God’s words always prove true. It is only when religious leaders add words which they think God should have said that lies enter in. When that happens it is not very long until those added words are revealed as lies.
I will praise and honor the Lord for He is both great and good. Every other thing which people worship is merely something which God created, or composed of things which God created. I will worship God, who is the real deal.
As I read this I was struck by the comparison of the 144,000 from the tribes of Israel who were marked with God’s seal before the final destruction and the vast crowd who emerged from the great tribulation. I have never fully understood the meaning of the 144,000. It is clearly significant, but is it literal, or merely symbolic? I can clearly see the symbolism. There are 12 tribes and 12 thousands from each tribe, but I am not sure what that symbolism means. I can think of numerous interpretations of the symbolism, but none of them provide me with any particular insight into living out my faith.
However, the great crowd in the next part represent a clear lesson to me. They are those who went through great suffering here on earth for their faith. It is possible that they represent just those who went through a particular time of suffering, but I believe they represent all of those who suffered for their faith throughout history. The day will come when those who suffered will stand before God and He will comfort them so that they will never suffer again. He will grant them joy and remove all sadness from them.
The summation of what the book of Micah is about is contained in chapter 6 verse 8. There Micah writes that God has told us what is good. Since God told us what is good, we know what is right. Therefore God wants us to do what is right, what is just, and to love mercy. He is not looking for us to make grand sacrifices. God just wants us to humbly walk with Him as we treat our fellow man with respect and dignity.
For today, One Year Bible Online links here. Christmas is coming soon. Let us remember what it is truly about, the birth of Jesus Christ. Let us strive to not be caught up in the commercialism which is what this season is about for many in our society today.
Every last one of God’s words prove true. If we take refuge in His words He will faithfully protect us. But be careful not to rely on your interpretation of His words when that interpretation goes beyond what God actually said.
I will serve God and I will praise Him. God has done great things. He listens to our prayers and speaks to us. He sees what we do and gives us guidance. Those who worship things made by man are as foolish and lacking as the things they worship. Those who place their trust in things made by man do not truly see and cannot hear the truth about the world.
The passage refers to 144,000 who will be sealed with God’s seal from among the tribes of Israel, 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes. There are arguments about whether this number is literal, or merely symbolic. I tend to think it is merely symbolic. Whether or not this number is literal, it is certainly symbolic. The number 12 indicates completeness. Twelve of something indicates a complete set. The number 1,000 indicates a number that cannot be easily counted. If there are 1,000 of something it means that there are so many they cannot truly be counted. So the number of those sealed is 12 times 12 times 1,000. This means to me that the number of the people of Israel who will be saved is a complete representation of all of the people of Israel.
Despite the symbolism I talked about in the last paragraph, it is clear from the next part of today’s passage that the Jews, the members of the people of Israel, who are sealed is a limited number, a very large, but still limited, number. This is not to in any way denigrate the Jews, the people of Israel. It is to point out that we have the 144,000 Jews who are sealed with God’s seal who are contrasted with the countless numbers of those who died in the great tribulation. I believe that this passage is very intentional in showing that while a large number of people of Jewish descent will enter into heaven, the total number of those who will die for their faith will be many more than that. There will be martyrs from every people and nation in large numbers. ,br>
Micah speaks about what God has done for Israel and what He has done for us. Micah asks what it is that we should offer God. Are we to offer God from our material resources? Does God require that we bring Him great wealth? Does he require that we sacrifice our children to Him? Micah tells us the answer in one of the most powerful passages in Scripture:
No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.
I was going to stop there, but as I read more of Micah’s condemnation of the evil which people do, I came upon this:
As for me, I look to the Lord for help.
I wait confidently for God to save me,
and my God will certainly hear me.
This was in contrast with the conflict and infighting between people within the same family that Micah said was the norm. But Micah did not have confidence in the Lord because of his righteousness. No, he tells us:
I will be patient as the Lord punishes me,
for I have sinned against him.
Let us not seek to determine who is more guilty before the Lord. There is more than enough guilt to go around. Rather, let us seek how we can work together to do good going forward.
I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Micah predicts that a day will come when a ruler over God’s people will arise from Bethlehem. In that day, God will destroy all armies and all defenses. He will get rid of all of the things we use to think we can take control of our lives away from God. Those nations and peoples who refuse to obey God will suffer the consequences of their actions. We are not called upon to make sacrifices to God from our worldly possessions or to make sacrifices of our children. These are not the things which God is asking of us. God has shown us what is good and desires that we do what is right, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him.
Micah warns that when a nation becomes dominated by merchants who use dishonest measures and cheating to acquire wealth and political leaders use violence and extortion to do the same the armies of destruction are on the way. When this happens attempts to save money will fail (inflation?) and plans for the future will fail. When we look around and there seems to be no one godly to be found, then we can be assured that destruction is on its way. However, Micah tells us how to face such a day. Let us wait confidently for God. Let us patiently submit as He punishes us for our sins, for we have all sinned. If we will do this, God will, in due time, take up our case and be on our side against our enemies. God will not stay angry forever. He will pardon our sins and have compassion on us. In that day, all of those who witness what God has done for us will stand amazed. I will trust in the Lord.
