Search The Scriptures —Study 3 — Micah 4:8-5:15

Study 3 From The Book of Micah Is: Micah 4:8-5:15

Two prophecies with a ‘Now … But…’

1.      4:8-5:1. Zion will be besieged and her inhabitants exiled.  But what will follow? On a personal level, what is man’s true perspective to be? Cf. 4: 12 and 1 Cor. 2:9, 10.

2.      5:2-6. From this early Messianic prophecy what do we learn of the Messiah’s origins and activity? How did Jesus fulfil the longings of prophet and people?

3.      5:10-15. The life of the restored remnant of Israel will be one of God-given (verse7) victory (verses 8:9), but purification will be involved (verse 10, 14).  Disobedience is disastrous (verse 15).  See 1 Pet. 2:9-12, 16; 4:7 and consider how the same principle still applies.

Notes

1.      4:10 ‘Go to Babylon’: a remarkable instance of prophetic prevision, because at the time the great enemy was Assyria, not Babylon.  But, see Is. 39:6, 7.

2.      4:11.  The nations gather to ogle, and worse.  But, one day the roles will be reversed; cf. 7:10b, 17.

3.      4:13 Devoting spoil to the Lord was an old custom; cf. Jos. 6:24.

4.      5:3 Israel shall be surrendered up until the Messiah is born; then, the Messiah’s family will be reunited.

5.      5:5 ‘Seven…eight’: an indefinite number according to Hebrew idiom; whatever the need for leaders is, it will be met.

6.      5:6. Read (with mg) ‘he (I.e., the Messiah) ‘shall deliver us…’

7.      5:14. ‘Cities’: probably, better, ‘sacrificial stones’.  Verses 10-14 (like 6:7b) hint at the sort of unfaithfulness which characterized the reign of Ahaz; cf. 2 Ki. 16:3.

LINKTO THE VERSES LISTED

Search The Scriptures —Study 2— Micah 3:1-4:7

Study 2 From The Book of Micah is: Micah 3:1-4:7

1.    The nation’s prophets and priest come under scathing denunciation.  Why? And with what result (see ‘then’, 3:4,’therefore’, 3:6 and 12)? The priests remembered God’s promises (3:11; cf. Ps.132:13, 14) but not His stipulations (cf. Ps. 132:12). May our confidence be similarly false?

2.    Notice especially the contrast between the true prophet (3:8; cf. 2:7) and the false (3:5, 11; cf. 2:6, 11). How may we recognize the Spirit of the Lord?

3.    4:1-7. A new kingdom of peace (4:3, 4) and wholeness (4:6, 7) is to be established.  What will characterize the King, and what His subjects?

Notes:

1. 3:1 ‘Know’ here means ‘care for’; the verb is used in this pregnant sense in, e.g, 6:5; Ps. 144:3 (av); Pr. 12:10; Ho. 8:4.
2. 3:2, 3. God’s ideal (Am.) 5:15) had been turned on its head.  The judiciary, like ravenous wild beasts, while preying on the people.
3. 3:7 ‘Cover their lips’: a sign of shame (Lv. 13:45) or mourning Ezk. 24:17).
4. 3:10 Jerusalem was being adorned with fine buildings at the cost of the lives of the people.
5. Chapter 4. Zion will be the pre-eminent place of God’s revelation (verse 2) and His rule (verses 3:7).
6. 4:5. A parenthesis: at present men do not all give their allegiance to the Lord; this is yet to come. ‘In that day’ (4:6).

LINK TO THE VERSES LISTED

Search The Scriptures —Study 1 — Micah 1 and 2

Study 1 From The Book of Micah Is: Micah 1 and 2

1.    Judgement falls on Samaria and (almost) on Jerusalem.  The Lord God is witness for the prosecution (1:10-16) and grief in the prophet 1:8, 9).  What was the basic reason for the catastrophe (1:5: 13)?

2.     What classes of the community and what sin are rebuked in chapter 2? What is the penalty?

3.    Promise (2:12, 13) follows banishment (2:10).  How are God’s gracious acts described? Do we, too, know the Shepherd’s love (Jn. 10:14, 15) and the King’s might (2 Cor. 2:14)? Cf.. Also Is. 40:11; 2 Sa. 5:20.

Notes

1.    1-5.  The Prophet sees the capital cities of the kingdoms of both Israel and Judah as the main sources of the corruption of the whole country, although they were the centres of worship.

