Does anybody remember the call-in radio show with Dr. Laura? For a while, Laura Schlessinger had a very popular radio advice program where she told people exactly what she thought about their behavior and how they should fix themselves. She often didn’t let the caller get to the actual question before she started telling them how to fix it.
I will never forget the day I heard her tell a caller that she didn’t have to forgive the person who had [...]
“If Jerusalem had known what it was her privilege to know, and had heeded the
light which Heaven had sent her, she might have stood forth in the pride of prosperity, the queen of kingdoms, free in the strength of her God-given power. There would have been no armed soldiers standing at her gates. . . . The glorious destiny that might have blessed Jerusalem had she accepted her Redeemer rose before the Son of God. He saw that she might [...]
Micah’s book begins with a description of judgments, but it ends with words of hope.
Image © Steve Creitz from GoodSalt.com
There are people who try to explain away or deny the reality of God’s judgments. To do so is to fall into the trap that Micah’s contemporaries did, those who believed that God never would send judgments on the chosen nation.
God’s justice is the other side of His love and concern. The good news presented by Micah is that punishment [...]
In the beginning of Micah 6, God dialogues with His people, listing all the things that He has done on their behalf.
Image © Rolf Jansson from GoodSalt.com
In response, the worshiper who comes into the temple asks what he might do to please God. What is it that constitutes an acceptable offering: year-old calves, a multitude of rams, rivers of oil, or even the worshiper’s firstborn child? There is a steady progression of the size and value of the offerings listed [...]
Key Thought: Micah could see evil and violence creeping into Judah and preached against dishonesty, injustice, bribery, and mistrust; but also offered encouraging words of hope.
[Teaching plan for God's Special People May 13, 2013]
1. Have a volunteer read Micah 6:8
A. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
B. Why is it so hard to be merciful to people? Isn’t it easier to want justice instead of mercy?
C. Personal Application: [...]
In Micah’s book the mood often drastically changes from gloom to sublime hope.
Image © Jeff Preston from GoodSalt.com
This hope is seen in one of the most famous of all the Messianic prophecies.
Read Micah 5:2. Who is being spoken about here and what does this teach us about Him? See also John 1:1-3, 8:58, Col. 1:16-17.
Out of a little Judean town would come Someone from eternity to be a ruler in Israel. Micah 5:2 is one of the most precious biblical verses written in order to [...]
Read Micah 2:1-11 and Micah 3.
Image © Jeff Preston from GoodSalt.com
What are the sins that threaten to bring judgment upon these people?
“The accession of Ahaz to the throne brought Isaiah and his associates face to face with conditions more appalling than any that had hitherto existed in the realm of Judah. Many who had formerly withstood the seductive influence of idolatrous practices were now being persuaded to take part in the worship of heathen deities. Princes in Israel were proving untrue to [...]
In Micah 1:1-9, the prophet invites the whole earth to witness God’s judgment against sinful people.
Image © Standard Publishing from GoodSalt.com
The capital cities of Samaria and Jerusalem are singled out because their leaders failed to be role models of what it means to follow God with undivided hearts. These two cities would be the first to suffer destruction.
The thought of destructive judgment produced a real tension in Micah’s life. Because his prophetic call united him with God’s purpose, he had [...]
Read for This Week’s Study: Mic. 1:1-9, 2 Cor. 11:23-27, Mic. 2:1-11, 5:2, 6:1-8, 7:18-20.
Memory Text: “He hath shewed 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?” (Micah 6:8).
Key Thought: Even amid the worst apostasy, the Lord was willing to forgive and heal His people.
The prophet Micah ministered in one of the darkest periods of Israel’s history. The country long had been divided into two kingdoms. Finally, Assyria [...]
