Month: May 2020

11.d. “Can I forget any longer the treasures of wickedness”

Micah 6:9   The voice of the Lord cries to the city—and it is sound wisdom to fear your name: “Hear of the rod and of him who appointed it! Can I forget any longer the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is accursed? Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales and with a bag of deceitful weights? Your rich men are full of violence; your inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow, making you desolate because of your sins. You shall eat, but not be satisfied, and there shall be hunger within you; you shall put away, but not preserve, and what you preserve I will give to the sword. You shall sow, but not reap; you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil; you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine. For you have kept the statutes of Omri, and all the works of the house of Ahab; and you have walked in their counsels, that I may make you a desolation, and your inhabitants a hissing; so you shall bear the scorn of my people.”

1 Kings 16:25    Omri did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did more evil than all who were before him.

1 Kings 16:30  And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.

Do you ever think about what “counsel” you are walking in?  What counsel is guiding your thoughts and actions?  What counsel do your heart and mind listen to?  Where are you finding direction for your life?  In the times of Omri and Ahab, the people took counsel from their king even though what the king was doing was wrong in the sight of God. They blindly followed and eagerly joined in.  Such is what happens when the Word of God is neglected, abandoned, disregarded, undervalued, unappreciated, and replaced by the counsel of the wicked.  It is not as though you made a conscious choice to seek wick counsel but you did make a conscious choice to stay out of His Word.  In the absence of God’s Word, what is it that fills our hearts and minds?  I can tell you, it is worldly counsel. Counsel void of God’s Word.  When there is this void, mankind will fill it with whatever seems right in their own eyes.  Do you ever wonder how long God should wait until He calls into account all who have shunned Him and disregarded His Word?  Godly counsel will fill a hunger in your soul.  Godly counsel from God’s Word will revive your heart and soul.  Godly counsel from God’s Word, that is obeyed, will bless your heart, mind, and soul.   God’s Word is counsel to the wise and foolish to those who reject it.  Spend time in His Word.

11.c. “For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.”

Micah 6:6  “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Matthew 19:16     And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

Luke 10:25    And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

Acts 2:37     Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Romans 10:2-3   For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

The question has been asked for centuries one way or another.  How can I stand before God?  How can I inherit eternal life?  What shall we do? These questions are asked by those who are lost.  Some of them want to know how to be right with God and others want to challenge the answer with no intent of needing or wanting to be right with God.  This question will be asked by searching-souls continuously until the judgement seat of Jesus Christ and His return.  It is more than just asking the question, isn’t it?  It is what we do after we have been given the answer.  If we humble ourselves and surrender our self-centeredness and self-reliance to the message of grace, mercy, and hope through the gospel of Jesus Christ we find peace, rest, and joy flooding our souls.   Repentance and turning away from these self-seeking ways and trusting in the promise of forgiveness frees us from the burden of carrying our past and sin in our own power.  Humble surrender, by faith, to the redeeming work of Jesus Christ on the cross enables our eyes to our hearts, minds, and souls be opened to forgiveness and the hope of eternity with Jesus Christ forever.

11.b. “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.”

Micah 5:15  And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey. Hear what the Lord says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel. “O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me! For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”

Deuteronomy 32:1    “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.

Luke 19:40    He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Jeremiah 22:29    O land, land, land, hear the word of the LORD!

Isaiah 1:2   Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.

Give ear creation for God is proclaiming His anger against disobedience.  God asks a very good question, “How have I wearied you?” “What have I done to you?”  He is asking them what part of life is detrimental when following and obeying God?  What part of being in the protective, powerful, and loving arms is bad for their life on earth?  What part of promised eternal life with Him is not worth giving Him all our hearts, minds, and souls?  What part of His provisions is so bad that we want to turn away and shun Him?  If we give this any thought at all and look into how we are living our lives we might be ashamed of how we honor, glorify, follow, worship, obey, trust, and rely on Him.

