After
declaring how the nations surrounding Israel would be dumbfounded and
confused because of the “marvelous things” the LORD would
do for them, Micah the prophet asked, “Who is a
God like unto you, that pardons iniquity, and passes by the
transgression of the remnant of his heritage?” Micah also
stated, “he retains not his anger for ever” and the
reason, “because he delights in mercy”. In
chapter seven and verse nineteen of his prophesy, Micah continued to
describe the way the LORD will manage Israel which includes casting
“all their sins into the depths of the sea” where we read:
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.
The
verse begins, “He will turn again, he will have
compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities;”
Micah had written almost seven chapters of prophecies concerning
Jerusalem and Samaria and their pending judgment from the LORD. Their
sin had distanced them from Almighty God, and because of their
insolence, they were to be conquered and go into exile with the
Babylonians. However, when the LORD promised to restore a remnant of
them, Micah declared, “He will turn again”
which means “return, come back or restore”, and “he
will have compassion” which
means “love, have mercy and tender affection” “upon
us, he will subdue” or
“subject, force, keep under, and bring into bondage” “our
iniquities” which refers to
their “perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of
iniquity”. Not only would the LORD “pardon”
their iniquities, pass by their “transgression”,
not retain “his anger for ever” “because he delights
in mercy”, but He would have
“compassion” on
them and “bring into bondage” their “iniquities”
as well.
The verse continues, “and
you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”
As though all those blessings are insufficient, Micah declared, “and
you will cast” which means
“throw, hurl and fling” “all their sins”
or “conditions, guilt and punishments for sins” “into
the depths” or “deep and
most deep part” “of the sea” which
refers to “the mighty seas such as the Mediterranean Sea, Red
Sea, Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee”. The idea is that their
“sins” were to be put so far away from them that they
would never be found again.
As we think through these
words of Micah, let us imagine the compassionate LORD returning to
His people Israel, subduing their “iniquities”, and like
a great shipmaster ridding his vessel of it refuse, hurling their
“sins into the depths of the sea”. For Micah and those who
could hear his prophesy, this must have be a joyful thought. Micah
had written of the horrible conditions and circumstances in which he
lived. Sin surrounded him, and even those within a person's household
could not be trusted, and yet, the LORD was to have “compassion”,
“subdue their iniquities” and “cast their sins into
the depths of the sea”. If we associate ourselves to this
wonderfully restored remnant of Israel, can we not imagine that this
loving and compassionate LORD would do the same for us as well?
Imagine the LORD Jesus gathering all the sinful and wrong things we
have done in our lives in one huge package, wheeling it in His hand
like a ball, and hurling it into the depths of the sea! Oh what joy!
Oh what rapture! Oh what compassion our LORD Jesus has extended to
all who will simply believe in, trust in, rely upon and cling to Him!
May the LORD help us realize that He is indeed a compassionate,
forgiving and merciful Savior who desires to “bring into
bondage” all our sins and iniquities, and “cast”
them so far away from us that we never see them again.
Next
time Micah we finish the book of Micah and see how the LORD will
perform His truth, 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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