Sin isn’t such a bad word- it simply means, “Separation from God.” We ALL sin- everyday. Thats the point- god wants us to find him, unite, and be fulfilled in his grace- so that he compensates our adversities and inequities, because man cant. verse 1 states that Micah is from Moresheth-Gath, a village located near the border of Israel/Philistia. It would have been considered ‘in the country’ in this time, it was an agricultural area not near any major cities. This puts him in good company with the prophet Amos, who “was a shepherd who took care of sycamore-fig trees.” The echoes of Micah’s effective ministry can be felt throughout the OT and New. He is also mentioned by the prophet Jeremiah as laying the foundations for the spiritual #reforms undertaken by Hezekiah: “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the LORD says: “Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets’” (Jeremiah 26:18). Micah is known for bringing a #message of judgement and *restoration that would spur a *revival in the land of Judah. Among the prophets of the Old Testament, he is perhaps the most vocal in his demands of justice for the poor. He lashes out at greedy judges, who make money from unjust bribes while ignoring true justice and mercy. He starts his book by speaking of the coming judgement of God, and makes clear that this judgement is a response to the transgressions of the people (Micah 1:5). In Micah 6:14:16 we see that the judgment will be harsh, and that it will be unavoidable. Yet the beauty of Micah’s #prophecy is that it #assures us God will not end the story there. In fact, some of the most #powerful #promises of #restoration, #hope, and a #coming #Messiah are spoken by Micah. Justice. Love. Mercy. Humility. The overarching message of Micah is that God is Holy, and as a Holy God we should #seek to act in a way that is becoming His holiness. Because He is holy, here are consequences to sin, yet there is hope for those who turn to Him. In the midst of crooked and depraved leadership, Micah 6:8 gives us a #path to seek holiness.
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“Who was Isaiah?”
The resurrection of Christ is #foundational. Without it, the belief in God's saving grace through Jesus is destroyed. When Jesus rose from the dead, he confirmed his #identity as Son of God and work of atonement, redemption, reconciliation, and salvation. The resurrection was a real, literal, physical raising of Jesus’ body from the dead. He was arrested, tried, and found guilty of claiming to be a KING then hung on a cross between thieves. After death, his body was placed in a tomb with a large stone rolled across the opening. On the *third day, Mary Magdalene and another Mary found the tomb empty. Sitting there- and angel said, Jesus had risen. As the women left to tell the disciples, Jesus Christ met them and showed his nail-#pierced hands(Isaiah). Both the OT and NT speak truth of Jesus raised from death -Jesus #testified prediction of his resurrection before death on the cross and his -disciples *witnessed- his body after the resurrection. There are several Verses that *prophecies the resurrection #testifying the reality of the resurrected body of Christ through many eyewitnesses with uniquely *separate yet equally #parallel stories. Mary-afraid yet *filled with joy, ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them; they clasped at his feet and worshiped him. Jesus said, “Do not be afraid. Tell my brothers to go to Galilee; they will *see me.” While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble. The soldiers took the money and did as instructed (this lie is still circulating in places). The disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them- And said, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to everything I have commanded you. I am with you always, to the very *end of the *age.”
There is nothing “minor” about the prophet Micah other than the length of the book. In Micah, we find a beautiful path to repentance, restoration, and a promise of the birth of Christ. We know when and where he prophesied, and the effect his prophecy continues to have on us today. His power as a prophet and call to turn away from sin and towards the Savior continue to bring us hope, and shape who we are as believers. His name itself becomes a meaningful, as he summarizes his prophecy in Micah 7:18: “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.” Micah’s threats are directed against idolaters, those who oppress the little man, priests and prophets who use their profession for financial gain, and leaders who pervert equity and abhor justice. The promises emphasize the importance of Zion, where Yahweh or his royal regent reigns over a kingdom of peace, and of the return from exile for Israel as well as for Judah. The book’s central theme is a concept borrowed from preexilic prophets that salvation will come to Judah and Jerusalem only when the people turn to Yahweh. Then they will not only receive divine favour, but the land itself will become fertile. we can draw a few conclusions about Micah’s self‑understanding and his relation to his fellow countrymen. The outline of his profile is the sharpest where he confronts his opponents: “But as for me, I am filled with authority, justice, and courage to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.” (Micah 3:8) What a testimony to fearless self‑assurance! Nothing in the other prophets comes close to it! One might suspect that this expresses the strained self‑glorification of a person obsessed with power. we are warned against such a misinterpretation by the commentary — like gloss which states that he possesses these gifts only along with “the Spirit of the Lord,” by virtue of the special divine authority which completely fills him. At the center of his gifts (between the gifts of “authority’ and “courage’) stands, according to his own statement, justice (that is, his view of justice).
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