Thursday, August 29, 2019

Year 9, Day 241: Micah 1


Theological Commentary: Click Here



Micah returns us to the typical lament of the prophets.  God is coming in judgment.  He plans wrath on the people.  The time for reckoning has come.  This is not a new message for those of us familiar with the prophets.



What is it that causes the mountains to melt like wax before the Lord?  The sin of the northern tribe is Samaria.  What was Samaria?  Is was the capitol city where the northern kings lived and where the worship happened.  What is Micah’s point?  The leadership of the northern kingdom is bad.  They people are being led astray as the leaders go.



We know that God is targeting the worship and leadership in the way that he speaks about His wrath.  He says that the idols will be broken to pieces, the temple gifts will be burned with fire, and the gifts in worship will be turned over to prostitutes.  That makes it pretty clear.  God is upset and the religious milieu of the nation.



It gets worse.  God says that the sins of the northern kingdom are infecting Judah.  Samaria is incurable.  I don’t know about anyone else, but hearing God speak about me as incurable is something I hope to never hear.  God is the God of restoration.  It has to be pretty bad for Him to pronounce it as incurable.



What is the proper response?  We are to mourn.  Micah tells the people to shave their heads in acknowledgment of the coming judgment.  God’s judgment cannot be forestalled.  The best the people can do is acknowledge its coming and embrace what God is going to do through it.



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