Micah 7
Dilemma of Micah verse 1- 6
Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits
as the grape gleamings of the vintage
there is no cluster to eat
my soul desired the first ripe fruit
The good man is perished out of the earth
and there is none upright among men
they all lie in wait for blood
they hunt every man his brother with a net
that they may do evil with both hands earnestly
the prince asks
the judge asks for a reward (bribe)
And the great man – he utters his mischievous desire
so they wrap it up
the best of them is as a brier
the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge
the day of your watchmen
and your visitation comes
NOW shall be their perplexity
trust you not in a friend – put you not confidence in a guide
keep the doors of your mouth
from her that lies in your bosom
FOR the son dishonors the father
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
Micah waiting to hear from the LORD verse 7
THEREFORE I will look unto the LORD
I will wait for the God of my salvation
my God will hear me
Confidence in the LORD verse 8- 9
Rejoice not against me – O mine enemy – when I fall – I shall arise
when I sit in darkness – the LORD shall be a light unto me
I will bear the indignation of the LORD
BECAUSE I have sinned against HIM
UNTIL HE plead my cause
and execute judgment for me
HE will bring me forth to the light
and I shall behold HIS righteousness
LORD deals with enemies verse 10
THEN she that is mine enemy shall see it
and shame shall cover her which said to me
Where is the LORD your God?
mine eyes shall behold her
NOW shall she be trodden down
as the mire of the streets
Future hope of Israel verse 11- 13
IN THAT DAY that your wall are to be built
IN THAT DAY shall the decree be far removed
IN THAT DAY he shall come even to you from Assyria
fortified cities
fortress even to the river – seas to sea
mountain to mountain
NOTWITHSTANDING the land shall be desolate
BECAUSE of them that dwell therein
for the fruit of their doings
Micah’s prayer for protection verse 14
Feed YOUR people with YOUR rod – the flock of YOUR heritage
which dwell solitarily in the woods – in the midst of Carmel
let them feed in Bashan and Gilead
as in the days of old
LORD answers prayer verse 15
According to the days of your coming out of the land of Egypt
will I show unto him marvelous things
Nations will be amazed verse 16- 17
The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might
they shall lay their hand upon their mouth
their ears shall be deaf
they shall lick the dust like a serpent
they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth
they shall be afraid of the LORD our God
and shall fear because of YOU
Micah gives praise to the LORD verse 18- 20
Who is a God like unto YOU – THAT pardons iniquity
and passes by the transgression of the remnant
of HIS heritage?
HE retains not HIS anger for ever
BECAUSE HE delights in mercy
HE will turn again – HE will have compassion upon us
HE will subdue our iniquities
And YOU will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea
YOU will perform the truth to Jacob
and the mercy to Abraham
WHICH YOU have sworn unto our fathers from the days of old
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. (3477 “upright” [yashar] means straight, righteous, just, correct, pleasing, fitting, proper, level, or smooth.)
DEVOTION: There is a verse in Romans that states that there is none righteous no not one. Every human that enters this world is prone to sin. We are all born with a sin nature. That sin nature manifests itself in our selfishness and laziness. We want to do what we want to do when we want to do it. We also want to go along the easiest path to get to where we want to go.
Micah is stating that all the good men are gone. There is none that is straight. What does it mean to be straight? The other meanings for this word are righteous, just, pleasing, etc.
The book of Hebrews in the faith chapter informs us that “without faith it is impossible to please HIM.” Micah is warning those who he is ministering to that they are not pleasing the LORD. They are all heading in the wrong direction. They are all going down the wide road that leads to destruction.
No one can be trusted. Many people fake being a Christian. They really don’t want to be a follower of the LORD. What they want is people who they can take advantage of for their own personal gain.
Not only are these people strangers but even family members. Other family members enjoy seeing family members fail. They enjoy taking advantage of family members. They make fun of family members. Some even want to kill family members.
Our biological families many times don’t make things easy for us to serve the LORD. Our Biblical families many times are better to us than our biological family. Who are we going to spend time with for eternity? Who are lying in wait to shed our blood?
