King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Friday, July 14, 2023
Chapters: THE BOOK OF MICAH
Study: The Remnant
Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,
As I read the chapters for today I kept thinking about the sad state of our churches today. They have either lost their first love and have caved into the world’s demands or become convents, so strict in their own laws that it leaves one questioning their salvation every time they leave the church. What happened to churches who speak and stand by the truth of God’s Word? What happened to churches who do not fear man, but God? What happened to churches who teach that we are saved by grace through our faith in Christ, period? Let me tell you, they are few and far between and becoming a rare commodity, but there is a remnant of them.
[2 Timothy 4:1-4 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.]
The Book of Micah contains seven chapters, the author of the book is Micah and it was written to Israel and all nations. The timeline for these events took place approximately between 758BC and 710BC. The purpose of the book is a call to repentance for all to avoid judgment. What we are to learn from the book is that God judges all and pardons all who turn away from their own righteousness and trust in Him for their salvation, [Micah 7:18-19 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. 19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.]
As Christians, we would like to think that we live by every word of God, but the truth is, we do not. Every single saved, born again Christian struggles with something they are trying to overcome. Now, we who are saved, are all saved by the grace of God and nothing we do can take away our salvation, but we can still suffer for the sinful things that remain, especially those who live in sin and are content to keep it in their lives. While God sent Isaiah to prophesy in Judah, he sent Micah to Samaria to remind them of their sin and why the judgment stood.
[Micah 1:1-6 The word of the LORD that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. 2 Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. 3 For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. 4 And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place. 5 For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem? 6 Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof.]
[hearken, O earth, and all that therein is:] This message is not just addressed to Jews or Christians, but to all the people on the earth, when God’s people go against Him, everyone suffers because it is God’s house who gets judged first, [1 Peter 4:17-18 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?]
Wow! If God’s people are being afflicted right now, just imagine what it will be like for the unsaved and those who are trusting in their false religion? Samaria, caused Israel to sin when they walked away from Him after Solomon died. They were the ones who accepted Jeroboam’s false gods over the Almighty, then later on Ahab’s god. Judah, followed suit when they allowed Baal worship into Jerusalem after Jehoshaphat died and his son married Athaliah. This is the judgment that He places on those who know who He is, and reject or rebel against Him.
[Micah 2:1,3,7,9-11 Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand. 3 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil. 7 O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the LORD straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly? 9 The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever. 10 Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction. 11 If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.]
[do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly?] Do you think that living uprightly means that you will never be able to enjoy life? Oh, but we do enjoy life, in fact, we enjoy the best life. Walking in the likeness of Christ does not mean that we will never mess up again, it means that we take extra care in what we do and whenever we do mess up we just sincerely confess our sins and move forward. Our faith in Christ saves our soul unconditionally, if we want His protections unconditionally, then we need to listen to Him more often, [Titus 3:7-9 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. 9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.]
[from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever.] It really is sad that so many children are being raised in a godless home. And we wonder why the youth today do not have ambition in life or even know the value of life, including their own genders? Take God out of the picture and then there is no hope, [Romans 8:22-24 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?]
You see, there are many, many people who believe in God, they want His blessings, protections, and of course, to go to heaven when they die. Where they falter lies within their own understanding of God’s ways. Instead of reading His Word themselves, they rely on man to teach them, and there are always false prophets out there willing to appeal to their thinking. Therefore, God, will not hear their pleas no matter how much they pray.
[Micah 3:1-4 And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment? 2 Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; 3 Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron. 4 Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.]
[Who also eat the flesh of my people,] Micah, is not literally talking about them eating people, with the exception of the famine in Samaria in which things were so bad that they were literally buying donkey’s heads and dung because they were so hungry, [2 Kings 6:25,28-29 And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver. 28 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow. 29 So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son.].
This is actually an illustration to wolves who devour the flesh of their prey, breaking the bones of the defenseless lambs as they tear them to pieces. It is a sad truth that there are more Christians attacking and devouring each other than there are those of the world, and it needs to stop before things get out of hand, [Galatians 5:14-15 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.]
When the people of the world do what is right in their own eyes, unknown to God’s ways, they follow their own righteousness because they have no one to guide them in His ways. When God’s people have His Word with them, and yet still live in sin, they teach their lies to the world. In fact, through Micah, God addresses these lying prophets.
[Micah 3:5-8,12 Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him. 6 Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. 7 Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God. 8 But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. 12 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.]
