Judgment, Obedience, & Hope | Micah 1:1-16

You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in practical ways. Well, good morning, good morning. There it is. Moaning good morning to you. Yes, all right, there it is. Yes, Hey, good morning everybody. Man, this is Jeff Forrester. There are untold millions lillions that are thrilled today. Because you're saying to them, people. Will comment with their letter and their email. That's right. Hey, listen, good morning. We are the Bible Guys, and we want to welcome you to another episode of this exciting adventure that we're in today. Man, that was so good. It just it. I mean I feel like we peaked literally into the podcast today. We peak. That's pretty sad. Well. Hey, so the segment today is Who's most likely? Okay, which I like? You like this? I like that? Yeah, it's fun. Right, Well then do you want to start? Sure? Okay, all right? Number one? Who's most likely to be a favorite sibling? Me or you? Me? No doubt? No, I say me, that's no doubt. Yeah, but I'm the oldest, Oh, so I win? Yeah. Yeah, the oldest son is always the favorite. The youngest son is the one who the youngest son is the one who's babied. Yeah, it don't matter. Yeah, because he's the most fragile. I say me, no, it's no, there is no what the fight over this one? Okay, yeah, there is no doubt. I have a T shirt that says I'm Mom's favorite. I have a coffee mug it says that I'm the best. So my T shirt is bigger than your coffee mug. It's true. It is true. So there you go. I can't argue with that. What stunning logic. Stunning, overwhelming bali overwhelming. Debate here, brilliant, just amazed. So when I call my mom, yeah, every time, my mom will be like she always answers the phone. She could see she has call her ID. She always goes hello, right, and go hey, it's your favorite son, and to go which one is it? When I send my cards, I put a K a number five, and then I say your favorite. I think all boys are Mama's favorite. I think so too, Yeah, all right, number two, go ahead. Who's most likely to go to space? Chris? Oh, that's to be honest, I think I might put you there just because your your desire force. Uh, what's who I'm. Looking for get in the gospel everywhere. No, I want to say, I want to say adventure, but I want to say like dumb adventure, dumb adventure, like like I want to say. Like I want to say like. Like risky, risky. I'm looking for it's like it's it's it's senseless, it's unnecessary. Wow. Right now, I'm not saying you always do that. I'm just saying you're my appetite for it. I'm saying you're more likely to do something like that, like, hey, let's go look at Crocodile's. You wouldn't go to space Coasta Rica adventure. I think I might, but I think. You're more I would definitely go. Yeah. I think if it didn't cost like one hundred and fifty grand to go or whatever it is, or millions of dollars ago, I would I would go. I would go every week. I think I do have that adventure in me. Right. So I've done adventurous things, Yeah, there's no there's no question I've done adventurous things. But I do have a pretty paralyzing fear of both space and deep sea. Oh okay, yeah, I would do both. Yeah, deep sea really truly paralyzes me. I actually do not think I would do deep sea. Like that submarine that just collapsed imploded. Well, I mean if I was on like as it's pretty quick way to go. Yeah. I think I might go on a submarine if it was like the Navy. Oh okay, right, like. Like an actual, you know, military grade submarine. I wouldn't go in a millionaire's you know too. Being Yeah, hey me, this is my backyard, right, okay? Yeah. Who's most likely to get stuck up a mountain and have to be called to be rescued? I have to call to be rescued. Well, here's the thing. I don't think you'd ever have to be called to be rescued. Yeah, you know what. I don't do well in the mountains. I love them, but I get I run out of gas quick. Okay, yeah, so I don'd say you that. I quit One time going up a mountain. She told me this up a mountain, I just out of gas. And I was with Chad and he ran up ahead of me. We were going up to this Buddhist temple. It was like fifteen hundre year old Buddhist temple we're about. I can't remember. It was eleven or twelve thousand feet up and we were only we'd only been there in that area, I hadn't acclimated. If I acclimate, like the third day, I'm really good. But those that first day I usually have a headache because it's thin. And then the next day my headache. I can make that go aay because I'll always travel with some ibuprofen or something, so the headacheuld go away. But then the I'm just breathless for like a day. It's like, oh my gosh, how these people live here. And then the third or fourth day, then I start getting acclimated. I'm fine. And so we were going up this mountain and we've only been there about twelve hours or something. Uh huh. And I was like, I don't care, you just you just go and tell me bring me a picture, right right? Yeah? So yeah, and I and I