The Minor Prophets: #5 Micah

"Who is like Yahweh?” What a question! This is the very question I posed back to God himself in my book. Who could possibly be like him? Let me introduce myself. My name is Micah, and I am a prophet of God. Guess what my name means? You guessed it. My name means, “Who is like Yahweh?” I was aptly named, because this was the song that I sang my entire life...

In the fifth installment of the series, The prophet Micah relates what was happening in the Southern Kingdom during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Living through persecution during the times of the wicked political leadership of King Ahaz, he encourages us as believers to hang tight, and persist in prayer!

Sometimes it is difficult to persist in prayer when we feel that the world is disintegrating before our eyes. But this is the very thing God desires us to do! Be encouraged! King Hezekiah DID listen to Micah, and... well I will let him tell you what happened!

Enjoy his words of wisdom and encouragement in this 9 minute video. Thanks, Pastor Rob Shader, for not only narrating Micah, but BEING a Micah! Don't forget to download a worksheet here! Also, after watching the video, you may wish to read the related scriptures listed below, or journal the questions. Don't miss the short follow up videos as well! To print a hard copy of the related scripture references and discussion questions, Click Here!

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Scriptures: The Book of Micah, 2 Kings 15:32-38, 2 Kings 16:8-18, 2 Chronicles 27,28,29, Jeremiah 26:18,19

Questions:

1. What one thing stood out to you the most in this video/teaching?

2. How does remembering to meditate on Micah's name, "Who is Like Yahweh?" help us to have less fear?

3. Have you ever gone through a "night with no vision" in your life? What happened?

4. Many times in the Old Testament we are warned about false prophets. The New Testament warns of false teachers. How can we be sure a prophet/teacher/pastor is reliable in presenting the Word of God?

5. Why do you think that God allowed the Assryians to attack and take many of the fortified cities of Judah during the reign of King Hezekiah, who "...did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all his father David had done?"

6. God gave some wonderful promises in Micah's book to encourage them. What were some of them? See if you can locate five of them. (You may wish to read the text of the video below, or look in the Bible.) Why was it important for God to give these prophecies to Judah at this point? Why was it important for us to have them now? Have any of them come true yet? Which ones?

7. What is it God said that he requires of us? (Micah 6:8) Why might this be a foreign concept to them?

Don't miss this short (2:37) video clip on Hezekiah's tunnel! You can walk through it today in Jerusalem!

This short video below is about the seal of King Hezekiah... (1:48) An amazing discovery!

If you prefer to read, here is the text of the video.

“Who is like Yahweh?” What a question! This is the very question I posed back to God himself in my book. Who could possibly be like him? Let me introduce myself. My name is Micah, and I am a prophet of God. Guess what my name means? You guessed it. My name means, “Who is like Yahweh?” I was aptly named, because this was the song that I sang my entire life.

There was plenty of excitement going on in the Southern Kingdom of Judah during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah during the years 750-687 BC. I was called to join the prophetic “team” of one of the most revered prophets—Isaiah. In contrast to Isaiah, who spoke with eloquent language and walked the halls with the princes, I was just a regular guy, from a little town called Moresheth, SW of Jerusalem about 20 miles. I did have one distinction though. The message I brought was heeded! Later, Jeremiah talked about me in his book. He told how I prophesied during the reign of King Hezekiah, the King listened to me, and God relented concerning the doom he had pronounced against Judah. Unfortunately, many of the other prophets called by Yahweh did not have the same success. Let me step back a moment and fill you in.

It was during my tenure that the country of Israel, to the north, fell. Previously, I had prophesied that they would be judged by God… their sin had awakened God and he was going to make Samaria, the capital, a heap of ruins. They did not believe it, but it happened. In 722 BC, Samaria fell to the Assyrians during the sixth year of the reign of King Hezekiah. It was a shot over the bow for the rest of us in the south.

In fact, most of my message to deliver was directed at the country of Judah. I gave a clear warning! Judgment was also coming to the gate of Jerusalem. Be warned! Both Isaiah and I warned of this!

Some of the kings of Judah were good and some were just plain bad. Let’s back up a little. King Jotham was a good guy! God said of him, “He became mighty because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God.” He was always one to pray before making a decision, and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord. King Ahaz, though, his son, was a wicked king. He followed the Baals, burned his sons in the fire to Molech, and worshiped at the high places and the altars of the pagan gods everywhere. Consequently, it was during the reign of King Ahaz that things really went down hill in Judah.

