Synopsis: Micah



Organisation of the synopsis
The writer 

Micah’s name means ‘who is like Jehovah’. The period of his ministry is probably between 735 to 700 BC. In 722 BC the northern kingdom was conquered by the Assyrians. His ministry covered the reign of King Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. 


Key verse 


Micah 6:8  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?  

In an earlier verse, Micah 6:2, God declared that He had a controversy with His people Israel. A controversy is the opposite of a communion. God was not pleased with His people because of their spiritual apostasy and the oppression of the people by the leaders in Israel (Micah 3:1-3). 

The key verse summarises what God requires: to be just in our dealings, merciful towards the less fortunate and submit to the word of God.  

Humility means our will or preferences should be suppressed and God’s words should be given the preeminence. 


Main Theme 

The righteousness of God mentioned in Micah 6:5 is the central theme. God rightly used the incident in Numbers 22:5-6 to illustrate His righteousness. In the Bible passages relating to Balak's repeated attempts to get Balaam to curse Israel, the Lord prevented Balaam from making the curse. Later, Balaam realized that if Israel were to be cursed, they must commit an unrighteous act or in simple term, they must sin.  Balaam organized the sinful events that caused the Israelites to sin in Numbers 25:1-9.  This event resulted in a plague that killed 24,000 Israelites.

Balaam’s heinous act to cause the Israelites to sin was also mentioned in Revelations 2:14. A righteous God cannot turn Himself away from sin. He has to deal with it as mentioned in Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  

Micah ends his prophetic ministry with a bright note. 

Mic 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.  

Mic 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.  

In the past, Greek philosophers could not fathom how a righteous God would be able to forgive man’s sins. Today, God’s plan to forgive sins is fully revealed. It is made possible through the sacrifice of the Son of God on the cross, the sinless for the sinful, 2 Co 5:21. The penalty for sin was fully paid by the Lord Jesus’ death and this satisfied the righteous demand of God. Since the sin problem is resolved, those who believe in the Lord Jesus will enjoy forgiveness of sins and salvation through the grace of God.  


Spiritual and life lessons 

Most Christians are well versed with the doctrine of Grace. We are indeed comforted with the teaching of forgiveness of sins through the grace of the Lord (i.e.,  Jesus' atoning blood and ‘once saved always saved’). Unfortunately, it seems that some Christians are not really familiar with the righteousness of God. We thank God for the provision of the avenue for our sins to be forgiven in 1 Jn 1:9. However, we must be ever cognisant of God’s righteousness in 1 Jn 2:29 and the prohibition to sin in 1 Jn 3:9. 

The verses mentioned here are not contradictory to each other. Christians have a new nature and they should always be righteous in their conduct. Sin and iniquities should be abhorred. Being in the flesh, we may at times sin, but this should be the exception rather than the norm. If a person habitually sins, then that person is probably still not saved yet. 

Although Christians cannot attain the state of sinlessness like the Lord Jesus Christ, they should naturally avoid sins and aspire to be like Him as far as righteousness is concerned. 

Righteousness can be practised very clearly in accordance with the key verse instructions: Just in all  dealings, merciful to all our fellow beings and be humble before God.  

Romans 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. 

With God’s blessings, 


CL 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Extent of God's Grace

Image
Mat 19:23  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.    Mat 19:24  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.    Mat 19:25  When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?    Mat 19:26  But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.    Everyone desires to emigrate to an ideal country, even though our time on Earth is limited. While the only truly ideal country is in heaven, many people are not seriously applying to go there for various reasons.    One common reason is that they are unsure such a place exists. Some believe that if heaven exists, God's grace will be so extensive that everyone except criminals will be welcomed into His...
Read more

The Happiest Place on Earth

Image
Genesis 28:16, And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.   Matthew 18:20, For where two or three are gathered unto my name, there, I am in the midst of thee.     We love to sing with one accord   The riches of Thy grace;   We love to come before Thee, Lord,   On earth no happier place. (Hymn 312, Believers hymn book)     The 8th of May 2024 was our Assembly's 30 th anniversary. We are thankful for God’s help over these 30 years of faithful witness for God, our Lord Jesus Christ. Some would have wondered how the Assembly start ed and why another assembly is needed when there are already many assemblies within the vicinity. Our answers are fairly similar to the writings made by the author of the book, “The Pilgrim Church ” .         “ Events in the history of the churches in the time of the Apostles have been selected and   recorded in the Book of Ac...
Read more

Synopsis: Malachi

Image
  Organisation of the synopsis The Writer  The post-exile prophets were Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. Malachi was the last and probably ministered a century after the earlier post-exile prophets. He ministered after the temple was rebuilt.  The priests and people in Israel during his ministry had backslidden in their worship of Jehovah. After Malachi, God did not speak to His people for 400 years and the Jews only heard God speaking again when John the Baptist started his ministry. Malachi’s name means “My messenger” and no personal information about him was recorded.  Key Verse  Malachi 1:2  I have loved you, saith the LORD.  The message of Malachi was a stern rebuke to the nation of Israel. The faithless state of Christendom today has much to learn from God’s message to the Jews. The key verse is a good reminder that God loves those that He reprimands.   Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he recei...
Read more