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MORNING MEDITATION
Glean the Word:
Micah 5:2-5
Glimpse of Glory: "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8)
God uses His Word like fire and like a hammer to break up the hard places of our heart so He can cultivate tender soil in which to plant the seed of His Word. He often has to break through many layers of hardened soil in order to weed out all the rocks and debris of pride, selfishness, unbelief, worldliness, and religion, that stand in the way of our understanding and receiving His Word of truth. Jesus spent the forty days after His resurrection making appearance to His disciples and teaching them about the kingdom of God. He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures, and showed them how the Scriptures all pointed to His coming, the cross, and the future Kingdom Age. God appointed prophets to warn the Jewish nation of coming judgment and to explain in great detail the events of the promised kingdom and Messiah-King, but their hearts only grew harder as they refused to listen and believe.
Micah was God's chosen prophet to deliver His message of judgment to the nation of Israel during a time of apostasy, in order to call them to repent and return to the Lord with all their hearts. Micah's messages show the great mercy of God in the midst of His wrath; for even while He pronounced judgment on His people because of their rebellion and sin, He gave them a word of hope to cling to as He promised His people a glorious future and an eternal King. "But you, Bethlehem Ephratha, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for Me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites" (v.2). This passage is full of hope as the Messiah's reign and rule is richly described. Jesus is described as the eternal One, "whose origins are from old, from ancient times," and He would be "ruler over Israel." The place of His coming and how He would arrive are also clearly described. He would be born of a woman in Bethlehem, which means "the house of bread"; for He is the Bread of Life who was sent as manna from heaven to satisfy His people for all eternity.
The Word of God provides a message of warning and a promise of eternal hope and salvation for all people. Let us pray that His glorious message will fall on the receptive ears of those who will believe the truth and who will allow the Lord to use His Word to break through the hardness of their sinful hearts, and be willing to humble themselves before Him, confess their sins, lay hold of His promise of forgiveness, and experience His great mercy which will make them right with God. "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy..." (Titus 3:4-5a). Let us join Micah in his prayer of praise to the God of great mercy as we spend our morning time of meditation and prayer in praise of our great and merciful King: "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea..." (Micah 7:19-19).
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