Messiah in the Minor Prophets Pt 3

Micah ministered just after Amos, from 750-700 BC. His ministry was to both Isreal and Judah. His primary message was that God judges and forgives sin.

His name means “Who is like Yahweh?” He most likely ministered during the same time as Isaiah, Amos, and Hosea.

The structure of Micah is cyclical. It is based on two themes that repeat themselves- judgment and salvation. One of the ways Micah preaches the message of salvation is to highlight the coming Messiah.

In Micah’s day there was anything but peace and security. Micah began his ministry around 750 B.C. In 722 B.C. Assyrian conquered and exiled the nothern capital of Samaria. During Micah’s ministry the Assyrian armies would have been roaming the country. There was spiritual and political corruption and unrest. It would have been a very fearful time to be a Jew.

In fact much of Micah’s message would only have added to that fear. Before Micah preached about peace and security he first preached a message of sin and judgment.

Micah 1:2–7 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. 3 For behold, the Lord is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. 4 And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place. 5 All this is for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? 6 Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the open country, a place for planting vineyards, and I will pour down her stones into the valley and uncover her foundations. 7 All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces, all her wages shall be burned with fire, and all her idols I will lay waste, for from the fee of a prostitute she gathered them, and to the fee of a prostitute they shall return.

In Micah 3:12 he prophesied that God would grind Jerusalem to nothing more than a pile of rubble!

Micah 3:12 ESV

12 Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.

Why did God prophesy such great destruction and judgement? Because the sin of the people, especially the rulers, was very great.

Micah 3:1–3 ESV

1 And I said: Hear, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to know justice?— 2 you who hate the good and love the evil, who tear the skin from off my people and their flesh from off their bones, 3 who eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them, and break their bones in pieces and chop them up like meat in a pot, like flesh in a cauldron.

“Micah compares these oppressors to cannibals who strip off the flesh of the poor and cook them in a pot. Exploitation of the poor was the same as physical violence in God’s eyes because it deprived the poor of both their land and their livelihood.”

Fuhr, Al; Yates, Gary. The Message of the Twelve (p. 193). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Yet, there God always preserved a small remnant who remained faithful to Him. And God offers them hope for security in the coming Messiah.

A. Messiah was Israel's hope for security

There is coming a day when Messiah will establish His kingdom, and it will be a kingdom of great security! In what way will his kingdom be secure?

Micah 4:1 ESV

1 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it,

Messiah’s kingdom will be greater than all other kingdoms! Both physically (probably) and in terms of importance (significance). Jerusalem will be the center of the entire world.

Micah 4:2 ESV

2 and many nations shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Nations will come to Jerusalem, to the throne of David, so that Messiah will teach them His ways and so that the nations will walk in His paths!

What a contrast to the kingdoms of earth today!

Illustration: Man going to a Pride parade in Washington state, and simply reading the bible. Insulted, assaulted, bible kicked around on the ground and thrown in the toilet. 10 police officers showed up and arrested the preacher!

Folks we are strangers and exiles in this world. We don’t belong. The world hates us and ungodly people want to destroy us. All those who live godly will suffer persecution.

But there is coming a day when Messiah will set up his kingdom. It will be a secure kingdom and all the nations will travel to Jerusalem to learn his ways and walk in his paths! For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the world of the Lord from Jerusalem!

Micah 4:3 (ESV)

3 He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away;

“He shall judge between many peoples and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away.” We won’t need supreme courts, we won’t have to worry about the filibusterer being abolished, or who gets elected to congress. Jesus will bring perfect justice and perfect judgement to the people. He will decide disputes for the nations. No need for litigation or prosecuting attorneys. Jesus will reign in righteousness! What security that will bring!

Isaiah 11:3–4 (ESV)

3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

His justice will be so complete that nations will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks, nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

Micah 4:3 ESV

3 He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore;

We won’t have to worry about the Putins starting WWIII, or Iraq developing nuclear weapons. There will be worldwide, absolute peace because of Jesus! This kind of security has been unknown in the history of the world. The security that Jesus will bring will be greater in its extend (every nation on earth), and in its degree (all weapons of warfare will be repurposed, and nations will never learn war anymore! No military, no weapons development- the arms race will be over, no thought of war at all!) When Messiah reigns and judges the earth there will be peace and security unlike anything we can begin to imagine. But this kind of peace and security will only happen when Messiah comes. Until that time Jesus told us what we can expect.

