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Reading Amount: Micah 7:1-20 Central Verse: Who is a God like you, pardoning Iniquity And passing over the transgression Of the remnant of your Possession? He does not retain his anger forever, Because he delights in showing Clemency. He will again have compassion Upon us; He will tread our iniquities under Foot. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob And unswerving loyalty to Abraham, As you have sworn to our ancestors From the days of old. Micah 7:18-20 NRSV Central Truth: After seeing God's righteous anger at the people of Israel for theirs sins against others, we see the heart of God again. It is forgiveness and reconciliation. Food For Thought: (Questions about the text) This final section is written in the form of a responsive liturgy to be used in worship. As you read it imagine it being read responsively, much the same as a call to worship at the beginning of many of our services. The tone of the writing places the set

Reading Amount: Micah 6:1-16 Central Verse: He has told you, O mortal, what is Good; And what does the LORD require of You But to do justice, and to love kindness. And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 NRSV Central Truth: Even today we try to think of ways to make God happy. What we forget is this simple yet tough choice that we are to live and walk with God. That is the primary way that we have a relationship with him not by going to church or fulfilling requirement x, y or z. Food for Thought: (Questions about the text) The beginning of the chapter is actually a form of lawsuit in the Ancient East. Listing all the blessings that one side has given, calling witnesses and stating consequences for wrong behavior. There are three important Hebrew words in this text one is translated as Justice, another is love and the final is humbly. The word for Justice denotes action, this is not passive there is an active part to performing justice involving those who are poor and disenfranchi

Reading Amount: Micah 5:1-15 Central Verse: But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, Who are one of the little clans of Judah, From you shall come forth for me One who is to rule in Israel, Whose origin is from of old, From ancient days. Micah 5:2 Central Truth: God has, does, and will provide salvation to all people. He gave Micah a specific for his people, yet the word of God goes forth through history and shows Christ and his return. Food for Thought: (Questions about the text) This text is quoted by the wise men in Matthew as foretelling where the Messiah would be born. We must remember that when a prophecy is given in scripture it is given for the author's audience. It is over time that the prophecy continues to speak. To get the most out of prophetic scriptures it is best to try and ascertain what the meaning was for the audience and then see how it has also been interpreted through time. In this chapter the image of a shepherd is used repeatedly. This was a very common literary

Reading Amount: Micah 4:1-13 Central Verse: He shall judge between many peoples. And shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. - Micah 4:3-4 NRSV Central Truth: We long for peace in our world yet we are surrounded by people who seem to desire war and strife. Peace seems to be a pipe dream. One that will never, ever come true. Here Micah promises peace, eventually, and that peace will be brought about by God's work and by us working (who do you think is going to change your instruments of war into ones of peace)? Food for Thought: Questions about the Text Jerusalem and God's temple being lifted up is supposed to be figurative. This is a

Central Verse: Hear this, you rulers of the house of Israel, Jacob And chiefs of the house of Israel, Who abhor justice And pervert all equity Who build Zion with blood And Jerusalem with wrong! Its rulers give judgment for a bribe, Its priest teach for a price Its prophets give oracles for money; Yet they lean upon the LORD and say, "Surely the LORD is with us! No harm shall come upon us." Micah 3:9-11 Central Truth: People with responsibilities over others, politicians, religious officials and public servants have a responsibility to uphold justice. When justice is not upheld by everyone, everyone suffers! Food For Thought: (Questions about the text) Historically speaking Micah is speaking to three groups the first are the politicians, second are the prophets and thirdly the priest. Verse 8 is the most information we have about Micah's calling. While this doesn't give us information on what his calling was about it does help us to understand what Micah understood hi

The first thing that assaulted my senses as I walked through the door was the unmistakable scent of cat urine.  The house was in almost total disarray with stacks of papers, photo albums and knick-knacks stacked everywhere.  She invited me in and asked me to sit, pointing to a chair on the other side of a table.  The table was a round picnic table that had been set on the one end of the living room.  Which was crowded with broken furniture and pictures on every available wall and end table space.  The smell in the house was almost unbearable.  I sat down looking patiently at her across this table, ducking my head from side to side to see around the various piles.  The old woman looked at me expectantly seeming to wait for me speak something profound.  As is the case most of the time when I meet someone new I wondered what was I going say?  How was I going to speak to her?  The conversation started slowly, “So how long have you lived in this house?” I asked, hoping to glean some info

Central Verse: But you rise up against my people as An enemy; You strip the robe from the peaceful, From those who pass by trustingly With no thought of war….. I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob, I will gather the survivors of Israel; I will set them together Like sheep in a fold, Like a flock in its pasture; It will resound with people. - 2:8 & 12, NRSV Central Truth: We serve a loving God yet God is also a God of Justice and the two must be held in balance. Most often this is thrown out of balance in our lives by covetousness. Food for Thought (Questions about the text): There is a huge tie between coveting and land in this passage as well as others in scripture. There were laws set in place in Deuteronomy that protected family lands and ensured that those lands would be passed on from generation to generation. There are stories in the Bible of people circumventing those laws (Jezzable and Ahas killing of a garden) and an assumption we must make of this passage is that p

Central Verse: For lo, the LORD is coming out of his Place, And will come down and tread upon The high places of the earth. Then the mountains will melt under him And the valleys will burst open, Like wax near the fire, Like waters poured down a steep Place…. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? Micah 1:3-4; 5b NRSV Central Truth: It is easy when we are in a place of privilege and power to believe nothing will happen to us, that we alone carry favor with God. We risk forgetting that although God loves us, and his love wins the day, God is also just and righteous demanding acts of service and justice be performed. Food for Thought (questions about the text): Theophany - a theophany is the experience of seeing God. In the biblical text this almost exclusively seen as God coming to the rescue of his people except here where Micah sees God coming, not to rescue his people, but to punish them. What a