November 2021
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 09
M I C A H
The message of Micah suddenly changed. From issuing warnings and appeals to this wayward people, he spoke of days of triumph and glory ahead. “The mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains.” Mount Zion will be elevated both physically and spiritually to become the centre of worship once again. This time, still future our present generation, speaks of the millennial kingdom of Yeshua. And it is not for the house of Israel and the house of Judah alone. “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’.” This identical prophetic announcement was given to the prophet Isaiah, with the slight difference that Isaiah said “all nations” (Isaiah 2:2). It will be a time of complete peace “Swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks.” The Torah of the LORD will be the ‘law of the land’. Here’s the ‘rub’. It was available to the people who comprised Micah’s audience. They wilfully rejected it!! It was, and remains, God’s intent for those who are called by His name.
But then, Micah returns to the reality of his day. For the inhabitants of Judah, he saw their pain, and he saw their future. Prophesying an event which was still over 100 years into the future, he saw that they would be driven from the city (Jerusalem) and would dwell in fields. Not in their own land, but in Chaldea (now Iraq), Babylon the land of their enemy. Beyond that, Micah had a word much further into the future. “Now many nations have gathered against you, who said ‘Let her be defiled, and let your eye look upon Zion’.” Have you noticed how Israel’s enemies today rarely refer to ‘Israel', choosing rather to refer to ‘Zion’? “But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD, nor do they understand His counsel; For He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor”.
It’s an unfair match isn’t it? Almighty God, Creator of the Universe on the one hand. And on the other hand mankind, made by Him, known intimately by Him. The first, steadfast, sure, unchanging, omnipotent, omnipresent, all-knowing. The other, pumped up with self-importance, proud, intelligent, limited, driven by greed and hate. In the modern idiom, ‘it’s a one horse race’, one certain outcome. And yet, in this day and age, millions of people are prepared to ignore, or outrightly reject, the option of salvation and hope offered by our Creator, through the sacrificial death and resurrection of the only One able to make such offer. And that is exactly what the prophet Micah turned to next.
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting”. There is no way that can be misunderstood. It clearly prophesies the place of birth of Messiah Yeshua. One of the 7 ’I am’s’ in John’s gospel is “I am the bread of life”. Did you know that Bethlehem (Heb. ‘Beit Lechem’) means ‘house of bread’? Micah is privileged by God to announce the birth place of Messiah Yeshua. It is this knowledge which the ‘chief priests and scribes’ used to tell Herod, who was intent on ‘killing off’ the One he presumed came to usurp his authority, where the newborn Messiah was born. As we proceed in our ‘reflection’ of understanding this prophecy we need to keep a close eye on the text because the prophet continued with some statements (Micah 5: 3,4) which have a quite wide perspective, covering a time span up to the establishment of the coming Millennial Kingdom, ruled in peace by the One who was born in Bethlehem. Before then returning (Micah 5: 5-8) to the period in which we can identify as the period in which we live today. And finally, in our text this week, (Micah 5: 10-15) covering the time of the last days immediately before the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom.
Now we need to understand that the prophet himself could not possibly have had any idea of the totality of things God revealed to him. But, because he lived in the time of the demise of the northern kingdom, he could envisage elements of his message being replicated in his day. Idolatry and disobedience to commands of Torah were evident. So for him, it was a message of urgency. His motive was twofold. Principally that he himself be obedient to a command of God of which he had no doubt. And in so doing, to urge the people to repent in order to avoid the devastation which that message proclaimed was about to fall on them. It was clearly a message for his time. But the mystery and power of the word of God is its ageless relevance. For that reason we may identify lessons for ourselves in this text.
The evidence that this prophecy is of God, is in the appearance of Yeshua, born in Bethlehem. The demise of the northern kingdom in 722 BCE. and the southern kingdom in 586 BCE. The dispersion of the Israelites from the land in 135 CE. All history for us. We may be assured then, that the prophecy of Micah 5: 3,4 about the Millenial Kingdom is also of Him. The events we see taking place in the world today are evidential of the signs we are told would occur in the last days. God has provided 16 writing prophets, 4 gospel writers and 5 Apostolic writers to ‘warn’ us to get right with Him. What more, I ask myself, could He possibly do to convince people, His own people, you and me, to be obedient to His commands?