11.a. “And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.”

Micah 5:1  Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek. But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel,whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace.

John 7:42    Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”

Matthew 2:6   “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Luke 2:4-7    And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,  to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.  And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

1 Corinthians 1:27-28    But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;  God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,

Matthew 2:1  Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet.

From Micah, we read of the importance that was to come from Bethlehem.  This prophecy from Micah was quoted in Mathew chapter 2 by the chief priests and scribes. They knew the Messiah would come from Bethlehem.  They quoted the verse to Herod when asked: “where the Christ was to be born”.  Do you ever wonder what it was that kept them from acknowledging Jesus Christ? Do you ever wonder what it was that kept them from believing in the miracles, healings, and His death and resurrection?  These were people who knew scripture and believed in the one true God.   And yet, they failed to see the redeemer and savior Son of God.  Their lives had the appearance of piety.  They proclaimed to know the way too honoring and pleasing God. What was it that kept them deaf and blinded to the Son of God?   The fact of the matter is that they trusted more in what they were doing than what Christ did.  They trusted in their works as a means of being made right before God.  Their hearts, minds, and souls were not surrendered to Jesus Christ but rather given to self-reliance and pride.  We aren’t so much different.  We trust in self, and much more so when things are going smooth and well in our lives.  We lean on our own understanding and make provision in our minds why we are right before God.  Our eyes are blind to how far we have followed after things of this world.  Our ears are deaf to the Word of God because we choose to live apart from it and allowing it to speak into our hearts.  Our hearts, minds, and souls, must be totally surrendered in humble submission before Jesus Christ.  It is then we will begin to see that the things of this world are distracting us away from a fruit-filled life of honoring, glorifying, following, obeying, and relying on Jesus Christ.

11.

Micah 4:9   Now why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished, that pain seized you like a woman in labor? Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you shall go out from the city and dwell in the open country; you shall go to Babylon. There you shall be rescued; there the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies. Now many nations are assembled against you, saying, “Let her be defiled, and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.” But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.

Jeremiah 30:6-7     Ask now, and see, can a man bear a child? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor? Why has every face turned pale?  Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it.

Isaiah 13:8   They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame.

Jeremiah 22:23    O inhabitant of Lebanon, nested among the cedars, how you will be pitied when pangs come upon you, pain as of a woman in labor!”

Isaiah 21:3    Therefore my loins are filled with anguish; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labor; I am bowed down so that I cannot hear; I am dismayed so that I cannot see.

Hosea 13:10-11     Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities? Where are all your rulers— those of whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”?

Time and time again people of God have forsaken their love and devotion to Him.  He sends prophets to speak the truth, warnings, and righteousness expected.  What do they do? They still choose to disobey and turn their ears deaf to His calling to them.  Time and time again.  It is not as though they have not heard of the anger of God being displayed against people who have forsaken Him in the past.  Yet in their time of prosperity and peace, they choose to go down paths that are away from God.  They first become complacent and then neglectful and then disobedient.  It is not as though one day they woke up and said “Let us be disobedient to God.  It is a small step up on a small step upon a small step.  Our growth in Jesus Christ is word upon word, line upon line, and precept upon precept.  When we allow ourselves to become neglectful and complacent we are not adding word upon word, line upon line, or precept upon precept.  We are though, taking small steps away from God and it does not take many of these steps to lose your way and/or influence others to lose their way too.  We do well to search God’s Word for truth for our soul  We do well to search it for meaning in our lives.  We do well to seek and desire it with all our hearts, minds, and souls.  In it, we will find soul-deep satisfaction.  In it, we will find living water that will continue to purify our sinful nature.  In it, we will become aware of sin in our lives.  In it, we will find hope for today and tomorrow.  In it we will be more than conquerors, we will be God-honoring faithful, trustful, and obedient followers.

10.z. “Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not!”

