As a companion with the books of Hosea and Amos we go through the book of Micah this week. The message remains the same for Israel and Judah.
Micah 1:
1 The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
The Coming Destruction
2 Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.
3 For behold, the LORD is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.
4 And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.
5 All this is for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?
6 Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the open country, a place for planting vineyards, and I will pour down her stones into the valley and uncover her foundations.
7 All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces, all her wages shall be burned with fire, and all her idols I will lay waste, for from the fee of a prostitute she gathered them, and to the fee of a prostitute they shall return.
8 For this I will lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will make lamentation like the jackals, and mourning like the ostriches.
9 For her wound is incurable, and it has come to Judah; it has reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem.
10 Tell it not in Gath; weep not at all; in Beth-le-aphrah roll yourselves in the dust.
11 Pass on your way, inhabitants of Shaphir, in nakedness and shame; the inhabitants of Zaanan do not come out; the lamentation of Beth-ezel shall take away from you its standing place.
12 For the inhabitants of Maroth wait anxiously for good, because disaster has come down from the LORD to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the steeds to the chariots, inhabitants of Lachish; it was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion, for in you were found the transgressions of Israel.
14 Therefore you shall give parting gifts to Moresheth-gath; the houses of Achzib shall be a deceitful thing to the kings of Israel.
15 I will again bring a conqueror to you, inhabitants of Mareshah; the glory of Israel shall come to Adullam.
16 Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair, for the children of your delight; make yourselves as bald as the eagle, for they shall go from you into exile.
Things to think about…
1. Micah was prophesying in days where there was some truth and some error from the kings. We know Hezekiah loved the Lord, Mic 1:1. Judgment was coming upon Samaria (722BC) and Judah. These 3 Judean kings reigned over a period of fifty-five years (742–687BC). So Micah was preaching around the same time as Hosea and Amos – a little bit later, but not by much.
2. The capitals of the cities were the places of culture and the epitome of what the people believed and practised. For Israel (Jacob) it was Samaria and for Judah it was Jerusalem. Both these cities reflected the attitudes of the people. What were they doing wrong? Look at verse 7. Worshipping carved images of idols. These cities had turned themselves towards spiritual prostitution. Australia has her idols of unbelief and cultural sins of apathy, abortion, materialism, wilful ignorance, cultural distractions – sport, leisure, body worship, porn, gaming, gambling, etc which we have spoken and written about many times. Repent if this is you.
3. It’s interesting that Micah says the wound is incurable and reaches the gate of Jerusalem, Mic 1:9. That’s exactly what happened. It reached the gate but came no further. Hezekiah prayed and 185, 000 Assyrians died outside the gates of Jerusalem. But unfortunately, this was not to be the case for the other Judean cities like Lachish, vs 13 which was overthrown by the Assyrian army. Why? Because the idols and sin of Israel were found within her, vs 10. Only Jerusalem held onto faithful practise of the worship of YHWH. When Christians become unfaithful, certain blessings in their lives are taken away. The first to go is the power of our witness. Our words are not effective, when we don’t trust the Word of God as it’s written.
4. The twelve cities mentioned in Mic 1:10-15. All have meanings that Micah mocks with word plays. For example Shaphir means beautiful, yet they would be naked and shamed, Maroth means bitterness, but they were waiting for good, which didn’t happen. All these cities were in the path of the Assyrians who were marching on their way through to Jerusalem in 701BC. The tragic conclusion, with the exception of Jerusalem, is that they would go into exile, vs 16. Humility and repentance is the only answer. Hezekiah made the right choice and saved his city. May the Lord keep us in a place of humility and obedience in times of trial.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Prayer points
1. Pray for our elder Doug as he preaches on the book of Amos this Sunday.
2. Pray for the church in Australia that it focuses on Christ, His Word and holiness and away from trying to mould character aside from the cross and repentance.
3. Pray for our leaders in Australia that they press in closer to Christ.
4. Pray for the Liberal party as they wrestle with leadership issues.
5. Pray for the people of Iran that they finally get their freedom from an oppressive regime
6. The Royal Commission that the Jewish people will feel safe in Australia.
7. One for Israel ministry.
8. Conflict zones – especially within Africa (Nigerian Christians murdered this week), Israel, Iran and Ukraine
9. Pray for new people to step into ministries at CBC – eg worship, café, sound/technical, giving, podcast.
10. Reform and Revival over our city and country.
11. Finances to cover our needs
12. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for Doug’s message on Micah and the Lord’s blessing over our service on Sunday
2. Praise God for ministries – Life Groups, Prayer meetings, Kids@Church
3. Café team every week. Thankyou to all those who serve and bring food. Especially Fiona, Maddie and Suzy.
4. Worship, Admin and Technical teams – Nita, Brendon, AJ, Suzy, Maddie, Mathys, Doug.
5. Kids Church teachers – Jacqueline, Maddie, Elise, Anastacia and Fiona
6. The Lord’s faithfulness this year to CBC and all who have served in ministries
7. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Prayer meeting Wed 5:30pm at church
2. All Life Groups are back.
3. Kids@Church has started back
4. Members Meeting – Next Sunday 22nd Feb after the service
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
6. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for February...
Q. 5. Did our Lord Jesus Christ ever sin? A. No; he was holy, blameless, and undefiled.
