GOD’S SPECIAL PEOPLE ( MICAH)

1. GOD’S SPECIAL PEOPLE(MICAH) Lesson 7 for May 18, 2013

2. Micah, as did Isaiah, carried on his prophetic ministry in the critical period of the latter half of the 8th century b.c., when Assyria was the dominant world power. In his own country Jotham, the king of Judah, when he began his prophetic ministry, “did that which was right in the sight of the Lord,” although the people of his kingdom “sacrificed and burned incense still in the high places” (2 Kings 15:34, 35). Ahaz, Jotham’s son and successor, went the full length of idolatry, even burning “his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen” (2 Chron. 28:3). He did not hesitate to rearrange and change the brazen altar of burnt offering, and the laver, and to place within the sacred Temple precincts an idolatrous altar which he saw at Damascus (2 Kings 16:10–12, 14–17). These and other iniquitous acts against the true worship of the Lord made Ahaz probably the most idolatrous king who had reigned over Judah. During the time of this spiritual declension among the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah, Micah exercised his prophetic office. The contents of his book set forth the moral and religious conditions among the people during the reigns mentioned.(SDA Bible Commentary, Introduction to Micah) HISTORICAL CONTEXT

3. THE PROPHET AND HIS MESSAGE (cp. 1) “Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked; I will make a wailing like the jackals and a mourning like the ostriches” (Micah1:8) Why did the prophet moan like that? Micah had mixed feelings about God’s judgment. On one hand, he had to proclaim the divine judgment and the destruction of his people. On the other hand, he deeply loved his brothers and identified himself with them. The pain he felt for his people was shown with great moan and a vehement desire of repentance, so destruction wouldn’t be necessary.

4. Many prophets from all ages felt those mixed feelings too.

5. NATIONAL CORRUPTION (cp. 2-3) Micah introduces the moral national scene of Judah during the reign of Ahaz: • They were always thinking about evil (Mic. 2:1) • They coveted and stole; they burdened the poor (Mic. 2:2) • They expropriated the widow’s and orphan’s possessions (Mic. 2:9) • They listened to false prophets (Mic. 2:11; 3:5) • They hated good and loved evil (Mic. 3:2) “Repentant sinners have no cause to despair because they are reminded of their transgressions and warned of their danger. These very efforts in their behalf show how much God loves them and desires to save them. They have only to follow His counsel and do His will, to inherit eternal life. God sets the sins of His erring people before them, that they may behold them in all their enormity under the light of divine truth. It is then their duty to renounce them forever” E.G.W. (Conflict and Courage, January 2)

6. NATIONAL CORRUPTION (cp. 2-3) Despite all the evil within the people, they still praised God and offered sacrifices. They thought they wouldn’t be destroyed although their works broke the divine Law. “Her heads judge for a bribe, her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord, and say, “Is not the Lord among us? No harm can come upon us.”” (Micah 3:11) This message must move us to search ourselves and our relationship with God. Just remember that God “forgives iniquity ” but “He by no means clears the guilty” (Numbers 14:18)

7. THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH (cp. 4-5) “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2) The most wonderful mystery is introduced with that brief message: The incarnation of the everlasting God. And He wasn’t born in a big city or in the bosom of an influential family or surrounded by wealth. He was born in a humble village in the bosom of a humble family. He lived a humble life: “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8) This great truth gives meaning to our lives and brings hope for something greater than anything the world could offer.

8. WHAT PLEASES GOD (cp. 6) “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8) • “There are men who may be represented as doing justly and loving mercy, but who have not the true principle within them, the faith that will lead them to walk humbly with the Lord. They may seem to have every specification needed but that of sanctified faith, but lacking this, they lack all. The life is not sanctified, and without this sanctification of motive and purpose, it is impossible to please God… Each is to prove in his life his right to the claim he makes for citizenship in the kingdom of Christ and of God” • E.G.W. (The Review and Herald, September 30 1909)

9. THE RESULT OF REPENTANCE (cp. 7) “He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19) The good news presented by Micah is that punishment is never God’s last word. God’s action in Scripture consistently moves from judgment to forgiveness, from punishment to grace, and from suffering to hope.