Micah 4:6   In that day, declares the Lord, I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away and those whom I have afflicted; and the lame I will make the remnant, and those who were cast off, a strong nation; and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion from this time forth and forevermore.

Psalms 38:17    For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever before me.

Isaiah 35:3-6    Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.  Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”  Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;  then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;

Ezekiel 34:16     I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.  I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

Zephaniah 3:19    Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.

Hebrews 12:12-13    Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,  and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.

What an encouraging Word today.  In all of the fear and worry being proclaimed by social and mainstream media, some founded and some of it not.  At the end of the day, worry and fear are natural emotions that come upon us when we are taken back from our normality.  It is not bad that we have these emotions but to dwell on them and cling to them, and to believe them to be all that is ahead of us is bad, very bad.  We deny God His Glory.  Our faith and trust and reliance give glory to God.  I am sure there is more glory given to God when faith, trust, and reliance have allowed us to surrender fear and worry.  When fear and worry come upon you don’t let it own you and your thoughts.  Turn your thoughts to the promises and protection of Jesus Christ.  He knows the hairs on our head, the cattle on a thousand hills, and no sparrow drops to the ground but that He knows.  He not only is able to give us reprieve from our fear and worry but He is also able to replace it with joy, peace, comfort, courage, strength, and rest.  That old hymn comes to mind; “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full into His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace”

10.y. “But we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.”

Mica 4:1   It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, and many nations shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.

There is a time coming when all the foolishness, greed, power hunger, lies, and rejection of Jesus Christ will be no more.  Can you imagine what it will be like without murder, thievery, arrogance, disobedience, self-centeredness, and pride? People will choose to be living under the divine rule and authority of Jesus Christ. It is hard to imagine right now with all this stuff so rampant in our world today.  But a time is coming when this will be in the past and what we have been longing for and waiting for will be the reality.  When times are trying and the world is seemingly in chaos it is hard to think beyond this but this is actually what we are to keep in our hearts, minds, and souls.  This is why we have reason to live.  Our Savior is coming back.  He will cast away all those who have rejected salvation and will call His own to be with Him forevermore.  Some will say this belief is a weakness but to those of us who have awakened to sin, repentance, salvation, and forgiveness it is the power of not only life but eternal life.  We are certain as the sun rising and setting that Jesus Christ will return and set things right on earth.  Keep your eyes on the hope set before us and wait patiently looking for His return.

10.x. “But me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.”

Micah 3:8  But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin. Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who detest justice and make crooked all that is straight, who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity. Its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the Lord and say, “Is not the Lord in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us.” Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.

Amos 9:10    All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, ‘Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.’

Jeremiah 7:8-12    “Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail.  Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known,  and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations?  Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the LORD.

2 Peter 2:1-3    But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.  And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.  And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Ezekiel 22:12    In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.

Micah did not hold back any words calling out the sin of the people.  Justice was a mockery, greed was everywhere, false things were called truth, and things that ought not to have been done were willingly condoned.  The further the people got away from God the more they believed in deceptive words, false teachings, and capitalizing on their neighbor’s misfortune.  They lost sight of God and their sinful ways.  They became so accustomed to their sinful way of life it was normal and they still thought they were in God’s will.  To convince themselves of this they proclaimed disaster will not find us or overtake us.  And such is the way of many lost prodigal souls.  They lost their love for God and His Word.  They lost being able to discern what was right and wrong.  This is still true today.  When God’s Word is not hungered and thirsted for in our daily lives we too will fall away, believe false teachings, and use worldly wisdom and acceptance to convince ourselves that we are right with God.  God’s Word is true and able to discern our thoughts and intents if we would but seek it to be active in our lives.  His Word is living water and the bread of life.  With it filling our souls we will not be led astray by worldly compromise or social norms.  Be intentional with His Word every day.  Seek it, taste, and see that it is good for your soul.

10.w. “Your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.”