honestly I don't have a desire to climb mountains. Yeah. Yeah, Well I told you about that one time that we were going up the mountain in Nepal in the Himalayas and on a one track road and we got passed by a bus. So they were like scraping on the one side of the mountain and we were hanging off the other side of the mountain. Its crazy, It's crazy. That is crazy, all right. Number four, who's most likely to have a collection of unusual items? I don't know. I think I maybe leaned toward me. Is that you What unusual items do you collect? I don't have any, but but it says more likely I have. I have a collection of unusual items in my office. So I have that little table, yeah that has I have fossils and and and I have uh an alligator head and I have. Yeah yeah, yeah, okay, right, yeah, you ran. You know what I was thinking of. I was thinking of when I was a kid. When I was a kid, I used to collect all sorts of crazy. Things, did you yeah's cool. Yeah. I had collection upon collection. Bottle caps and comic books and baseball cards as those normal things. Yeah. Okay, so so that was called, by the way, in the old days, those odd collections were called cabinet, a cabinet of curiosities. And it was before museums began. Though very wealthy would travel around the world. They'd find all these amazing things. They bring them home and then charge people to come in and see them, and so they would have uh, and then it turned into from there, as the scientific method began and being developed, people began to collect those cabinets of curiosities, uh, in order to be able to do research on rocks and fossils. That was when dinosaurs and fossils began to be discovered again, and gems and all those things, and insect collections and moth collections and all that kind of stuff. It was called the Cabinet of curiosities, and it was a huge collection of cabinet of curiosities that became the British Museum of Natural History, and then that's where all those natural history museums came from. So there you go. I didn't know that every like yawn, but yeah, cabinet Curiosities. I have a book in my office called Cabinet Curiosity. So that's what I figured as much. It was most likely to become a professional video game streamer. Definitely, that's me. Yeah, yeah, hey it most of them all but one. No, no, no favorite sibling. You claim that space, you claim that one mountain to be rescued, that's you. Unusual items collection, you professional game streamer. You. Yeah, well, we didn't need to name this who's most likely we did see set could have called it Jeff's Amazing. This is the Jeff's Amazing segment we're going to game. It's called Jeff's Amazing. That's so funny. Okay, yeah, I tried to squeeze myself in there, but you talked me out of it. Get out, get out. Yeah, stop stepping on only that kind of negativity in here. Yeah. Well okay, speaking of amazing, yes, we are transitioning into the Book of Micah, which is an amazing book. Of the Bible, just like the other books of the Bible. Or an amazing fact is that Isaiah and Micah were probably friends. Oh, they were contemporaries. They both served in Israel at the same time. Oh yeah, okay, does that help? Is that amazing? It's I'm not sure that true authors to authors in the Bible were right and at the same time. Well, that is actually amazing when you consider that what we had over authors that lived over fifteen hundred years, and most of them didn't even know each other. Well, the authors didn't live over fifteen hundred years. Those forty authors were spread over that way, I made fifteen years. Yeah, because that would be amazing no. I meant forty people the span of fifteen lived over. Yeah, yeah, lived across a time span of forty of fifteen hundred years. Yes, okay, So we are reading now. Micah is a contemporary of Isaiah, and a lot of his writings and interaction were with Judah, but he did have some things to say to Israel as well. So we're going to just jump in and look at this Micah Chapter one. We're reading the whole chapter, aren't we. Yeah, yep, says the Lord gave this message to Micah of Morrischeth during the years when Jotham, a Has and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. The visions he saw concerned both Samaria and Jerusalem. Here's the vision. Attention, Let all the people the world listen. The earth and everything in it here the sovereign Lord is making accusations against you. The Lord speaks from his holy temple. Look, the Lord is coming. He leaves his throne in heaven and tramples the heights of the earth. The mountains melt beneath his feet and flow into the valleys like wax and a fire, like water pouring down a hill. And why is this happening? Because of the rebellion of Israel. Yes, the sins of the whole nation. Who is to blame for Israel's rebellion? Samaria it's capital city. Where is the center of idolatry? In Judah? In Jerusalem It's capital. So I the Lord will make the city of Samaria a heap of ruins. Her streets will be plowed up for planting