July 13, 2012 … He Will Come Again!

Chronological Bible Reading Plan - Day 195 

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Micah, Chapters 1-7 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link - 
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Highlight Passage: Micah 1: 1-3; 5 :[NIV] … 1 The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. 2 Hear, you peoples, [also translated “ATTENTION!”] all of you, listen, earth and all who live in it, that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple. 3 Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling place; He comes down and treads on the heights of the earth. … 5 All this is because of Jacob's transgression, because of the sins of the people of Israel [all of the descendents of Jacob – north and south].
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Highlight Passage #2: Micah 2: 6-7; 11-12 :[NIV] … 6 "Do not prophesy," their prophets say. "Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us." 7 You descendants of Jacob, should it be said, "Does the Lord become impatient? Does he do such things?" "Do not my words do good to the one whose ways are upright? 11 If a liar and deceiver [i.e., a false prophet] comes and says, 'I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,' that would be just the prophet for this people! 12 "I will surely gather all of you, Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people. ============
Highlight Passage #2: Micah 3: 1-2; 5 :[NIV] … 1 Then I said, "Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel. Should you not embrace justice, 2 you who hate good and love evil; who tear the skin from my people and the flesh from their bones; … 5 This is what the Lord says: "As for the prophets who lead my people astray, they proclaim 'peace' if they have something to eat, but prepare to wage war against anyone who refuses to feed them.  
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Highlight Passage #2: Micah 4: 1-2; 10 :[NIV] … 1 In the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. 2 Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 10 Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you must leave the city to camp in the open field. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued. There the Lord will redeem you out of the hand of your enemies. 
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Highlight Passage #2: Micah 5: 2; 4 :[NIV] … 2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." … 4 He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then His greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. 
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 Highlight Passage #2: Micah 6: 6; 8 :[NIV] … 6 With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? … 8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
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Highlight Passage #2: Micah 7: 7-9 :[NIV] … 7 But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. 8 Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. 9 Because I have sinned against Him, I will bear the Lord's wrath, until He pleads my case and upholds my cause. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness. 

My Journal for Today: Wow! Another big gulp today from God’s fire hydrant of truth – His word. My reading plan had me read, study, and meditate on the entire book of Micah, a contemporary prophet in the times of Isaiah, about whom I’ve also been studying of late. These were the turbulent times in Israel and Judah, the divided kingdoms of God’s people; and Micah’s prophesies had both bitter and sweet tastes for God’s ones, especially for the leaders, prophets, and kings of the day.

 As I read through the prophesies of Micah, I couldn’t help but sit here in awe, over 2800 years after the prophet was predicting both the immediate destruction of God’s chosen peoples and the far distant salvation of the Lord’s peoples when their Messiah comes to save them (i.e., the first coming) and to rule over them forever (i.e., the second coming). And it’s all there in Micah for any believer in Yahweh, … the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, … and me.

God, … time and time and time … again, kept showing how His chosen ones needed to be living. In fact that’s spelled out in what is probably the key verse in this so-called “minor” book of prophesy; and that is [highlighted in red/bold and underlined above] from Micah 6: 8, which states that we, His children, are “… to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

However, God’s chosen ones DID NOT!! And as many of God’s voices, His prophets, in those days, over 700 years before Christ’s first coming, predicted, the descendents of Jacob would be consumed by other nations; and then they would be dispersed throughout the world to be persecuted. And who could deny that those prophesies did not take place? But Micah (and others of the prophets) also predicted that God’s people, the Jews, would one day be returned to their Holy and Promised Lands; and we may see (some say WE ARE SEEING) the beginnings of this return in our times.

But the ultimate return has yet to take place; and when it does, the Messiah, the Lamb of God, Whom we now know is Jesus, will one day (and I believe soon) return to take His Bride, the Church, to live with Him as He reigns in glory. Micah predicted it; and Jesus sealed it on the cross, when He cried out, “It is finished!!”

My Prayer Today: … Come again, SOON, Lord Jesus! Amen