Laying the Foundation

It has often been said that the minor prophets shared a major message. The reality is that the 12 books of minor prophets simply contain fewer words than that of the major prophets.

The time of the writing of this book has usually been associated alongside Isaiah, in the eighth century before Christ. This would have placed the writing as just before the time of Assyria capturing Israel, or Samaria, as it is called in various places in the Old Testament. This would have been the Northern Kingdom that was soon to be captured.

We know the Northern Kingdom, Israel, is about to be conquered. However, the Southern Kingdom, Judah, as a nation, was not representing what it meant to be a chosen people for the Lord, either. Granted, Israel, was actually worse. With Judah, there were some reformations that took place, but they appeared to be fairly shallow. There were still high places where idol worship took place. Even though there was a lot of history that showed God’s goodness to his chosen people, there was still a lot of unbelief that Jehovah was the One True God. This was seen by how evil the nation was behaving. Micah recognized this and knew that what he was prophesying regarding the punishment that was going to take place was completely deserved. He also knew that it was too late for the nation to act repentant, since they had played that card quite a bit over the years.

The book of Micah cannot be looked at as a fluid, flowing timeline. It’s actually divided by most readers and scholars into three different sections or prophecies. The first section is full of threats and promises of destruction due to the nation’s rebellion. The second prophecy contains hope in a coming Messiah who will restore things as God wants. The third area focuses on pleading for the people to repent, even while they are being punished; remembering how God has shown mercy in the past and the fact that there will be an upcoming salvation.

A theme verse for the book of Micah could possibly be found in Micah 7.18

Micah 7:18 (NASB95)

Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love.

Today, we’ll just be looking at verse 1, as it seems to stand alone. Yet it carries information that is terribly important to the follower of the Lord.

Micah 1:1 (NASB95)

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

This verse has as its primary purpose, that of giving relevant information to understanding the rest of this prophetic book.

There is actually a very impressive correlation in this verse which can be applied to the believer today. That is what I want to accomplish today in this message. Looking at the main points of this message, of Authority, Messenger, and Recipients, we want to understand the following:

We, who are born again, have been called by God and given His authoritative Word with the Power of His Holy Spirit, to proclaim repentance and salvation to a world that is lost without Jesus.

Authority

The word of the Lord which came . . . which he saw . . .

To make sure there was no confusion about the authority and authenticity of the message, Micah started out with the fact that what he had to share was directly from God. What Micah was sharing was God’s Word. And God’s Word came to him without any coaxing or soliciting from Micah; it simply came from God. However, just like everything that was written in the Scriptures, it was inspired by God, while allowing the author to use his own style of writing.

The Hebrew word used for saw is very specific to all divine revelation. The focus is not on visually seeing, but rather upon Micah being given specifics of this prophecy by means of the Holy Spirit. We’re not sure if this was done all at once or if it was given to Micah over a period of time. But the Word of the Lord which was shared includes the whole book of Micah.

What can we, as believers take from this? What we are called upon to share comes from a position of absolute and flawless authority. What we have to share about Jesus comes straight from the Bible. What we have to share about our own sinfulness comes straight from God’s word. The answer, or the solution, is found only in Jesus Christ, according to the Bible. And it should be fairly obvious that none of these ideas or thoughts came from us; it is all of God.

Sometimes, we panic in thinking that we won’t get the message just right, when we are presented with the opportunity to share Jesus with someone. The Bible assures us that God will give you the right words to say. His Holy Spirit is the One Who applies His Word to the hearer’s heart. It is the Holy Spirit Who works together with the Father, when the Father draws people and the Holy Spirit convicts.

We also understand that we were not that bright before we were saved, when it comes to the things of God. It had to be revealed to us. We needed God to take the veil off our eyes and give us understanding.

Just like Micah experienced, it was God Who moved and revealed what was to be. The message did not originate with us nor did it with Micah. And the amazing thing is that God allows us to express our testimony using His Word in our own unique style in which He made us.

Messenger

. . . to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, . . .