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 08
M I C A H
Micah lived in Moresheth, in a fertile agricultural region about 40 Km south west of Jerusalem. Somewhat like Amos, (who was called by God to take a message to the northern kingdom of Israel) he was called from his ‘day job’ to take the message of the LORD to the southern kingdom of Judah. God also raised up other prophets about this time, notably Amos, Hosea and Isaiah, Micah’s mention only of the kings of Judah, which is where he lived, span a time of between 750 and 686 BCE. This embraces the time of the captivity of Israel in the north, 722 BCE, by the Assyrians. It is probable that this event had already occurred, or was just about to, when this prophecy was given to him. Right at the beginning, however, we see that the message is a universal one. “Hear all you peoples! Listen, O earth, and all that is in it!”. The judgement of God will not be withheld. The first chapter of our text concerns the denouncement of sin against God Himself.
The broad message to all nations is that the judgment with which Israel and Judah are judged will be applied in like manner to all who transgress the laws of God. Idolatrous worship is the principal sin. That is what God will not overlook under any circumstance. The very first commandment God gave to Moses on the mountain was “You shall have NO other gods before Me”. Carved images of wood and stone are the most obvious. But there are many other gods worshipped too. The list is almost endless. “For behold, the LORD is coming out of His place; He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.” That is, the places of idol worship. And horror of horrors, Micah 1:9, “the wounds of idolatry are incurable. For it has come to Judah; it has come to the gate of My people - Jerusalem.” Sense the anguish in the words of the prophet. This idolatry had come to the very central place of worship of God Himself. A salutary lesson here. In our day, the hierarchical structures within the modern day denominational church, supposedly designed for the worship of God, consists largely of a social, business model framework, which has largely lost focus on their main purpose. The worship and adoration of our Holy God. In many cases even denying the authenticity of the Word of God. LORD, have mercy on us!
The second chapter of our text concerns the corrupt practices of man against his fellow man. “Devising iniquity” is the phrase used. That is premeditated evil. Opportunistic crime is evil, but to me, premeditated crime seems worse. The victims of this greed and avarice are the poor, the needy, the widow, the orphan, those disadvantaged by circumstance. The most vulnerable. The very ones whom the Torah commands are to be looked after and cared for. And the response of the perpetrator? “Do not prattle”. A dismissive rebuke to those seeking to bring correction. No longer listened to. But the word of the LORD is “Do not My words do good to him that walks uprightly?” Yes they do. As we ‘reflect’ on these ancient prophetic words we take careful note of them as we seek to walk uprightly before the LORD and our fellow man. They are words of eternal consequence and promise. This is perhaps exemplified when the prophet talks of a time we might recognise today (Micah 2:12,13). The re-gathering of both Israel and Judah together, one nation again. As it was in the time of King David. Now preparing for the return of their Messiah Yeshua.
The third chapter of our text is reminder that when God saw the evil of their deeds, which are graphically portrayed in the narrative, they refused to repent of that behaviour. But then, even as some say accusatively even today, God did not intervene when the oppressor came and took them captive. We need to understand that God abounds in love and mercy. That is why He sent his word by the prophets. To warn, to teach, to invite, to implore, transgressors to repent. And this message is sent to those who are His own. Those already living (albeit disobediently) under His protection and care. (as a young christian I was taught, as were countless others, that ‘once saved, always saved”. A done deal. Can’t be lost. It is dangerous theology. It often leads to ‘slackness’ and complacency. All of God’s warnings are to His own people, those He saved when He brought them out of Egypt. The prophets declare that they could be, and were, by disobedient choices as individuals, excluded from the family. The Apostle Paul affirms this (Romans 11:11-22). We should seek truth in the Scriptures, not be reliant on what we were errantly told by others. If the blind lead the blind, they both end up in the ditch!) Now our text turns to the issue of false prophets. They were alive and well then, just as they are today. There is a good description of how to detect false prophets in Deuteronomy 13, and what to do with them. That may well be the reason why many of them teach that the Torah is obsolete!! Another falsehood.
False prophets are a scourge in the earth. The failure of believers to both detect them, and call them out, has given satan an enormous weapon to sow discord, division, and heresy into the body of Messiah. Micah was directed by the Spirit of God to speak unequivocally in opposition to such. “For 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 (the whole kingdom together).” The true prophet speaks both warning (when required) and encouragement. It is often the case that the false prophet “speaks peace when there is no peace”. Many times saying what people WANT to hear. Masquerading as “the Lord’s anointed”, and operating without a modicum of restraint or accountability, they are free to ‘peddle’ false doctrine. The answer? Do not fear to ask questions of them to determine the authority from which the message comes.”Is not the Lord among us? No harm can come upon us”, said the false prophet, just before the unquestioning people were taken into captivity!!
