Return to the King

INTRODUCTION

Let me give you the highlights of our Journey through Micah.

We began in Micah 1-3 with the Kingdom in rebellion, with the prophesying of the coming destruction of Israel and Judah as into exile they went by the hand of the Lord.

Micah 2 reminds us that God does good to those who walk uprightly with Him. We are also reminded of the consequences of those who devise evil and suppress the knowledge of God.

Micah 3 is an indictment against those who hate the good and love what is evil. An indictment that cries from the blood soaked ground of the martyrs who have literally had the flesh torn from their bones. However, on the day of the Lord they will cry to Him but He will not answer them because of the wickedness of their deeds. Micah speaks against rulers of the house of Judah and Israel who have detested the Lords justice and made crooked what is straight.

Micah 4 introduces a shift that in the latter days people will flow to the Mountain of the Lord in Jerusalem. Jesus is coming to rule and reign with his people on which day nations will not longer lift up swords against nations and their will be no more war only perfect peace in light of the Lamb of God who was slain from the foundations of the world.

Micah 5 we have the coming of the promised Messiah who is coming to Rule and Shepherd his people and they will dwell secure in the power of His majesty’s and He will be their peace to the ends of the earth.

Micah 6 where the question is asked, What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness, and walk humbly with your God. God brings an indictment again against the people of Israel and Judah, the accusation calls out the people for their ingratitude for all that He has done for them. The people’s response goes back to a legalistic attitude of what must we do to make your happy Lord.

Return to the King Chapter 7

Every person who has ever walked this earth and breathed its air has felt the overwhelming reality and consequences of sin. We live in a world that is plagued by the broken shema or peace of God made evident through the constant evil and destruction that consumes our daily lives.

Have you ever waited a long time for something to happen in your life and it seemed like it would never become a reality. Consider how long Israel had waited for the promised Messiah.

The prophecy in Daniel 9 states that the Messiah would arrive 483 years after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem. This would mean that the Messiah would arrive around 32 AD, 483 years after the start of the rebuilding of Jerusalem in 444 BC. Let me give you some perspective. The United States is only 248 years old.

This is why I love Micah, it provides the promise of hope in a world of chaos and destructions. Chapter 7 continues this idea of the promise with the reminder that the way the world currently is does not represent the world as it one day will be when Christ returns at His 2nd advent. Micah concludes His book with several important Truths.

Truth #1 Global Apostasy will Precede Christ’s Return

Micah 7:1–7 ESV

Woe is me! For I have become as when the summer fruit has been gathered, as when the grapes have been gleaned: there is no cluster to eat, no first-ripe fig that my soul desires. The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind; they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net. Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together. The best of them is like a brier, the most upright of them a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen, of your punishment, has come; now their confusion is at hand. Put no trust in a neighbor; have no confidence in a friend; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms; for the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house. But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

TEXT OVERVIEW

v.1 “Woe” - How miserable am I.

v.2 “the Godly has perished from the earth” - the godly people have all but disappeared from the earth. This is a common expression among people lamenting in the OT, it is also a common lament and complaint by those living in today’s godless and wicked culture today.

v. 2b “They all lay in wait for blood” - traps uses the word tsud in Hebrew. Referring to hunters laying a trap for their prey in reference to the evil world laying traps for unsuspecting professing believers. Satan is referred to as a roaring Lion lying in wait for its prey in 1 Peter 5:8.

v. 3 “the great man utters evil desires in his soul” - bribe is unusual vocabulary used to describe the evil intent of humanity.

v. 4 “the best of them like a brier and the most upright a thorn hedge” - symbolizes the godless; like worthless thorns the wicked are burned in the fire of judgment.

v. 4b “the day of your watchmen” - is referring to the day of God’s judgment.

The watchman or sentinel was a lookout posted on the towers of city walls; it was their job to alert the city of any threat of danger. The expression “is a metaphor for the prophets who announced the approaching day of God’s judgment”

“time of confusion” - a word that expresses alarm, terror, chaos, the day of the Lord is instituted as being linked with total chaos and confusion int he world.

v. 5-6 The prophet described a scene of social anarchy in which the most basic relationships between family and friends have disintegrated. Jeremiah described a similar situation that would surely bring divine punishment (Jer 9:4–5, 9). Jesus made reference to 7:5–6 to describe the terrible social conditions into which he sent his apostles (Matt 10:21, 35–36).