Micah is identified as being from Moresheth. Many scholars call it Moresheth-Gath. His location was in what is known as the lowlands of Judea. This would have been situated about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem, close to Gath. Many scholars suggest that Micah was part of the poor people groups who experienced oppression from those who abused their wealth. In this area was where many farmers and shepherds lived. It was not filled with elite, wealthy people.

Interestingly, the meaning of his name, Micah, is Who is like God? We actually know very little about Micah, except what we find here.

Part of what we know is that God’s prophecy was revealed to him during the time of three different kings of the Southern Kingdom, Judah; namely, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. This also lets us know that Isaiah was already on the scene with his prophetic ministry. Isaiah’s time of ministry was somewhat longer.

Jotham ruled for approximately 4-5 years. Ahaz was in charge for about 20 years. Hezekiah ruled about 29 years or so. There seems to be some disagreement among scholars as to the exact times, but this is the order of their reign. It was during this time frame in which Micah was called to be God’s messenger.

We might wonder why there are only kings from Judah are mentioned and not any kings from the Northern Kingdom. Even though, Micah mentions Samaria and prophesied against it, God’s primary purpose was for him to speak to the Southern Kingdom, Judah, in hopes of getting them to repent and not have to experience what Israel was about to receive. Plus, we need to remember that the Lord saw Israel and Judah as one people, even though the nation had split much earlier.

Again, how does this relate to us? Micah belonged to the Lord and so do we, as a result of becoming part of God’s family through Jesus Christ. None of us can claim we are from Moresheth. However, we all come from our own humble backgrounds, some more so than others. But that’s not the real issue, is it? Here’s what I want us to grasp. Regardless of your background and history, you can be available to serve the living Lord.

Sometimes, our message can be very painful to the person hearing it. Yet, it must always remain truthful. Our yes is to be yes, and our no is to be no. We do not bring our own hobby horse or pet peeves into the arena of our interactions with others. As messengers for the King of Kings, it is to be His Word and not our own.

As messengers, we cannot choose when we proclaim Jesus, or even where we proclaim Jesus. Even now, in our troubled and upside down world, we have to remember that God chose to place us in this particular time and place. Just as Micah was placed into a particular time and place, so are we. Where we are is where we proclaim Christ. Now is the time in which we proclaim Jesus.

What Micah said would never have been considered politically correct or even labeled tolerant. The leaders and priests at that time were extremely corrupt and many of the things which we’ll be covering in the next several weeks, will seem like they could have come off the pages of our own newspapers or websites. Micah’s focus was on proclaiming God’s message. That needs to be true for us today as well. We speak the truth about God’s Word, without putting a spin on it in order to make it palatable to the hearer. You see, if people don’t realize how desperately lost they are and what lies ahead for them unless there is a change, why would they listen to us about choosing Jesus for forgiveness of sin and eternal life?

Recipients

. . . concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

Everything that is about to be stated in this prophecy is going to happen to the North very soon, and to the South later, if there is no change in the people’s hearts. Samaria was the capital city of Israel, or the Northern Kingdom. Jerusalem was the capital city of Judah, or the Southern Kingdom. Again, not much is said about the Northern Kingdom, since it would be conquered by the Assyrians around 721 or 722 B.C.

Remember I stated that where we are is where God wants us. And it is for this time that we have been placed here in this world. For many people with whom we share, we’ll be met with great resistance, as their rebellion against God has set in deep. However, there will also be those with whom we share, who will be grateful to hear the message. They will realize how far from God they have traveled and how deep in depravity they have descended. They are the ones who will want to turn their lives over to Jesus Christ and allow Him to make a difference in their lives, allowing Him to cause them to make a difference in someone else’s life.

Reflections

Micah 7.18 “Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love.” That is truly a verse on which we can hang our hats.

Yes, there will be punishment for those who continue to rebel and reject God’s offer of salvation. Yes, we need to present that as a Biblical fact.

Yet, there is great hope for those who hear the message and choose to repent. God’s great love and salvation is available for those who will repent and receive God’s gift of salvation.

Plus, it needs to be understood that if a person truly will do this, their lives will change. They will not keep living in the former ways.

We, who are born again, have been called by God and given His authoritative Word with the Power of His Holy Spirit, to proclaim repentance and salvation to a world that is lost without Jesus.