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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.
“In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will destroy your
horses from among you and demolish your chariots. I will destroy the cities of
your land and tear down all your strongholds. I will destroy your witchcraft and
you will no longer cast spells. I will destroy your idols and your sacred
stones from among you; you will no longer bow down to the work of your hands. I
will uproot from among you your Asherah poles when I demolish
your cities. I will take vengeance in anger and wrath on the nations that have
not obeyed Me.”
Micah 5:10-15
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks
be to God.
Sometimes the arrangement of things in the scriptures can
be baffling but we know that God’s word is perfect and follows His order, not
what we would expect. Such a place as this is found in the closing verses of
Micah, Chapter 5, as we find words of coming judgment after words promising
eternal hope. Look at these verses again here:
“In that day,”
declares the Lord, “I will destroy your horses from among you and demolish your
chariots. I will destroy the cities of your land and tear down all your
strongholds. I will destroy your witchcraft and you will no longer cast spells.
I will destroy your idols and your sacred stones from among you; you will no
longer bow down to the work of your hands. I will uproot from among you your
Asherah poles when I demolish your cities. I will take vengeance in
anger and wrath on the nations that have not obeyed Me.” Micah 5:10-15
The entire content of this chapter up to now has been
centered on the coming Messiah who was coming to provide hope for the future,
not only for the people of Israel but all people. This Messiah would be a Ruler
and Deliverer of the people, a Shepherd and Savior who would bring them
protection and ultimately salvation. It was a message of great encouragement
that had to buoy up the hearts of the Israelites, a message that relayed the
truth that the best days were yet ahead.
But those best days would have to wait until God exacted
His punishment on His disobedient and defiant people. Before glory would come,
judgment would come first.
This judgment was at the heart of these closing verses in
Micah 5 as God promised “vengeance in anger” and “wrath on the nations” that
didn’t obey Him with Israel included in that number. We know that God made good
on His promise as He sent the Assyrians on the northern kingdom of Israel and
the Babylonians on the southern kingdom of Judah. In both instances, an all out
assault was followed by plundering and destruction, leaving the entire nation
in ruin with the people hauled away into captivity into foreign lands. When it
was all said and done, God ensured all He predicted would take place. This
included:
Cities and horses destroyed.
Chariots demolished.
Strongholds tore down.
Witchcraft eliminated.
Idols and Asherah poles obliterated.
In judgment, God removed everything from His people as
they paid the price for their willing and willful sinfulness before the glory
of the Messiah came.
So what does that mean for us today?
Well, judgment is once again going to come on all the
nations of the earth and it will precede the coming of Jesus as He returns for
the second time. The events of this judgment are too numerous to detail in a
single devotion but if you read through the book of Revelation, you will see
where there will be a very set progression of things that will happen and you
can bet that God will make sure they all happen as His word depicts, just as He
did the judgment on Israel after the words in today’s scripture from Micah.
The day that Jesus comes back will be the greatest day of
glory ever for mankind for those who placed their faith, hope, and trust in
Jesus as Savior, receiving His promised gift of eternal life, but that glory
won’t come until judgment occurs.
It happened in Micah’s day and it will happen in the end
days as well.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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