We read in 2 Thessalonians 2:3

2 Thessalonians 2:3 ESV

Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

The rebellion is a state of utter Apostasy or denial of Christ and His rule and reign in our lives.

Backsliding vs. Apostasy

The Bible, particularly in Pauls’ writings are chalked full of texts that warn the church about falling away from the faith. The question is whether someone has truly gone Apostate meaning a complete denial of the faith or are merely in a season of rebellion or backsliding in their Christian life.

A Christian may backslide, but a saint who has been giving the supernatural gift of faith from faith from God cannot ultimately become an apostate. Jesus speaks clearly in John 10 that the sheep know the Shephard and the Shephard knows his sheep, and no one can take the sheep out of the Shephards hands.

Backsliding on the other hands is when someone is gradually over time led off from a close walking with God. They lose the lively sense of divine things and become attached to worldly things. In other words much of Christian obedience gets thrown off course.

It is difficult to put a time frame on someone’s backsliding. I think the best picture we have in scripture of backsliding is Jesus illustration of the prodigal son. The prodigal son knew the father but chose to live in a season of rebellion until he came to himself, he came to his senses, and returned to the Father. I think the point we miss in the story is the Father waiting for the son to return from his wandering. I do not believe the father who is waiting ever doubted that the son would return to the flock.

Robert Robinson “Come Thou Fount” story

In a spiritually backslidden condition, Robert was traveling in a stage coach one day. His only companion was a young woman unknown to him. In the providence of God, and not realizing who it was she spoke with, the woman quoted Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, saying what an encouragement it had been to her. When he heard the words “prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the one I love,” it struck a deep cord in his heart.

Note: The problem that Micah addresses is not merely backsliding. he is speaking of someone who was possibly never truly grafted into the body in the first place. He says that the godly has perished from the earth and their soul only speaks evil. This does not describe the backslidden Christian.

There can be no room in our lives where we take a holiday from the faith and serving Christ.

*We are Called to Daily Denial

John Owen’s

“Be Killing Sin or it Be Killing You”

A backslider refers to a person who is still a part of the visible church and has not abandoned the faith all together. Apostate does not describe every unbeliever in the world. Rather an apostate once belonged to the visible church and at one time made a profession of faith.

Apostates make a “shipwreck of their Faith” and hand it over to Satan. 1 Timothy 1:19-20

1 Timothy 1:19–20 ESV

holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

We learn that they go out from the church but were never truly grafted into the church as the people of God. For if they were as John writes they would have continued with us. 1 John 2:19

1 John 2:19 ESV

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

O.T. Backsliding and Apostasy

Backsliding and apostasy frequently happened in the OT (Esau, Lot’s wife, King David, King Asa etc.) We read about the kings who did what was right in their own eyes leading to doing what was evil in the eyes of the Lord.

N.T. Backsliding and Apostasy

Backsliding and Apostasy do not go away in the N.T. We have 2 whole books in the New Testament that warn believers about Backsliding and Apostasy they are the book of Hebrews and Revelation.

Hebrews 3:12 ESV

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.

John points to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:5

Revelation 2:5 ESV

Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

John goes on to write to the Church at Laodicea the following warning Revelation 3:15-17

Revelation 3:15–17 ESV

“ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

The best way to guard against backsliding or apostasy in our lives is to daily deny our flesh, take up our cross and follow Him.

Turning away from the Lord is serious business just ask Lot’s wife who looked back and was destroyed. Luke 9:62

Luke 9:62 ESV

Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Truth #2 When King Jesus Returns He will Restore the Broken

vs. 7 “I wait confidently for the Lord of my Salvation,” this is one of the key markers that someone is a believer.

