Micah the prophet told the
people of Samaria and Jerusalem they were so “polluted”
with apostasy and sin that they chose false prophets who promised
“wine and strong” drink rather than the true prophets of
Almighty God. He told them of the pending judgment that was to fall
upon them for their pernicious ways, and in chapter two and verse
twelve, he uses the example of assembling sheep to describe the way
the Lord will gather them together after they are scattered for their
wickedness. We read:
I
will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of you; I will surely gather the
remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah,
as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise
by reason of the multitude of men.
The
verse begins, “I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of
you; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel;” Micah
shared the Lord's words when he wrote, “I will surely
assemble” which in Hebrew is
“acaph acaph” and means “receive, remove, gather in, and
withdraw”. Once again when we see the repeating of a word, there is
great emphasis upon that activity or idea. Micah goes on to add, “O
Jacob”. The word “Jacob” means “heel catcher or
supplanter” and was given to the second born child of Isaac and
Rebecca. “Jacob” was often used to demonstrate the “flesh”
nature of this son of Isaac, and it was to this “flesh” nature or
lower two tribes of Israel of Samaria and Jerusalem of which the Lord
said He would “assemble”. Micah also added, , “all of
you; I will surely gather” which in Hebrew is “qubats qubats”
and once again means “gather, collect, assemble and take away”
“the remnant” or the “rest, residue, remainder and what
is left” of “of Israel” which
means “God prevails or governed by God” and was the name given to
“Jacob” after
wrestling all night with the angel of the Lord. (See Genesis 32) The
ten tribes in the North were known as “Israel”, and they who were
scattered by the Assyrians would be gathered together by the Lord as
well.
The
verse goes on to say, “I will put them together as the
sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold:” If
we use our imaginations we can almost picture the Lord as He
declares, “I will put them together”
or “place, set, appoint or make them in union or unity”,
and he uses the example, “as the sheep of Bozrah” which
refers to the “small cattle, sheep, goats, flock or flocks” and
was known as a rich fertile pasture which means “sheepfold”
or “fortress”. He declared these who dwelt in “Jacob”
and “Israel” would
be, “as the flock in the midst of their fold”
or “directly in the middle of their pasture”. Although those
within Jacob and Israel would be forced out of their homes because of
their apostasy, the Lord promised to bring them back or assemble them
together again like a shepherd who watches over his fold.
Finally
the verse says, “they shall make great noise by reason of
the multitude of men.” As
though to add to the rescue and reassembling of the Lord, Micah
wrote, “they shall make a great noise”
or “to distract, ring again, or roar” “by reason of
the multitude of men” which is the Hebrew word “adam” and
means “man or mankind”. The Lord's restoration will be so
complete that the people assembled will “ring again” and “roar”
with the sound of their voices.
As we ponder the words of
Micah who quoted the Lord, we might be amazed once again by the mercy
and grace of Almighty God. Whereas the people were facing judgment
for their apostasy, sin and trust in false prophets, the Lord was
making a plan to reassemble them afterwards. Though they deserved
extermination, the Lord was determined to bring them back together in
unity where He like a shepherd would watch over and protect them. If
we apply God's mercy and grace to ourselves and people we know, we
may be encouraged by this Savior we serve, and if we are reading this
and have felt His “judgment” for our ways, we can know that He
has a plan through Jesus Christ not only to forgive us, but to
restore us in unity to Him once again. May the Lord continue to show
us His ways which are far greater than we could ever imagine them to
be.
Next
time Micah tells about a “breaker”
who comes against the people, 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment