Bible Reading: Micah Chapter 6 Verses 1-8

Golden verse: Micah 6:8

"O man, the LORD has shown you what is good. What does he require of you? To do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."

The Israelites in the time of the prophet Micah ignored God's law. There was depravity and corruption in religion and society.

Micah 3:11, the scripture says, "The princes judge for bribes; the priests teach for wages; the prophets divination for money. But they trust in the LORD, saying, Is not the LORD among us? No evil will come to us. us."

Through the prophet Micah, God warned the people of the consequences of disloyalty to the covenant.

Micah 6:14-15, the scripture says, "You will eat, but not be satisfied; your weakness will be revealed in your midst. You will be removed, but will not be saved; those whom I saved I will deliver over Sword. You will sow, but you will not reap; you will tread olives, but you will not be anointed with oil; you will tread grapes, but you will not drink wine.”

If God's people continue to indulge in sin, God will definitely punish them.

Micah 1:5, "Because of the sin of Jacob, the sin of the house of Israel. Where is the sin of Jacob? Is it not in Samaria? Where are the high places of Judah? Is it not in Jerusalem?" ?”

God instructs us to practice righteousness and be faithful to His covenant. It is not that "there is no king in Israel, but everyone does as he pleases" and sets his own standards. Rather, we should be guided by God’s revelation, make correct judgments within His covenant, follow correct procedures, and do the right things.

There is a short story that when President Lincoln took office, the United States was in the most chaotic era, so he often encountered difficulties in handling political affairs.

One of his friends comforted him, "God is on our side!" Lincoln replied to his friend, "But I don't hope so!"

The friend seemed surprised as to why Lincoln, who had a devout faith, would say such seemingly ungodly words, so he asked him "Why?"

Lincoln replied in his characteristically slow tone, "Because I know that God is always on the side of justice. What I worry about is whether I and my people are on God's side."

God does not ask us to set our own standards and say, "Righteousness is on my side." Everyone has a different interpretation of "righteousness." But “righteousness” without “loving mercy and walking humbly with God” is not true righteousness.

To “love mercy” means to love with compassion and unswervingly, just as the Lord loves me.

In 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 5, Paul said, “The end of this command is love, which proceeds from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.”

Those who deviate from the righteousness of God’s heart will only speak empty words.

God is a merciful and gracious God, and He wants us to express His disposition in our relationships with others. James, the brother of the Lord, said, “Pure and undefiled religion before God our Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”

The prophet Micah witnessed the harassment caused by false prophets and the deprivation of vulnerable groups by those in power. The false prophet preached words of flattery and flattery to those in authority that Micah would never have spoken. Not only do they dare not speak out about corruption in society, but they betray their conscience and remain silent.

In Micah Chapter 2:7-9, God used the prophet Micah to rebuke the Israelites at that time, saying, "O house of Jacob, can you say that the heart of the Lord is unbearable? Are these things he has done? I am the Lord's. Do not words benefit those who do upright deeds? But of late my people have arisen as an enemy, stripping off the garments of those who pass by in peace and unwilling to fight. You have driven the women of my people out of their homes, and you have Take my glory away from their little ones."

The people in power at that time expropriated the disadvantaged groups, acting like enemies and not at all like the people who made the covenant. They have long forgotten the word of God. In Exodus 22:22-23, God said, "You shall not afflict the widow and the fatherless; but if you afflict them a little, I will surely hear their cry when they cry to me."

In Psalm 82:3, God also said through the mouth of the psalmist, “Judge justice for the poor and the fatherless, and do justice to the needy and needy.”

God wants the people who have made a covenant with Him to learn to do good, seek justice, rescue the oppressed, seek justice for the orphans, and plead for the widows.

But Israel was disobedient and a companion of thieves, everyone loved bribes and pursued plunder. They do not seek justice for orphans; nor are the cases of widows brought before them.

Jeremiah 5:28, the scripture says, "They are fat and smooth, and they have done too much evil, and they will not seek justice for others! Even they will not defend the fatherless, nor will they prosper him, nor will they plead for the poor."

How long will God endure them? God is the protector of the stranger, the sustainer of the fatherless and the widow, and He will bend the ways of the wicked. He said, "I will burn you with my sword in my wrath, and I will make your wives widows and your sons and daughters orphans."

In Micah 2:10, God said, "Arise and go! This is no resting place for you." He wanted to drive them away from the Promised Land because they were unclean in God's eyes. What they did was to place themselves in irreparable destruction.

In Micah 3:1-4, the prophet Micah said, "I say, Hear, O princes of Jacob, and officers of the house of Israel! Shouldn't you know justice? You hate good and love evil, and you skin people from their bodies. , picking flesh from their bones, eating the flesh of my people, skinning their skins, breaking their bones, and dividing them into pieces like meat for pots and cauldrons. These people will cry out to the LORD in the time of disaster. , but He will not answer them. Then He will hide His face from them because of the evil they have done.”

