“Bible philosophy is not an abstract monologue but a Dialogue with God”
(anonymous).
Several terms are associated with religious topics in
discussions and some terms overlap and some offer a distinct difference. Only
the differences in meanings will be discussed here: religion, spirituality,
religious, and philosophy.
Religion is
defined as the belief and worship of a superhuman with controlling powers,
especially a personal God or gods. It involves a relationship with God; and
further defined as a system of faith. In the worldly sense, it is a pursuit or
interest which someone ascribes supreme importance such as “Consumerism is the
new religion;” or “I religiously
brush my teeth every morning.” The Dali Lama expresses his stance as “My
religion is kindness.” Generally speaking, the consensus of most scholars is
that to be a true religion, there must be a god. Belief in God is what
determines a religion. Buddhists do not believe in a god, but instead, they
believe that people can become godlike.
Some people claim to be spiritualbut not religious; this stance is also known as “spiritual but not
affiliated.” The basis for this terminology describes a group of people who
take issue with organized religion’s claim to be the only or most important
means of furthering spiritual growth. Being spiritual means that a person does
not need a brick-and-mortar building or community. Furthermore, they do not believe
they have to be involved with an organized church to live a life of faith.
How many times have you heard someone say that they feel
closer to God in the woods or other places in nature where they can find peace
and meditate on Godly thoughts? I have
heard many testimonies about leaving a church. Some were about false teachings,
the pastor acted like a dictator, women not respected, dogmatic doctrine was shoved
down their throats that claimed that if you did not believe their way, you
would go to hell and the worst of all the sexual harassment from clergy. Having
suffered some of those experiences, I believe it’s no wonder that people
embrace spirituality. However, not everyone having bad experiences abandons
churches entirely. They try to find denominations that seriously and unbiased
offer them fellowship and Bible teachings, not someone else’s made-up doctrine.
Philosophyat its core questions the nature of the universe and existence
that do not necessarily presume the reality of God. Generally, it is a rational
investigation whereas religion often
makes the same kind of truth claims but does not claim to base it on reason or
rationality, but instead it is based on other things like faith. Philosophy of Religion is the branch of
philosophy that is concerned with the philosophical study of religion,
including arguments over the nature and existence of God, religious language, miracles, prayer,
the problem of evil, and the relationship between religion and other value-systems such as science and ethics.
In conclusion, each stance on religion, being religious, spiritual, or philosophical can overlap with each other to some extent, but they each can stand alone. Your personal experiences will determine your stance on a belief system.
Note: I highly recommend that readers refer to the New Testament books
of the Bible as a reference source. Church
in the context of this article means a community of believers.
Referencing
the Christian groups that the Apostle Paul and other apostles oversaw, Paul was
pleased with the progress and steadfastness of maintaining the correct and
moral doctrine of the Philippian and Thessalonian churches. In comparison, Paul
found serious doctrinal and moral problems at Corinth and Galatia. (Grudem,
1994). Here we see examples of more pure churches and two who are less pure and
perhaps false churches. As a preventive measure, pure and very pure Christian groups,
created in churches, are discouraged. Instead unity is encouraged and its
degree of freedom from division among true Christians. The term, “true Christians,”
is compared to Christians who claim the faith in name only. There is the
concern that the latter group may put the unity of a church in question. However,
we are encouraged to keep working for the unity of true believers (Bromiley in
EDT, page 1127-28).
What is a church?
In general consensus among Biblical scholars,
the church is the community of all true believers for all time (Eph. 5:25; 1:
22-23; Matt. 16:18). Christ builds the churches according to the pattern set by
God in the Old Testament. However, new privileges and blessings are given, by
God, to the people of God in the New Testament (Grudem, 1994). George Ladd (1974)
defined a church as the Kingdom, but not the Kingdom itself. Jesus’ disciples
belong to the Kingdom as the Kingdom belongs to them, but they are not the
Kingdom. The Kingdom is the rule of God; the church is a society of man.
