Micah 5-7
What Does God
Require of You?

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Psalm 112:1-10 The Praiseworthy Man

Blessed is He who Fears the Lord

1 Praise the LORD!
Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
 who greatly delights in his commandments!
2 His offspring will be mighty in the land;
 the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
 and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
 he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
 who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 For the righteous will never be moved;
 he will be remembered forever.
7 He is not afraid of bad news;
 his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
8 His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,
 until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
9 He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
 his righteousness endures forever;
 his horn is exalted in honor.
10 The wicked man sees it and is angry;
 he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
 the desire of the wicked will perish!

Application

What would you have to do to insure that you are a praiseworthy man (or woman) who will be blessed and honored by God?

Prayer

God, thanks that You are the God who blesses with enduring value, and spells out what I need to do to receive Your blessings; may I daily take You up on Your offer. Amen.

Proverbs 25:13-16 Sweet Success

13 Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest
 is a faithful messenger to those who send him;
 he refreshes the soul of his masters.
14 Like clouds and wind without rain
 is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.

15 With patience a ruler may be persuaded,
 and a soft tongue will break a bone.
16 If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,
 lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.

Application

Faithful, patient, and humble work yields sweet rewards.

Prayer

Lord, help me accomplish Your objectives in my work and interactions with my superiors; keep me from indulging in illegitimate things or in the legitimate things to the wrong degree. Amen.

Micah 5-7 What Does God Require of You?

Although Micah prophesies of the imminent judgment upon God's people, he also provides hope in speaking of the Messiah from Bethlehem, and God's future regathering, cleansing, shepherding and blessing of His people. God will also judge and cleanse the nations, using Israel to bless them. The book ends with a lament, but also trust in God's hesed/loyal covenantal love, which is the basis of God's gracious dealings with the descendents of Abraham.

Micah 5 Bethlehem Shepherd

A Ruler from Bethlehem

1 Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops;
 siege is laid against us;
with a rod they strike the judge of Israel
 on the cheek.
2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
 who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
 one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
 from ancient days.
3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time
 when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return
 to the people of Israel.
4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD,
 in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
 to the ends of the earth.
5 And he shall be their peace.

 When the Assyrian comes into our land
 and treads in our palaces,
then we will raise against him seven shepherds
 and eight princes of men;
6 they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
 and the land of Nimrod at its entrances;
and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian
 when he comes into our land
 and treads within our border.
The Remnant of Jacob

7 Then the remnant of Jacob shall be
 in the midst of many peoples
like dew from the LORD,
 like showers on the grass,
which delay not for a man
 nor wait for the children of man.
8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations,
 in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
 like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,
which, when it goes through, treads down
 and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver.
9 Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries,
 and all your enemies shall be cut off.

10 And in that day, declares the LORD,
 I will cut off your horses from among you
 and will destroy your chariots;
11 and I will cut off the cities of your land
 and throw down all your strongholds;
12 and I will cut off sorceries from your hand,
 and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes;
13 and I will cut off your carved images
 and your pillars from among you,
and you shall bow down no more
 to the work of your hands;
14 and I will root out your Asherah images from among you
 and destroy your cities.
15 And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance
 on the nations that did not obey.

Application

Sinners suffer consequences; the sanctified experience shepherding.

Prayer

Lord, may I be a good sheep who follows Your shepherding care of me, trusting that You will lead and guide me to what is best. Amen.

Micah 6 What Does God Require of You?

The Case against Israel

1 Hear what the LORD says:
Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
 and let the hills hear your voice.
2 Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the LORD,
 and you enduring foundations of the earth,
for the LORD has an indictment against his people,
 and he will contend with Israel.

3 “O my people, what have I done to you?
 How have I wearied you? Answer me!
4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt
 and redeemed you from the house of slavery,
and I sent before you Moses,
 Aaron, and Miriam.
5 O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised,
 and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
 that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD.”


6 “With what shall I come before the LORD,
 and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
 with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
 with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
 the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul”?