This is one of the evidences of faith: waiting on the Lord to act on behalf of his people (cf. Job 13:15; Pss 33:22; 71:14; Lam 3:21, 24). The word yakhal [3176, 3498] “denotes an enduring, expectant hope” because God himself is the object of that waiting (NIDOTTE 2.436).

vs. 7b “God will certainly hear me.” This is the great hope of the righteous that God hears us when we call out to Him.

Micah 7:8–9 ESV

Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication.

The Beauty of Reclaimed Wood

You will notice that everywhere you look at the Journey you see reclaimed pallet wood. From the walls behind the stage and in the foyer to the tables we use for communion. There is something about a reclaimed piece of wood that I find beautiful.

I take a piece of wood that is really good for nothing other than to be used as fire wood. I run it through the table saw to knock all of the uneaten and rough edges off of it, then I run a sander over it to knock all of the dust, dirt and grime till the fresh clean wood comes out of it.

This is what God does for us, he takes and reclaims our life from the pit, he takes our feet and sets them on the solid ground. Look how the Psalmist describes this process in Psalm 103:1-5

Psalm 103:1–5 ESV

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Vs.8 Darkness to … Light: The reversal of darkness into light is a repeated theme throughout the whole of scripture. It describes the transforming nature of God on the day of transformation.

Jesus is the ultimate culmination of this movement from darkness to light John 8:12

John 8:12 ESV

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 9:5 ESV

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Jesus came not only to open the physical eyes of the blind put more importantly to open their spiritual eyes. This is the call of every professing believers that we use every means at our disposal to open the eyes of the those wondering and groping in the darkness.

*Restoration takes Time and Effort

God’s restoration is a time intensive and effort laden project.

It involves …

a. Gradual Change

The nation of Israel did not just wake up one day and have it all together. Just like individual lives can be transformed over time, the restoration of a spiritual kingdom is seen as a gradual process where people gradually change their hearts and actions to align with God's will.

b. collective responsibility

We will see in the next text Micah mourning of the sin of His people.

Micah 7:9–10 ESV

I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication. Then my enemy will see, and shame will cover her who said to me, “Where is the Lord your God?” My eyes will look upon her; now she will be trampled down like the mire of the streets.

The church should take responsibility for the state of the church in our culture today.

Do we bear the indignation of the Lord. The prophets continued to lament over the sins of the people of Israel and did not shy away from lumping themselves into the sin of Israel.

Building God's kingdom isn't just an individual pursuit, but requires collective participation from believers who actively work to spread the message and live according to their faith.

c. Importance of Discipleship

Did you know that every believer is called to make disciples, not converts. Look at the great commission in Matthew 28:18-20

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The very last class that I had in my MDIV program was personal discipleship. I still remember the first day of class our professor came into class and asked us to consider how many people we had personally discipled over our lifetime.

This was a huge gut punch for all of us. We had assumed that we had been making disciples until we truly evaluated what a disciple is according to scripture. A disciple is a disciplined learner, the model we get in the New Testament is of a Rabbi and an apprentice. Let me ask you the question Christian? How many people have you disciples in your life. I believe we will all be held accountable by God for how we are fulfilling this final command by Jesus.

Remember that the full restoration project is not completed until Christ returns.

Truth #3 The Returning King Jesus Gives Us Hope for Today

Verses 11-17

Look at the path of hope that God laid out for Israel

vs.11 “A Day” or “In that Day” speaking of the Eschatological future day of the Lord. The walls of Jerusalem will be rebuilt.

vs. 14 “Shepherd’s Staff”

The shepherd’s staff in this context is a symbol of God’s protection and pastoral care for his people Israel (cf. Ps 23:4). The prophet mentions the rod or staff as an instrument of punishment or discipline in 5:1 (see note).

special possession. The nation of Israel is Yahweh’s special possession or “inheritance” (nakhalah [5159, 5709]) by virtue of his election of the ancestors of the Hebrew people (Gen 17:7), his deliverance of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt (Deut 7:6; 14:2), and his covenant charter with them, ratified at Mount Sinai (Exod 19:5; cf. NIDOTTE 3.79–80). The special relationship God has with Israel is depicted variously in the OT as that between a parent and a child (Deut 32:6; Isa 66:13), a husband and a wife (Jer 2:2), or even a shepherd and a flock of sheep as in this passage (cf. Ezek 34:17, 22).