McGrath
(2011) reminds us that there us is a visible and in invisible church. The invisible
church is as God sees it. We cannot see the spiritual condition of people’s
heart. We see the visible church as its members come to worship and outward
evidence of inward spiritual change (2Tim. 2:19; Heb. 12:23).
What makes a church more pure?
Ephesians
5: 26-27 gives us one example to follow; other requirements in accordance are
as follows:
Biblical doctrine [correct
preaching of the Word]
Correct use of the sacraments
Correct use of church
doctrine
Genuine heartfelt
worship
Effective prayer [not
for show]
Effective witness
Effective fellowship
Bible church government
Spiritual power in ministry
Personal holiness of
the life among the congregation
Care for the poor
Love for Christ
(Grudem, 1994).
A word of caution
Classical liberal Protestantism is humanistic and its
approach for primarily human-centered dogma instead of God-centered doctrine.
Signs to look for are basically as follows:
Shifting to impure doctrine,
activities, preaching and counseling and the preacher becoming dictator-like.
False teaching may begin with a certain verse that the preacher selects to
prove a point without presenting other verses on the same topic. I have seen
churches split over this conduct. In addition, look for a repeated emphasis in
counseling for you to seek self-help articles in magazines or secular psychologists.
Take note if there is a decrease in times of prayer and application of
Scripture to daily situations. (Grudem, 1994; Berry, 2019).
Conclusion
The Christian church is a group of Christ-loving, Bible
believing people of all social levels. They meet in homes, large buildings, or
the great outdoors to praise and worship God. Church groups are not perfect and
are composed of the saved and sinners alike who want to hear the Word of God. The church at large, no matter the denomination,
to be as pure as possible.
Sources
Bromiley, G. W. In EDT,
pp. 1127-28.
Grudem, W. (1994). Systematic theology: An introduction to Bible doctrine. Grand
Rapids, MI. Zondervan.
Luther, M, (1539). On the Councils to the Church.
McGrath, A. (2011). Christian theology: An introduction (5th
ed.). Malden MA. Wiley-Blackwell.
To more fully understand the story of Noah, it is pertinent to view the lineage and his connection to Enoch, his great-grandfather. Enoch ruled over the City of Enoch that was founded by Cainin. Enoch was also a prophet of God, scribe, and the seventh generation from Adam. Enoch recorded that God sent angels and Watchers to ensure safety and as helpers for His people. The account of the angels and Watchers is presented in a separate paper available at this site.
Adam
created ca. 3815 BCE
Seth born
3685 BCE
Enos born
3580 BCE
Cainan
[Cainin] born 3490 BCE
Mahalaleel
born 3420 BCE
Jared born
3355 BCE
Enoch born
3193 BCE
Methuselah
born 3128 BCE [lived 969 years]
Lamech born
2941 BCE
Noah born
2759 BCE
Prior to
the flood, people had long life spans as recorded in Genesis 5. Days were from
sunup to sundown. A year was measured as Earth’s rotation around the sun just
as it does today. Adam lived 930 years and Noah was born ten generations later;
20 years after Adam died. From Adam to Noah was a span of 1056 years. Noah was
500 years old when God called him to build the huge vessel. Traditionally,
there is 369 years between the death of Noah and the birth of Moses. Moses is
credited with compiling the Book of Genesis; most of which came from the
writings of Enoch.
The Midrash Tanchuma states that before Noah
[Noach] was born, God cursed the ground for Adam’s sake: “…with toil shall you
eat of it all the days of your life.”
When Adam asked God how much longer the curse would last, God responded,
“…Until a person is born circumcised” When Lamech saw that his son was born
circumcised, he said …”this one will bring about our consolation.” It is
assumed that Noah studied the Torah because
he knew that he was to take seven kosher animals and birds into the
vessel along with non-kosher animals and birds two-by-two [male and
female]. The Midrash Tanchuma also states that Noah passed away after the flood
and after he saw the world was settled with 70 nations descended from him.