2.    1:10-12. There is some word-play on the names of the towns mentioned and what they will endure. “Grovel in the dust as Dust-town” (Beth-le-aphrah), etc.

3.    1-13. “The beginning of sin”: Lachish was the border town at which chariots and horses purchased in Egypt would be received in Judah.  See 5:10 and cf. Is. 31:1; 36:9.

4.    1:14, 15.  The calamities coming on Judah will include separation from loved ones, deception, conquests and ignominious fight.

5.    Chapter 2. Micah preaches in verses 1-5; he is interrupted by the rich in verse 6 and retorts, verse 7. God speaks in verses 8:10 and 12, 13; the prophet soliloquizes in verse 11.

6.    2:4-5. The avaricious Landowners will lament because they themselves have been dispossessed; their portion in the Lord’s inheritance (verse 5) will be no more.

7.    2:6. Micah’s preaching is not well received and he is told.  Do not drivel…!’ Verse 11 and 3:11 describe the sort of preachers the rich wanted—and got!

LINK TO THE VERSES LISTED

Search The Scriptures —Study 0— Introduction to Micah

Study 0 From The Book of Micah is: the Introduction

 Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah, but whereas Isaiah was a prophet of the court and of the city, Micah came from Moreshethgath (1:1, 14), a country town near the western border of Judah. Notice, 2.g., how often he used the image of a flock and its shepherd (2:12; 3:2, 3; 4:6, 8; 5:4, 8; 7:14). His prophetic ministry began only a few years after that of Hosea, and there are many traces in his book of the influence upon him both of Hosea and of Isaiah. See, e.g, Mi 4:1-3 and Hos. 2:13; 8:6; 9:1 and again Mi. 7:1 and Is. 24:13, etc. Mi. 4:1-3 and Is. 2:4 are almost verbally the same.  Yet, Micah was no plagiarist. He had his own message, and exercised a profound influence, as is seen from the reference to him in Je. 26:16-19. As Jonah’s prophetic word moved the king of Nineveh to repent, so Micah’s similar prophecy moved King Hezekiah; and so deep was the impression Micah made that these things were remembered about him a century later, and were instrumental in saving the life of the prophet Jeremiah.

Micah’s word still lives, because the Spirit of God is in it, and he has important lessons to teach us for our own day.

Search The Scriptures —Study 14 — 2 Corinthians 13

Study 14 From The Book of 2 Corinthians Is: 2 Corinthians 13

This post is the last of the book of 2 Corinthians and the next post will be on the book of Micah

1.    What effect has Paul’s love for the Corinthians on his attitude to their sin? In answering consider the evidence of both verses 1-6 and verses 7-10.  See also 12:20, 21

2.    Consider how closely related the exhortations and promises of verse 11 are to the teaching of the whole letter.

3.    Consider how the prayer of verse 14 sums up our Christian heritage, and gives the complete solution to our threefold need—our sin, sorrow and weakness.

Notes

1.    Verse 1.  When Paul comes he will hold a judicial inquiry.  Cf. Mt. 18: 16; 1Tim. 5:19.

2.    Verses 2-4.  Christ’s ‘crucified in weakness’ is not the whole gospel. He also lives by the power of God, and that power will be manifested also in His servant Paul.

3.    Verses 7-10. Paul would rather that the Corinthians should act rightly, and so make it needless for him to rebuke them, than that he should gain prestige by the demonstration of his apostolic authority.

LINK TO THE VERSES LISTED

Search The Scriptures —Study 13— 2 Corinthians 12:11-21

Study 13 From The Book of 2 Corinthians Is: 2 Corinthians 12:11-21

1.    Paul again summarizes his past ministry in Corinth and his attitude towards the Christians there. What accusations is he meeting in this passage and how does he answer them?  What impresses you most as showing the measure of his Christ-Likeness? In answering this question bear in mind how deeply he has been wronged by the ingratitude and suspicion of the church.

2.    In verses 20, 21 what anxieties does Paul have over the church in Corinth?  What can we learn from this about our responsibility for younger Christians?

Notes

1. Verse 13. ‘Forgive me this wrong!’: spoken in irony.
2. Verse 14. ‘I seek not what is yours but you’: cf. 4: 5, 15; 5:13; 13:9.