CHALLENGE: Micah is warning those who listening that the only one they can really trust in is the LORD. All others are sinners. God will never let you down.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 7 Therefore I will look to the LORD: I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. (6822 “look” [tsaphah] means watchman, to keep watch, to spy, examine, to view, or to observe attentively.)
DEVOTION: What a statement. Micah has just given reasons for all the children of Israel to not trust their families or their neighbors. In the first six verses he informs those who are listening that no one is sinless. No one just. No one is going to act correctly toward anyone else. Families mean nothing. Teachers mean nothing. You can’t even trust those who are supposed to love us the most, our spouse.
If no one is trustworthy, what are we supposed to do? Micah figured it out. He was going to look to the LORD alone for guidance. HE was confident the LORD was going to deliver him. HE was confident that the LORD was going to hear his prayers.
We should have the same confidence in the LORD. People will let us down but the LORD will build us up.
Does that mean we can’t trust or listen to anyone that is human? NO!! We have to filter all that we hear and all those who want to teach us through the Word of God and prayer. God will give us the direction we need. HE will send the right people into our world to give us proper instructions.
CHALLENGE: Discernment is important to every believer. Don’t be fooled by fakes.
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: 18 Who is a God like to YOU, that pardons iniquity, and passes by the transgression of the remnant of HIS heritage? HE retains not HIS anger for ever, because HE delights in mercy. (2388 “retains” [chazaq] means to prevail, have courage, grow firm, to secure, overpower, strengthen, or grow rigid.)
DEVOTION: Those who have studied world religions understand what the false gods of the world required of their subjects. These false gods expected many things that the God of the Bible would never expect. These false gods had their priests who wanted possessions. They build everything around dread of an angry god. They were never offered peace just more rules. False religion is based on external rules not an internal life. Many today are based on chanting or recited prayers.
Our God wants to listen to our heart. HE is more concerned with our internal life than our obedience to external traditions. Our God wants to pardon iniquity. Our God has a remnant that knows that HE is going to forgive their transgressions. HE will chasten or correct us when we go down the wrong path but HE delight or is happy to show mercy.
Think about the difference between the God of the Bible and the gods of our world today. How do the people who follow false gods treat others? Can people see the difference between them and us? They should.
Our God is a merciful God. Our God expressed HIS love toward us through the death of HIS Son on the cross. There is no other belief system that has a living Savior.
CHALLENGE: Spread the news of our great God who loves to show mercy to those who repent of their sins.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 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. (3533 “subdue” [kabash] means to subject, force, keep under, bring into bondage, dominate, tread down or make subservient)
DEVOTION: Micah presents the fact that there are none upright among men in Israel. Everyone is turning from the LORD. The members of a person’s family are going to be his enemies.
Micah promises to wait on the LORD. He might fall but the LORD will raise him up. He will suffer the consequences of his sin but the LORD will bring him to the light. He will behold the righteousness of the LORD.
People will see his circumstances and ask him where his God is. They want to know how the LORD can allow one of his servants to suffer. He gives them the assurance that the LORD will rescue him out of all his troubles.
Micah presents a picture in these final verses of this book that should quiet our minds if we are in Christ. The children of Israel have been bad. They have been plotting evil against one another. They have been plotting evil against those of their own households. Relatives were enemies to each other. Families were hurting each other. All the units of society were falling apart. The leaders of the community were looking for bribes from everyone. Yet, in all of this the final verses give us hope.
The LORD is described as wanting to show mercy to HIS people. HE is one who wants to show compassion to HIS people. HE is going to tread down the sins of HIS people. HE is going to thrown HIS peoples sins into the sea. How can HE do this? The blood of Christ is going to cleanse them of their sins. HE will no longer look on their sins but on the blood of HIS son. Only the blood of Christ on the cross can pardon our sins. We can be forgiven. Praise the LORD. Israel will have a remnant that will be forgiven. Let’s spread the word of the availability of forgiveness of sin through Christ. Micah shared his HOPE in the LORD to everyone in Israel. He looked to the future for the coming of the Messiah. He knew he was a sinner who looked to the LORD for forgiveness.
