Sunday
Morning Bible Study
May
4, 2014
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does is address the person who is: Empty,
lonely, guilty, afraid to die? Does it
speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach
for a decision Is the church loved? Regular: 2900 words
Communion: 2500 words
For Notes: Use “blank” spaces to fill in
I know that Mother’s Day is a difficult day for some people. Some people haven’t had a good “mother”. But maybe you could bless someone you know
who works hard at the job. It’s next
Sunday.
Micah lived in the days of the divided kingdom, when the northern kingdom was
called “Israel”, and the southern kingdom was called “Judah”
Micah lived in the southern kingdom
of Judah and had messages for both the northern and southern kingdoms.
His ministry roughly covered the years 750-700 BC
Micah gives three messages, and they all start with the words “Hear
now”. Chapters 3-5 are the second
message.
3:1-12 Wicked Leaders
:1 And I said: “Hear now, O heads of Jacob, And
you rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know justice?
:1 Is it not for you to know
justice?
This second message starts by addressing the secular government leaders.
justice – mishpat – judgment, justice, ordinance
The rulers were at the heart of the judicial system, deciding cases between
people.
Justice is at the foundation of what a healthy society is built on.
People who do good should be rewarded.
People who do wrong should be punished.
In Micah’s day, justice was being perverted.
David wrote,
(Psalm 11:3 NKJV)
If the foundations are destroyed, What can the
righteous do?
:2 You who hate good and love evil; Who strip the
skin from My people, And the flesh from their bones;
:3 Who also eat the flesh of My people, Flay their skin from them, Break
their bones, And chop them in pieces Like meat for the pot, Like
flesh in the caldron.”
:2 You who hate good
The leaders in Micah’s day had it all backwards.
They loved bad things and hated good things.
:3 eat the flesh of My people
Micah isn’t talking literally.
These leaders were like shepherds who were supposed to protect and nurture the
flock, but instead slaughters and eats the flock.
Instead of caring for the flock, they are destroying it.
:4 Then they will cry to the Lord,
But He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time,
Because they have been evil in their deeds.
:4 He will not hear them
The leaders will cry out to God for help, but God will not pay attention to
them.
Lesson
Unanswered Prayers
Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that God is some sort of magic
genie in the sky who is obligated to do anything you ask.
Some folks like to quote this verse as if it’s the only thing you need to
know about prayer,
(Matthew 21:22
NKJV) And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will
receive.”
Don’t get me wrong.
“Believing” or “faith” is very important in your prayers.
But some folks make it sound as if God is some sort of
magic genie who must do whatever you ask Him to do if you have “faith”.
There can be many reasons why our prayers are not answered.
I’m not going to give you all the reasons in two minutes because it’s not
that easy.
Certainly it could be a lack of faith on your part.
It could be that God intends to give you the thing you’re
asking for, but just not now, and you need to wait.
It could simply be that God does not think that the thing
you are asking for is the right thing.
It could be that in saying “no” to you, God is doing you a favor.
Illustration
A man is walking down the beach and comes across an old
bottle. He picks it up, pulls out the cork and out pops a genie. The genie
says, “Thank you for freeing me from the bottle. In return I will grant you
three wishes.” The man says “Great! I always dreamed of this and I know exactly
what I want. First, I want one billion dollars in a Swiss bank account.” Poof!
There is a flash of light and a piece of paper with account numbers appears in
his hand. He continues, “Next, I want a brand new red Ferrari right here.” Poof!
There is a flash of light and a bright red brand-new Ferrari appears right next
to him. He continues, “Finally, I want to be irresistible to women.” Poof!
There is a flash of light and he turns into a box of chocolates.
If your prayers ever sound like this man’s “wishes”,
aren’t you glad that God isn’t a “genie” who “must” do whatever you ask?
There are other elements of prayer that are important.
The request must be God’s will.
(1
John 5:14–15 NKJV) —14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask
anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us,
whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
If you are praying for your boss to plop over dead, it
might not be God’s will for that to happen.
You need to be walking with Christ, living a life of obedience. Jesus said,
(John
15:7 NKJV) If you abide in Me, and My words abide in
you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
The leaders that Micah is talking to were not following
God’s ways.
When you are living a life of open rebellion against God, God
may not answer your prayers until you turn around.
Perhaps you’re here today and you’ve never taken that first step of coming
to know God.
You might have thought to yourself that God would never accept you because
you are definitely not “good enough”.
You may not confide this to others, but inside you struggle with a constant
stream of guilt bombarding your conscience.
I’m here to tell you that there is an answer to your guilt.
Jesus Christ died on a cross in order to pay the penalty for YOUR sins.
He paid a debt He didn’t owe because you owed a debt you
couldn’t pay.