The Birth of Noah
Lamech was
not only surprised by his son’s prenatal circumcision but in addition he was
born with white skin (white as snow) and red as a rose [newborns often have red
areas]; his hair was long and white as wool and his eyes were beautiful and
full of light. His fingers were not webbed as well [earlier humans had webbed
fingers]. Upon his birth, the child immediately spoke to the Lord. Lamech
thought that his son looked like the offspring of angels and thought his wife
had been unfaithful. Lamech went to his father, Methuselah, to discuss the
matter. Methuselah in turn went to his father, Enoch, to inform him of this
unusual event.
In the Book of Enoch sections
106.13-14-16, Enoch tells Methuselah that the child is Lamech’s and he is to
name him Noah [connected to the Hebrew word for comfort]. Enoch further tells
Methuselah that the Lord would do new things on Earth and that he had seen
those things in a vision and those that he, Enoch, had revealed to him
[Methuselah]. Enoch also tells his son that Noah, his wife, his three sons and
their wives would be saved from the coming of the Great Flood.
The Torah and the Bible say
that God walked with Noah and when Noah was 500 years old, God called him to
build the ark. The Book of Noah relates that God further tells him that the
angels were in the process of building the wooden structure and when it was
finished, He [God] would put His hand on it and keep it safe. He would also
make a change so no dry land would remain empty.
Immediately before the departure of Noah and his family to board the ark, Noah relates to Lamech that the Earth is shaken and has tilted and hot springs are running cold. Professor Charles Hapgood determined that the North Pole shifted from the area of Hudson Bay [an inland seaindenting east-central Canada] to its present position. He posits that when the poles shifted a huge ice melt occurred and supported the Great Flood. Hapgood is known for his works on crustal shifts. Albert Einstein corresponded with Hapgood about pole shifts, supported the theory, helped with the study, and wrote the foreword to Earth’s Shifting Crust.”
“Just because the
Earth is massive, this does not mean it cannot flip very quickly. The Earth is
spinning, like a top, and in a zero g, and zero friction environment, it
doesn’t take much more than a
gradual buildup of an opposed magnetic field, to change that top from positive
stability to negative stability, until eventually, some minor perturbation
triggers the rapid switch, whereby the top wobbles, and then inverts, resuming
positive stability, even whilst it retains its angular momentum. A little force
is all it takes to persuade a spinning top that it is better spinning the other
way up. Every 12,000 years the polarity of the ambient magnetic field (about
the Earth) inverts.”
White, Black, and Red
Skin
Consensus among many
anthropologists is that all early mankind had black skin [shades of brown were
included in this category]. White skin was unusual and sometimes considered to
be albino. Noah was not an albino. Red skin came as a combination of the
colors. Due to intermarriages, they posit, skins began changing to various
colors as well as eye color. Biblical scholars/anthropologists in tracing the
genealogy of biblical families report that Abraham was black and had two black
wives and then Sarah who was white. Moses married a black woman in Cush
[Ethiopia/political]; Joseph married an Egyptian; sons of Jacob married
Canaanite women of various colors. From these intermarriages,
scholars/anthropologists say that we now have many skin and eye colors. Jesus
is described as having skin the color of burnished brass [Revelation, Letter to
Thyatira].
Also Prior to the
Great Flood
Sacrifices were made to God before the Great Flood and this rite was continued by Noah following the flood. Some of the occupations included farming (Cain); shepherds (Abel); musicians (Jubal); metal works (Tubal-cain); they ate and drank and married. There was one city known (City of Enoch founded by Cain) but there may have been more. In Genesis 6, Nephilim are mentioned and described as being mighty men who were old men of renown. A very good description of these people can be found in the Book of Enoch. There are also mentioned angels fallen angels, Watchers, and human-angel hybrids. Wickedness and violence within humanity began early such as Cain killing Abel, Lamech also killed. Noah was the exception because he walked with God.
