Micah chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Mic 7:1 Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits,
as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul
desired the firstripe fruit.
A famine of the word of God or a famine of the presence of God dwelling among us
would be similar to a famine of food. A church sometimes will go through a dry
season when nothing seems to be happening. At these times we need to start
praying earnestly and seeking God for His presence to be felt again. Until that
happens we must seek Him and live by faith alone.
The bible speaks of these times.
Amo 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a
famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of
hearing the words of the LORD:
Amo 8:12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the
east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find
it.
How horrible that sounds. Yet I know God will answer those that diligently
seek Him. If we seek we will find and if we knock it shall be opened.
Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and
it shall be opened unto you:
Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me
with all your heart.
Luke 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your
children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them
that ask him?
Let us not make the mistake of just seeking God for things in this life that
fail to satisfy the hungry soul and leaves us empty. Let us always seek to be
filled with the Holy Spirit which is the way God made for us to have God
dwelling in our midst. He (The Holy Spirit) will literally fill one who
has repented of sins and believed in Jesus Christ to save them from sin.
We can be filled with God's presence when we are filled with the spirit.
This is a gift from God along with His gift of eternal life and salvation from
sin.
Micah 7:2 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.
Sometimes we feel like we are the only ones faithful to God and that we are all
alone. Elijah felt that way once. God told him:
1Kings 19:18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which
have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
Mic 7:3 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.
Mic 7:4 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.
In the days of backsliding and apostasy, this is how the faithful will feel. The
best one will be as the unfaithful. Our trust must be in God in those times to
hold fast until the end.
The church in Sardis was ready to die spiritually for what they once had was
lost. Here is what our Lord said to them:
Rev 3:4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their
garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
Micah 7:5 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.
Things were so bad that they could not trust anyone and had to be careful what
they said to anyone. This is how it will be during the future tribulation
period.
Micah 7:6 For the son dishonoreth 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.
This is fulfilled in the future tribulation period and it probably was
fulfilled in part many times since the days of Micah's prophecy.
Jesus warns of this also:
Mark 13:5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man
deceive you:
Mar 13:6 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive
many.
Mar 13:7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be ye not troubled:
for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.
Mar 13:8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and
there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and
troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
Mar 13:9 But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils;
and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers
and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.
Mar 13:10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
Mar 13:11 But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought
beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall
be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the
Holy Ghost.
Mar 13:12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the
son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to
be put to death.
Mar 13:13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall
endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mar 13:14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by
Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, let (him that readeth
understand,) then let them that be in Judea flee to the mountains:
Mar 13:15 And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house,
neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:
Mar 13:16 And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up
his garment.
Mar 13:17 But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in
those days!
Mar 13:18 And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.
Mar 13:19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the
beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.
Mar 13:20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be
saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the
days.
Mar 13:21 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he
is there; believe him not:
Mar 13:22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs
and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
Mar 13:23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.
Mar 13:24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened,
and the moon shall not give her light,
Mar 13:25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven
shall be shaken.
Mar 13:26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great
power and glory.
Mar 13:27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect
from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part
of heaven.
Mar 13:28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender,
and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:
Mar 13:29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass,
know that it is nigh, even at the doors.
Micah 7:7 Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my
salvation: my God will hear me.
Again the prophet reminds both the people of Israel and I believe this includes
those who believe in Jesus Christ and have become children of God by adoption
(Gentile believers) that we are to trust only in the Lord.
Mic 7:8 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.
Christ, the light of the world is the only one who can bring in the light and
reunite us with God. Enemies who rejoice over the destruction of Israel or who
rejoice over the death of any faithful believer in Jesus Christ, do not realize
what they are doing. If they do not repent, they will face eternal
destruction as well as peril in this life.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Micah 7:9 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.
This can be applied to Israel who has suffered for their sins and their
rejection of Christ but this also can be applied to us as individuals who have
not yet come to Christ and are yet in our sins. Sin separates us from God
and from God's protection. Jesus came to plead for all who believe in Him and
pleads for Israel and for Gentiles to accept the offering for sin He made on our
behalf.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that
was made.
Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Joh 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Joh 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
Joh 1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men
through him might believe.
Joh 1:8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
Joh 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the
world.
Joh 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew
him not.
Joh 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons
of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Joh 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God.
Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and
truth.
Isaiah foretells of Jesus Christ being the offering for the sin of all mankind.
Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to
his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief:
when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he
shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
This is explained in Hebrews
Hebrew 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the
very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered
year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
Heb 10:2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the
worshipers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
Heb 10:3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every
year.
Heb 10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take
away sins.
Heb 10:5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and
offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
Heb 10:6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
Heb 10:7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of
me,) to do thy will, O God.
Heb 10:8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and
offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are
offered by the law;
Heb 10:9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the
first, that he may establish the second.
Heb 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once for all.
Heb 10:11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes
the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
Heb 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat
down on the right hand of God;
Heb 10:13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
Heb 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are
sanctified.
Heb 10:15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had
said before,
Heb 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,
saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I
write them;
Heb 10:17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
Heb 10:18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
Oh how we should praise the Lord for not only redeeming Israel, His chosen and
making a way for them to be free from sin and reconciled to God but He made a
way for the Gentiles also to be saved.
Micah 7:10 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.
Mic 7:11 In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree
be far removed.
Mic 7:12 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.
Mic 7:13 Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell
therein, for the fruit of their doings.
Mic 7:14 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.
Mic 7:15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I
show unto him marvelous things.
Mic 7:16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall
lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.
Mic 7:17 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.
During times when God sent judgment to Israel they were humiliated among their
enemies. God allowed that because of their sin and their forsaking Him for the
idolatry of other nations. When Israel repented God restored them and other
nations were then confounded. Because of their rejection of Christ the same
thing happened. All Israel's troubles now is because they rejected the one who
would have protected them from their enemies. Even now when Israel triumphs it
is because of the mercy of God. Without God's help there would be no Israel. By
His mercy alone they exist. When Israel returns to God and acknowledges the Son
of God, Jesus Christ and discovers the price He paid for their sins and the sins
of all who believe, there is no nation on earth who could defeat them. As long
as Israel rejects Jesus Christ, they can be defeated if God allows it. Once they
turn to Christ, no one can harm them except perhaps individual martyrs who are
killed for the cause of the gospel but even then their souls inherit eternal
life. As a nation though they could never be defeated if they turn to Christ.
Micah 7:18 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
forever, because he delighteth in mercy.
God always prefers to save then to destroy. His judgment upon unbelievers are
usually His last resort. He has no pleasure in the death of anyone. Those who
kill thinking they are doing God a service are not pleasing God. God wants to
save. Here is an example in Luke.
Luk 9:52 And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered
into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
Luk 9:53 And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would
go to Jerusalem.
Luk 9:54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt
thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as
Elijah did?
Luk 9:55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of
spirit ye are of.
Luk 9:56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save
them.
Micah 7:19 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.
Once we come to Jesus Christ our sins are forgiven and forgotten by God.
Micah 7:20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham,
which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
All this is fulfilled in Jesus Christ who came to redeem all of Israel from
their sins. He does the same for believing Gentiles. We who are outside of
Israel need to be very thankful to have been adopted into the family of God by
faith in Christ and not by our own works of righteousness. We are saved by His
grace and His mercy. We did nothing to deserve it and the promise originally was
given to Israel. As Israel is saved by faith so can we be if we believe in the
one God sent to save us, even Jesus Christ His Son who has always existed with
Him from eternity.