If things were not bad enough, the people were worshipping false Gods, too, led by the king himself. This unfortunately led to the spiraling downward of morality throughout the kingdom of Judah. The government officials were now corrupt. The wealthy, immoral leaders were taking the fields and the possessions of the poor. They had robbed men of clothes, women of homes, and children of their inheritance. They refused to listen to the other prophets who were warning them. They hated good, and loved evil. The land was now so polluted by their deeds, that God told them they would no longer have “rest.” The defiled land was going to vomit them out! Jerusalem would be so utterly destroyed, that the mountain of Zion would be like a plowed field, and Jerusalem would become a heap of ruins.

To make things worse, the judges were taking bribes, and many of the so-called “prophets” were lying and telling fortunes for money. Although I was full of power by the spirit of God, many of the prophets were saying “peace” when there was no peace. In fact, before Babylon was even a world power, I was to tell the people of Judah they were going into captivity-- to Babylon! God was angry, and not only that, but because they listened to the false prophets, God was going to give them a time of darkness… a time with “no vision.” A time of not hearing from him at all.

During the time of King Ahaz, things were so apostate, that he stripped the temple of it’s gold and silver and sent it to Assyria as tribute. He set up a false altar in the house of God and sacrificed on it himself! Eventually, he just closed the doors to the temple altogether. Many of us who were still followers of Yahweh were definitely in the minority.Things really did seem hopeless.

Isaiah and I warned the people of their sins, and the judgments to come! There was more, so much more. But I especially felt the heart of God in all this! He pleaded with the people! After all he had done delivering them from Egypt and bringing them into the promised land! He did not care about their sacrifices so much. What he really wanted was the heart of his people. He wanted them to do justly! Love mercy! And walk humbly with him, their God!

Thankfully, after pronouncing judgment on a nation, God often would console the believing remnant. I was able to bring that message, too. He promised to surely gather Israel again after being scattered. He promised that we would have a king, once again, who would pass through the gate. (That must mean, we would also have a wall, and a gate in it!) In the last days, God told me, many surrounding nations would gather against Jerusalem for war, but the Lord, well, he had different ideas!. He planned to defeat Israel’s enemies! A very special ruler, Messiah, would be born in Bethlehem! Out of Bethlehem this divine Ruler would come forth to God, from everlasting. And in the last days, this “shepherd” was going to show Israel wonders, just like in the days when we came out of Egypt. And, further, he gave another wonderful promise! He would cast all our sins into the depths of the sea!

Want to hear more words of encouragement? Often in the word of God, mountains symbolize nations. I love this part. In the end times, the Mountain of the Lord’s house (the nation of Israel) will be established on the TOP of the Mountains (other nations.) Wow! Israel will be the head, and not the tail! All of the nations will flow to Israel someday to pay homage! What a day that will be. These words of encouragement upheld us through some very dark days in Judah!

Well, in the meantime, King Ahaz died. He certainly left a disaster in his wake-- the temple boarded up, the government in total corruption, and the people worshipping false Gods! Not only that, by now, the Syrians and the country of Israel to the north (which had not fallen yet) had defeated cities in Judah, and carried away 200,000 people. 120,000 valiant men were killed in Judah in one day! Much of the country was taken during the reign of King Ahaz.

Thankfully, though, God gave us King Hezekiah next! Such a good king he was! He listened to my words from Yahweh, and the words of Isaiah, and the others, too. The reforms of Hezekiah, were nothing short of miraculous! He rededicated and reopened the temple, removed all the high places where people worshipped false gods and Yahweh, too, (which was NOT allowed, ) and put the land back in order. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.

I wish I could tell you, that from then on everything was easy for God’s people! But it was not….Remember, in the sixth year of Hezekiah, Israel fell. In 614 BC, only eight years after the Assyrians took out the country of Israel, they came after us. They took all of the fortified cities of Judah including Lachich… and came to the gates of Jerusalem. Isaiah had prophesied the Assyrian army would flow over the cities of Judah like a mighty river and come up to the very neck of Judah--Jerusalem! But King Hezekiah and Isaiah prayed before the Lord and He delivered us! You must read the account in the book of Isaiah: 37, 38. What an amazing story of deliverance!

One thing I learned through it all is persistence! Never give up praying! Just when you think all is lost, God sends a Hezekiah.

What is my word for you, today? What advice could I give you? I see America right now with a corrupt and proud government, too. The false “prophets,” also known as the news media, the politicians, and the rich men (tech corporations), are all in alliance against the people of God. God will judge the country for this!

Persist in prayer! It may be that God will send you a Hezekiah! Keep praying. In the meantime, Look to the Lord! Wait for the God of your salvation. He will hear you! When you fall, you will arise. When you sit in darkness the Lord will be a light to you. He will bring you forth in the light and you will see his righteousness! (Micah 7: 8)

And if you become discouraged, remember my name. “Who is like Yahweh?” With Him watching over us, we have nothing to fear.