The Flood
For 40 days, the flood was upon the Earth; the
water rose 15 cubits above the highest mountain. The water covered the Earth
for 150 days and then the rain ceased and the springs of the deep closed and
the water began to recede. In the seventh month on the seventeenth day, the ark
came to rest atop Mount Ararat. The water continued to ebb away until the first
day of the tenth month when mountain peaks could be seen. Forty days later,
Noah opened the window and sent out a raven that did not return. [Ravens eat
carrion and no doubt found much of it in the water]. He then sent out a dove,
but it found no perch and returned. Noah waited another seven days and sent the
dove out again. The dove returned, but this time it had an olive tree twig in
its beak. After another seven days, the dove once again was sent out, but it
did not return this time. In Noah’s 601 year, on the first day of the first
month, the water had receded from the Earth. By the27th day of the second
month, the Earth had dried up. The event had lasted 364 days. Noah then built
an altar and offered up burnt offerings to God and God was well pleased.
After the Flood
God placed all of Earth’s creatures in the care of Noah and his sons. And then God made a covenant with Noah to never destroy the Earth with water again. He set a rainbow in the clouds as a sign of the covenant and now a reembrace for us.
After the flood, God told Noah and his family to venture out to repopulate the world. Noah and his wife settled near where the ark landed on the Mount of Ararat. He lived 350 years after the flood.
Shem lived 600 years and inherited
the Promised Land displacing the descendants of Ham. Shem had five sons and he
is the ancestor of all Semites. Twenty-six nations were formed by his
descendants.
Japheth inherited the coastal lands
around the Mediterranean Sea as well as the islands. He had seven sons who established 14 nations.
He and Shem lived in harmony with each other. Japheth’s descendants lived to
the north and west of Israel and their language was considered Indo-European.
Ham occupied what today are
northern Iraq, Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya. He had four sons and whose
descendants founded 30 nations. Ham’s son, Canaan, was cursed for his error
with Noah, but the curse landed on Ham as well.
The lands settled by Noah’s sons. Photo courtesy of Google Images.
Source
Black History in the Bible (2016). Biblical and Historical Evidence
of Black Hebrews).
The Real Book of Enoch resurfaced at the beginning of the 17th century when it was discovered in Ethiopia, written in an Ethiopic language. In fact, the book of Enoch is preserved in its entirety in the Church at Ethiopia, and is included in their Bible. The Ethiopians claim it was divine scripture. [Written before the Great Flood].– [http://scriptural-truth.com/stuff/BookOfEnoch.pdf ].
The term “Book of Jasher” is a bit misleading. This was not a book written by someone named “Jasher”. In fact the word “Jasher” (Hebrew: Yashar) means “Upright” so that the Hebrew Sefer HaYashar is “The Upright Book”. The definite article “Ha” tips us off that this is not a person’s name but a modifier for the word “book”.
Book of Methuselah:One of the books attached to of the Book of Enoch. [Written before the Great Flood].
Book of Noah: One of the books attached to the Book of Enoch.
[Written before the Great Flood].
Eisenstein, A. and Hapgood, C. (2006). The Einstein and Hapgood Papers,
Crustal Shift/Physics Forums.
Kabbala/Zohar: Kabbalah is the ancient Jewish tradition of mystical interpretation of the Bible, first transmitted orally and using esoteric methods (including ciphers). It reached the height of its influence in the later Middle Ages and remains significant in Hasidism. The Zohar (Hebrew: זֹהַר, lit.”Splendor” or “Radiance”) is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five books of Moses) and scriptural interpretations as well as material on mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology.
Kranz, Jeffrey (2013). What was it like before Noah’s flood?In Bible Facts.
