I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
I read the first four chapters of Micah today. Micah speaks of mountains melting like wax in a fire beneath the feet of God as He comes in judgment. He tells us that God is bringing this judgment because of the rebellion of the nation of Israel. The prophet then lays the blame for Israel’s sin on Samaria, its capital. He goes further and says that Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, is the center of the Kingdom of Judah’s idolatry. This tells us something important. The corruption and idolatry of a nation spreads out from its capital. An entire nation only becomes corrupt and sinful when its government leaders are corrupt and sinful. Micah tells us that God is going to bring judgment on all of Israel and Judah, but it will focus on Samaria and Jerusalem because they are disproportionately guilty.
Micah goes on to condemn those who concoct evil plans. He speaks of people who carry out evil plans to oppress others, simply because they have the power to do so. The people told Micah that he should not say such things, that his prophesies of doom would not take place. He responded that if they did what was right, they would find his prophesies comforting. They do not find his words comforting because they are stealing the shirts off of the backs of those who trust them. They are evicting women from their pleasant homes. God is about to repay them by evicting them from the land. The people of the land are looking for a prophet who will tell them of the joys of partying. Does this not sound like the people of the U.S. and most of Western Civilization? Micah is telling these people that judgment is coming. Yet there is an important point we should make note of, the prophet also says that those who are doing right will be comforted by his words that God is coming. If we strive to do right, we need not fear the coming of the Lord.
Micah goes on to specifically condemn the government leaders. He says that they love evil and hate good. They claim to speak on behalf of God, yet protect those who offer them bribes from prosecution for their crimes and launch unjustified attacks against those who oppose their policies. They use their positions of power to personally profit at the expense of their responsibilities, yet claim that God will defend them because they do right. Micah tells them that they are mistaken, that God is going to bring judgment against them and justice for those they have oppressed.
The prophet tells us that in the last days, God will rule the earth from Jerusalem, settling disputes between nations. He tells us that in that day, people will turn their weapons into farm implements and nations will not go to war against each other. In that day. everyone will live in prosperity, enjoying the fruits of their own labors. This is a wonderful vision of some future time, but what does the prophet tell us of the preconditions for this day to come to pass. He tells us that people from many nations will say “Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, so that He may teach us His ways and we may walk in His paths” (my paraphrase). God promises that this day will come to pass. In the meantime, we are called to seek out the Lord so that He may teach us His ways and we may walk in His paths. The nations and peoples around me may worship after idols of all sorts, but I shall follow the Lord God.
In today’s passage the writer describes what happened in his vision when the Lamb broke the first six of the seven seals on the scroll which He had taken from the hand of God. With each of the first four seals a horse with a rider appears and is given authority over the earth. The first is on a white horse and is a conqueror. The second is on a red horse and is a creator of conflict and war. The third is on a black horse and creates food shortages, but not of everything only shortages of basic staples not of luxury foods. The fourth is on a pale (The New Living Translation says “pale green) horse and is named Death. Death is given authority over one quarter of all living things on the earth. In common understanding the four horsemen are often viewed as War, Famine, Pestilence and Death, yet that is not consistent with what is actually written here. The first rider is not an omen of death and destruction. Rather it appears to represent the spread of the Gospel.
It is worth noting that the four horsemen do not ride out together, but rather one after the other. There is a lot of thought that can be given into the meaning of each of these horsemen and perhaps another day I will do a post on just those four. But after the fourth seal is broken and Death rides forth, the fifth seal is broken. When the fifth seal is broken the writer saw the souls of those who had been martyred for being faithful to the word of God. These souls called out to God asking how much longer He would allow such persecution to go on. The answer they were given was to wait a short while longer until the fullness of their number had been reached. Then the sixth seal was broken and there was a great earthquake. At the same time as the earthquake we are told that the sky was rolled up like a scroll and all the mountains and islands were moved from their places. When that happened everyone, from the greatest to the least, hid themselves from the wrath of God. This vision is clearly figurative (the sky is not actually something that can be rolled up like a scroll), but is it a figurative description of great destruction of this earth, or of something else. Personally, I think it is a figurative description of the destruction of the earth at some future date. However, I think the most important part about this is the image that all people will one day face the judgment of God and that that is a terrifying experience. No matter how important you are (or think you are), no matter how powerful you are, you will face God’s judgment with no hope of withstanding it. On the other hand, no matter how insignificant you are, how unimportant your actions have been, you, also, will face God’s judgment with no hope of being overlooked. One day, all will stand before God and He will judge our actions. We will not come through that judgment on our merits. Only through the grace of God will we escape eternal torment. If we attempt to defend our actions we will be shown that there is no defense. Only by recognizing that we are no better than the most evil person who has ever lived and throwing ourselves on God’s mercy will we be spared that fate.
Let us not forget to praise the Lord as we serve Him. I will always praise the Lord for the opportunity to serve Him. Sometimes I feel like the service I am called to is a burden. Even when I do, I will strive to praise the Lord. I know that if I make the effort to praise the Lord for the opportunity to serve Him, even when it feels like a burden, doing so will make the burden seem lighter. I will pray that the Lord bless those who are serving the Lord in ways that I would find burdensome (or at least that I think I would find burdensome).
The writer of today’s proverbs tells us that he is tired and worn out. He admits that he is not very bright, nor does he consider himself wise. Then he asks a question of those who think they are smarter and wiser than he. He asks them to name the person who has gone up to heaven and come down again. Surely if they are so wise they can tell them who it was who gave them their knowledge and wisdom. If your knowledge does not include God, perhaps you do not know as much as you think you do. If your wisdom does not come from God, you are not very wise.
Once again I am reminded of the story in the Gospel of John of the man born blind. After he had received his sight the Jewish leaders questioned him. They did not like his answers and attempted to use the prestige of their positions and learning to intimidate him into changing his testimony. His response was “I don’t know. All I know is that I was born blind and now I see.” Let this be our testimony. When confronted by unbelievers, I do not wish to try and convince them with my brilliant logic, or overpowering wisdom (well, OK, I do, but I have learned that it never works). I strive to offer my testimony of what God has done in my life and pray that the Holy Spirit opens their eyes and convicts them.