Tag: Digging in Deeper

Digging in Deeper: Micah 5:5

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“He will be their peace. When Assyria invades our land, when it marches against our fortresses, we will raise against it seven shepherds, even eight leaders of men.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

Did you ever try and look at one of those Magic Eye pictures? I remember having a couple of different books of them when I was growing up. The cool thing about them was that if you just looked at them they were kind of cool-looking designs. But if you looked deeper, an entirely new image appeared and in 3D to boot. My trick was always to cross my eyes and slowly uncross them. The first glance was neat, but bland. It was the second, deeper look where things got interesting. Well, we could call this a Magic Eye verse. Let me tell you why.

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Digging in Deeper: Micah 4:10

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“Writhe and cry out, Daughter Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you will leave the city and camp in the open fields. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued; there the Lord will redeem you from the grasp of your enemies!”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

I don’t know about you, but I love action movies. I love action movies that are about good guys trying to stop bad guys. The more imaginative the problems, and the more creative the solutions, the better. What works so well about these movies, especially when the good guys get in that situation where it looks like the bad guys are going to win, is that we know how the movie is ultimately going to end. The good guys win. Because we have that hope, we can endure whatever trials we face in the movie to get there. Something like this is what undergirds what Micah has to say here.

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Digging in Deeper: Micah 2:6-7

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“‘Quit your preaching,’ they preach. ‘They should not preach these things; shame will not overtake us.’ House of Jacob, should it be asked, ‘Is the Spirit of the Lord impatient? Are these the things he does?’ Don’t my words bring good to the one who walks uprightly?”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

Nobody likes to hear bad news. Well, we like to hear bad news about somebody else—after all, that’s all they deliver on television and millions of viewers still watch regularly—but we don’t like bad news personally. We don’t like someone telling us what we’re doing is wrong. The most popular preachers are the ones who are best at telling us what we want to hear. This is the case now and it has been the case for a very long time.

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Digging in Deeper: Micah 2:3

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“Therefore, the Lord says: I am now planning a disaster against this nation; you cannot free your necks from it. Then you will not walk so proudly because it will be an evil time.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

The funny—and the frustrating—thing about the Bible is that it lends itself to wildly different interpretations by folks who come to it from different perspectives. Some people can look at it and clearly see one thing, while others can look at the same place and see something totally different. One of the debates that rages the hottest is the perspective of the Scriptures on rich people. The shortest answer is: It’s complicated. Let’s talk for a minute about what it collectively does and doesn’t say with this passage as our guide.

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Digging in Deeper: Micah 1:5

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“All this will happen because of Jacob’s rebellion and the sins of the house of Israel. What is the rebellion of Jacob? Isn’t it Samaria? And what is the high place of Judah? Isn’t it Jerusalem?”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

This morning we start something new. A new prophet with a new theme. Our prophet for this journey is named Micah. I’m particularly partial to this one because I have a Micah of my own. As with all of the prophets, Micah has some wisdom and warnings for us that keep us set well on the path of Christ if we are willing to listen and put them into practice. We’ll start here with a wise warning about where sin starts.

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