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 07
A M O S
We get an amazing insight into the role of the prophet in this week’s reading. Amos heard from God, and faithfully delivered the message he had been given. In some way, perhaps a vision, a dream, a flash of great insight, Amos saw the result of his prophetic message. He understood the reaction of the people to that message. It may be that he gauged their response as being too dismissive. Whatever it was, he saw the result of the LORD’s judgment. Devastating. Famine caused by locusts eating the crops. Fire consuming all in its path. So he prayed. Those prayers became a two way conversation with the LORD. He prayed that the LORD would stay His hand in these judgements. And the LORD ‘relented’ and did so. A true prophet hears from God, and God hears from the prophet. A bit of a lesson for us here perhaps. Do we ‘wait’ on the LORD when we pray? Are we merely presenting before God our daily (or weekly) ‘shopping’ list? Do we present ourselves, with an open mind and an open Bible before the LORD when we pray? Selah!
“The plumb line” is a metaphor for gauging the ‘true state’ of something. To see if that something is out of line. This is about the LORD’s final warning. The people knew what was expected. Amos’ message was the last warning, and now it was entirely up to the people to heed that warning and repent and turn back to their God. But then came the ‘false prophet’. Amaziah was the priest at Bethel, perpetuating the idolatry of the nation of the north. He sent word to the king, Jereboam 2, mocking and dismissing the words of Amos. And then he turned on Amos himself. “Go you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat bread, and there prophesy. But never again prophesy at Bethel. For it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is the royal residence.”
In response to this outburst, Amos humbly declared his credentials. I paraphrase here. ‘I was just an ordinary farmer breeding sheep, just like my father, with no thought of being a prophet. One day as I was going about my business, the LORD took hold of me and gave me a task to do. You are offended by it, but that is what the LORD told me to do. And now there is a bit more for you to hear. “Your wife shall be a harlot in the city; Your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword; Your land shall be divided by the survey line (the truth of this prophecy); You shall die in a defiled land; And Israel (the northern kingdom) shall surely be led away captive from his own land”.’ Amos had completed the task the LORD had set him to accomplish. He could do no more to assist the people of the north. But it was not the end of his encounter with the LORD. He told Amos more about His aggravation with the behaviour of the people and why His judgment would soon fall on them. Take heed here. There are lessons galore for those who wish to learn them.
Amos had a vision of a “basket of summer fruit”. It indicates a time of harvest. The LORD’s harvest for this people. “The end has come for My people Israel (the northern kingdom); I will not pass by them anymore.” Then follows a series of instances where the people had shown greed for themselves and disregard for others. Looking forward to the end of the New Moon festival (a day of holiday) so that they could get back to trading “making the ephah small and the shekel large”. Falsifying the scales and thereby cheating the poor and the needy. “Surely I will never forget any off their works” said the LORD. There is the reference to the day becoming dark at noon. Some commentators consider this might have been during the solar eclipse of 763 BCE, but there is another day coming when this will also occur “in the last days”. Certainly, other events, due to the invasion and capture at the hands of then Assyrians were much closer to hand. “I will send famine on the land” is an interesting one”. It is a famine of being ‘cut off’ from the words of the LORD. No more access to the prophetic messengers where they would be exiled to. And more broadly, there was a day ahead, after the prophet Joel, when there was “biblical silence” for about 400 years.
However, the LORD’s message to Amos ended on a note of great sadness, followed by triumph. Amos “saw the LORD standing by the altar”. That was normally the place where the people, through their offering of sacrifices, “drew near to God”. But this was the altar at Bethel. “Strike the doorposts, that the thresholds may shake.” As people sought to flee, there was nowhere for them to hide. No escape from the wrath of God. The picture we are given is graphic, and in the middle of that horror God reminds them who He is (Amos 9:5,6) “The LORD is His name” is the conclusion. “Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are on a sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth; yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob”. A glimpse of hope.
Amos 9:11-15 is prophetic of multiple events which have, and still will, be fulfilled. “The tabernacle of David” at that time was the Temple that Solomon built in 966 BCE. It was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, restored by Nehemiah in 515 BCE and later reconstructed by Herod, and destroyed again by Titus in 70 CE. It will be built yet again, and that will herald the imminent end of this age. “I will bring back the captives of my people Israel”. That started when king Cyrus facilitated the return of Ezra and Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. BUT, the “main event” is taking place in our lifetime. “I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them says the LORD your God.” We are privileged to witness this happening. It is another ‘warning’ from God. And Amos shared God’s message with me, and you. Be blessed in heeding God’s warning.
Shabbat Shalom.