Micah 7:18–20 ESV

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 Song of Victory for the Returning King

*God will Forgive the Sin’s of His People

First, God will forgive their sins. In spite of all of their sin, wickedness, and rebellion, God was still extending His offer of mercy. He offered this forgiveness to “the remnant of His inheritance.”

pardoning iniquity

passing over transgressions

does not retain his anger forever

Psalm 30:5 ESV

5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

*God will Save His People from their Sins

vs. 19 He has compassion on us and will cast our sins into the depth of the sea.

In the Bible, God’s compassion is consistently shown as both an emotional and active reality. What does God do when he feels compassionate? How does he respond when his people return to him in order to follow him?

God’s ancient people go into the Exodus, but, listen to how God responds in Isaiah 49:15-16

Isaiah 49:15–16 ESV

15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. 16 Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

God’s compassion compels him to rescue his people from their self-destructive way’s.

Jesus entered into the suffering of humanity to bring restoration

*God will position His People Beyond the Reach of Sin

Micah found his hope in the promise of an eternal relationship with God. He knew that the day was coming when God’s promise to His covenant people would be fulfilled from all the ages both Jews and Gentiles alike.

In that day His people will be fully and completely delivered from the grip of sin.

CONCLUSION

There will be day’s when the temptation of sin is so strong that we can barely stand it.

What will we do if we succumb in that moment? We will hear God say, “I want you to come back, confess your sin, experience My forgiveness, and continue to pursue Me with your life.”

This is the restoration process that Micah was referencing. It begins in this life, and it will be fully realized in the presence of God in the next. God forgives, saves, and restores people to fellowship with Himself, and that is the source of our hope.

There is nothing we can do that will take us outside the reach of God’s grace.

Entering by the Narrow Straight Gate

“The Pilgrim’s Regress”

Mark Jones

Imagine a young lady who has been paralyzed from a horrible fall suffered during a trail race. Surgeons tell her that she will never walk again, never mind run. A medical miracle occurs, allowing movement back in her legs and then amazingly, the ability to slowly walk with help but without fluidity of movement. Ongoing therapy leads to better walking and a new goal of on day being able to run again. She rightly keeps moving, rehabilitating, exercising, and son on, but days and weeks of mental and physical roadblocks partly undo the good work of the previous few months. Despite several such setbacks, in a few years she finally jogs one mile. She experiences more complications, but after many years finally runs a ten-kilometer race. Her goal is simply to finish, but it is a glorious victory, even with her somewhat awkward stride.

Most onlookers have no idea of the tragedy and struggle that brought her to this occasion of celebration. Even though this race of approximately ten thousand steps has come after total inactivity, involving not only a miracle but also many ups and downs, loads of help and encouragement along the way, and countless steps backward, and lots of tears, both of joy and of sorrow. But in the end, she runs the race set before her, even though with great difficulty.

The Christian life so perfectly parallels the illustration above. As we make progress on the journey our movement will always be awkward because of indwelling sin. However clumsily, we still move forward making progress toward the finish as we run the race set before us (2 Tim. 4:7-8; HEB. 12:1-3). Backsliders in the church sinfully run in the wrong direction, yet can get moving forward on the right path again by God’s grace alone.

In John Bunyan’s famous “Pilgrims Progress”

The Character referred to as “Christian” get’s some advice from “Goodwill.” Goodwill say’s “look straight ahead, pointing ahead of them.” “Do you see that narrow way? The path was constructed by patriarchs, the prophets, Christ, and even His apostles. It’s as straight as a narrow and the way you must go.”

Christian responds, “did you say that it was straight? Are you sure there are no turns or bends in the road that would cause confusion or perhaps get someone lost?”

“Yes there are many farther down the path. Some are crooked and some wide, but you will be able to distinguish the right from the wrong because the right path is straight and narrow.”

Matthew 7:14 ESV

For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Which path are you following today? Where are you on the path faith or the path to destruction? There are only two paths you can follow the narrow way that is hard but leads to everlasting life, or the wide path that is easy but leads to your destruction.