Midrash Tanchuma The genre of Jewish literature known as Midrash has been poetically described as “the hammer that awakens the slumbering sparks on the anvil of the Bible.” The Midrashic process utilizes a variety of methods, including expositions, explanations, gematria, plays on words, legends, and parables, to broaden our understanding of the full meaning of the biblical text.
New King James Version Study Bible (2nd ed). (2007).
Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
[Genesis, Ezekiel,
Isiah, I Chronicles, Matthew, Luke, Hebrews, I and II Peter]
Torah: (Judaism) the scroll of parchmenton which the first five books of the Hebrew Scripture is written; is used in a synagogue during services. Judaism – the monotheistic religion of the Jews having its spiritual and ethical principles embodied chiefly in the Torah and in the Talmud.
Yalkut Shimoni: The Yalkut Shimoni (Hebrew ילקוט שמעוני), or simply Yalkut, is an aggadic compilation on the books of the Hebrew Bible. It is a compilation of older interpretations and explanations of Biblical passages, arranged according to the sequence of those portions of the Bible to which they referred.
That the Israelites conquered the Promised Land in “lightning fast
military strikes” might be an exaggeration. It was more like a steady stream of
attacks as they progress through the land. Joshua (chapters 1-12 NIV) related
his conquests in north, central, and south Canaan, in which he gave God full
credit for each victory. In chapters
13-21, Joshua allotted the lands to the tribes, but some of these lands had
areas yet to be conquered (Zondervan, 2009, pp. 235-239). Judges had a
different account which alluded that Canaan was first allotted to the tribes
before the conquests began. In this
essay, I will show the background of Joshua and the Judges and why the passage
in Judges may be often misinterpreted concerning the conquest and
allotments.
Joshua
and Caleb were the only two people who left Egypt and entered Canaan after the
40-year sojourn in the desert after the people had sinned against God. Joshua
was the military, right-hand man to Moses and chosen by God to lead the people
into Canaan following Moses’ death (Zondervan, 2009, p.220). Joshua was the main author of his book with
the high priest Phinehas, an eyewitness, who wrote the concluding chapters. The
time period was late Bronze Age and beginning of the Iron Age, 1250-1050 B.C.
(Note in NIV on Joshua). According to
Zondervan, the conquests began in the 1240s BCE and the events written down at
the time of 1Kings (p. 220). Joshua and Judges were grouped in the Old
Testaments in the section of Prophets. Joshua wrote this book to record the
history of the conquest of Canaan, the Promised Land of which a summary can be
found in Joshua 21: 43-45 (Hill & Walton, 2009, p. 217).
The
time period for Judges is about 1220-1050 B.C. and the setting was the Promised
Land, same as Joshua. This was also about the time of the rise of Samuel who
was thought to haves written the Book of Judges (Zondervan, 2009, pp. 238-239).
The purpose of writing Judges was to assert that the judgment of God regarding
sin was absolutely certain as was His forgiveness for those who chose to repent
(Note in NIV on Judges). Another purpose of Judges was to explain what
theologically occurred between the times of Joshua and David (Hill &
Walton, 2009, p. 239). With the death of Joshua (ca.1350 B.C.), the original
conquest soldiers had generally died out and the tribes were scattered
throughout the land with no centralized leadership (Zondervan, 2009, pp.
238-239; Merrill, 1991, pp.161-162). Judah resumed the conquests following
Joshua’s death. In spite of Judah’s successes, Israel fell into its old pattern
of disobedience by forsaking God and taking up with the local idolatry, and
then followed with a period of turning back to God for deliverance from their
enemies (Zondervan, 2009, pp. 238-239).
Regarding
the possible misinterpretation found in Judges about Joshua’s conquest of
Canaan, the matter may reside in the possible wrong chronological order of the
first two chapters, according to Merrill (1991, pp. 161-162). He suggested that
Judges 1:1-7 reviewed the events of Judah’s victories following the death of
Joshua. Then, he said that verse eight was the account of Judah’s conquest of
Jerusalem before Joshua’s death and further said that vs. 1:9-2:7 told of the
periods that followed the devastation of Jerusalem by Judah but it preceded the
death of Joshua. According to Merrill
(1991), Joshua’s death was described in Judges 2:8-9 as it had been in Joshua
24: 29-30 as well as Joshua’s contemporaries being mentioned before in Joshua
(pp. 161-162).
