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Thursday 6 June 2013

Micah 7:1-7 - A desperate situation,but...

Before looking chapter 7 itself, let's remind ourselves of what has gone before. In chapter 5 we had promises of the Messiah. Then in chapter 6 we had God's judgement against Israel, and Israel's guilt.
Now we come to chapter 7. "What misery is mine!" There were great promises for Israel, but her sin means that seemingly she will never lay hold of them. Indeed, this is the condition of the whole human race. We were all created by God, created in His image, created to subdue the earth and have dominion. Yet we sinned against God and so cannot have any of this. 
There were no faithful people left in Israel, instead the land was run by blood thirsty men. The judges were corrupt and the rulers were out for their own ends. It does not need much imagination to see parallel to our own society in this!
So the day that God visits would be a day of alarm. The presence of God should be a day of rejoicing, we were created to live in fellowship with Him. Yes sin means that instead we are enemies of God, we by nature objects of wrath. 
Even the closest relationships, which should be a source of security, break down. No one can be trusted. Again we see this in society. One example is the high divorce rate. But generally, we are becoming a more litigious society, and more and more things are defined by law because trust has broken down.
Then we get a "but". Praise God for the "buts". Micah had not lost hope. Despite all that he sees, despite God's righteous judgement on the nation, he puts his hope in "God my saviour". See that Micah is not blind to the reality of the situation, rather he has faced up to it in full, yet still he hopes in God. This is how faith works.

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