Today can be the day when you find God’s forgiveness, starting with a
simple prayer that we will pray at the end of the service.
:5 Thus says the Lord
concerning the prophets Who make my people stray; Who chant “Peace” While they
chew with their teeth, But who prepare war against him Who puts nothing into
their mouths:
:5 the prophets who make my people stray
(Micah 3:5 NLT) …You promise
peace for those who give you food, but you declare war on those who refuse to
feed you.
Micah now moves to address the religious leaders. The bad prophets of Micah’s day were greedy.
If people paid them well, they would get a happy message. If people did not pay, they would proclaim
bad things (like “war”).
:6 “Therefore you shall have night without vision,
And you shall have darkness without divination; The sun shall go down on the
prophets, And the day shall be dark for them.
:7 So the seers shall be ashamed, And the diviners
abashed; Indeed they shall all cover their lips; For there is no answer
from God.”
:6 no answer from God
For these bad “prophets”, God will be silent.
It will be like their cell coverage
suddenly goes away.
:8 But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of
the Lord, And of justice and
might, To declare to Jacob his transgression And to Israel his sin.
:8 I am full of power by the Spirit of
the Lord
While the bad prophets were full of food, Micah was full of the Spirit of
God.
:9 Now hear this, You heads of the house of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel, Who abhor justice And pervert all equity,
:10 Who build up Zion with bloodshed And Jerusalem
with iniquity:
:11 Her heads judge for a bribe, Her priests teach
for pay, And her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord, and say, “Is not the Lord among us? No harm can come upon
us.”
:11 Her heads judge for a bribe
Lesson
Godly examples
The judgment that Micah is going to prophesy about came because of the
leaders of the people.
I think there is something attractive to being a leader. After all, would
you rather boss people around, or would you like to be bossed around?
But God holds leaders accountable for how they lead their flock.
Paul wrote that leaders in the church ought to meet certain qualifications:
(1 Timothy 3:2–7
NLT) —2 So an elder must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be
faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a
good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able
to teach. 3 He must
not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and
not love money. 4 He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and
obey him. 5 For if a
man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church? 6 An elder
must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would
cause him to fall. 7 Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he
will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.
Illustration
Mark Twain knew what it was like to be in a church with ungodly leaders.
Church leaders were largely to blame for his becoming hostile to the Bible
and the Christian faith. As he grew up, he knew elders and deacons who owned
slaves and abused them. He heard men using foul language and saw them practice dishonesty
during the week after speaking piously in church on Sunday. He listened to
ministers use the Bible to justify slavery. Although he saw genuine love for
the Lord Jesus in some people, including his mother and his wife, he was so
disturbed by the bad teaching and poor example of church leaders that he became
bitter toward the things of God.
God is promising destruction on Jerusalem because of the influence of its
leaders.
Leaders are supposed to set an example.
:12 Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed like
a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, And the mountain of the temple
Like the bare hills of the forest.
:12 Zion shall be plowed like a
field
We mentioned this last week when we talked about the prophet Jeremiah’s
ministry (Jer. 26:17-19).
Jeremiah was in a situation similar to Micah, but 100 years later.
The nation had once again slipped into wickedness, and the rulers were
leading the way.
When Jeremiah warned the nation and the leaders, they responded by wanting
to put Jeremiah to death.
Yet there were some who stood up for Jeremiah, and part of their defense
had to do with the prophet Micah.
(Jeremiah 26:17–19 NKJV) —17 Then
certain of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the
people, saying: 18 “Micah
of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king
of Judah, and spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, And the mountain of the temple Like the bare hills of the forest.” ’
19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah
ever put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and seek the Lord’s favor? And the Lord—relented concerning the doom which
He had pronounced against them. But we are doing great evil against ourselves.”
The point of those who defended Jeremiah was that in Micah’s day, King Hezekiah
of Judah actually paid attention to Micah’s warnings, and Jerusalem was spared.
You can read about Hezekiah’s reforms in 2Chronicles 29-31.
The people of Jeremiah’s day would not respond, and
Jerusalem would be leveled by the Babylonians in 586 BC.
4:1-5 Zion’s Restoration
:1 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of
the Lord’s house Shall be
established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills;
And peoples shall flow to it.
:1 on the top of the mountains
Jerusalem sits on “the mountain of the Lord’s
house”.
If Jerusalem is considered higher than all other mountains, the idea is
that Jerusalem will be the “capital” of the world.
:2 Many nations shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain
of the Lord, To the house of the
God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For
out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of
the Lord from Jerusalem.
:2 many nations
Including the
Gentile nations.
:2 the
law – towrah – law, direction, instruction
:2 the word of the Lord from Jerusalem
Even though Micah has prophesied that Jerusalem would be destroyed, it
would be rebuilt.