These two narratives represent to me a very good example of why we need to seek out the exegesis and hermeneutics of biblical passages. If Merrill (1991) is correct in his opinion that the opening two chapters of Judges are out of sequence in the writer’s efforts to review Joshua’s conquests before delving into what happened next, then that makes Joshua and Judges in sync with each other (pp. 161-162). Joshua, in my opinion, knew that entering Canaan was an historic event that should be recorded and which he did. He and Phinehas were eyewitnesses and knew exactly what happened. Twenty years or more later, the account in Judges was written, probably by Samuel who may have confused the order of the events, and whose purpose was to make sure the Israelites understood that God certainly did not tolerate sin, but His forgiveness was also a certainty (Note in NIV on Judges).
A thought on theology verses history is that I quite frankly do not see them as adversaries. For example Joshua in chapter 5: 13-15, where he is confronted by a being who said that he was the commander of the Lord’s army. This indicates that the Lord will do the fighting and will enable the Israelites to possess the land. This coincides with Joshua’s giving credit God for all the victories mentioned earlier in this essay ((Hill & Walton, 2009, p. 227). From Joshua we can learned that we need to give God credit for helping us, be faithful, obey Him, and that He keeps His promises. From Judges, we are reminded that we look to God for forgiveness of sin and to avoid it in the first place.
Conclusion
I do not find that theology verses history, generally speaking,
because the combination is often complimentary. An example is Joshua: God
appointed him to lead the Israelites into Canaan because God had made a promise
and the Mosaic Covenant to award this land to them. God was involved all the
way. Joshua gave God credit for all his victories. He followed all of God’s
instructions. The conquest of Canaan was historical – the promise was kept,
God’s people had a homeland. Samuel opens Judges with an account of Joshua’s
conquests and immediately brings God into the equation by telling the people
that God did not tolerate sin, but would forgive them if they repented.
References
Hill, A.E. & Walton, J.H.
(2009). A survey of the Old Testament.
Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan.
Life
Application Study Bible (NIV). (2005). Carol Stream,
IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
Merrill, E.H. (1991). An historical survey of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academia
Zondervan
Handbook to the Bible (4th ed.). (2009). Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
The prophet Micah, who spoke of impending judgments and promises of blessings to come on Israel and Judah, was born in Moresheth Gath located in Judah and was a contemporary of Isaiah in Jerusalem and Hosea in northern Judea (NKJV). He served God in capacity of prophet during the latter part of the eighth century (752-699 B.C.) throughout the governances of kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (NKJV). Micah faced the crisis of political and social upheavals and Assyrian invasions that began in in 730 B.C. and lasted until 701 B.C. His purpose was to warn God’s people, his original audience, under the condition that unless they repented and were pardoned, judgment was coming. Key areas involved in in Micah’s book were Samaria, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem (NIV). The main ideas discussed in this book are the indictment of injustice against the people, the throne of David to be filled by a Deliverer, and what God required of His people (Hill & Walton, 2009, p. 641). In this essay, the focus will be on Micah 5:1-5 (NIV) with a background summary up to chapter five, preceding the focused passage.
The
prophet opposed the social and moral deviations of the time – corrupt rulers,
and priests and false prophets who cried “Peace then there was none” (vs. 2-3; Merrill,
1991, p. 266). Regarding the priests, Solomon’s temple was in use and the
people would have been under the Mosaic Covenant at that time. Micah
prophesized that God’s coming judgment was to be against Samaria and Jerusalem because
the rulers and priests had turned to idolatry and cruel treatment of the poor
and women and children that broke the Covenant with God (Halley, 1962, p. 288).