LINK TO THE VERSES LISTED

Search The Scriptures —Study 12 — 2 Corinthians 11:21b – 12:10

Study 12 From The Book of 2 Corinthians Is: 2 Corinthians 11:21b – 12:10

1.    Follow Paul through the experiences which he describes. In particular let your imagination dwell clause by clause on the list of sufferings in verses 23-29. Why do you think Paul felt it necessary to ‘boast’ of His experiences?

2.    Why did Paul believe he had been given the ‘thorn in the flesh’?  What did Paul do about this ‘thorn and with what result?  Notice the force of the present tense in the Lord’s reply. What lessons did Paul learn that changed his whole attitude to trial? Have we begun to understand these things? Cf. Rom. 5:3-5; 1 Peter 4:14.

Notes.

1.    12:5. Paul contrasts himself, as a passive recipient of divine revelations, with himself to other capacities.

2.    12:7. The ‘thorn in the flesh’ seems to have been severe bodily suffering of some kind, but its exact nature is not disclosed.

3.    12:9. ‘He said’: better, as in Rv, ‘He hath said’—a word of abiding application.

LINK TO THE VERSES LISTED

Search The Scriptures —Study 11 — 2 Corinthians 11:1-21a

Study 11 From The Book of 2 Corinthians Is: 2 Corinthians 11:1-21a

1.      Why was Paul so concerned for the Corinthian Christians? See verses 1-4, and cf. Gal. 1:6-10. On what two grounds was he amazed that they should so readily tolerate these false teachers? See verse 4 and verses 19 and 20.  But, see also verses 13-15.  What warning for our won day can be drawn from what Paul says about the false teachers, their methods, and their message?  Is ‘another Jesus’ preached today?

2.      In what ways does Paul distinguish his own way of life while at Corinth from that of the ‘false apostles? Have you learnt anything new about Paul’s character from this passage?

Notes

1. Verse 5. An ironical reference to the intruders at Corinth who exalted themselves so highly.
2. Verse 7-12.  Paul refused to take money from the church in Corinth, and says that he will continue to refuse, one reason being that his enemies who, it is implied, did receive support from the church, would have liked to see Paul doing the same.
3. Verse 16. Paul feels ashamed to be engaged in self-praise; but in the circumstances he can do no other. Cf. 12:11. He will do even this for the Church’s sake. It is to be ordered noted, however, that he speaks less of what he has done than of what he has suffered. Cf. verse 30.

LINKTO THE VERSES LISTED

Search The Scriptures — Study 10 — 2 Corinthians 10

Study 10 From The Book of 2 Corinthians Is: 2 Corinthians 10

In his third section of the letter Paul has specially in view the disaffected minority, who were being led astray by visiting preachers, who were enemies of Paul and of the gospel.  His desire is to destroy the influence of these men, so that his visit, when it comes may not be one of strife and conflict. In this chapter he twice refers to a charge, which his enemies made against him (10:1b, 10), that while he might be able to write vigorous letters from a distance, he was weak and ineffective when present in person. Paul answers that he has powerful weapons at his command, and that the church in Corinth falls within sphere of his God-given authority.  

1.    Consider Paul’s description of his ministry as a warfare (verses 3:6).  What is the aim he has in view? What fortresses have to be captured, and how is victory achieved? Have you known in your own experience (a) of lawless elements in your own thought-life brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and (b) of winning such victories for Christ in the thought-life of others?

2.    What does Paul claim for himself in verses 7:16, and what hope for future service does express? Cf. Rom. 12:3; 15:18-24.   What is the only form of commendation in which he is interested?

Note. Verse 16. ‘Done in another’s field’: an allusion to those who came to a church already founded by someone else, to make mischief there. 

   

LINK TO THE VERSES LISTED

Search The Scriptures —Study 9— 2 Corinthians 8:16 – 9:15

Study 9 From The Book of 2 Corinthians Is: 2 Corinthians 8:16 – 9:15

Today’s portion falls into two parts. First, in 8:16-24. Paul explains why he is sending Titus and two others to Corinth, and given them his warn commendation. Second, in chapter 9, he shows the blessings of cheerful and generous giving.

1.    What may we learn from Paul’s example of the duty of giving praise where praise is due? What picture do you have of the personalities of the Christian workers he describes?

2.    What lessons do we learn here about handling money? What kinds of giving does God value?  What reward does He give?

Note. 9:15. ‘His inexpressible gift’: i.e., the gift of Christ, so great as to be beyond description, the spring and pattern of our giving.

                    

LINK TO THE VERSES LISTED