Micah prophesied that Judah would be taken into captivity. Micah 1:16, "O Judah, cut off the hair of your children and make them bald, so that they may be as bald as vultures, because they have all been taken captive away from you."

When Micah's accusation reaches its climax, he declares that Jerusalem will be punished just as Samaria was.

Micah 1:6, God has prophesied through the prophet Micah, “Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of the field, and a place for growing grapes; and I will pour out her stones into the valleys, and expose her foundations. Come."

Micah's warning had a temporary effect, and his words reached the ears of King Hezekiah. Jeremiah 26:16-19 records, “Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and prophets, ‘This man does not deserve to die, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD, our God. Then some of the elders of the kingdom stood up and said to all the people gathered together, "In the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, Micah the Moreshethite prophesied to all Judah, saying: This is what the LORD Almighty says: Zion will be cultivated like a field; Jerusalem will become a heap; the hills of this house will be like the heights of a jungle. Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did Hezekiah not fear the LORD and implore His favor? The LORD Then he repented and did not bring upon them the calamity which he had spoken of. If we put this man to death, we would have done a great evil and cost ourselves our own lives.'"

King Hezekiah feared God, listened to the warning of the prophet Micah, and begged God for grace, and God delayed His judgment and prolonged the days of grace.

Brothers and sisters, God has shown us what is good, and “good” is the essence of God’s life. Justice, mercy, and faithfulness, these heavier matters in the law, are all fully demonstrated in the person of the Lord Jesus. God has predestined for us to be conformed to the image of His Son.

God wants us to enter into His Son, be led by the Spirit of His Son, follow His steps, walk with Him, and keep pace with Him. When you enter into God’s mind, into His goodness, into His character, you don’t have to ask God what you want to do. You don’t need to ask God, “O God, what good deeds should I do to have eternal life?” Because the Lord lives in you, you already have eternal life. Anyone who is led by the Holy Spirit cannot but do things that are righteous and love God, and cannot tolerate a lack of love and mercy towards others.

The prophet Isaiah has predicted that in the last days, “The mountain of the house of the LORD will be established above the mountains, and it will be exalted above the mountains; and all the peoples will flow to it. People from many nations will come to it, saying: Come Let us go up to the mountain of the LORD and to the house of the God of Jacob. The LORD will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths. For instruction will come from Zion, and the word of the LORD will come from Jerusalem."

In the last days, there will be a group of people transformed by the word of God. Although "every nation shall walk in the name of his god," they will walk in the name of Jehovah God forever and ever. They knew that the Lord was the true God, the living God, and the everlasting King. They are God’s true “covenant people.” And are you in it? Do you walk with God in matters of "doing justice" and "loving mercy"?

Job 17:9, Job said, “The righteous shall keep his way; and he who has clean hands shall strengthen himself from strength to strength.” The righteous shall keep the way that pleases God, and shall have “pure hands and a pure heart” for the Lord. ”, the working hands must become stronger and stronger as they work. Don’t be influenced by the ungodly behavior of the wicked, but show the word of life and shine like a bright light in this generation.

In Proverbs 14:14, Solomon said, "A good man will be satisfied with his deeds." In Isaiah 3:10, God said, "Say of the righteous, 'He will have good things, for he will eat his deeds. The fruit it bears.”

The “reward of good deeds” is the ability to continue doing good deeds. The greatest satisfaction you can get from doing good is to prove that you are born of God.

The prophet Micah said, "What shall I offer when I go before the LORD, and bow down before the Most High God? Shall I offer a yearling calf for a burnt offering? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousand rivers of oil? I Shall you offer my firstborn for your sins? The child of my body for the sin of your heart?”

The Canaanites who were judged by God at that time burned their children with fire so that their children would pass through the fire to Molech and be sacrificed to their false gods. That is something God particularly hates. Would God want such a sacrifice? of course not! What God wants is for us to willingly offer ourselves as “living sacrifices” and walk humbly with God to transform this corrupt society and this problem-ridden generation, making justice roll like waters and righteousness like rivers.

Please pray together:

Lord, please strengthen our hearts through your Spirit. In an era where people's hearts are dark and scams are emerging one after another, I walk with you in humility. Do not forget that you are the people who have made a covenant with you. Father, You say that if we walk in the light, as You are in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, Your Son, cleanses us from all sin. We believe in you and are loyal to you, which means doing your work. Because You can work on us without any hindrance, transform us, change us, so that we can become Your witnesses. Thou shalt show the world and the angels how Thou hast made a sinful soul into a masterpiece of Thy grace in Thy hands. May You raise us up to be a powerful people who can glorify Your name. Instead of not believing in you, not obeying you, and not following you, it will show the corruption of the old self and eventually be abandoned by you. May You have mercy on us and use us to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Your Son everywhere. Help us overcome the world with faith. Pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

——August 24, 2023, thank you for browsing, Gospel Home-Daily Devotional Column, you can read more about the book of Micah, righteous sacrifices, Jehovah’s prophets, Jacob, Judah, the wilderness of Israel, manna, Sun Dazhong, this article URL

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