Micah prophesied prior to the fall of Jerusalem and the
exile in Babylon. He did see the ruin of
the northern kingdom in Samaria but his prophetic words were primarily
addressed to the southern kingdom of Judah.
Here he speaks as though the people were already in exile in spite of
the fact that they are in their land. They,
however, are weak and beset on all sides by enemies. He has seen in the prophetic realm that there
will soon come a day when they, like their northern brothers, will no longer inhabit the Land. He knows that this is not simply because
their enemies are stronger and will besiege them but because of the sin that
Isaiah saw in yesterday's lesson. Judgment
begins at the house of God for we have the Word and we represent Him. One of the ways He prepares for Himself a
people is to purge them of sin via judgment.
We can cooperate willingly with that work, the work of the refiner's
fire, or we can force a more painful judgment by refusing to cooperate. Micah sees that ultimately a more glorious
result will come from this judgment when, later, the Lord judges the nations
and the righteous remnant reclaims their inheritance.
Son of David is a messianic title that sees a ruler like
David, from the line of David, restored to the throne and restoring the kingdom
of Israel. It was the primary messianic hope
of the people this earthly ruler and the earthly kingdom. The blind men see what so many of the religious
leaders do not, that Jesus is indeed the Son of David. Soon, as Jesus enters Jerusalem for the last
time in His earthly life, the crowds will proclaim Him in just this way and the
leaders will do their best to shut down their cries. Jesus asks what they want Him to do for them
and they want more than they ask of other passersby, they don't want money from
Him, they want what only He can give, healing.
How often we ask Him for less than He offers. They may be hoping for an earthly messiah but
they believe Jesus is more than that. Do
you?
As we move towards Advent we see the lessons, all of them,
asking us a simple question: what kind of kingdom are you praying for when you
pray the Lord's prayer? Preachers in our
day tell us to seek after stuff of earth and that suffering means there is
something wrong, God doesn't want His people to struggle, and Peter tells us to
expect suffering and not only to expect it but embrace it. He has seen how Jesus, the only righteous man
who ever lived, was treated by the world.
He has seen what it means to seek the kingdom of God not the kingdom of
earth. He knows what Jesus longed for,
worked for, died for, and he knows it isn't the stuff of earth. He says the end of all things is at hand, all
things created that is. As we head into
Advent let Him show you where you have your kingdoms mixed up and where you are
seeking something earthly and not heavenly.
Let Him do as He did as He went to Jerusalem, admit you have become
blind and ask Him to give back true sight.
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