CHALLENGE: Where are the sins of those who are followers of Jesus Christ? If the answer is buried in the deepest sin, then we need to act according to the statements of Scripture and not on our feelings.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Micah knows that the LORD will hear him verse 7
Prayer for protection verse 14
Prayer regarding the Greatness of the LORD verse 18- 20
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 7- 10, 17
God of my salvation verse 7
LORD is light when siting in darkness verse 8
Indignation of the LORD verse 9, 18
Pleads cause of believer verse 9
Executes judgment for believer verse 9
I shall behold HIS Righteousness verse 9
LORD your God verse 10
Feed YOUR people with YOUR rod
the flock of YOUR heritage verse 14
I will show marvelous things verse 15
LORD our God verse 17
Who is God like to YOU verse 18
Pardons iniquity verse 18
Passes by the transgression of remnant verse 18
HIS heritage verse 18
Retains not HIS anger for ever verse 18
Delights in mercy verse 18
Compassion verse 19
HE will subdue our iniquities verse 19
Cast all our sins into the depth of the sea verse 19
Perform the truth to Jacob verse 20
Mercy to Abraham verse 20
Sworn in days of old verse 20
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign, Plural name) verse 7, 10, 17, 18
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation
Good men perish verse 2
Prince verse 3
Judge verse 3
Best of them is as a brier verse 4
Most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge verse 4
Watchman verse 4
Enemy verse 6, 8, 10
Enemy asks believer
“Where is the LORD your God? verse 10
Assyria verse 12
Land is desolate verse 13
Land of Egypt verse 15
Nations confounded – lay hands to their
mouth and their ears shall be deaf verse 16
Nations shall lick the dust like a serpent verse 17
Nations shall move out of their holes like worms verse 17
Nations shall be afraid of the LORD our God verse 17
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
None upright verse 2
Lie in wait for blood verse 2
Lay traps for brother verse 2
Evil with both hands verse 3
Reward (bribe) verse 3
Mischievous desire verse 3
Friends can’t be trusted verse 5
Guide can’t be trusted verse 5
Dishonoring father verse 6
Daughter rises up against her mother verse 6
Daughter in law against her mother in law verse 6
Enemy in own house verse 6
Sinned verse 9, 19
Fruit of their doings verse 13
Iniquity verse 18, 19
Transgression verse 18
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Good verse 2
Upright verse 2, 4
Trust verse 5
Look to the LORD verse 7
Wait verse 7
Salvation verse 7
Hear of LORD verse 7
Light verse 8
Bear indignation of the LORD verse 9
Brought to the light verse 9
Shame shall cover my enemy verse 10
Fed by the LORD verse 14
Shown marvelous things verse 15
Might verse 16
Fear of the LORD verse 17
Pardons iniquity verse 18
Remnant verse 18
Mercy verse 18
Compassion verse 19
Cast sins into the depths of the sea verse 19
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Heritage of the LORD verse 14
Carmel verse 14
Bashan verse 14
Gilead verse 14
Coming out of the land of Egypt verse 15
Jacob verse 20
Abraham verse 20
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
In that day verse 11, 12
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QUOTES regarding passage
7:18 The type of rhetorical question beginning this verse is used in order to express a “forcible denial.” So the reply is “No one.” The question is a way of affirming God’s incomparability.77 Here he is incomparable particularly in his forgiving love and grace. Mays points out that this book, “which begins with a portrayal of YHWH’s advent in wrath, concludes with praise of his mercy.” To emphasize the point, three different Hebrew words for sin are used and four verbs that indicate forgiveness (“pardons … forgives … tread … hurl”). More literal renderings of the verbs would yield “takes away … passes over (cf. Exod 12:12–13; 1 Cor 5:7) … subdue … hurl.” “Sin” is the same Hebrew root that occurs in “iniquities” (v. 19) and should have been translated “iniquity” here for consistency within the same unit. The Hebrew term connotes what is twisted, crooked, or perverse. For “transgression” see comments on 1:5. Waltke notes: “The crucial vocabulary of Micah 7:18 is used in connection with the Suffering Servant of Yahweh in Isaiah 53: nāśāʾ (to bear; v. 12), ʿāwōn (iniquity; vv. 6, 11), pešaʿ (transgression; vv. 8, 12)—all in connection with Yahweh’s pleasure (ḥāpēṣ; v. 10).”