vineyards. I will roll the stones of her walls into the valley below, exposing her foundations. All her carved images will be smashed, All her sacred treasures will be burned. These things were bought with the money earned by her prostitution, and they will now be carried away to pay prostitutes elsewhere. Therefore, I will mourn and lament. I will walk around barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and moan like an owl. For my people's wound is too deep to heal. It has reached to Judah, even to the gates of Jerusalem. Don't let our enemies in Gath. Don't tell our enemies in Gath. Don't weep at all, you people in beth Leaphra. Is that how you say that? That's sure sounds good? To me. Roll in the dust to show your despair. You people in Shaffir go as captives into exile, naked and shame. The people of Zanan dare not come outside their walls. The people of Bethezo mourn for their house has no support. The people of marath anxiously wait for relief, but only bitterness awaits them. As the Lord's judgment reaches even the gates of Jerusalem. Harness your chariot horses and flee. You people of lakeish You were the city, the first city in Judah to follow Israel in her rebellion, and you let Jerusalem into sin. Sin farewell gives to Morrischeth Gath. There is no hope of saving it. The town of Acazeb has deceived the kings of Israel. Oh, people of Marishah, I will bring a conquer to capture your town, and the leaders of Israel will go to a dullum. Oh, people of Judah, shave your heads in sorrow, for the children you love will be snatched away. Make yourselves as bald as a vulture, for your little ones will be exiled to distant lands. Well, good morning, good. Morning, Wow, there you go, just just a minute ago you said, you said, there's a there's plenty of bad news with the prophets. Yeah, yeah, and oh yeah that was in between in between between. Yeah, yeah, you said that and uh and uh that that is uh definitely understood, isn't it. So wow, he he really speaks, God speaks against rebellion and idolatry and the city capitals. So it's in Judah and in Samaria, and he says he will, uh, he will make Samaria a heap of ruins for streets we plowed up for planting vineyards. So I wonder when that would take place, because you know, oftentimes when there's a prediction that comes upon a region, or a temple or a city or you know, something like that, oftentimes it takes decades, right. Yeah, for it to be fulfilled. Yes, And. So I wonder, I wonder when this did take place. This would have been in that same seven forty What was that that we we had said about Isaiah. Yeah, yeah, it's about the same time. Yeah, So Isaiah is warning the people, but Micah comes in with a really blunt message and he's giving it to both sides. So what you have is it says that he wrote this during the that he gave messages to the kings Jotham, a Has and Hazekiah. Both Jotham is Jotham or Joatham, I don't know, and Hezekiah tried to be good kings. As a matter of fact, Hezekiah began this kind of slow road back to God as a part of Micah's speeches, Micah coming in and preaching and saying you're heading in the wrong direction, and judgment is coming. As Akiah was a king in Judah. And even though northern Israel did not come back to God, Hasekiah tried. He tried to come back to God. He succeeded and failed, and succeeded and failed. But he was trying to lead the people back. But in between, a Has was so wicked he was I remember how horrible a Hab was in northern Israel. A Has was on a multiple of five or ten compared to a Haveb. He got to the point where he nailed the doors of the temple shut. Right, So not only not only did he set up fake God's for everybody else, he forbade the people of Israel to have any access to God's temple at all, right, so you could not worship God, whereas Ahab never banned the people of northern Israel East Samaria from worship God. He just set up all the other gods too, and a has banned the people. He nailed the door shut of the temple right, and so it was such an evil time. And so Micah is coming in and he's warning the people that when you choose to live a life apart from God, really there's going to be consequences. As you say, so, he names all these cities. I had a hard time reading a lot of those. The names of those cities, the people reading it would have known. But basically, just choose fifteen of your own cities that you know about. It'd be like him saying, hey, La, you've been wandering from me, and earthquakes are coming. Hey, New York here right, That's what he's doing, Hey, Houston, Hey, Nashville, right, Hey, Chicago. That's what he's doing. Is he's going around and he's just reminding them all these major places. You're not safe anywhere in Israel or anywhere in Judah because you are consciously choosing to walk away from God. Notice you didn't say Detroit in there. No, We're well you and I administering Detroit. Things are going pretty good, right now. There you go, that's so funny. No, that's