Slices
Prepare
Jesus said, ‘If you love me, keep my commands’ (John 14:15). How has your love for Jesus resulted in changes in your behaviour?
Bible passage
1 The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah – the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
2 Hear, you peoples, all of you,
listen, earth and all who live in it,
that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.
Judgment against Samaria and Jerusalem
3 Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling-place;
he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth.
4 The mountains melt beneath him
and the valleys split apart,
like wax before the fire,
like water rushing down a slope.
5 All this is because of Jacob’s transgression,
because of the sins of the people of Israel.
What is Jacob’s transgression?
Is it not Samaria?
What is Judah’s high place?
Is it not Jerusalem?
6 ‘Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble,
a place for planting vineyards.
I will pour her stones into the valley
and lay bare her foundations.
7 All her idols will be broken to pieces;
all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;
I will destroy all her images.
Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,
as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.’
Weeping and mourning
8 Because of this I will weep and wail;
I will go about barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
and moan like an owl.
9 For Samaria’s plague is incurable;
it has spread to Judah.
It has reached the very gate of my people,
even to Jerusalem itself.
10 Tell it not in Gath;
weep not at all.
In Beth Ophrah
roll in the dust.
11 Pass by naked and in shame,
you who live in Shaphir.
Those who live in Zaanan
will not come out.
Beth Ezel is in mourning;
it no longer protects you.
12 Those who live in Maroth writhe in pain,
waiting for relief,
because disaster has come from the Lord,
even to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 You who live in Lachish,
harness fast horses to the chariot.
You are where the sin of Daughter Zion began,
for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
14 Therefore you will give parting gifts
to Moresheth Gath.
The town of Akzib will prove deceptive
to the kings of Israel.
15 I will bring a conqueror against you
who live in Mareshah.
The nobles of Israel
will flee to Adullam.
16 Shave your head in mourning
for the children in whom you delight;
make yourself as bald as the vulture,
for they will go from you into exile.
Human plans and God’s plans
2 Woe to those who plan iniquity,
to those who plot evil on their beds!
At morning’s light they carry it out
because it is in their power to do it.
2 They covet fields and seize them,
and houses, and take them.
They defraud people of their homes,
they rob them of their inheritance.
3 Therefore, the Lord says:
‘I am planning disaster against this people,
from which you cannot save yourselves.
You will no longer walk proudly,
for it will be a time of calamity.
4 In that day people will ridicule you;
they will taunt you with this mournful song:
“We are utterly ruined;
my people’s possession is divided up.
He takes it from me!
He assigns our fields to traitors.”’
5 Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the Lord
to divide the land by lot.
Explore
Israel knew that God was ‘compassionate and gracious … slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness’, but they were on track for learning that he also cares deeply about sin, and that ‘he does not leave the guilty unpunished’ (Exodus 34:7). It was Micah’s painful job (v 8) to warn both north and south Israel (Samaria and Judah) that their wilful defiance was about to bring God’s judgement on them (v 5).
They had broken their covenant with God, and there was a price to pay. The first two commandments (Exodus 20:3–6) had been forsaken in Samaria (vs 6,7), and the contagion had spread to Jerusalem (v 9). As sin took root in Jerusalem a host of other commandments were disregarded. Theft, coveting and fraud became legitimised modes of doing business, and inevitably it was the poor that suffered (2:1,2).
God is no soft touch and will not tolerate sin within his people for ever. In both Old and New Testaments, continued rebellion will earn the consequences of divine displeasure (eg Revelation 2:4,5,14–16,20–23).
Respond
Sit with these words from Psalm 139:23,24. What might God wish to say to you? ‘Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.’
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Ecclesiastes 6,7; Psalms 95,96
Pray for Scripture Union
Ask God to continue to bless the efforts of those involved in the work at Holy Trinity Church and Western Youth Project. Pray that many more children and young people will encounter Jesus for themselves.
This week's prayers relate to this article. Please pray for all Faith Guides, and for the Scripture Union Mission Enablers who support them.
Thank you for your continued prayers
We are so thankful that you bring the work of Scripture Union, our partners, and the children and young people that we reach before God in your personal prayers. If you’d like to be more involved in prayer, make sure you are signed up to receive a copy of Connecting You our supporter prayer magazine.