[But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD,] It takes a strong Christian to stand up and preach the truth, that judgment comes to even the saved, born again Christian’s that will not repent. God, was about to remove false prophets, preachers, and teachers who were leading His people away from the truth. This does not excuse the laymen from their sins, but these are mentioned as being ringleaders into sin, who ought to have been setting better examples. God, is actually angrier at them than He is with the laymen, and they will give an account for leading His people astray, [Matthew 7:15-17 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.]
Sometimes the best way that God can protect His faithful is for Him to remove everything from them that would lead them to sin and or cause them harm, including people. Not every person who proclaims Christ is true, I learned that the hard way. There is no better way to reflect on our lives than to be at the point that we fear for our lives. God warns, God allows, God chastens, but God also forgives, and forgives, and forgives. However, there will come a day when Israel will acknowledge Christ for who He is and accept Him, and that is when He will return to reign as King and only His faithful will join Him. Micah speaks of the day that many nations will come to worship our King.
[Micah 4:1-2,6-7,10 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. 2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 6 In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; 7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever. 10 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.]
[And I will make her that halted a remnant,] I do not know why, but I got extremely emotional reading this. There is something about knowing that even though God’s faithful suffer affliction quite often, there will come a day when we will suffer no more, and Jesus Himself will reign over us, [Revelation 21:3-4 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.]
[and thou shalt go even to Babylon;] This is actually the prophecy in which most of Judah was captured and taken to Babylon for seventy years. It really was not for judgment of God’s faithful, it was actually for their protection of what was to come of Jerusalem while they were away, [2 Chronicles 36:17-20 Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand. 18 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon. 19 And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. 20 And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:]
No matter how many times I read the Bible through there is always something new to discover, and if you think that the Jews did not know that Jesus was coming, think again, through Micah we learn of yet another prophecy concerning Jesus. Through Micah, we learn about what happens when Jesus Himself gets judged.
[Micah 5:1-4,8 Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. 2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. 3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. 4 And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. 8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.]
[yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel;] This is why every son born of the tribe of Judah had hope that he would be the child that God had promised to them. The sad truth is that they still are waiting on that false hope as they are too blind to see that Jesus was and still is their KING. Nevertheless, there will come a day when they too will recognize Jesus as their KING.
[Romans 11:1-3,8,25-26 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, 3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. 8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. 25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:]
All of Israel means that both Jew and Gentile believers of Christ will be saved, this does not include those in the Jewish religion as they are not the same as the tribe of Israel who are descendants of Jacob. There will come a time, and we are very close to that, when the Gospel will not be able preached and it will not be so easy to get saved, and this is another reason why we need to keep preaching the Gospel while we are able. Through Micah, God explains exactly what He wants from His people.
[Micah 6:1-2,7-9,16 Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. 2 Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD’S controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel. 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? 9 The LORD’S voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it. 16 For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people.]
[therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people.] God, having showed how necessary it was that they should do justly, here shows how plain it was that they had done unjustly. This voice of the Lord says to all, Hear the rod when it is coming, before you see it, and feel it. Their being the people of God in name and profession, while they kept themselves in his love, was an honor to them; but now, being backsliders, their having been once the people of God turns to their reproach.
[Micah 7:5-9 Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. 6 For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house. 7 Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. 8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. 9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.]
[a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.] This is something similar to what Jesus said, [Matthew 10:34-36 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.]
Our biggest deterrents in following Christ is family, and I will tell you this though, the just fall seven times, and get back up, but when they do it brings them closer to Christ than the last time. Jesus, knows who are His, and the lives we live after we are saved ought to reflect that, and if we truly want God’s hand upon our lives, and all His blessings that come with it, then we need Him at all times, [Micah 7:18-19 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. 19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.]
[and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.] This is exactly what Jesus does the second that we receive Him as our Saviour. Praise God! [Acts 26:17-18 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, 18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, I know I have had my share of messes in life, the amazing thing is that You were there to clean it up for me when I called on You. I know I tried so many times to do things on my own, but time and time again You remind me of how weak I am in my flesh. Thank You for giving me the will to come to You in the first place, and even though I still mess up, I know You are always there to pick me back up again. Lord, I know that it is better to be obedient than sacrifice, keep me faithful to You by staying in Your Word, and being accountable for the things I learn, help me to keep my eyes on You at all times, and not look to sinful man for guidance in Your ways, trusting that You will shine Your Light upon me. I ask these things in Your name Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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