Micah the prophet wrote his
words during a difficult time in Jerusalem and Samaria. Like the ten
tribes of Israel who were conquered by the Assyrians because of their
rebellion against the LORD, Judah and Benjamin their sister tribes
were following in their footsteps. Micah told his people they would
suffer capture and be exiled because of their apostasy, and though
they were to be carried away from their homeland, the LORD would
restore a remnant of them to their country again. He asked, “who
is a God like unto you?” and he declared that the LORD “pardons
iniquity”, “passes by transgression”, and doesn't
“retain his anger for ever because he delights in mercy”.
He added that the LORD would “turn again” to them and have
“compassion” upon them in addition to subduing their
“iniquities” and would “cast all their sins into the
depths of the sea”. As Micah completed his prophesy in chapter
seven and verse twenty, he declares one final characteristic of the
LORD as he wrote, “You will perform the truth” and “mercy”
where we read:
You will perform the
truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham,
which you have sworn
unto our fathers from the days of old.
The verse begins, “You
will perform the truth to Jacob,...” As
a final declaration to solidify the LORD's promises to the people of
Israel, Micah wrote, “You will perform”
which means “put, set, put on, put upon, set, appoint, assign,
designate, constitute, give, bestow, provide, entrust, grant, permit,
issue, publish, utter and assign” “the truth”
or “firmness, faithfulness, sureness, reliability, stability
and continuance” “to Jacob” which means “heel holder
or supplanter”. Though the people of Jacob had rebelled against the
LORD and they would pay a price for their insolence, still the LORD
was going to bestow upon them reliability and continuance as a nation
before Him.
The
verse continues, “...and the mercy to Abraham,” Micah
continued his final words by adding, “and the mercy” which
means “goodness, kindness and faithfulness” “to Abraham”
or “father or chief of the multitude” which is a direct reference
to the nation of Israel. The LORD promised Abraham in the book of
Genesis in chapter twenty-two and verse eighteen:
And in your seed shall
all the nations of the earth be blessed; because you have obeyed my
voice.
and the
LORD was going to be faithful in keeping His promise to Abraham's
descendants.
Finally
the verse says, “which you have sworn unto our fathers
from the days of old.” Micah's
final words to the people of Jerusalem and Samaria are, “which
you have sworn” or “adjured
or taken an oath” “unto our fathers”
which refers to their “ancestors or heads and founders of a
household, group, family, or clan” “from the days of old”
which refers to a “time or time period of antiquity, in front of
or that which was before”. The LORD promised in days past that He
would not only “perform the truth to Jacob” but that He
would also extend “mercy to Abraham”, and Micah's
declaration was that He was going to keep that which He promised.
As we come to a
close to the book of Micah and the prophecies which are in it, we
would do well to consider once again the rebellion that was occurring
throughout Jerusalem and Samaria. No one could be trusted, and
everyone worked everything according to their own selfishness and
advantage. They forsook the LORD and His ways, and they rather
worshipped other gods such as money, pleasure, power and intellect.
Micah pronounced judgment was coming for their pernicious ways, and
though a price was to be paid for their rebellion, the LORD would
restore a remnant of them to whom He would be merciful and forgiving.
Micah has given us an example of the way the LORD Jesus is to all who
will come to Him in faith. Though they have rebelled against His ways
and turned to their own selfishness and advantage, He will willingly
receive all who turn to Him, repent of their ways and begin to follow
Him in all they do. The LORD Jesus will indeed “perform the
truth” and have “mercy” upon all who devote their
lives to Him, and this was Jesus' reason for dying on the cross and
being raised to life again. May we and all who read these words come
to know Jesus as their personal LORD and Savior who is more that
ready to “perform the truth” and have “mercy”
upon everyone who will yield their lives to Him.
Next
time we will begin a study in the book of First Timothy, so read
ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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