“Is the Spirit of the LORD restricted? Are these His
doings? Do not My words do good to him who walks uprightly?” Micah 2:7, NKJV.
“But truly I am full of
power by the Spirit of the LORD, and of justice and might, to declare to Jacob
his transgression and to Israel his sin,” Micah 3:8, NKJV.
The house of Jacob knew
the Word of the LORD. The priests, at any rate, knew the Law by heart, and God
continually sent prophets to the people. In short, they were without excuse.
Nevertheless, throughout the book of Micah, we see the LORD’s wrath poured out
upon the Israelite leaders, who mercilessly persecute the prophets and abuse
their God-given authority over the people.
“Woe to those who devise
iniquity, and work out evil on their beds! At morning light they practice it,
because it is in the power of their hand. They covet fields and take them by
violence, also houses, and seize them. So they oppress a man and his house, a man
and his inheritance,” Micah 2:1-2, NKJV.
And when terror strikes
them, they feign amazement. They are like those who say: “Lord, Lord,” but the
Lord replies: “Depart from Me…I never knew you.” They are well-versed in the
letter of the law, but, having no understanding of the spirit, they corrupt the
supposed power of education to rob the rights of the ignorant.
“Lately My people have
risen up as an enemy—you pull off the robe with the garment from those who
trust you, as they pass by, like men returned from war. The women of My people
you cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children you have taken
away My glory forever,” Micah 2:8-9.
Therefore, the LORD sends
His prophets to teach His people the truth, that they may not be led astray by
the “false spirit” of the religious leaders. (See Mic. 2:11.)
“’Do not prattle,’ you say
to those who prophesy. So they shall not prophesy to you; they shall not return
insult for insult. You who are named the house of Jacob: ‘Is the Spirit of the
LORD restricted? Are these His doings? Do not My words do good to him who walks
uprightly?” Micah 2:6-7.
The bottom line is—the
Israelite leaders knew the LORD’s words, but did not understand them; and to
those who would explain it to them, they said: “Do not prattle.” They took the
Holy Word of God—and interpreted it with a false spirit. O foolish man, only
the Spirit of the LORD can correctly interpret His Word! Had you walked
uprightly, “you who are named the house of Jacob,” His words would have done
good unto you, as they did unto Micah, who says in verse 8 of chapter 3: “But
truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD, and of justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.” But because you
walked corruptly, the LORD says unto you: “Arise and depart, for this is not
your rest; because it is defiled, it shall destroy, yes, with utter
destruction. If a man should walk in a false spirit and speak a lie, saying, ‘I
will prophesy to you of wine and drink,’ even he would be the prattler of this
people,’” Micah 2:10-11.
Note Micah 3, which makes
my whole point clearer than I could ever do:
“And I said: ‘Hear now, O
heads of Jacob, and you rulers of the house of Israel: is it not for you to
know justice? You who hate good and love evil; who strip the skin from My
people, and the flesh from their bones; who also eat the flesh of My people,
flay their skin from them, break their bones, and chop them in pieces like meat
for the pot, like flesh in the caldron.’ Then they will cry to the LORD, but He
will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, because
they have been evil in their deeds. Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets
who make my people stray; who chant ‘Peace,’ while they chew with their teeth,
but who prepare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths: ‘Therefore
you shall have night without vision, and you shall have darkness without
divination; the sun shall go down on the prophets, and the day shall be dark
for them. So the seers shall be ashamed, and the diviners abashed; indeed they
shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer from God.’ But truly I am
full of power by the Spirit of the LORD, and of justice and might, to declare
to Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. Now hear this, you heads of
the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who abhor justice and
pervert all equity, who build up Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with
iniquity: her heads judge for a bribe, her priests teach for pay, and her
prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the LORD, and say, ‘is not the LORD
among us? No harm can come upon us.’ Therefore because of you Zion shall be
plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, and the mountain of
the temple like the bare hills of the forest.”
“Woe is me! For I am like those who gather summer
fruits, like those who glean vintage grapes; there is no cluster to eat of the
first-ripe fruit which my soul desires. The faithful man has perished from the
earth, and there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood;
every man hunts his brother with a net. That they may successfully do evil with
both hands—the prince asks for gifts, the judge seeks a bribe, and the great
man utters his evil desire; so they scheme together. The best of them is like a
brier; the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge; the day of your watchman
and your punishment comes; now shall be their perplexity. Do not trust in a
friend; do not put your confidence in a companion; guard the doors of your mouth
from her who lies in your bosom. For son dishonors father, daughter rises
against her mother, daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies
are the men of his own household. Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will
wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me,” Micah 7:1-7, NKJV.