Micah says it would happen “in the latter days”.
Jerusalem was rebuilt after the Babylonians had destroyed it, but would be
leveled again in 70 AD by Rome.
The rebuilding that Micah is talking about is what’s taking place today.
:3 He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke
strong nations afar off; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And
their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.
:4 But everyone shall sit under his vine and under
his fig tree, And no one shall make them afraid; For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
:5 For all people walk each in the name of his
god, But we will walk in the name of the Lord
our God Forever and ever.
:4
sit under his vine … fig tree
The picture is one of peace and security.
It is a phrase used to describe life under Solomon’s reign:
(1 Kings 4:25
NKJV) And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each man under his vine and his
fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
Zechariah will repeat this prophecy concerning the future:
(Zechariah 3:10
NKJV) In that day,’ says the Lord
of hosts, ‘Everyone will invite his neighbor Under his
vine and under his fig tree.’ ”
:3
They shall beat their swords into plowshares
Weapons of war will be turned into implements of farming.
Isaiah was a contemporary of Micah, and Isaiah 2:2-4 are almost identical
to Micah 4:1-3.
Isaiah wrote,
(Isaiah 2:4 NKJV)
He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke
many people; They shall
beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword
against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.
When God says the same thing twice, it’s pretty important.
Lesson
Good Times Ahead
Prior to World War I, theologians were beginning to think that the world
was just going to get better and better until Jesus would come back.
And then came WWI, and 37 million died.
After WWI, men were so sick of death and war, that they just could not get
themselves to believe that Adolf Hitler could possibly do the monstrous things
he was planning.
More than 80 million people died during WWII.
After WWII, world leaders formed the United Nations, with the hopes that
these kinds of conflicts could be avoided.
There’s a bronze statue outside the United Nations, donated by the former
Soviet Union in 1959, with the Isaiah 2:4 scripture on it.
We ought to be praying for peace, but don’t be surprised when peace efforts
fail.
World peace will not come until Jesus returns.
It seems that we might actually have a hand in speeding up the process of
Jesus’ return.
(2 Peter 3:10–12
NKJV) —10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which
the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with
fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore,
since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought
you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of
which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt
with fervent heat?
Peter says we ought to be …
Living holy lives (vs. 11)
Clean up your act.
Expectation – looking for His return
Are you anxious for Jesus to come back?
“Hastening” that day
I think that God has some sort of number in His head of those
who will be saved. And it has been
suggested over the years that when that final person gets saved, we’ll be out
of here and the events of the last days will all fall into place.
I think that means we ought to be concerned about those
who are lost. I think that means that we
ought to be sharing our faith and inviting people to know Jesus.
4:6 – 5:1 Zion’s Future Triumph
:6 “In that day,” says the Lord, “I will assemble the lame, I will gather the outcast
And those whom I have afflicted;
:7 I will make the lame a remnant, And the outcast a strong nation; So the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion
From now on, even forever.
:7 I will make the lame a remnant
God will rebuild the nation from leftover lame people.
Lesson
God uses the least
Sometimes we get the idea that we need the biggest, brightest, and best
looking people if we’re going to win the world to Jesus.
God thinks differently.
(1 Corinthians
2:1–5 NKJV) —1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence
of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I
determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. 3 I was with
you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were
not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit
and of power, 5
that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power
of God.
Paul reminded the Corinthians that he wasn’t the most
spectacular of preachers, but God used him, and the people learned to trust in
God, not Paul.
Samuel learned this lesson when it came time to find a person to replace
Saul as king. Samuel showed up at Jesse’s house and interviewed each of Jesse’s
sons.
(1 Samuel 16:6–7
NKJV) —6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab
and said, “Surely the Lord’s
anointed is before Him!” 7 But the Lord said to
Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I
have refused him. For the Lord
does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but
the Lord looks at the heart.”
Samuel thought God had picked the handsomest son. God had picked the youngest son.
In fact he hadn’t
even been invited to the party, he was out in the field tending the sheep. His
own father thought he was the least likely one to be picked.
David learned this same lesson when
it came to the men that God would use to one day build David’s kingdom. The men who first gathered around David are
described…
(1 Samuel 22:2 NKJV) —2 And
everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and
everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over
them. And there were about four hundred men with him.
These men would
one day be known as David’s “mighty men”.
You and I might
have called them a bunch of “losers”. They became mighty men.
You might feel like a loser, you might feel flawed, perhaps you were never
part of the “cool” group at school, but you may be exactly the kind of person
that God wants to use.
Perhaps you are a person who has never opened their heart to Christ.
Maybe you struggle with a sense of not belonging. Perhaps you struggle with guilt.
Today could be the day you find God’s forgiveness. Today you can find God.