Micah chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Mic 6:1 Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou
before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.
Mic 6:2 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.
Mic 6:3 O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied
thee? testify against me.
Mic 6:4 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.
Mic 6:5 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.
Mic 6:6 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?
Mic 6:7 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?
Mic 6:8 He hath showed 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?
Mic 6:9 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.
Mic 6:10 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked,
and the scant measure that is abominable?
Mic 6:11 Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of
deceitful weights?
Mic 6:12 For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants
thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
Mic 6:13 Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee
desolate because of thy sins.
Mic 6:14 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.
Mic 6:15 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.
Mic 6:16 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 a hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my
people.
Mankind seems to think sin is fun and to ignore God is the way of modern
thinking. This is nothing new. It has been going on for centuries both before
and after the flood of Noah's day. Yet, sin brings misery, sickness and
suffering over and over again. We reap what we sow. We never learn from history.
We keep ignoring God to our own peril and it destroys us both in this life and
in the life to come. God made a perfect way to redeem us from the trappings of
sin but many still ignore the good ways and the old paths and continually think
that we can achieve peace and prosperity apart from God. The cycle goes on and
on and we reap more misery and heartache.
The examples in the bible of the many sins of Israel is written not to condemn
Israel in the sight of the world but for our learning. We can avoid the same
mistakes. Jesus gave us the gift of salvation. He came to save us from our sins.
If that wasn't the greatest thing that could ever happen, He also added to us
the gift of the Holy Spirit so that we are never alone and we have God within us
after we have repented of sin and believed in Him (Jesus). If that wasn't
enough, He gave us power to overcome sin and walk in the spirit so that we are
no longer in bondage to the desires of the flesh. The reason that we do not see
every Christian walking in love and in the spirit is because we stop seeking Him
and stop diligently searching His word for understanding.
We see in this chapter God is pleading with Israel asking, "What have I done?"
What has God done to us that we tend to stray away from His presence and ignore
His word. All His gifts to us are the best heaven can give. He has good things
for us but we tend to ignore it and are bent to pursue our own ways that keep
getting us in more and more trouble.
God reminds these people how He brought them out of the bondage of Egypt. How He
refused to curse them when the king of Moab desired Balaam to curse Israel.
God didn't desire their sacrifices of animals or their firstborn. He desires
that they do justice, love mercy and walk humbly before Him.
Religious observances and rituals are a vain show. God desires our lives to
reflect Him. Do we love our neighbor as ourselves? Do we love God with all our
heart, soul and mind? Are we fair in business deals? Do we show compassion? God
knew He was going to send the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins. He was
going to provide the sacrifice for sins by sending His own Son. The Old
Testament sacrifices only pointed toward the perfect way to come. God wanted
them and us to fulfill the part of the law that taught mercy, love and true
worship in the spirit and in truth.
The Old Testament shows us what sin is and the severity of God's judgment
against sin and the New Testament teaches us how to get out of sin and be free
from the condemnation of sin.
The rich are mentioned here I believe because they used their position in this
life to lord over and oppress the poor. God hates it when we cheat the poor. Yet
He has made a way for us to escape the bondage this brings so that we love
people enough that we would not even think of cheating someone.
How much greater it is to serve God and live holy because we love Him and love
our fellowmen.
We can overcome sin by faith in Jesus Christ. He will deliver us from the
covetousness that is destroying us. Its all in the bible if we would diligently
study it. The way of truth is there for us to find and walk in. God
will teach us His ways if we seek Him.