8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
 and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
 and to walk humbly with your God?
The Punishment of Israel

9 The voice of the LORD cries to the city—
 and it is sound wisdom to fear your name:
“Hear of the rod and of him who appointed it!
10  Can I forget any longer the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked,
 and the scant measure that is accursed?
11 Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales
 and with a bag of deceitful weights?
12 Your rich men are full of violence;
 your inhabitants speak lies,
 and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13 Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow,
 making you desolate because of your sins.
14 You shall eat, but not be satisfied,
 and there shall be hunger within you;
you shall put away, but not preserve,
 and what you preserve I will give to the sword.
15 You shall sow, but not reap;
 you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;
 you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.
16 For you have kept the statutes of Omri,
 and all the works of the house of Ahab;
 and you have walked in their counsels,
that I may make you a desolation, and your inhabitants a hissing;
 so you shall bear the scorn of my people.”

Application

If we want to experience the goodness of God, He requires us to live justly and loyally, and walk in daily dependence upon Him.

Prayer

God, You have been so good to me; all that is good in my life is a result of You; thanks. I will devote myself to doing what You desire and require: justice toward others, loyalty/hesed in all my relationships, and a humble seeking of Your will rather than mine , every day, for the rest of my life. Thanks again. Amen.

Micah 7 Down and Up

Israel’s Great Misery

1 Woe is me! For I have become
 as when the summer fruit has been gathered,
 as when the grapes have been gleaned:
there is no cluster to eat,
 no first-ripe fig that my soul desires.
2 The godly has perished from the earth,
 and there is no one upright among mankind;
they all lie in wait for blood,
 and each hunts the other with a net.
3 Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well;
 the prince and the judge ask for a bribe,
and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul;
 thus they weave it together.
4 The best of them is like a brier,
 the most upright of them a thorn hedge.
The day of your watchmen, of your punishment, has come;
 now their confusion is at hand.
5 Put no trust in a neighbor;
 have no confidence in a friend;
guard the doors of your mouth
 from her who lies in your arms;
6 for the son treats the father with contempt,
 the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
 a man's enemies are the men of his own house.
Israel’s Confession and Comfort
7 But as for me, I will look to the LORD;
 I will wait for the God of my salvation;
 my God will hear me.

8 Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
 when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
 the LORD will be a light to me.
9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD
 because I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my cause
 and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
 I shall look upon his vindication.
10 Then my enemy will see,
 and shame will cover her who said to me,
 “Where is the LORD your God”?

My eyes will look upon her;
 now she will be trampled down
 like the mire of the streets.

11 A day for the building of your walls!
 In that day the boundary shall be far extended.
12 In that day they will come to you,
 from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
and from Egypt to the River,
 from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.
13 But the earth will be desolate
 because of its inhabitants,
 for the fruit of their deeds.
God’s Compassion on Israel

14 Shepherd your people with your staff,
 the flock of your inheritance,
who dwell alone in a forest
 in the midst of a garden land;
let them graze in Bashan and Gilead
 as in the days of old.
15 As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
 I will show them marvelous things.
16 The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
they shall lay their hands on their mouths;
 their ears shall be deaf;
17 they shall lick the dust like a serpent,
 like the crawling things of the earth;
they shall come trembling out of their strongholds;
 they shall turn in dread to the LORD our God,
 and they shall be in fear of you.

18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
 and passing over transgression
 for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
 because he delights in steadfast love.
19 He will again have compassion on us;
 he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
 into the depths of the sea.
20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob
 and steadfast love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers
 from the days of old.

Application

When things look bleak, looking up to God and His promises gives hope while awaiting the faithful fulfillment of His promises.

Prayer

God, there is no trustworthy God like You who pardons and subdues sin, and restores and blesses those who have rebelled; I will trust in Your grace, and walk in Your ways knowing how You delight in hesed. Thanks. Amen.

Digging Deeper

God in a nutshell: God disciplines His people (and the nations) for their sin, pardons, and seeks to sanctify and shepherd them according to His promises. He will let Israel suffer their chosen consequences, but will eventually rescue, regather and restore them, and then use them to bless the nations. The Messiah from Bethlehem is eternal and will fulfill God's good promises to Abraham, Jacob, and their descendents.

Us in a nutshell: We can't give God anything to pay for our sin, but we can give Him what He requires for continued blessing: justice, hesed, and humble daily obedience. When things look bleak, we need to look to God's promises and character as the basis for our hope and patient trust. We won't be disappointed.

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