not true. Well, I mean there's somethings going there are some good things things, but not because we're ministering in the suburbs and the suburbs of Detroit. Right exactly. So Micah served as a prophet to Judah from seven forty two BC to six eighty seven BC. Right, so that. Would have been what like sixty years, almost fifty something years. That a long time. Yeah, that's pretty good, and it says the climate of the times was king a hash set up pagan idols in the temple and finally held the temples of the door shut for different nations harassed Judah when he When Hezekia became king, the nation began a slow road to recovery and economic strength. Hezekiah probably heeded much of Micah's advice. That's awesome that that, you know, you already pointed that out. But that's pretty cool, you know. And so you know, God sends the prophets and you know, warns the people and then you know, the people have a choice and the leaders and the rulers. You know, I think that I think that a lot of times we can hear God's promises and his word, and somehow we don't think that they're for us. We think that maybe their blanket statements that are either ancient and irrelevant, or their blanket statements that maybe you know, or for the general populations populace or population, but we don't think they're necessarily for us, that we don't have to adjust our ways. Have you ever have you ever met somebody who says we just kind of covered this a couple of weeks ago and on this on the sermons in the series, rather that we just did. But it's like, why should I have to change? You know, like why why should I have to sacrifice and change? Why should I have be the one that you know, that that you know, God says this, and all of a sudden, I'm doing it. When everybody around me cheats on their taxes, everybody around me doesn't do these things, everybody around me gets away with these things. Why should I be the one to have to do that? Right? And it's because, you. Know, hey, when God asks us to do things, it's because he wants blessing for our lives. He wants our lives to go in the right direction, not the wrong one, you know. And so even back then, imagine how tempting it would have been for kings. He says, Oh, you're heading in the wrong direction. He's like, yeah, but I have riches and fame and glory for myself, and I have all sorts of things. So in order to turn from what they were turning from to go God's way, you know, you know, I think that maybe we are a little harsh on the kings sometimes. Well, they were doing what's politically expedient. Probably very likely the people wanted these gods, right, because the people usually would put pressure on the kings. This is why Solomon allowed his wives to build little temples throughout the country, right, this is why they it was the people wanted. Jezebel gave the people in Samaria all these groves in these places to worship a lot of times what the people want, and the kings just want power and wealth, that's what they want, and so they give the people what they think they want or to be able to get. And so a lot of times, I think, and then they become wicked themselves because they're not following God. So then it's just go through the motions, do the thing, whatever the people want. As long as I can keep my kingdom, I'm fine. And so this is why the judgment of God comes on all of the people, not just on the king right. This is why he names all the cities. There's nowhere to run, there's nowhere to hide. And so early in Micah's ministry, judgment does come on Samaria, northern Israel. And then later in Micah's ministry, Senakreb invades Jerusalem, and that was probably what he was talking about. For Jerusalem as well. Hezekiah held it off for quite some time, but it's still that judgment still came. And the reason, you know, you're talking about that, why should I change? It's because God's not measuring me by anybody else. He's only measuring me by his holiness. And either I am moving towards Him or away from him. And people whose hearts are leaning towards God, you always find him blessing them. You never see him smacking them down. Even has Akyah, who kind of flip flops a little bit in his you know, in serving God, even as his heart was moving towards God. God extends his life. God does all some pretty amazing things for him while he's heading to God. So the direction, the trajectory of your life, not the actual moments, but the trajectory of your life. Either you're running towards Him, and if so, you always find grace. Right God, God rejects the proud, He opposes the proud, He opposes those who are going to go their own way. But the Bible says he gives grace to the humble. And so as we're humbling ourselves and moving towards God, he'll bless us. And this is the this is their option. They always know this. And then there's a note in here that references this in for the one and verse five, But it just highlights the idea that there's two big sins. That is that they were Micah