In chapter six, Micah brings a lawsuit against them on behalf of God for
breaking the covenant. He proclaimed that God would punish them, but later
would restore them (Alexander & Alexander, 2009, pp. 498-499). What God
wanted from His people was “right behavior,” not manipulated rituals as the
proper response to God’s anger” (Hill & Walton, 2009, p. 641).
Micah wrote
his account as Hebrew poetry using parallelism, imagery, and figures of speech
and the intent of the poetry is both figurative and literal. The interpretation
is as follows:
Micah 5: 1-5 (NIV) — The Promise of a Deliverer
“1 Marshal your
troops now, city of troops,
for a siege is laid against us.
They will strike Israel’s ruler
on the cheek with a rod.”
Mighty
Jerusalem would be attacked and destroyed by the Assyrians and the city’s king
could not prevent it (NIV). Some see the strike on the ruler as a future event
when Christ was stuck at the crucifixion trial (Mark 15: 16-20), and still
further in the future, Christ would strike back (Rev. 19).
2 “But
you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans[b]
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.”
The prophet looked ahead to a time when Jerusalem will be the
religious center of the world and that Bethlehem in the district of Ephrathah would
be the birth place of the Messiah (the Deliverer of God’s people). This is said
to be the clearest prophecy of where the birth would occur (Alexander &
Alexander, 2009, pp. 498-499; Halley, 1962, p.289). A reminder of who the
Messiah will be is in the recognition of Him from ancient times, at the
Creation for example.
“3 Therefore
Israel will be abandoned
until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return
to join the Israelites.”
While
verse two speaks of Christ’s birth – His first coming – verse three speaks of
His second coming and His time of rule. Zion is most likely a reference to “she
who is in labor.” The remnant are those never forgotten by God and will delight
in the coming of Christ (NIV).
“4 He
will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.”
Jesus
Christ will rule (Rev. 20: 4-6) and His brethren mentioned above are those who
believe in Him. He will be as David who obeyed God and placed his trust in Him.
His greatness will extend all over the earth and He will give eternal life to
His people, He will be the Good Shepherd (Painter, 2007).
“5 And
he will be our peace
when the Assyrians invade our land
and marches through our fortresses.
We will rise against them seven shepherds,
even eight leaders of men . . .”
As
the ruler, Christ will bring peace. This confirms that it will be Christ, not
the leaders who will bring the peace. Christ speaks of His peace in John 14:27.
The use of we and us implies His loyal people who will stand with Him to win
the battle. He will free them, defend them, and rule over their enemies. Micah
also predicted that the Assyrians would attack again. This came about in 612
B.C. and the enemy was defeated. The “seven
shepherds and eight leaders of men” is a figure of speech. Seven is a perfect
number and eight means they had more than enough to defeat the enemy (Painter,
2007; NIV).
Conclusion
Micah’s message from God could well apply to all nations in all times.
He faced the crisis of social and political unrest, the attacks from the
Assyrians, corruption in the temple and government. The people had returned to
idolatry and were treating the poor and women and children cruelly and in doing
so, they broke the covenant with God. Micah told the people they must repent
and be pardoned for the sins. He wrote his account in Hebrew poetry form in
parallelism, figures of speech, and imagery. Micah gives hope to the people
with the promise of a messiah and God’s restoration of their nation.
References
Alexander, D. & Alexander, P. (2009). Zondervan handbook to the Bible (4th ed.). Grand Rapids.
Halley, H.H. (1962). Halley’s Bible handbook: Billy Graham crusade edition (23 ed,). Minneapolis: MN: Grason Company.
Hill, A.E. & Walton, J. H. (2009). (3rd ed. ). A survey of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Life
application study Bible (NIV). (2005). Carol Stream,
IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
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Painter, L. (2007). Micah speaks a message from God to all the nations. Retrieved fromhttp://www.easyenglish.info/bible-commentary/micah-lbw.htm
