13 June 2020

A Few Thoughts on Micah 7:1-6

Micah 7:1-6 NLT How miserable I am! I feel like the fruit picker after the harvest who can find nothing to eat. Not a cluster of grapes or a single early fig can be found to satisfy my hunger. 2 The godly people have all disappeared; not one honest person is left on the earth. They are all murderers, setting traps even for their own brothers. 3 Both their hands are equally skilled at doing evil! Officials and judges alike demand bribes. The people with influence get what they want, and together they scheme to twist justice. 4 Even the best of them is like a brier; the most honest is as dangerous as a hedge of thorns. But your judgment day is coming swiftly now. Your time of punishment is here, a time of confusion. 5 Don't trust anyonenot your best friend or even your wife! 6 For the son despises his father. The daughter defies her mother. The daughter-in-law defies her mother-in-law. Your enemies are right in your own household!

The background
B1 Micah prophesied to Israel (the northern kingdom) and to Judah (the southern kingdom).
B2 Both are corrupt and evil. So evil that Samaria, the capital of Israel, is captured and destroyed. Later, Jerusalem, the capital of Judah will also be captured.

Micah is concerned with the amount and type of evil.
B1 The religious leaders are corrupt and evil.
B2 The political leaders are corrupt and evil.
B3 Just about everyone else is also corrupt and evil.

God warns people of their evil to convict people of their sins which will lead to repentance, and trusting in God for salvation. It is the same today.

In our passage above, the prophet laments the evil.
B1 Evil is stressful.
B2 Evil is overwhelming.
B3 Evil brings disorder.
B4 Evil brings panic which leads to loss of freedom and increasingly stupid decisions.
B5 Evil brings judgment.

The specific evils that Micah notes are
B1 Dishonesty
B2 Murder
B3 Bribery
B4 Injustice (described as twisting justice)
B5 Distrust
B6 Truth has all but disappeared

Passage
B1 Verse 1, the prophet describes his misery at the evil he sees.
C1 He is miserable, depressed, and experiencing loss of joy.
C2 He describes it as being hungry but harvest has finished. He cannot find any fruit to eat that he so enjoys.
C3 Hunger especially for one’s favorite foods is difficult.
B2 Verse 2, note how godly and honest are joined.
C1 The Hebrew word for godly is חָסִיד châçîyd. It means
D1 Referring to God as merciful and gracious.
D2 Referring to those who believe and trust in God as worshipers sharing those character traits with God.
D3 Referring to people: Psalm 12:1 NLT For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by an eight-stringed instrument. Help, O LORD, for the godly are fast disappearing! The faithful have vanished from the earth!
D4 Referring to God: Psalm 145:17 NLT The LORD is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness.
D5 We are to have these character traits, too.
C2 The Hebrew word for honest is יָשָׁר yâshâr. It means something straight. In this case straight as on the narrow road that God himself travels. We are to be in the image of God as converted people. Romans 8:29 NIV For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
C3 Note that all are described as murderers. Pride leads to jealousy which leads to hate which leads to murder.
B3 Verse 3:
C1 Note how their evil is described as skilled. They have spent much time perfecting and practicing evil. God has a low opinion of these people: Deuteronomy 29:19-20 NLT Those who hear the warnings of this curse should not congratulate themselves, thinking, 'I am safe, even though I am following the desires of my own stubborn heart.' This would lead to utter ruin! 20 The LORD will never pardon such people. Instead his anger and jealousy will burn against them. All the curses written in this book will come down on them, and the LORD will erase their names from under heaven.
C2 These evil people, who have influence (politics, money, lust for control) make sure they have control by abuse and power.
C3 Justice gets twisted.
D1 Truth becomes whatever those in power claim it to be.
D2 Truth as reality is discarded.
D3 Truth is suppressed. Lying is exalted.
E1 2 Peter 3:16 NLT speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction.
E2 Colossians 3:9-11 NLT Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
B4 Verse 4:
C1 These people hurt others just like briers and thorns.
C2 Their actions will be punished. God sees and God revenges.
C3 Compare this prophecy about the anti-Christ: Daniel 7:25 NLT He will defy the Most High and oppress the holy people of the Most High. He will try to change their sacred festivals and laws, and they will be placed under his control for a time, times, and half a time.
B5 Verse 5-6
C1 Be skeptical of everyone, even your family.
C2 Be careful. Be wary.
C3 Contrast that with God who is trustworthy and the Counselor of all counselors.
D1 God hears. God listens. When He answers is future. We don’t know when. Psalm 116:1-2 NIV I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. 2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.
D2 1 Peter 3:12 NIV For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
D3 Proverbs 15:29 NIV The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

We learn about character traits
B1 God’s
B2 Devil’s

Questions
B1 Why is society experiencing so many troubles?
B2 Why does racism exist?
B3 What is the cause/motive for these issues?
B4 What rules would make a safer society?
B5 Whose character traits should we emulate?
B6 Why is society falling apart?

No comments:

Post a Comment