Matthew 24:6–7 ESV

6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

But when Jesus comes and establishes His kingdom that will all be gone! What will the people of the nations do instead of warfare?

Micah 4:4 ESV

4 but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

We will sit under our own vine and under our own fig tree. We will not have to worry about food or our property being stolen. There will be nothing on the entire earth that will make us afraid.

Micah 4:5 ESV

5 For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.

Micah brings us back to present day reality with this verse- right now all the people walk in the name of its god (humanism, secularism, individualism), but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. We can look forward to the coming kingdom and focus on it, because when we do it effects our walk right now- and on into forever and ever.

The kingdom of Messiah will be forever and ever. Peace, safety, security forever and ever, Amen! Even for the most vulnerable of people!

Micah 4:6–7 ESV

6 In that day, declares the Lord, I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away and those whom I have afflicted; 7 and the lame I will make the remnant, and those who were cast off, a strong nation; and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion from this time forth and forevermore.

Jesus will be our shepherd and we will dwell secure in his care forever.

Micah 5:4–5 (ESV)

4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. 5 And he shall be their peace.

B. Jesus is our hope for eternal security

As believers we too hope in Jesus. He is our hope for eternal life, eternal security!

1 Peter 1:3–5 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Your hope / your inheritance cannot perish, it cannot be defiled, and it will never fade away. How do we know that? Because it is being kept in heaven for you and it is being guarded by God’s power all the way to the end!

Revelation 22:1–2 ESV

1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Revelation 22:3 ESV

3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.

Revelation 22:4–5 ESV

4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Here is our security! We will reign with Jesus, with the Messiah, forever and ever!

Application: What is your hope? What are you trusting in for security? Is your hope in your bank account or your 401k? Is it in your elected officials? Is it in your family or friends? The only hope that will never fail and will always hold you secure is Jesus. He is coming again and we will rule and reign with him forever and ever!

Proposition: Through the message of the Messiah God offers His people hope for the future.

Question: How does God’s message of the Messiah in the minor prophets offer us hope?

Jesus offers us hope through: 1). Reversal

2). Restoration and redemption

3). Security

IV. The message of the Messiah in Zephaniah offers hope through rejoicing

Zephaniah preached and prophesied to the southern kingdom of Judah from 640-621 B.C. (just 35 years before Jerusalem was conquered and sent into Babylonian captivity).

“Zephaniah preached to the people of Judah in the years following the disastrous reign of Manasseh, Judah’s most wicked king. Idols were embedded within the fabric of society, the law was absent, and the people lived under the illusion that God was either impotent or unwilling to act (1:12).”

Fuhr, Al; Yates, Gary. The Message of the Twelve (p. 238). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Zephaniah 1:12 ESV

12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill.’

Zephaniah’s name means “Watchman for Yahweh” and one of the main themes of his book is the Day of the Lord.

You can sum up the message of his book as follows: “Be ready! The day of the LORD will cast down the wicked and exalt the humble who seek God.”

Zephaniah begins with a message of judgment in chapter 1, he moves on to a call for repentance in chapter 2, and end with offering the people hope in chapter 3. And that hope centered on the coming of Messiah.

A. Messiah was Israel’s hope for rejoicing

Zephaniah 3:14–15 ESV

14 Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! 15 The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil.

Zephaniah 3:16–17 ESV

16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. 17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Mighty One who will save- Jesus will come as a mighty warrior to vanquish his enemies, but for those whom He love he will come as a mighty warrior to save!

Quiet you by his love- as a mother quiets a frightened child!

Zephaniah 3:18–20 ESV

18 I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach. 19 Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. 20 At that time I will bring you in, at the time when I gather you together; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says the Lord.

B. Jesus is our hope for rejoicing

Acts 2:23–28 ESV

23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him, “ ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. 27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

Application: What is your source of joy and rejoicing?

Proposition: Through the message of the Messiah God offers His people hope for the future.

Question: How does God’s message of the Messiah in the minor prophets offer us hope?

Jesus offers us hope through:

1). Reversal

2). Restoration and redemption

3). Security

4). Rejoicing

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