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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.
“Someday, O Israel, I will gather you; I will gather the
remnant who are left. I will bring you together again like sheep in a pen, like
a flock in its pasture. Yes, your land will again be filled with noisy crowds! Your
leader will break out and lead you out of exile, out through the gates of the
enemy cities, back to your own land. Your king will lead you; the Lord Himself
will guide you.”
Micah 2:12-13 (NLT)
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks
be to God.
There hasn’t been much good news in the second chapter of
Micah.
First, we found the Lord calling out the wealthy
Israelites who were oppressing and stealing from the less fortunate.
Then, we read of the Lord’s consequences for the sins of
the rich people of Israel, consequences that included them having their homes
taken from them as they were taken away into captivity and exiled from the
Promised Land.
So as this chapter ends, you may think there will be more
bad news but if you did, you would be wrong. For as we see in two simple
verses, the Lord God Almighty is not just a God of judgment but a God of deliverance
and restoration as well. Look again at these verses here:
“Someday, O
Israel, I will gather you; I will gather the remnant who are left. I will bring
you together again like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture. Yes, your
land will again be filled with noisy crowds! Your leader will break out and
lead you out of exile, out through the gates of the enemy cities, back to your
own land. Your king will lead you; the Lord Himself will guide you.” Micah 2:12-13 (NLT)
Yes, the Lord was going to punish His people, not only
for the transgressions the rich committed against the poor but also for the
sinful worship practices that most all of the Israelites were engaging in.
practices that saw them building altars and bowing down to false gods and
idols. The punishment would bring attackers from Assyria and Babylon who would
attack and destroy the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of
Judah respectively. This would be followed by the Israelites going into exile
for seventy years where they would have plenty of time to think about how
disobeying, disrespecting, and disregarding God was a bad idea.
But note that despite all that the sinful acts the Israelites
had committed, God wasn’t going to condemn them forever. He said so Himself making
it clear that a day was ahead when the people of Israel would get to return
home, the remnant of Israelites gathered together like a flock of sheep, ready
to be tended to once again by their Good Shepherd. Indeed, God was once again
going to guide His people home out of exile, leaving the enemy cities behind as
they returned to their own land.
Do I mention the Lord is a Lord of deliverance and
restoration?
Friends, this Lord of deliverance and restoration is the
same today as He was in the days of Micah. He watches over us and sees everything
we do, good and bad.
When we live in His righteousness and honor Him with the
things we do, then we can expect to be living in His favor and blessed by His
hand of provision.
But when we choose to rebel against God and allow sin to
take over, then we can expect consequences from our Heavenly Father, the divine
Disciplinarian. He will find a way to correct His people and when He does, it’s
not going to be pleasant. I think the Old Testament Israelites of Micah’s day
would say “Amen!” to that!
Yet, even when we have driven the Lord to a place of
judgment, we find He is a God of mercy and grace and forgiveness and love. For
He does not wish for us to be punished forever but rather for the time needed
to teach us a lesson and help us reject sin in the way we live. After that, He
is ready to deliver us from our hardship and restore us back into His favor,
guiding us back to the way He expects us to live.
Let’s all just make it easy on ourselves and not sin in
the first place, opting to bask in the glow of the Lord’s approval instead of
suffering through His judgment.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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