Thursday: Into the Depths of the Sea
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 is never God’s last word. God’s action in Scripture consistently moves from judgment to forgiveness, from punishment to grace, and from suffering to hope.
Read Micah 7:18-20. How is the gospel revealed in these verses? What hope is seen here for all of us? Why do we need it so desperately?
Micah’s closing verses present his praise filled with hope. The question “Who is like God . . . ?” matches Micah’s name, which means “Who is like the Lord?” It serves as a reminder of the uniqueness of God and affirms the truth that there is no one like Him. How could there be? After all, He alone is the Creator. Everything else is created. Even more importantly, our Creator is a God of grace, of forgiveness, a God who went to the most unimaginable extremes possible in order to save us from the destruction that is, rightly, ours. He would do it for the Hebrew nation; and He will do it for us, as well.
It is possible that we today are surrounded by difficult circumstances and painful experiences that leave us to wonder why God allows all this to happen. Sometimes it is just so hard to make sense of things. In such times, our hope rests only with the Lord, who promises to hurl our sins into the depths of the sea. There is hope for the future in remembering what God has done in the past.
Take a good hard look at yourself. Why is your only hope found in the promise that God will cast your sins “into the depths of the sea”?
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I love Thursday's lesson which points out a key truth. There's hope for the future as we recall what God has done for us in the past. We really ought to count our blessings! Name them one by one.
I have only one hope found in the promise that God will cast mine sins “into the depths of the sea” because if He not do that My sins will be as heavy on me like all waters of sea. I cant do that casting. Saving me is like going to the depths to take me up, and going to the depths again to leave my sin there buried. Not to be risen again. Not to be shown on judgement call.
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The forgiveness of our sins is the only road to Calvary. That completes our joy I am so thrill with this amazing gospel. and this gospel add to the truthfulness of the statement "Who is like unto God"
The Lord cast our forgiven sins into the depths of the sea. However, we sometimes acts as deep sea divers and bring back the sins of others and sometimes our own to view and remember them again- even after God has forgotten them. Lord help us to let go and forget like You!
Our Lord is an extra ordinary being. He knows what is to be ahead of things and provides resolution. We need to be believing, having hope, do the right thing and stay under His umbrella covered with love for all without distinction. Our understanding and forgiviving each other is a way to dump the sins into the sea, may His grace partake our paths.
Praise God for his wonderful and healing power. The difficulties and pain of life sometimes are almost unbearable, except for the hope of or Savior and Lord
The Lord is an amazing God! We are surrounded by a world filled will so much sin and suffering. Listening to the news makes one realize the painful experiences many have to go through in life. When I hear of a tragic event, I sometimes feel guilty because I thank the Lord that my family did not have to endure that tragic event. The Lord has blessed my husband and I with two beautiful children. I pray everyday that the Lord will protect them and keep them safe. My biggest fear is if someone were to try and hurt them. I know that I must have faith that the Lord will protect them.
Two Micahs With Opposite Characters
Yes, Micah (who is like Jahwe) expressed the character of God in his message of judgement and hope, condemation of sin and salvation from sin. Biblical names symbolize some aspect of faith.
There was another man whose name was Micah (Judges 17:1). He lived at a time when Israel was governed by judges and officers. His name also expressed the uniqueness of the one God who had brought Israel out of Egypt. He knew the commandment, that he should have no other gods beside the God of Israel (Exodus 20:3).
Micah had stolen eleven hundred shekels of silver from his mother but confessed and returned it unto her (Judges 17:2). She dedicated the money unto the Lord for her son to make a graven image and a molten image and restored the shekels unto him. But Michah restored the money back to his mother. So she had two images made by a silversmith to be set up in the house, which Michah tolerated (verse 4).
He also had a private shrine and made an ephod and teraphim which were houshold idols. One of his sons he consecrated to become his priest (verse 5). Later on he hired a Levite who became his priest. Micah was sure that the Lord would prosper him because now he had a Levite as priest (verse 12-13).
The Danites took the graven image, the ephod, the house gods (teraphim) and the Levite with them (Judges 18:18-20) carrying it all to Dan to be set up there as a worship centre (verse 30-31). This was the very place where Jeroboam set up one golden calve at Dan and the other at Bethel (1 Kings 12:28-29).
These two men shared the same name (Micah) but manifested opposite characters. The one was a worshiper of idols, the other had to preach against the idolatry. The great controversy is a religious controversy with false prophets and priests preaching a mixed and mangled message in the name of truth.
We always have to be on guard not to be misled by misleading similarities of name and message.
Winfried Stolpmann