The people he thus forgives are the “remnant of his inheritance.” Rather than staying angry forever (see Pss 30:5; 103:8–18) the Lord instead delights to show “mercy” (more lit. “faithful covenant love,” Hb. ḥesed; see comments on 6:8 and note). (Barker, K. L. (1999). Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (Vol. 20, pp. 133–134). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
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18 The question “Who is a God like you?” points to the uniqueness of Yahweh. The name “Micah” means “who is like the Lord?” Whether this is another characteristic play on words is hard to say. The words “sin” and “transgression” recall the affirmation of Exodus 34:6–7, wherein the Lord proclaimed an essential aspect of his nature to be his willingness to forgive sin. (McComiskey, T. E. (1986). Micah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Daniel and the Minor Prophets (Vol. 7, p. 445). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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7:18–20. The author concluded his book by reminding himself and his readers about the goodness and uniqueness of their God (cf. Ex. 34:6–7a). Micah’s final words of praise show that he had great faith in God’s eventual out-working of His plans for His covenant people. Today orthodox Jews read these verses in their synagogues on the Day of Atonement, after they read the Book of Jonah.
The rhetorical question, Who is a God like You? (cf. Ex. 15:11; Pss. 35:10; 71:19; 77:13; 89:6; 113:5) may be a word-play on Micah’s name which means, “Who is like Yahweh?” The obvious answer is that no one is like the Lord. The remainder of Micah 7:18–20 describes what He is like. God’s acts on behalf of His people prove that He is completely trustworthy and merciful.
Micah affirmed six things about God: (1) He pardons the sin and transgression (cf. 1:5; 3:8; 6:7) of the remnant (cf. 2:12; 4:7; 5:7–8) of His inheritance (cf. 7:14).
(2) He does not stay angry forever (cf. Ps. 103:9) and (3) He likes to show mercy (ḥeseḏ; cf. Micah 7:20). What encouragement these truths would have been for the godly remnant living in Israel’s corrupt society. Confident that (4) the Lord will again have compassion (reḥem, “tender, heartfelt concern”; cf. Pss. 102:13; 103:4, 13; 116:5; 119:156; Hosea 14:3; Zech. 10:6) on Israel, Micah knew that (5) God would deal with her sins by, figuratively speaking, treading them under foot (subduing them as if they were enemies) and hurling them into … the sea (thus completely forgiving them). Three Old Testament words for sin are used in Micah 7:18–19: sin(s), transgression, and iniquities.
Micah knew God would do these things because (6) He is true (faithful) to Jacob and shows mercy (ḥeseḏ; cf. v. 18) to Abraham. God cannot lie; He is true to His Word and loyal to His commitments and His oath. Therefore Micah was trusting in God’s promises to Abraham (Gen. 12:2–3; 15:18–21), which were confirmed to Jacob (Gen. 28:13–14), that He will bless their descendants.
Israel’s peace and prosperity will be realized when the Messiah-King reigns. Christ will exercise justice over His and Israel’s opponents and He will extend grace to His own. This promise gave Micah confidence in his dark days and is also a source of comfort to believers today. (Martin, J. A. (1985). Micah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 1491–1492). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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The voice of the prophet (vv. Micah 7:16–20). When Israel departed from Egypt and God opened the sea, the other nations heard about it and feared (Ex. 15:14–16; Josh. 2:8–11). But the wonders the Lord will do for Israel in the last days will startle the nations even more. The Gentiles will see the power of God and be ashamed and unable to act. They will come out of their hiding places to submit to the Lord. It will mean total victory for Israel.
But the most important event will not be Israel’s victory over her enemies but God’s victory over Israel. The prophet was confident of the unchanging character of God. “Who is a God like You?” (Micah 7:18 niv) reminds us of the meaning of Micah’s name, “Who is like the Lord?” He is a God who pardons sin, forgives transgressions, and delights in showing mercy. He shows compassion to His people and deals with their sins with finality. Some students see Israel’s exodus experience illustrated in verse 19: The Egyptian army was buried in the depths of the Red Sea and ended up in the mire.
