LOVING JUSTICE

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

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Today we begin a new series of devotionals that seek to help us work through and understand the core message of the Prophet Micah. The Lord used Micah to speak to the eminent disaster that was about to befall both the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. For over half a century the Lord used his messengers to call his wayward people back into fellowship and faithfulness. As we will hear, the people of God refused to listen, so the time had come for action. 

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, 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.

(Micah 1:1-2 NIV11)

Who was Micah?

Micah was a faithful servant of the Lord who hailed from an area that had experienced constant conflict as it switched from being occupied by either the Philistines or the Israelites. His hometown was near Gath, the village that gave us Goliath, the large man that David encountered while he was still a shepherd. 

Micah served the Lord as a prophet, a messenger of Yahweh during the reigns of the above kings. This meant that his period of ministry spanned between 735 and 700 BC. Because he was serving during this period, Micah would be used to speak to the Northern kingdom of Israel before and after they fell to the invading Assyrian army in 722 BC, and he would also address the people of the Southern kingdom of Judah as they became unwilling vassals of the Assyrians. 

What was his message?

We can hear the basic plot of Micah’s message in the following:

3 Look! The LORD is coming from his dwelling place; he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth. 4 The mountains melt beneath him and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope. 5 All this is because of Jacob’s transgression, because of the sins of the people of Israel. What is Jacob’s transgression? Is it not Samaria? What is Judah’s high place? Is it not Jerusalem?

6 “Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble, a place for planting vineyards. I will pour her stones into the valley and lay bare her foundations. 7 All her idols will be broken to pieces; all her temple gifts will be burned with fire; I will destroy all her images. Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes, as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.”

(Micah 1:3-7 NIV11)

Micah wanted the people to see that the time for justice had finally come. The Lord had been warning his people to abandon their addiction to idolatry and to turn back to faithfulness to their one true God ever since the days that Moses set the blessings and curses before the exiles living in the wilderness. 

The patience of the Lord had been tested and now it was time for the consequences of their sins. 

What did the people do?

In verse five we heard, “All this is because of Jacob’s transgression, because of the sins of the people of Israel. What is Jacob’s transgression? Is it not Samaria? What is Judah’s high place? Is it not Jerusalem?”

The Lord was taking action because the people had turned to other gods. The Lord did not bring Assyria in as a vessel of judgement because of a failure to live perfectly according to the law, the Lord brought justice because the people who bore his name had given themselves over to worship of stone, wood, and air. 

Cut out the problem.

In verses 6-7 we heard that the Lord would use this time of discipline to remove the source of the sin and rebellion prevalent amongst his people. The Lord was using this discipline to destroy the connections between his people and the worthless idols of those nations surrounding the people of the Lord. 

Application 

If you are someone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and who confesses Jesus as your Lord, then you need to see that the Lord takes this identity seriously. God wants to show the unbelieving world more and more of his true nature and character through the faithfulness of his people. 

We are God’s plan for spreading the good news about the grace of Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is imperative that we understand how seriously the Lord takes this calling. We cannot pretend that the Lord is ok with our divided loyalties toward Jesus and toward the world. We must turn away from anything that draws us away from the true nature and calling of the Lord.

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, help me see my own heart clearly and carefully right now. I do not want to drift into being of two minds. I do not want to worship you with my tongue and serve idols with my hands. Help me be of one mind toward you. I want to be all in with you and completely out when it comes to falsehood. 

In Christ, 

Ryan Laden

PASTOR RYAN LADEN

Works at MTN. CHURCH

Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church

Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at Baylor University

Studied at Texas Tech University

Went to Castle Hills First Baptist

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