Micah Series

August 21, 2021

Israel was called out of a life of slavery and into a life of holiness. Through fidelity and faithfulness Israel would be a living example and their witness would bring a knowledge of the One True God to the entire world.

Hundreds of years later we come to the book of Micah.

Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah and ministered during the reigns of:

• Jotham – Did Right even though the people continued to sacrifice and burn incense at the high places. (750-732 BC)

• Ahaz – One of the most Evil kings to reign in Judah. He sacrificed his children to Molech. (735-716 BC)

• Hezekiah – Did Right and tried to reverse the evil begun by his father. (716-687 BC)

As we know, despite all God had done for His people, they continued to rebel against Him. So……... He took them to court.

• Micah 1:2 - Hear, O peoples, all of you; Listen, O earth and all it contains, and let the Lord God be a witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple.

First up --- the People

• Micah 1:6-7 - For I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the open country, Planting places for a vineyard. I will pour her stones down into the valley and will lay bare her foundations. 7 All of her idols will be smashed, all of her earnings will be burned with fire, and all of her images I will make desolate, BECAUSE she collected them from a harlot's earnings, and to the earnings of a harlot they will return.

• Micah 2:1-3 - Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning's light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it. 2 They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud a man of his home, a fellowman of his inheritance. 3 THEREFORE, the LORD says: "I am planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.

Next up --- the leadership and the prophets who led the people astray:

• Micah 3:1-3 - And I said, "Hear now, heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel. Is it not for you to know justice? 2 "You who hate good and love evil, who tear off their skin from them and their flesh from their bones, 3 and who eat the flesh of my people, strip off their skin from them, break their bones, and chop them up as for the pot and as meat in a kettle."

• Micah 3:9-12 - heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who abhor justice and twist everything that is straight, 10 who build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with violent injustice. 11 Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe, her priests instruct for a price, and her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the LORD saying, "Is not the LORD in our midst? Calamity will not come upon us." 12 THEREFORE, on account of you, Zion will be plowed as a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the temple will become high places of a forest.

Because God is fair, Israel was invited to defend itself, "Stand up, plead your case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say.”

God moved from charges of infidelity to asking 2 questions, "My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you?”

Then He invited Israel to remember His saving acts on their behalf, “I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam. 5 My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD." {Micah 6:1-5}

The people were alarmed by these charges brought against them. They could not deny the mighty acts of God but they were living under the delusion that they remained firmly within the Covenant as “God’s Chosen People”, which they had practically dissolved as a result of their idolatry.

How they responded to the charges is very telling about how they had come to view God and their responsibility to Him:

• Micah 6:6-7 - What can we bring to the LORD? Should we bring him burnt offerings? Should we bow before God Most High with offerings of yearling calves? 7 Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins? {NLT}