RS
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 06
A M O S
There is a degree of repetition in the warnings Amos brought to the northern kingdom. That has to be seen as ‘urgency’ of the message. There was but little time left for them to turn around and seek the forgiveness of the LORD. But isn’t that always the way? “He it is who opens, and no-one shuts, and who shuts, and no-one opens”. And the time is in God’s hands alone.
Our text today opens as though a funeral is taking place, and the deceased is a young woman who has not been able to enjoy the fulfilment of the life that she might have expected. Because we know how the story unfolds, which the people of that day did not, the prospect of seeing thousands die in the calamity which Amos warned would come upon them. And was scoffed at. In our own piety we may ask “why didn’t they just listen to the message?” And the answer is “because they were just like millions of people today”. Even many who claim to be believers, yet treat the word of God lightly.
“Seek Me and live” is the call of the LORD the prophet exclaimed. Then listed places which had historical meaning to them. Bethel of course, rich in history but now a centre of idolatry. Gilgal, where those who were born during the wilderness journey were circumcised to the LORD. Beersheva, where some from the north were known to visit to worship there, even though Jerusalem was God’s appointed place. The house of Joseph is a way of describing the whole northern kingdom because the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (sons of Joseph) were a major force there. Pieades and Orion speak of the might of God who ‘breathed the stars into being’, Creator of the Universe. It all speaks of the waywardness of these people in comparison to the might and steadfastness of God who was calling them to repent and turn again to Him.
The message would have been hard to listen to. Imagine, if you can, God sending a messenger to me. I am hearing a list of my faults and failures, some of which I may not even remember! And then realising that God keeps account. There is nothing hidden from Him. Then being told that things I thought important, or valuable, are going to crumble away. How many chances did God give them? This message was given to them at the time of Jereboam 2. He had authority. He it was who set the tone for the nation. He was their 13th king, and just like the twelve who preceded him, he was another “bad” king. He did ‘evil in the sight of the LORD”. We have the advantage of knowing the end of the story as far as this northern kingdom was concerned. That tells us that God withheld His judgment on the northern kingdom through the reigns of SIX more “bad” kings before He brought upon them the judgment of that warning. But don’t count on that as a pattern. God is the only One who decides timing of His judgement. And we have ample evidence in the Scriptures of His judgment being executed very quickly. (think about Nadab and Abihu, or Ananias and Sapphira) In this case though, God even told them where they would end up! “Therefore I will send you into captivity beyond Damascus.” That is where Assyria was.
The prophet Amos then turned his attention to Judah, the southern kingdom, at that time under the kingship of Uzziah. He was one of only 8 kings of Judah described as “good” kings. He was 16 years old when he became king and reigned for 52 years. Jerusalem was their capital. Solomon had built the Temple there. It was the place God had appointed David to establish as the nation’s place of worship. But they too had appointed 4 “bad” kings in their past, and would have another 7 “bad” kings in their future. Evidently, there was a perception of complacency on their part. Perhaps, partly, because of the reign of the good king Uzziah. “Woe to you who are at ease in Zion, and trust in Mount Samaria, notable persons in the chief nation to whom the house of Israel comes!” The prophet Isaiah, writing about the same time as Amos, had a similar message (Isaiah 10: 5-11). Look around you was the message. Calneh (a city of Nimrod), Hamath (Syria) and Gath (Philistia) had all suffered the judgment of the LORD. “Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory?” Ouch!! And this, as it later transpired was a very early warning for Judah. God’s judgement is fair and uniform. The same for everyone. It is only the timing which differs. And God’s timing is God’s timing. The lesson for us is to guard against complacency in our service and devotion to our calling, especially when things seem to be ‘easy’.
“The LORD God of hosts says: ‘I abhor the pride of Jacob, and hate his palaces; therefore I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.’” And for any who do not know, that’s exactly what happened to Jerusalem in the year 586 BCE at the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. But we need to understand that God did not act in any sense of vengeance. Yes, He was angry with them. Yes, He did raise up the enemies of Israel to accomplish His promises. And yes, He did give them plenty of warnings. BUT, the catalyst for these actions was the wanton refusal of the people, “called by His name” to abide by their assent to keep the covenant God had made with them. The lesson. How many times do we need to hear it? God is a covenant keeping God. He was for the people of that day, and He is for people today. God has clearly set out in His word, as is quite evident from our ‘reflection’ today., He expects those who make covenant with Him to keep that covenant.
Take time to reflect on promises made to God. Consider what it is that He requires of those who belong to Him. And be blessed.
Shabbat Shalom
RS