Thus the prophet bemoans
the wickedness of man, the instability of all earthly alliances. Note the first
verse: “Woe is me! For I am like those who gather summer fruits, like those who
glean vintage grapes; there is no cluster to eat of the first-ripe fruit which
my soul desires.” Given the context of this verse, it is not difficult to infer
the prophet’s meaning: he seeks righteousness among mankind and puts his faith
in loved ones. He seeks out the best and most admirable among man—“gathering
summer fruits and gleaning vintage grapes”—but does not find “the first-ripe
fruit which his soul desires.” Indeed, in verse 4, he says: “The best of them
is like a brier; the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge….” Thus, he
comes to grips with the depravity of man and urges his readers not to place
their trust even in the most admirable and beloved of mankind, but, rather, he
concludes in verse 7: “Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the
God of my salvation; my God will hear me.” And, in verses 8-9, he further urges
us to trust in the LORD, as our salvation and the true source of righteousness:
“Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in
darkness, the LORD will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the
LORD, because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my case and executes
justice for me. He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His
righteousness.” In effect, we are warned of the depravity of man and urged to
“look to the LORD,” who alone is able to lead us, and our loved ones, from darkness and sin to righteousness and
light.
“Who is a God like You,
pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His
heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy.
He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will
cast all our sins into the depths of the sea,” Micah 7:18-19.
“O LORD, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear?
Even cry out to You, ‘Violence!’ And You will not save. Why do You show me
iniquity, and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before
me; there is strife, and contention arises. Therefore the law is powerless, and
justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore
perverse judgment proceeds. ‘Look among the nations and watch—be utterly
astounded. For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe,
though it were told you,’” Habakkuk 1:2-5, NKJV.
With our limited
understanding, we are wont, as Habakkuk, to question the LORD’s motives for
allowing what, to our eyes, appears to be senseless trouble. Note, however,
that Habakkuk did not question the LORD’s control, as, indeed, we often do;
but, rather, why He would not hear, would not save, showed him iniquity, and caused
him to see trouble. Indeed, Habakkuk clearly acknowledges the sovereignty
of the LORD, but, given his limited perspective, seeks enlightenment, that his
soul may no longer be troubled. Thus, the LORD answers him in verse 5: “Look
among the nations and watch—be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in
your days which you would not believe, though it were told you.” And He
proceeds to tell him of the coming invasion of the Chaldeans. A strange
response to Habakkuk’s question, perhaps (“Why do You show me iniquity, and
cause me to see trouble?”)—but God has called it a great work, and, in verse
11, says of the Chaldean people: “Then his mind changes, and he transgresses;
he commits offense, ascribing this power to his god.” This seems to be the key
verse for Habakkuk, for in the following verse, he makes this response: “Are
you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD,
You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for
correction.” Here Habakkuk expresses a simple truth which we find time and time
again throughout the Scriptures—that the LORD protects the lives of His
righteous ones (I speak in spiritual terms), but the wicked He has appointed
for judgment. The trouble we see before us is temporary. Let the wicked have
their reward here below—they will receive no other. Nevertheless, Habakkuk has
more questions:
“You are of purer eyes
than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those
who deal treacherously, and hold Your tongue when the wicked devours a person
more righteous than he? Why do You make men like fish of the sea, like creeping
things that have no ruler over them? They take up all of them with a hook, they
catch them in their net, and gather them in their dragnet. Therefore they
sacrifice to their net, and burn incense to their dragnet; because by them
their share is sumptuous and their food plentiful. Shall they therefore empty
their net, and continue to slay nations without pity?” Hab. 1:13-17.
“Why,” he essentially
asks, “does the LORD look upon wickedness—and do nothing?” Verses 15-16 are, in
a way, a paraphrase of what God said concerning the Chaldeans in verses 6-11:
viz., that the LORD gives a people power, but the people ascribe this power to
their own false god (see Hab. 1:11). Habakkuk knows that the God who “raised up
the Chaldeans” is able, also, to bring them down. Indeed, he believes entirely
in God’s “appointed judgment” upon them (see Hab. 1:12)—but, in the meantime,
shall the LORD indeed “look on those who deal treacherously, and hold [His]
tongue when the wicked devours a person more righteous than he?”
