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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy
word.
“Look! The Lord is coming from His dwelling place; He comes
down and treads on the heights of the earth. The mountains melt beneath Him and
the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a
slope. 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?”
“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. 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.”
Micah 1:3-7
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks
be to God.
Think about all the sin and wickedness you see going on
in your communities, your state, your nation, and/or the world around you. It’s
enough to trouble anyone unless you choose to ignore it all.
Want another reason to be troubled about it all?
The Lord is watching everything going on and He is not
about to ignore it all. In fact, I can almost hear Him rendering the following
warning:
“Don’t make Me come down there!”
Just imagine what that would be like, if the omnipotent
Lord God Almighty came to earth to bring judgment on sinners. It wouldn’t be a
pretty sight, right? And yet, we find people just committing evil like there
are no consequences for their transgressions, almost daring God to do something
about it.
As we look at today’s scripture passage and our second
look at the Book of Micah, we find that we have a lot in common with the Old
Testament Israelites of Micah’s day. For as we read these verses, we see that
they had pushed God to the limit of His patience, to the place where He was
ready to come down from His dwelling place in the heavens and hold them
accountable for their iniquities.
“Look! The Lord is
coming from His dwelling place; He comes down and treads on the heights of the
earth. The mountains melt beneath Him and the valleys split apart, like wax
before the fire, like water rushing down a slope. 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?”
“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. 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.” Micah 1:3-7
First, we find the prophet readying the Israelites for
what was to come. For the full wrath of the Lord was on its way as He descended
from “His dwelling place” to bring destruction against those who sinned against
Him, living in willing and wicked disobedience in Samaria and Jerusalem.
What were the people doing that caused such consternation
from the Lord?
It really hinged on their worship practices more than
anything else.
Well before the Israelites in Micah’s day, God had
commanded His people to have no other gods before Him. He was to be God and God
alone to all people but especially His chosen people of Israel. God made sure
everyone knew He was a jealous God and would not stand for any competition. The
Israelites were not to bow down to any other gods or idols, period.
But unfortunately, the Israelites broke this commandment
more than any of the others.
It started when they failed to drive out all the native
peoples of Canaan as they took possession of the land God had promised them. You’ll
recall God had told them to leave no one else in the land because He knew of
the idolatrous worship practices of the other peoples and suspected the
Israelites would be adversely influenced if they did not eliminate all who
worshiped false gods and idols. But the Israelites disobeyed God, allowed some
of the native groups to remain and the rest was history because things unfolded
just as God had feared. His people were boldly and blatantly unfaithful to Him,
committing adultery by giving their love and devotion to idols. They showed no
regard or respect for God.
And so God, after sending warnings through the prophets that
sent the implied message “Don’t make Me come down there!”, did indeed come to
bring judgment on His people. He promised to “make Samaria a heap of rubble”, to
“pour her stones into the valley”, and to “lay bare her foundations”. He
guaranteed He would break all idols into pieces, burn all the temple gifts, and
destroy all images. And all the money collected through the worshiping of false
gods and idols would be taken from Samaria by her attackers, the Assyrians, who
would use them in support of their own idol worship (what the scriptures refer
to as the “wages of prostitutes”).
It wasn’t going to be a pretty scene and it wasn’t a
pretty scene when the Lord came down from His heavenly dwelling to bring the
Assyrians against His people. We know how the story ends. Most if not all of
the Israelites taken from the northern kingdom by Assyria, never returned again
after their part of the country was left in utter ruin.
Friends, this is the outcome when the Lord comes from His
dwelling place with judgment in mind. We had better pay attention and heed His
certain warning if we allow ourselves to fall into sin, a warning that might
sound something like this:
“Don’t make Me come down there!”
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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