Micah knew that God would not go back on His promises or His covenant agreements with His people. The people weren’t always true to Jehovah, but He will be true to His people (2 Tim. 2:12–13). What He promised to Abraham, the father of the nation, He will fulfill in his many descendants. Micah could have sung
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word.
In the coming of Jesus Christ to this world, God fulfilled some of the promises He made to the Jews (Luke 1:72–73), and He will fulfill the rest of His promises as well. “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ” (2 Cor. 1:20 niv).
Few passages in Scripture contain so much “distilled theology” as Micah 7:18–20. We see in them a reflection of what God told Moses on the mount (Ex. 34:5–7). The better we know the character of God, the more we can trust Him for the future. The better we know the promises and covenants of God, the more peace we will have in our hearts when things fall apart. When Micah wrote this confession of his faith, the future seemed hopeless; yet he had hope because he knew God and fully trusted Him.
No matter how dark the day, the light of God’s promises is still shining. No matter how confusing and frightening our circumstances, the character of God remains the same.
You have every reason to trust Him! (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be concerned (pp. 116–117). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor.)
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From every renewed heart will burst the cry of worshipful praise, “Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity?”
Into the sea of His forgetfulness He will cast all their sins, justifying them freely by His grace through the same wondrous redemption which is now the ground of blessing for every Jew and Gentile who trusts in the name of Jesus.
Thus Micah’s prophecy reaches the end to which all the prophets pointed; when the oath of Jehovah to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will be performed, and their seed will be established in their ancient patrimony, never again to be uprooted, and enjoying all the blessings of the new covenant, confirmed by the precious blood of Christ. (Ironside, H. A. (1909). Notes on the Minor Prophets. (p. 254). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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Ver. 18. Who is a God like unto thee, &c.] There is no God besides him, none so great, so mighty, as he; none like him for the perfections of his nature; for the works of his hands; for the blessings of his goodness, both of providence and grace; and particularly for his pardoning grace and mercy, as follows: that pardoneth iniquity; that lifts it up, and takes it away, as the word signifies; thus the Lord has taken the sins of his people off of them, and laid them on Christ, and he has bore them, and carried them away, as the antitype of the scape-goat, never to be seen and remembered any more; and whereas the guilt of sin lies sometimes as a heavy burden upon their consciences, he lifts it up, and takes it away, by sprinkling the blood of Christ upon them, and by applying his pardoning grace and mercy to them: pardon of sin is peculiar to God; none can forgive it but he against whom it is committed; forgiveness of sin is with him, promised by him in covenant, proclaimed in Christ, by him obtained and published in the Gospel: and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? the people of God are his portion, his lot, and his inheritance; they are a remnant according to the election of grace, chosen of God, taken into his covenant, redeemed by Christ, and called by grace, and brought to repent and believe; these God forgives, even all their transgressions, sins, and iniquities of every kind; which is here expressed by another word, passing them by, or passing over them: sin is a transgression or passing over the law, and pardon is a passing over sin; God taking no notice of it, as if he saw it not; not imputing it to his people, or calling them to an account for it; or condemning and punishing them according to the desert of it; but hiding his face from it, and covering it: he retaineth not his anger for ever; that which he seemed to have against his people, and appeared in some of the dispensations of his providence, is not continued and lengthened out, and especially for ever, but it disappears; he changes the course of his providence, and his conduct and behaviour to his people, and shews them his face and favour, and manifests his forgiving love; which is a turning himself from his anger; see Psal. 85:2, 3; Isa. 12:1: because he delighteth in mercy; which is natural to him, abundant with him, and exercised according to his sovereign will and pleasure, very delightful to him; he takes pleasure in shewing mercy to miserable creatures, and in those that hope in it, Psal. 147:11. this is the spring of pardon, which streams through the blood of Christ. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 6, p. 593). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
The Dreadful Day of the Lord
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.” (Malachi 4:5)
This is the next-to-last verse of the Old Testament and so marks the final mention in the Old Testament of the fearsome theme of the Day of the Lord. As the text says, it will be a “great and dreadful day.”