Why does He make His
people “like fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler over
them,” and allow them to be caught in the nets of the Chaldeans—who ascribe
this power to their false gods? “Shall they therefore empty their net, and
continue to slay nations without pity?” But note verse 1 of chapter 2, in which
Habakkuk says: “I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch
to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected.” We
can all learn a valuable lesson from Habakkuk—who is not afraid to inquire of
the LORD concerning that which he does not understand, yet never doubts His
omnipotence or His goodness (see Hab. 1:12-13), and acknowledges himself as the
one in error, the one in need of correction (Hab. 2:1). The LORD will answer
one with such an attitude. He grants wisdom to those who seek it:
“Then the LORD answered me
and said: ‘Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who
reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will
speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will
surely come, it will not tarry. Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in
him; but the just shall live by his faith. Indeed, because he transgresses by
wine, he is a proud man, and he does not stay at home. because he enlarges his
desire as hell, and he is like death, and cannot be satisfied, he gathers to
himself all nations and heaps up for himself all peoples. Will not all these
take up a proverb against him, and a taunting riddle against him and say, “Woe
to him who increases what is not his—how long? And to him who loads himself
with many pledges”? will not your creditors rise up suddenly? Will they not
awaken who oppress you? And you will become their booty. Because you have
plundered many nations, all the remnant of the people shall plunder you,
because of men’s blood and the violence of the land and the city, and of all
who dwell in it. Woe to him who covets evil gain for his house, that he may set
his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of disaster! You give
shameful counsel to your house, cutting off many peoples, and sin against your
soul. For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the timbers
will answer it. Woe to him who builds a town with bloodshed, who establishes a
city by iniquity! Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the peoples labor
to feed the fire, and nations weary themselves in vain? For the earth will be
filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the
sea. Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, pressing him to your bottle,
even to make him drunk, that you may look on his nakedness! You are filled with
shame instead of glory. You also—drink! And be exposed as uncircumcised! The
cup of the LORD’s right hand will be turned against you, and utter shame will be
on your glory. For the violence done to Lebanon will cover you, and the pounder
of beasts which made them afraid, because of men’s blood and the violence of
the land and the city, and of all who dwell in it. What profit is the image,
that its maker should carve it, the molded image, a teacher of lies, that the
maker of its mold should trust in it, to make mute idols? Woe to him who says
to wood, “Awake!” To silent stone, “Arise! It shall teach!” Behold, it is
overlaid with gold and silver, yet in it there is no breath at all. But the
LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silent before Him,’”
Habakkuk 2:2-20.
To this, Habakkuk replies:
“O LORD, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O LORD, revive Your work in
the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; in wrath
remember mercy,” (Hab. 3:2). And, of course, the LORD does remember mercy—“in
the midst of the years,” “in wrath”—as Habakkuk notes in verses 12-13 of chapter
3: “You marched through the land in indignation; You trampled the nations in
anger. You went forth for the salvation of Your people, for salvation with Your
Anointed. You struck the head from the house of the wicked, by laying bare from
foundation to neck.” Indeed, the wicked one may have bruised our Lord’s heel,
but He has crushed his head! Thus Habakkuk concludes: that with God there is
wrath and judgment, but also great mercy.
“When I heard, my body
trembled; my lips quivered at the voice; rottenness entered my bones; and I
trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble. When he comes up
to the people, he will invade them with his troops. Though the fig tree may not
blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and
the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and
there be no herd in the stalls—yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in
the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like
deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills,” Habakkuk 3:16-19.
“’I will utterly consume everything from the face of
the land,’ says the LORD; ‘I will consume man and beast; I will consume the
birds of the heaven, the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks along with
the wicked. I will cut off man from the face of the land,’ says the LORD. ‘I
will stretch out My hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of
Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, the names of the
idolatrous priests with the pagan priests—those who worship the host of heaven
on the housetops; those who worship and swear oaths by the LORD, but who also
swear by Milcom; those who have turned back from following the LORD, and have
not sought the LORD, nor inquired of Him,’” Zephaniah 1:2-6, NKJV.
“The great day of the LORD
is near; it is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the LORD is
bitter; there the mighty men shall cry out. That day is a day of trouble and
distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and
gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and alarm
against the fortified cities and against the high towers. ‘I will bring
distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned
against the LORD; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh
like refuse.’ Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them
in the day of the LORD’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the
fire of His jealousy, for He will make speedy riddance of all those who dwell
in the land,” Zeph. 1:14-18, NKJV.
