Who Is Like God? – Micah 1:1-5a
June 4, 2017Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Speaker: Jerry Cisar
What does this describe? Hostile enemies are bent on your nation’s downfall from the regions of Iraq and Syria. Moral decay in the midst of prosperity and power accumulated by the rich in the cities is sucking the life out of the working classes. All this with a historical legacy of religion and a sense of chosenness – of Manifest Destiny – and a proliferation of preachers who speak about how much God loves us, will bless us, and is not going to judge us.
If you think this sounds a lot like America today, you are right. However, I am describing the two kingdoms which made up God’s people, Israel, during the time of Micah. The threat from Assyria was even more palpable than that of ISIS today for America. It doesn’t take a genius to see clear parallels from that society to this.
It has been said that throughout the whole Old Testament, God is deeply concerned about justice and oppression, and yet when we get to the New Testament, if we base it on what we hear in America’s pulpits, what was of primary interest to God in the Old Testament is no longer even on His radar screen. Of course, God hasn’t changed; our understanding needs adjusting.
Join us as we explore Micah 1:1-5a in our new series in the book of Micah: Who is Like God? Leading up to this series a few people have asked, “Why Micah?” After pausing (since I didn’t anticipate having to answer this question), I offered these reasons. 1) Jesus’ teaching is similar to the teaching of the prophets. When we understand prophets like Micah, we understand Jesus’ teaching more clearly. 2) The New Testament says much about God’s justice and salvation. In order to understand what Paul or others are saying about justice and salvation, we need to understand what the prophets of the Old Testament said about them.