Sermon Tone Analysis

God’s Provision’s Lost

In this chapter we have, I.

The sins with which the people of Israel are charged—covetousness and oppression, fraudulent and violent practices (v. 1, 2), dealing barbarously, even with women and children, and other harmless people (v. 8, 9).

Opposition of God’s prophets and silencing them (v.

6, 7), and delighting in false prophets (v.

11).

II.

The judgments with which they are threatened for those sins, that they should be humbled, and impoverished (v.

3–5), and banished (v.

10).

Micah 2:1–11 (NKJV)

Woe to those who devise iniquity,

And work out evil on their beds!

At morning light they practice it,

Because it is in the power of their hand.

They covet fields and take them by violence,

Also houses, and seize them.

So they oppress a man and his house,

A man and his inheritance.

Therefore thus says the Lord:

“Behold, against this family I am devising disaster,

From which you cannot remove your necks;

Nor shall you walk haughtily,

For this is an evil time.

In that day one shall take up a proverb against you,

And lament with a bitter lamentation, saying:

‘We are utterly destroyed!

He has changed the heritage of my people;

How He has removed it from me!

To a turncoat He has divided our fields.’

”

Therefore you will have no one to determine boundaries by lot

In the assembly of the Lord.

“Do not prattle,” you say to those who prophesy.

So they shall not prophesy to you;

They shall not return insult for insult.

You who are named the house of Jacob:

“Is the Spirit of the Lord restricted?

Are these His doings?

Do not My words do good

To him who walks uprightly?

“Lately My people have risen up as an enemy—

You pull off the robe with the garment

From those who trust you, as they pass by,

Like men returned from war.

The women of My people you cast out

From their pleasant houses;

From their children

You have taken away My glory forever.

“Arise and depart,

For this is not your rest;

Because it is defiled, it shall destroy,

Yes, with utter destruction.

If a man should walk in a false spirit

And speak a lie, saying,

‘I will prophesy to you of wine and drink,’

Even he would be the prattler of this people.

(The word prattler means to prophesy ecstatically).

Micah wastes no time getting into his message.

God has spoken to him and warned him that the sins of the people are so great that He must send judgment.

He names the capital cities in v. 1—Jerusalem (capital of Judah, the Southern Kingdom) and Samaria (capital of Israel, the Northern Kingdom).

In fact, in this first message, Micah names twelve cities and points out their sins some of those cities were.

Shaphir= Pleasant

Zaanan= Come out

Beth-ezel= house of dust

Maroth= bitter

Lachish= team of horses

Moresheth-Gath= gift or dowry, Micah’s hometown

Aczib= deception

Mareshah= conqueror.

No one can remove their necks.

(GOLDEN TEXT- Ps 37:18 The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be forever.)

Today’s Aim:

Facts: to see how standing firm for God can sometimes be challenging in an immoral culture.

Principal: to understand some of the consequences of not following the Lord.

Application: to listen to those who lift up the word of God and urge us to obey it despite our fleshly desires.

Introducing the Lesson: Contrary to popular belief, we only have two choices when it comes to sin: we can serve God, or we can serve ourselves.

Studying the text:

Nothing to cling to- Mic.

2:4-7

No portion (Mic.

2:4) {In this chapter, Micah identified many of the sins of Judah, specifying violations of the mosaic law.

He did this to warn the people that God’s divine punishment was on its way unless they changed direction immediately.}

Q1

They were so bad that they devised evil plans even while they were falling asleep at night and then carried out those ideas the next morning as soon as they had opportunity (vs.

1).

Among the things that they did was to covet and take fields and homes violently (vs.

2).

In carrying out such injustices, they were oppressing their fellow men and taking away their promised heritage.

God said, “in that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation” (vs.

4).

{Those outside of the land would make up a song to mock the people of Judah.

At the same time, God’s people would mourn with these words: We are utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of his people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields.

The time was coming when God would remove his blessing from his own people and would himself take away their property and give it to others.

They would therefore, no longer have any portion, or allotment, left to themselves in their land.

Enemies would take it all and force them into captivity.

Their prideful self-confidence would be utterly destroyed.

Malachi 2:2 says, If you will not hear, And if you will not take it to heart, To give glory to My name,” Says the Lord of hosts, I will send a curse upon you, and curse your blessings.

Yes, I have cursed them already, Because you do not take it to heart.

God must receive the credit for and the glory of everything, there is no place for pride when obeying God’s commission; if we are going to undertake this then we must be humble, not self glorifying; Micah understood his calling, being bold and confidently proclaiming in this case the bad news from the Lord God of host.

Micah 3:8 (NKJV) But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, And of justice and might, To declare to Jacob his transgression And to Israel his sin.

his calling was to confront his fellow Brothers and try to appeal to their since of obedience to God and their sense of fair play to others, But, in all honesty they had already moved well pass that, their longing of the riches that they gained was far greater than their desire to listen to the man of God, they were being willfully contrary; hiding behind their own excuses and love of their own status; John D. Rockefeller said, ‘The poorest man I know is the man who has nothing but money.’

Money can’t buy you a relationship with God and will not enter you into heaven.

There was a need for the man of God to speak up against the injustices of his day, so in chapter 6 Micah eludes to the charges against them.

Micah 6:10–12 says (NKJV) Are there yet the treasures of wickedness In the house of the wicked, And the short measure that is an abomination?

Shall I count pure those with the wicked scales, And with the bag of deceitful weights?

For her rich men are full of violence, Her inhabitants have spoken lies, And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.