So begins the book of
Zephaniah. Indeed, similar beginnings are prevalent in all the books of the
minor prophets. If one reads the Scriptures often, distinct patterns inevitably
present themselves—patterns that invariably
point to the salvation plan: viz., that “God made man upright,” that man
fell and came under the wrath of God, but that God, being merciful, “prepared a
sacrifice” (see Zeph. 1:7) to redeem His fallen creation, that those who do not
accept this sacrifice will remain under the wrath of God. Creation. Fall.
Redemption. Final Judgment. A simple pattern that is repeated and firmly
established all throughout Scripture. In the opening text of Zephaniah, we see
that man has, indeed, fallen, and that judgment is pronounced upon him. But we
also see the telltale signs of God’s redemption plan—as in Zeph. 1:7, “Be
silent in the presence of the LORD God; for the day of the LORD is at hand, for
the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited His guests.” Furthermore,
note the opening verses of chapter two: “Gather yourselves together, yes,
gather together, O undesirable nation, before the decree is issued, or the day
passes like chaff, before the LORD’s fierce anger comes upon you, before the
day of the LORD’s anger comes upon you! Seek the LORD, all you meek of the
earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may
be that you will be hidden in the day of the LORD’s anger,” (Zeph. 2:1-3). Here
we are clearly warned that the final judgment is coming, but that the LORD has prepared salvation for those who seek Him. And
in verses 5-7, we see the stark contrast of judgment and redemption, which
appears almost as a contradiction: “Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the
nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land
of the Philistines: ‘I will destroy you; so there shall be no inhabitant.’ The
seacoast shall be pastures, with shelters for shepherds and folds for flocks.
The coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed their
flocks there; in the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening. For the
LORD their God will intervene for them, and return their captives.” Is this not
the very heart of the matter? That we are under the wrath of God, alienated
from Him, captives of sin—but He has intervened for us?
The LORD then proceeds to
contrast the redeemed with the condemned, to contrast His power with the false
power of man: “’I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the insults of the
people of Ammon, with which they have reproached My people, and made arrogant
threats against their borders. Therefore, as I live,’ says the LORD of hosts,
the God of Israel, ‘surely Moab shall be like Sodom, and the people of Ammon
like Gomorrah—overrun with weeds and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation. The
residue of My people shall plunder them, and the remnant of My people shall
possess them.’ This they shall have for their pride, because they have made
arrogant threats against the people of the LORD of hosts. The LORD will be
awesome to them, for He will reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth;
people shall worship Him, each one from his place, indeed all the shores of the
nations,” (Zeph. 2:8-11).
He concludes the book of
Zephaniah with a message of hope: “’Therefore wait for Me,’ says the LORD,
‘until the day I rise up for plunder; My determination is to gather the nations
to My assembly of kingdoms, to pour on them My indignation, all My fierce
anger; all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy. For then I
will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they all may call on the name
of the LORD, to serve Him with one accord,’” (Zeph. 3:8-9).
“Wait for Me,” says the
LORD, “I will administer justice.” “For then I will restore….” We see the
extent of His amazing grace:
“From beyond the rivers of
Ethiopia My worshipers, the daughter of My dispersed ones, shall bring My
offering. In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds in which
you transgress against Me; for then I will take away from your midst those who
rejoice in your pride, and you shall no longer be haughty in My holy mountain.
I will leave in your midst a meek and humble people, and they shall trust in the
name of the LORD. The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness and speak
no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall
feed their flocks and lie down, and no one shall make them afraid,” (Zeph. 3:
10-13).
And, finally, His great
promise:
“Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be
glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has
taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the
LORD, is in your midst; you shall see disaster no more. In that day it shall be
said to Jerusalem: ‘Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak. The LORD
your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you
with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with
singing.’ ‘I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly, who are
among you, to whom its reproach is a burden. Behold, at that time I will deal
with all who afflict you; I will save the lame, and gather those who were
driven out; I will appoint them for praise and fame in every land where they
were put to shame. At that time I will bring you back, even at that time I
gather you; for I will give you fame and praise among all the peoples of the
earth, when I return your captives before your eyes,’ says the LORD,” (Zeph. 3:
14-20).
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