This phrase occurs frequently in the Bible, reminding us over and over again that although God is merciful and longsuffering, He will not remain silent forever. Man’s “day” will end someday, and the day of the Lord will come.
Note some of the other prophecies: “Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! . . . the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light” (Amos 5:18). “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come” (Joel 2:31). “The great day of the LORD . . . is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness” (Zephaniah 1:14-15). “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger” (Isaiah 13:9).
The phrase also is repeated in the New Testament, most awesomely of all in 2 Peter 3:10: “The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (see also 1 Thessalonians 5:2, etc.).
Without trying to sort out the precise sequences and events associated with all such prophecies, it is obvious that the Day of the Lord is a coming time of terrible judgment on all who have rejected or ignored the God who created them. But God’s faithful believers can take great comfort, for then “the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD” (Zechariah 14:9).
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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Jeremiah 31
God establishes a covenant with the children of Israel to write His Law on their hearts.
INSIGHT
The primary theme of nearly all the Prophetic Books is warning of judgment for sin. The prophets proclaim the Word of God as their basic ministry, but from time to time, the Lord reveals to them a specific message for the children of Israel. If they do not turn from their sin, a specific judgment will follow. It is comforting to see, however, that in nearly all instances the judgment is to be followed by restoration. God’s judgment on His children is not for retaliation but to get His children to turn from their sin to Him. (Quiet Walk)
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THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Psalm 90:2
We will now consider some of the attributes of God. And by attributes I mean some of the perfections of God, or to put it another way, some of the virtues of God. Peter says in his first epistle, “…that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (2:9). That is it. The Christian is meant to show forth the attributes of God–the perfections, the excellencies of God.
Here is another definition of God’s attributes: They are the things about God, certain aspects of His great and glorious eternal nature, that He has been pleased to reveal to us, and that, in a measure, we can lay hold of. All sorts of classifications have been suggested. Some have said that the division should be into the natural attributes of God and the moral attributes of God–that is, into attributes that belong to God in and of Himself and those that have a kind of moral implication. Well, it does not matter very much what we may call them. I would suggest some classification like this: first, the attributes of absolute personality that belong to God, and second, the moral attributes of God.
God is a personality in an absolute sense. Now, what are the attributes that belong to His personality? They are, of course, expressive of His eternal being, and the first one, therefore, that we have to note is the eternity of God, and with it the immutability of God. God is without beginning and without ending; He is everlasting. You will find a great statement of that in Psalm 90: “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” (verse 2). You will find it in the same way in Psalm 102. His eternity is something that we just assert and at which we wonder.
A Thought to Ponder: The Christian is meant to show forth the attributes of God–the perfections, the excellencies of God. From God the Father, God the Son, pp. 59-60, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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It takes both the Word of God and prayer to make balanced Christians and to build a balanced church. (p. 81)
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The apostles were so busy serving tables that they were neglecting prayer and the ministry of the Word, and this created a spiritual deficiency in the body that led to disagreement and division. (p. 81)
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Devotion to the Word of God and prayer will give balance to our lives and to our ministries. (p.82)
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Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way” (1 Sam. 12:23) (p. 82)
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Prayerlessness doesn’t simply make us weak or handicapped so that our ministry is difficult. Lack of prayer paralyzes us so that we’re not able to do anything that will produce lasting fruit to the glory of God. (p.84)
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When we share the Word, it’s like bringing light in the darkness (Ps. 119:130;2 Cor. 4:6), planting seed (Luke 8:11), cleaning with pure water (John 15:3; Eph.5:26), dispensing healing medicine (Ps. 107:20), serving nourishing food (Matt. 4:4; I Cor. 3:1-3; I Peter 2:2), wielding a powerful sword (Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12), and investing spiritual wealth (2 Tim. 2:2). (p. 84) (10 Power Principles for Christian Service by Warren W. & David W. Wiersbe)
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