Today's Sufficient Grace

Micah 1:2 (ESV)

² Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and let the Lord God be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.

Micah’s predictions of future events are more numerous and specific than those of other prophets. There are three major discourses as Micah preached to the people of Judah.

"In this prophecy Micah defends his message against those who seek to silence him. Micah rebuffs their command to cease (v. 6). Then the Lord accuses the powerful of exploiting the defenseless (vv. 8, 9), and sentences them to exile because they have defiled the land (v. 10). Finally, the people are condemned for desiring false prophets who would tell them what they wish to hear (v. 11)." [1]

As is his custom, Micah follows his prophecy of judgment (1:1–2:11) with a prophecy of hope (vv. 12–13: “I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob; I will gather the remnant of Israel; I will set them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture, a noisy multitude of men. He who opens the breach goes up before them; they break through and pass the gate, going out by it. Their king passes on before them, the Lord at their head.” (Micah 2:12–13, ESV).

This prophecy that anticipates Sennacherib overrunning Judah also anticipates that the Great Shepherd of the Sheep will gather His chosen remnant and deliver them from the Assyrians.  This Shepherd will lead them on in a triumphant procession out of captivity.

What kind of King is our God?  He is our Shepherd-King.  He steps out of the ornate palace of privilege and walks among His people leading them through to a glorious end.  “I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.” (Ezekiel 34:15–16, ESV)

 

Thou Shepherd of Israel, and mine,
The joy and desire of my heart,
For closer communion I pine,
I long to reside where thou art:
The pasture I languish to find
There all, who their Shepherd obey.
Are fed, on thy bosom reclined,
And screened from the heat of the day.[2]

_______________________________________________
1.  Whitlock, L. G., Sproul, R. C., Waltke, B. K., & Silva, M. (1995). The Reformation study Bible: bringing the light of the Reformation to Scripture: New King James Version (Mic 2:6). Nashville: T. Nelson.
2. Charles Wesley.