#DailyDevotion Will You Heed The Warning Of The LORD?
Micah 1 The LORD’s Word came to Micah, a man from Mareshah, in the time of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, about Samaria and Jerusalem. 2 Hear, all you people. Listen, world and all who are in it. The Lord GOD will testify against you, the Lord coming from His holy temple. 3 The Lord will come from His place. He will come down and walk on the high places of the earth. 4 Under Him the mountains will melt and the valleys split apart, like wax near a fire, like water pouring down a steep place.
The introduction to this prophetic book is about all we know about Micah. He lived and prophesied during the mid-eight century to later. This is during the rise of power of the Assyrians who would destroy the northern kingdom of Israel and invade the kingdom of Judah. The nations are going through the Promised Land at this time and that leads us to verse two.
The prophet addresses the people of the nations and the world here. The LORD, the God of Israel is never only interested in the people of Israel. He has an eye towards all the children of Adam. Even when He is threatening them with destruction, His purpose is to call them to repentance and faith in Him. We see this with Jonah and the Ninevites.
So too here, the prophet Micah is speaking for the LORD as he addresses all the people in the world. The LORD will testify against them. No doubt His testimony will be against their worship of idols, of trusting in created things rather than the Creator and the sinful life that follows such idolatry. He has always wanted to be their God who took care of them, but they would not. Now the LORD will come from His holy temple and make His case against them. This is an eschatological (last days) text. The temple he mentions here is not the one in Jerusalem but the real deal above. Now true, it has some relevance for Micah’s time as the LORD has never been just hands off until the last judgment. We will see there are judgments coming for the Israelites, the Judahites and the nations that touch them. But this also means Micah’s message is for the people of the earth today. We do not know when the LORD Jesus is coming down from His temple to judge the peoples of the world. We should then take notice of this warning and repent like the Ninevites did when they heard the prophet Jonah preach.
When the LORD comes down and walks on all the high places of the earth we see the mountains will melt and the valleys split apart. He compares it to fire coming near to wax. We see this language in the book of Revelation. It will be a day of great distress. We need to decide whose side we are on today. Who will you serve, the LORD Jesus Christ or Mammon (the manifestation of trusting in wealth and power)? Do not delay in your trust and worship. You don’t know when your last day is much less the end of all time. Jesus promises you mercy, grace, kindness, steadfast love, and forgiveness. On top of all that, He promises you eternal life and His kingdom. Mammon is a harsh taskmaster who promises opulence, abundance of material goods now, partying and the like but destroys your relationships, has nothing to offer past this life and makes you serve it taking up all your time you could be spending with the people you love. In the end, its benefits end with your last breath and then there is nothing but pain and sorrow, weeping and gnashing of teeth. Don’t be stupid, trust in Jesus alone for everything.
Heavenly Father, may we heed the words of Your prophet Micah, turn from the worship of created things and put our trust in You, our Creator and the LORD Jesus Christ, who has turned Your wrath away from us and bestows upon us Your grace and mercy. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.