Micah 3:4  Then they will cry to the Lord, but he will not answer them; he will hide his face from them at that time, because they have made their deeds evil. Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry “Peace” when they have something to eat, but declare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths. Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without divination. The sun shall go down on the prophets, and the day shall be black over them; the seers shall be disgraced, and the diviners put to shame; they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God.

Deuteronomy 31:17-18    Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’  And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods.

Deuteronomy 32:19-20   “The LORD saw it and spurned them, because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.  And he said, ‘I will hide my face from them; I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness.

Isaiah 59:1-15    Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;  but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

How sad, terrible, and overwhelming to have God hide His face from His people?  How big is the separation when there is no answer from God?  When there is sin in our lives and in our nations and we have known what it means to seek and follower after God but have willfully chosen paths away from Him can we expect and answer from Him?  The answer to this is yes and no.  When we come to our senses like the prodigal son He is there with expectant arms wide open.  It is in the time between our unfaithfulness and willing disobedience, and a drought of God’s Word in our life when we will find that it is not so much Him speaking into our lives but rather we are not listening.  The worst part of this is that we choose to not listen and then wonder why, when troubles find their way into our lives, God does not seem to be anywhere near us.  God orchestrates and/or allows troubles to come on individuals and nations.   He has used these times to draw them back to Him, recognizes their sin, repents, and turns away from that which was appalling to obedience to Him.  As a nation, we find ourselves in a time now that prudent minds would seek God with a humble heart.  But this isn’t what we do, is it?   We look to local, state, and federal governments to answer our questions and fix the troubles we are facing.  Could it be that God is taking away (hopefully temporarily) that which we hold so dear in this world?  I do know this unless we turn to Him with humbleness and repentant hearts our nation will go from worse to worse.  Seek Him, dive deep into His Word, and open the ears to your hearts, minds, and souls.

10.v. “Leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”

Micah 2:10  Arise and go, for this is no place to rest, because of uncleanness that destroys with a grievous destruction. If a man should go about and utter wind and lies, saying, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,” he would be the preacher for this people!

1 Kings 22:21-23     Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, saying, ‘I will entice him.’  And the LORD said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’  Now therefore behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the LORD has declared disaster for you.”

Jeremiah 14:14    And the LORD said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.

2 Peter 2:1-3     But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.  And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.  And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

2 Thessalonians 2:11   Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,

Isaiah 30:10-11   who say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions,  leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”

Jeremiah 5:31    the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?

The Old and New Testament is ripe with examples of Kings, Preachers, and Prophets speaking falsely.  The worst part of them speaking lies to the people is that most of the people want it this way.  They don’t want to hear that they need to stop being neglectful and complacent and repent.  They have become confident in their soft undisciplined lives.  Their itching ears for lukewarm preaching about what they can get from Jesus Christ if they would just ask, without having their hearts, minds, and souls fully committed to honoring, glorifying, following, obeying, listening, trusting, and relying on Him.  They itch for an easy gospel of peace, rest, prosperity, and ease of life preached to them.  They do not want to hear about sin, repentance, and the need for forgiveness.  They wallow in self-centered wants and self-reliance for their shallow Christian lives.  This ought not to be so.  Our lives ought to be hungering and thirsting for truth and desiring to have Jesus Christ show us our wickedness and wayward thoughts with a heart deep seeking to honor and glorify Him in all we think, do, and say.  This ought to be our want for every day not just for times of crisis, trials, and troubles.  When our first thought is to dig into His Word for truth, guidance, and knowledge we are at the beginning of maturing in Jesus Christ.  We can not continue to listen to watered-down preaching.  It will zap our souls of sound doctrine, God-honoring, and glorifying lives.  If sin is not preached how is it we will examine our lives for it?  If sin is not preached how are we going to see a need to confess it?  If Sin is not preached how are we going to search The Word of God to lead us toward godly lives?  Ask God to show you your heart and if there is anything in it that is contrary to that which will honor and glorify Him.