Micah 2

Good evening gentlemen. It’s a pleasure to be here with you all as always. If you have your copy of God’s Word I’d invite you to turn to Micah chapter 2. We’ll be reading the entire chapter and I am using the English Standard Version tonight so your wording might be slightly different from mine depending on what version you have, but that’s alright

I’m sure yesterday you all got a slight overview of this book and its purpose, but I want to go through that a little bit again before we jump into chapter 2. We want to see the context, and really it’s quite simple. If we look through really the whole Old Testament, we see this continuing pattern throughout. We see God’s chosen people, Israel, constantly failing, stumbling, going against God. Eventually, they turn and go back to God, but then as time goes on, they do it again, and again, and again.

However, the biggest part of all of Israel’s waywardness is that God never goes away from them. In the book of Exodus, God cut a covenant with Israel as His chosen people. And as you read through the Old Testament, you see several instances where God has dwelt with them. In Exodus and Deuteronomy, you see God showing Himself as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night showing Israel where to go as He leads them through the wilderness.

Eventually, God commands them to build the tabernacle where He would dwell, and eventually the temple of Jerusalem. Within the camp of Israel, there is holiness, but outside of it there is uncleanness. God’s chosen people, Israel, is considered a clean people, and those outside of Israel are unholy or unclean. Israel in this time isn’t a nation, but a people.

God, never goes against His chosen people. He is always providing them a way back to Himself whenever they do sin against Him. So with that being said, Let’s go ahead and read Micah chapter 2 starting in verse 1.

Micah 2

Let’s Pray and ask the Lord’s help

Micah was a professional prophet. Which is somewhat weird to say out loud, but that was his occupation. We see other prophets throughout the Old Testament who had prior jobs or purposes and then God called them to go and do something and became prophets, but this was what Micah did. He wasn’t from the place he was speaking to the people at, but he was sent by God nonetheless to deliver a message.

In most of the writings of the prophets, the message God has sent them to deliver is something along the lines of “turn from your wickedness, judgment is coming, repent.” This message Micah is delivering is not much different.

As we read throughout this chapter, we can see these themes all over the place.

Verse 1 - Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil

Verse 2 - They oppress a man and his house

Verse 3 - Thus says the Lord…I am devising disaster

And so on. Micah is delivering the warning against the people of Israel, telling them not only that God is going to bring destruction, but also why. These leaders in these lands where Israel dwell are crooked and oppressive leaders, coveting the land and wealth of others to the point that they are taking it unjustly. So although the leaders of God’s people are committing these acts, they are committing them against God’s faithful people

We hear that word a lot in our time. Oppression. It’s somewhat lost its meaning because of the frequency of its use, but if we look at these pages here we can see true oppression. You have people who have much land, wealth, and homes that they have either inherited from their fathers or managed to acquire on their own, and the leaders are stripping those things from them to keep for themselves. Not for any transgression they’ve committed, but simply because they can

They are the ones with the power and they can do these things. God sees these things and doesn’t stand idle, but tells these wicked rulers, “you have committed wickedness against the innocent. Therefore, destruction will fall on your head.”

This is very important because there are a great many of people who generally think that God is evil. He kills people and He allows bad things to happen. Why do bad things happen to good people, right? Another incredibly common phrase we hear in our time. But Micah 2 tells us quite an opposite story, doesn’t it? It shows us that God cares for His people and will not tolerate injustice that is committed agains them. He will not allow for them to be oppressed without there being justice.

You see, God punishes the wicked who are not His. It is difficult to look around us in the world we live in and see the wicked people prosper. The people who hate God are super successful. It’s almost as if they are immune from bad things happening to them, yet for whatever reason those who are trying to do well continue to run into walls their whole lives. I know I’ve run into this myself.

However, though we might not see it ourselves, those who are opposed to God will see the day where they will encounter their ruin. When they stand before God and have spent their entire lives in rebellion to them, He will judge them for their wickedness. If someone is in rebellion to God and does not repent and believe in Him, their dying day is the worst day of their life. In that moment, they begin their time of eternal torment and no chance of grace to be given them by God.

For those who repent and believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior, then they will know Christ as their King and will enter into glory with Him in their dying day. Now, this chapter is directed toward the people of God. So what does that mean then for the people of God? Well what it means is that God’s people are under rules. So with that, if God’s people are committing oppression toward others, then they will be disciplined. Much like a father disciplines his children when they disobey.

But, as we read on through the rest of the book of Micah, what we see, as we do in most of Israel’s other rebellious spells, God still gives then a way back. This is still relevant today too. God’s people, though they will still sin, they have a way back through repentance.

This is made possible through the shed blood of Jesus in His death and resurrection. Once again, this repentance is a repentance once being in the family of God. But for those who are not in God’s family must repent in a way that is turning from their sinful life, putting their faith and trust in this work of Jesus, and walking in the ways of His Word.

This is the daily reminder for those who love Christ, and the call for those who are not. Christ has provided the way of escape from sin and death. He has offered His free grace. All we must do is receive it with an open hand. There is evil in this world and there are those who oppress. There are those who commit evil against a holy and just God. Though you might not steal land, goods, and wealth from others for your own gain, you are sinning against God. And God punishes sin.

He has punished sin for all who believe through death in Christ. But He punishes sin to those who are opposed to God by punishing them through eternity in hell. Take the gift of grace in Jesus today.

Let’s pray.