RSS Feed |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Sunday School Lesson
The "ain't-nobody-gonnatell me-what-to-do" syndrome can infect the life of any individual. When this principle takes root - and, thus, begins to grow - those whose lives are under its influence produce difficulties for all people who are around them. It is easy for anyone to develop an attitude of compartmentalized living - the secular compartment, and the spiritual compartment. When this kind of thinking is applied, these two areas never meet. However, these individuals live in such a way that they cannot enjoy their spiritual life - due to contamination with the selflife - nor can they feel secure with their secular attitude knowing enough about the things of God to cause them to be miserable. Such a life produces a strain in all areas of living. These individuals have no concept of the joy of the Lord. Nehemiah 8:10; Psalms 16:11; 43:4; 51:12. The leaders of the southern kingdom - whose capitol was Jerusalem - and the northern kingdom - whose capitol was Samaria - were addressed in the series of messages God sent to the nation through the prophet, Micah. Micah 1:1. The call to repentance was heard from many different men who had been sent to the wayward nations. The leaders of these nations seemed to have considered the people for whom they were responsible as, simply, subjects to be treated in any abusive manner that would make them "look good. Through the prophet God said, "Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?" Micah 3:1. These leaders knew that the law had been given by God through this man, Moses. These were guidelines for this people for all times. These leaders, who were responsible for this chosen nation, had forgotten the one to whom they were subject - God. God declared of them, "Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron." Micah 3:2,3. These word pictures are quite graphic,yet they can be applied to many present-day leaders in all areas of society. Some of these leaders would seem to open up the spiritual compartment of their lives. God had a message for them at that time. "Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings." Micah 3:4. This picture can include those who are leaders in any area of life - home, industry, finance, relating to the spiritual life. One must continuously take stock of personal actions and attitudes. The spiritual leaders did not escape the message of the prophet. "Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make the people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him." Micah 3:5. When these leaders cry out, "there is no answer of God." Micah 3:7c. The call to return to God included a reminder of some of the great leaders that God had given this nation throughout their history. The prophet appeals to the people to make their own cries to God, since their present leaders were not leading them according to the divine plan. "Hear ye now what the Lord saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice." Micah 6:1. This thought was expressed in the Psalm. Psalm 121:1,2. He reminded them of Moses, Aaron and Miriam whom God had used at the time of their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt. Exodus 12:31-36. God turned the intended curses into a blessing when Balaam had been hired to pronounce the curses. Micah 6:5; Numbers 22:5; 23:4-12. God, who had done these things in the past, has not lost his power, nor his authority in controlling the universe and the lives of each individual. Malachi 3:6. The fact of the constancy of God is found in the New Testament, as well. Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:8. As God has been in the past, he continues, today! The prophet makes a cry to God in behalf of these wayward people. There is no evidence that Micah was of the priestly line. Yet, he was willing to go before God" as some kind of "mediator" with whatever means that was necessary, with whatever the sacrifice that God would require. He asked, "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?" Micah 6:6. These offerings were required as a reminder of the deliverance from the Egyptian bondage. The Passover lamb was "of the first year." Exodus 12:5a. To remember the history can, sometimes, shed light on the present situation and, thus, cause one to reflect on present conditions and create a desire to repent. After worship was established for the nation of Israel, as they journeyed toward the promised land, other things were introduced as symbols that would remind these people of the nature of God. The prophet asked, "Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousand rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgressions, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" Micah 6:7. The prophet recognized the worthlessness of the externals of worship, if there was no relationship with the one they knew, and that they served. He, then, gave an answer to the heartcry of seeking souls of that day and that has echoed down the corridors of time.
"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." Micah 6:8.
|
for larger version       |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
)