John continues to describe what he saw after the sixth seal was broken. He saw four angels who had been given the power to harm the land, sea, and what lived upon/within them. They were told to wait until God’s servants had been marked with His seal. The number marked with God’s seal was 144,000 from all of the tribes of Israel. This number had some significance to John and his early readers, but, besides the significance of being a multiple of 12, I do not know what it was.
In addition to that 144,000 from the tribes of Israel marked with God’s seal, there was(will be) a countless number of people gathered from every nation, every tribe, every people, and every language before God praising Him. John is telling us here that there will be people from every conceivable subgroup of mankind who will serve God by putting their faith in Christ. These people gathered before the throne of God praising God are those who came out of and through the great tribulation of life is this broken and sinful world. Whenever you look around and think that there are no righteous people left, remember this throng which will gather before God on that day to praise His name.
I will praise the name of the Lord. I will praise Him for all He has done. Anything else that we might give our worship to is but a created thing. It can have no power to do. The things which people worship aside from God cannot speak, cannot see, cannot hear, cannot smell. If we trust in them, we become just like them, unable to speak truly, unable to see what is real, unable to hear the truth, unable to smell corruption. I will not turn to worshiping idols, because the path to life and truth is fearing the Lord.
God’s words prove true and He will shield us when we turn to Him for protection. Let us not add anything to the words which God gives us for if we do we will be found to be liars and subject to God’s rebuke.
I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
Micah tells us that after a ruler of Israel is born in Bethlehem, the people of Israel will stand up to their foes and their enemies will be wiped out. It is a passage that helps us understand why the Jews of Jesus day were expecting a Messiah who would lead them to military victory. But in the very next segment God says that He will destroy their military, both offense and defense. He says that He will get rid of witchcraft and fortune-tellers, idols and idolatrous shrines. God promises in that day to pour out His vengeance on nations that refuse to obey Him.
The prophet asks what kind of sacrifice we should bring to God. He suggests several expensive sacrifices and even the sacrifice of our first born children, then he rejects them. He tells us that God has told us what He requires of us. God does not want the sacrifices of material goods, or of our children. He wants us to do what is right, to love mercy and to walk humbly with Him. Then the prophet turns his attention back to what the people are actually doing. He tells them that their homes are filled with treasures gained by cheating, that merchants use dishonest measures and scales, the rich gained their wealth using extortion and violence, and even the common people are so used to lying that they can no longer tell the truth. For all of this God is going to bring judgment.
Then Micah tells us how to face the times of judgment that are coming. He tells us to look to God for help, to confidently await the Lord’s salvation because it will come. If we fall, God will raise us up. If we are in darkness, God will be our light. We should patiently endure God’s punishment because we have sinned against Him. God will bring us into His light and righteousness. He will lift us up and we will see the day of His power. God will do mighty miracles for us and through us. The world will stand amazed at the power of God.
The writer saw four angels preparing to unleash destruction upon the earth. A fifth angel told them to wait until the seal of God was placed on those serving Him upon the earth. The writer tells us that 144,000 were marked from all the tribes of Israel. I do not understand the meaning of this passage, except that it indicates that those who are faithful before God will be marked and set aside from the judgment God is bringing.
After this, he saw a crowd to large to count standing before God praising Him. This crowd came from every tribe, nation, people and language. They are people who came out of the great suffering to stand before God. They washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb to make them white. No matter what we go through in this life, if we are faithful the day will come when we will stand before God and He will take away our hunger and thirst. The Lamb will lead us to springs of life-giving water and God will wipe away our tears. What a wonderful day that will be!
I will praise the Lord because He has given me the honor of serving Him. All other objects of worship are mere things. Nothing else compares to God and the mighty things He has done. I will praise God because He lives here in my heart and life.
The New Living Translation translates this proverb as “Every word of God is true.” The New American Standard Bible translates that as “Every word of God is tested.” The New International Version translates it as “Every word of God is flawless.” However, the translation I like best is the Common English Bible. It translates this as, “All God’s words are tried and true.” None of these translations contradict each other, but they each have slightly different connotations. The way the Common English Bible translates the next phrase fits it in with this first phrase the best as well.
“All God’s words are tried and true;
a shield for those who take refuge in him.”
If we take shelter in God, His words will provide us with a shield against assaults on our faith and our self-image (that’s not quite the word I am trying to get at there, but its close enough).
All of the translations agree that we should not attempt to pass our own words and thoughts off as God’s. If we do not follow that advice God will rebuke us and reveal us as liars. Again I like the Common English Bible translation best because it says that God will correct us. This reminds us that sometimes we convince ourselves that our words are God’s words and warns us against that as well. We should never place our own thoughts and words on an equal plane with those of God, whether in our own minds or in an attempt to mislead others.