was identifying for both Samaria Northern Israel and Judah, and that was they'd begun perverting worship, especially during a has his time in Judah. They perverted worship, and then they also oppressed the poor. Right, and those two things, So love God, love people, Jesus said, those are the two great commandments. You want to you want to summar some summarization of all of the law and all of the prophets. Remember, Micah is one of the prophets. Jesus said, the sum of what God expects is love God and love people. And throughout the book of Micah, it's you've perverted worship and you're abusing others. Right, it's injustice, and those are the two things God says. Finally, that's enough. Right. You know, I just started watching the series David. Have you heard about this? So? Uh, you know, they. They're creating these series, and this one's covering obviously King David of the Old Testament. And and it's some of the same people who did the Chosen and which which I love the Chosen. I think it's great as long as you don't get confused about what's really in the Bible and not right. So the Chosen, by the way, is called the Chosen because uh, it's the people that God chose, right and and uh and it's those who were chosen by God. And and when it's when it's silent about something, uh, the Chosen will say, well, I wonder. What it was like for the woman who got healed, you know. And so then they sort of create a backstory and they and they add details and things and they and and and so it's like, oh, okay, So what they're doing is they're creating like real life and emotion and significance. They're taking the facts we know about historically in their culture and saying, hey, it might have been like this for that person. Yeah, and and and and so and so. You know, when you watch The Chosen, you just have to you just have to understand that, you know, don't take every thing is absolute gospel. It's it's what it could have been like. And it's based on all the facts of. Kind of a historical fiction. Yeah, historical fiction. David. So, David did something that I just I just I couldn't get over. Now. The reason why I thought about this and the reason why I'm even bringing it up is because it starts with Saul and and it starts with Saul rebellion, rebelling, and he wants to take the own glory for himself. So it's exactly this topic, right, and it's and it's with and Samuel comes along and says, you know, I told you when when you defeated the Amalachites, I told you not to take anything. And uh. And then and then Saul was like, yeah, but you know, and then and he starts to justify all these different things, right, and he gets caught up in his own glory as opposed to God's glory. So it's literally exactly that this this exact topic. But you know what I didn't like is the Chosen never stepped on the toes of the facts. Like if it was a factual, then it stayed factual, okay, right, and then they sort of added the silent parts whereas uh, whereas like they depicted uh Daniel defeating the lion. Remember when he's, oh, you know, I'm gonna I'm gonna defeat Goliath. And yeah, Daniel, but he says, remember when he says, Hey, when a lion came, I defeated it. When a bear came, I defeated it. Remember that. And and and in that story he says, the lion came to eat the sheep, and I defeated it. Well in in in the David. Version, he hunts the lion down and chases him down to his lair, and and and you know, and then the lion has this history with the village and and David goes out of his way. And then during his battle with Goliath, Goliath throws a spear and nails David in the side, and David's on the ground bleeding, and then he gets the stone at the last second, and. I'm like, bro, this did not happen this way. I'm like, I'm like, I. Appreciate movies very much so, but but the chosen didn't add anything. Right If it was fact, it was fact in the shows. But I was but I was angry. But anyway, what I was really appreciating, though, is I was appreciating them depicting Saul as a king and how difficult it must have been to hear this the ramblings of an old man named Samuel, who says, don't take the spoils, leave everything, and all of a sudden, you know, he's confronted with, you know, taking the wealth of the Amalekites and giving it to the nation. And it's like, what a temptation that probably must have been. Yeah, you know what I mean. Yeah, I don't think. I don't think God doesn't say it's going to be easy, right. God just says obey because he knows better. Right, And I think I think that we sometimes, you know, can can look at the children of Israel, or the nation of Israel, or the rulers of Israel and just say, man, they were just idiots, like you know, they were just so dumb, you know, why not just follow God? So I don't think we could appreciate how difficult it probably must have been. Be very difficult. Yeah, So anyway, anyway, sorry for that rambling. That is our time and we will see you hopefully next time on the Bible guys. H