Series in Micah - The Misery of God’s Judgment

 

The Misery of God’s Judgment

Micah 7:1-7

Sin has a way that seems pleasurable, right, and gives you the warm fuzzies, but what follows leads to sorrow, misery and shame, and the lawlessness at sin’s root. Micah had heard the verdict and the judgment that would come upon his country because of the depravity of sin. He reflected now on how bad it had become to live in a depraved world.

So let’s read the first portion of the text. “What misery is mine! I am like one who gathers summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard; there is no cluster of grapes to eat, none of the early figs that I crave. The faithful have been swept from the land; not one upright person remains. Everyone lies in wait to shed blood; they hunt each other with nets. Both hands are skilled in doing evil; the ruler demands gifts, the judge accepts bribes, the powerful dictate what they desire— they all conspire together. The best of them is like a brier, the most upright worse than a thorn hedge. The day God visits you has come, the day your watchmen sound the alarm. 

Micah has given the verdict and sentencing from the Lord, and understands the results of sin’s carnage on the soul, body, and spirit of the people, for they will be ravaged, and he is struck with godly sorrow. All the blessings of God seem gone, and all that is left are the dregs of the misery from the cup of God’s wrath that the people have drunk from, “Rouse yourself! Rouse yourself!...You who have drunk from the Lord’s hand the cup of His anger; The chalice of reeling you have drained to the dregs.” (Isa. 51:17 NIV)

Micah kept warning the people of the coming judgment but the Israelites would not turn from their drunkenness nor would they awaken to the reality of their stupor and vomit as a nation with madness and ruthless devastation. He is now reflecting on living amongst the world that will soon taste the wrath of God’s cup. 

He shares his misery of not having fellowship with any godly people. He likens these days to fruitless and barren trees and vines. “I am like one who gathers summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard; there is no cluster of grapes to eat, none of the early figs that I crave. The faithful have been swept from the land; not one upright person remains.” He feels like he is all alone.

When the Israelites awaken to the realization of God’s wrath, they will have found themselves captive in a different country, and the memories of the ravaging will still be fresh in their minds and bodies. For the prosperity from God is gone, the orchards are bare and burned down, the vineyards are barren. They arise to a language they may not know; it is now a time of chaos and violence. 

Confusion is the order for the day. Micah sees the rulers as conniving and skilled at the use of their forked tongues. Violence is in large supply, as each lies in wait for their next victim. The people are herded around as animals running for their lives from the fowler’s net and the hunter.

The rulers demand gifts, tributes, and bribery, for this is the only option of the day of injustice. The leadership dictates their own desires not regarding the laws of God. People find themselves hedged in by the words and actions of the leadership as briers and thorns that enclose a trapped animal. And the words from God to the prophets who rang the alarm trumpet are a stark memory in their sobering mind. “The day God visits you has come, the day your watchmen sound the alarm.”

Application - It sounds like a doomsday scenario, and yet the elements of the injustice spoken by Micah for his day, seem to be relevant and in place in our world today. For the enemy of God doesn’t change his tactics and strategies that have worked in the past. In fact he may have enhanced and refined them. Jesus, speaking of the days before His second coming, he said “Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold… For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones. (Matt. 24:12,21-22)

Now, I want to come back to Micah, here was a man of God who spoke the word of God boldly but with anguish in his voice. He didn’t stand on his soap box and demean the people in arrogance and pride as if he were superior, he spoke out of a broken heart for his people, and a disgust for the sinfulness of people’s hearts towards one another. As in the first chapter, Micah’s heart wept. “Therefore, I will mourn and lament. I will walk around barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and moan like an owl. For my people’s wound is too deep to heal.” (Mic.1:8-9a NLT)

Now I come back to the fact that what God does is just and righteous. “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.” (Duet. 32:4, Ps. 89:14a) And like Micah we too must remember who our God and Father is, for later Micah also stated his faith and trust in God for salvation. 

We are seeing the signs of the times, and the times of the signs of the last days. So 

I refer back to another, the apostle Peter, let the words from God ring in our ears and to the world. 

“By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.” (2 Pet. 3:7-12 NIV)

So let us be humbled and sorrowful for the state of our world but also remember God is just and right and He has been boldly warning us all for a very long time.

Next, Micah senses the departure of God and he is left to the depravity. Micah knows confusion is an element of God’s wrath that isn’t part of Him personally, for he has turned the world over to a depraved mind and the author of confusion who is now the world’s dictator and god. So let’s read the last portion of the text, “Now is the time of your confusion. Do not trust a neighbor; put no confidence in a friend. Even with the woman who lies in your embrace, guard the words of your lips. For a son dishonors his father, a daughter rises up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies are the members of his own household. 

Micah cannot trust his neighbors, they cannot be trusted by anyone, even his old friends are suspicious of everyone. Even the families are not immune to the debauchery of the world. They are broken, displaced, fractured and are at extreme odds with each other. They watch for betrayal with every word spoken with unguarded lips of disloyalty, faithlessness, and duplicity of deception. For they dishonor the family, and outright rebel as they rundown the family unit; son against father, daughter against mother, in-laws are now the outlaws. The family unit is now in full combat mode. They don’t trust anyone any longer, their family has now become the enemy.

Application - We talk about the dysfunctionality of 

the family in our days, yet this has taken it to a whole nother level. Jesus spoke to his disciples about how the world wouldn’t like them. “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason…“All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them.” (John 15:18-25,6:1-4a NIV)

Now, I am not in favor of violence of any kind if it can be helped. And I know that in the end times hatred will run rampant through the world, it may be even disguised by impotent axioms, adages, and catch phrases that include unity and tolerance that are used to cover hatred. People will give themselves over to self-preservation, self-reliance, and pure evil survival instinct. Micah didn’t paint a word picture of peace and security, but of despondency, fear, and hopelessness. 

But understand this, God has had a better plan all along, He desired that all mankind come to His Son whom He sent to save them from sin and the wretchedness of this world usurped by Satan. God desires reconciliation with mankind through salvation (grace through faith and repentance of their sins). “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Cor. 5:18-19 NIV)

For me the scarious thought is that the words that Jesus spoke will come true. The majority of people will follow the road to destruction and eternal damnation. “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matt. 7:13-14 NASB 1995)

He has given us a choice!

Last, Micah knows that only in God is there hope. 

But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.”

The only constant of goodness and righteousness is in Micah’s hope and trust in God his Savior. It seems that he is on the narrow path that few have taken. He keeps looking up for his redeemer, for the Messiah must be near. For the godly patriarchs knew of such times in their lives, and they knew that “but the LORD our God comes near when we pray to him.” (Deut.4:7 NCV) 

Micah doesn’t waver in his faith and he sets a guard over his heart, mind, and spirit. “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (Prov. 4:23 NLT) For salvation is in the Lord God who was, is, and every will be. “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” (Isa. 12:2 NIV)

Application - I am not sure there is a need for more words of encouragement or admonition. Micah stated it plainly, “But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.” Amen

As always, I want to end with presenting the gospel in the form of the ABC’s of salvation for all those who have not yet received Jesus Christ for salvation. For Jesus, God the Son, came to this world to save all who would believe and trust in him. He desires to reveal himself to you, He is the Light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. He hears your prayers, and all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him. He will answer you if you will truly believe. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day.

 First, A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Second,

 B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Third, 

C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."

Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows that we and they need it.

If you would like other lessons, please go to http://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com 

Until next week, In His Service Mike Davis

I have revised my webpage on Spiritual warfare. Please give it a look. Thank you. http://uss-warfare3.webnode.com