you “flee from the coming wrath” (Matthew 3:7).

It is also changing your mind about Jesus Christ—no longer is He to be mocked, discounted, or ignored; He is the Savior to be clung to; He is the Lord to be worshiped and adored.

Church stop playing games with God, stop assuming that God is going to protect and bless you while you are willfully choosing to live in the depravity of your sins. Today you need to show the picture Micah depicts at the end of our text this morning. We should bow before a holy God and start to mourn over the sins in our lives.