Micah 7

WEEK   10                                        Micah 7

FRIDAY  Reflections

Yes, God is a God who requires justice and judgment, but He is also a God of mercy and forgiveness. The prophet ends with a promise. The promise God will forgive and restore. God is going to keep His promises; this is the final word. God is not a God who is looking for a fight. He is looking for a reason to forgive and restore. He is a God of mercy and love.

Mic 7:1-20
(1)  Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit.
(2)  The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.
(3)  That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.
(4)  The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.
(5)  Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
(6)  For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.
(7)  Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
(8)  Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.
(9)  I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.
(10)  Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.
(11)  In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed.
(12)  In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.
(13)  Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.
(14)  Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
(15)  According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things.
(16)  The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.
(17)  They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee.
(18)  Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
(19)  He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
(20)  Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

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2 Corinthians 6

WEEK   10                                      2 Corinthians 6

THURSDAY  Reflections

A yoke binds two things together. Paul advises the people of Corinth and us not to be yoked (bound) to unbelievers. This isn't saying we can't be friends with the unsaved, because without interaction, how can people come to Christ? Just being a friend to an unbeliever isn’t what Paul is talking about.

Two bound animals can't go separate ways; either they move together, the stronger pulls the weaker along (never a good thing), or they go nowhere. If we are bound to unbelievers, then Paul's concern isn't that we will bring them to God but the other way around.

This scripture is used most often in marriage, but I believe business deals, oath-bound organizations, and other binding arrangements would do well to take Paul's words to heart. We are here to reach the world. How can we do that if we are bound to something which denigrates the name or work of Jesus?

2Co 6:1-18
(1)  We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
(2)  (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
(3)  Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed:
(4)  But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,
(5)  In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;
(6)  By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,
(7)  By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
(8)  By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;
(9)  As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;
(10)  As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
(11)  O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged.
(12)  Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels.
(13)  Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged.
(14)  Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
(15)  And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
(16)  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
(17)  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
(18)  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

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Micah 6

WEEK  10                                          Micah 6

WEDNESDAY  Reflections

God lays out his case against Israel. The question we ask is what can we give. The problem is God really doesn't want people to offer sacrifice for guidance and direction. He wants a people to live as he commanded. The summary of how to live is found in verse 8, "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" (NIV). Many see this command to act justly in regard to social justice, but God wants us to live rightly with him and others.

 

In the bigger picture of Scripture, God wants us to be people who walk humbly and do justly. Not a people who are trying to follow rules, but a people whose hearts have been changed to be like His. 



Mic 6:1-16
(1)  Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.
(2)  Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD'S controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.
(3)  O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.
(4)  For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
(5)  O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.
(6)  Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?
(7)  Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or 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?
(8)  He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
(9)  The LORD'S voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.
(10)  Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable?
(11)  Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights?
(12)  For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
(13)  Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins.
(14)  Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword.
(15)  Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.
(16)  For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people.

Micah 5

WEEK 10                                              Micah 5

TUESDAY  Reflections

This chapter contains the promise that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. This is scripture the leaders of the Jews referred to when Herod asked them where the king would be born. It was also why some didn't originally believe Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus came from Nazareth, and thus they assumed he was born there. Many interpreted this scripture as a military leader, which wasn't Jesus' mission on his first coming; some had trouble accepting Jesus as the messiah. 

 

What got people in trouble is they assumed they understood what God was doing perfectly from the prophecy. God was and is going to fulfill all of the prophecies, but not as they thought. This, to me, is a warning when we come to the final book of the Bible; Revelation. We should concern ourselves with what we know is being taught rather than what we think might happen.

Mic 5:1-15
(1)  Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
(2)  But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
(3)  Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
(4)  And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
(5)  And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.
(6)  And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.
(7)  And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.
(8)  And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
(9)  Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.
(10)  And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots:
(11)  And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds:
(12)  And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers:
(13)  Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands.
(14)  And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities.
(15)  And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

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2 Kings 20

WEEK   10                                       2 Kings 20

MONDAY  Reflections

We discussed Hezekiah's attitude about the future of the kingdom in Isaiah, so I want to look at the miracle. God didn't just remove Hezekiah's boil; God told Isaiah how to make what we would call medicine to treat it. For some, this may seem like a small detail, but I believe it is a reminder that God uses medical treatments to cure. God gave Isaiah the knowledge of what to do. Today, God gives doctors and researchers knowledge which leads to cures.

 

If you're sick, it isn't a lack of faith if you go to the doctor. It is a lack of faith if you are trusting only the doctor and not God. God uses medicine! It is presumptuous to demand God heal in the way you want Him to when He has provided a way to be healed.  

2Ki 20:1-21
(1)  In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
(2)  Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying,
(3)  I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
(4)  And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
(5)  Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.
(6)  And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
(7)  And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
(8)  And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?
(9)  And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?
(10)  And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.
(11)  And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.
(12)  At that time Berodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.
(13)  And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and shewed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not.
(14)  Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon.
(15)  And he said, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them.
(16)  And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD.
(17)  Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD.
(18)  And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
(19)  Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?
(20)  And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
(21)  And Hezekiah slept with his fathers: and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.