Salvation is of Jehovah

Salvation is of Jehovah (12:2-3; 17:10; 25:9; 26:1; 33:2, 6; 45:8, 17; 46:13; 49:6, 8; 51:5-6, 8; 52:7, 10; 56:1; 59:11, 16-17; 60:18; 61:10; 62:1, 11; 63:5; Titus 3:4-5)

Prophecies of Isaiah

There are a number of scriptures in Isaiah that find their fulfillment in the New Testament:  

7:14 (Matthew 1:22-23)

9:1-2 (Matthew 4:12-16) 

9:6 (Luke 2:11; Ephesians 2:14-18) 

11:1 (Luke 3:23, 32; Acts 13:22-23) 

11:2 (Luke 3:22)

28:16 (1 Peter 2:4-6; 40:3-5 (Matthew 3:1-3) 

42:1-4 (Matthew 12:15-21)

42:6 (Luke 2:29-32) 

50:6 (Matthew 26:67; 27:26, 30)

61:1-2 (Luke 4:17-19, 21)

Israel's Captivity Begins

Israel – 209 years (931-722 BC)

1 Kings 12-22
–Israel (1) Jeroboam – (9) Ahaziah
–Judah (1) Rehoboam – (4) Jehoshaphat
–Elijah & Elisha

2 Kings 1-17
–Israel (9) Ahaziah – (20) Hoshea
–Judah (5) Jehoram – (12) Ahaz
–Elijah, Elisha, Obadiah, Joel, Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah

There were no good kings in Israel...

Micah: Judgment and Restoration of Judah

1.  The LORD requires us to do justly (6:8; Genesis 18:19; Proverbs 21:3; Amos 5:24; Luke 11:42).

2.  The LORD requires us to love mercy (6:8; Matthew 5:7; 18:32-35; Luke 6:36).

3.  The LORD requires us to walk humbly with Him (6:8; Genesis 5:22-24; 2 Chronicles 33:12-13; Isaiah 57:15; 66:2; Matthew 5:3; Luke 18:13-14; James 4:6-10; 1 Peter 5:5-6).

4.  There is not a God like Jehovah (7:18; Luke 15:20; Acts 3:19; Acts 10:43; 2 Corinthians 1:3; Ephesians 2:5; Titus 3:5; James 5:11).

5.  We must look to Jehovah, wait for the God of our salvation, trusting Him to hear (7:7; Psalm 34:5-6; Psalm 27:13-14; Psalm 50:15; Psalm 65:2; Philippians 4:19; James 5:8).

Conclusion:  Read Micah and catch a glimpse of God’s anger in action as He judges and punishes sin, see God’s love in action as He offers eternal life to all who repent and believe, and determine to join the faithful remnant of God’s people who live according to His will.

The Christ of Micah

The Christ of Micah: Jesus is the Shepherd of Bethlehem!

A. Micah 5:2 is one of the clearest and most important of all Old Testament prophecies: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”

1. This prophecy about the birthplace and eternity of the Messiah was made seven hundred years before His birth.

2. The chief priests and scribes paraphrased this verse in Matthew 2:5-6 when questioned about the birthplace of the Messiah.

B. Micah 2:12-13; 4:1-8; and 5:4-5 offer some of the best Old Testament descriptions of the righteous reign of Christ over the whole world.

The Time of Micah

(735 – 710 B.C.)

A. According to Micah 1:1, he ministered during the reigns of the following kings of Judah:

1. Jotham (739-731 B.C.)

3. Ahaz (731-715 B.C.)

4. Hezekiah (715-686 B.C.)

a. This means Isaiah was a contemporary of Hosea who worked in the Northern Kingdom of Israel and Isaiah who ministered to the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

b. Although Micah deals primarily with Judah, he also addresses the Northern Kingdom of Israel and predicts the fall of Samaria (1:6).

1. Much of his ministry took place before the Assyrian captivity of Israel in 722 B.C.

a. During the ministry of Micah, the Northern Kingdom of Israel continued to crumble inwardly and outwardly until its collapse in 722 B.C.

b. Babylon was still under Assyrian domination and Micah’s prediction of future Babylonian captivity for Judah (4:10) must have seemed unlikely.

2. His strong denunciations of idolatry and immorality also suggest that his ministry largely preceded the sweeping religious reforms of Hezekiah (715-686 B.C.).

3. Thus, Micah’s prophecies range from about 735-710 B.C.

Hidden in My Heart

"And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15; NKJV)

The Time of Isaiah

(740-680 B.C.) 

A. According to Isaiah 1:1, he ministered during the reigns of the following kings of Judah:

1. Uzziah (790-739 B.C.)

2. Jotham (739-731 B.C.)

3. Ahaz (731-715 B.C.)

4. Hezekiah (715-686 B.C.)

a. This means Isaiah was a contemporary of Hosea who ministered to the Northern Kingdom of Israel and Micah who also ministered to the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

B. Isaiah ministered from the time of Tiglath-Pileser (745-727 B.C.) to the time of Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.) of Assyria.

1. He outdated Hezekiah by a few years because 37:38 records the death of Sennacherib in 681 B.C.

2. Hezekiah was succeeded by his wicked son Manasseh who overthrew the worship of Jehovah and no doubt opposed the work of Isaiah.

Amos: Prepare to Meet Your God

1.  Amos was in the grip of grace (3:8; 7:14-15; 1 Corinthians 9:16; 2 Corinthians 5:14).

2.  Justice and righteousness should characterize God’s people (5:7, 15, 24; 6:12; Proverbs 21:3; Romans 6:13).

3.  Prosperity often leads to a false sense of security (6:1-7; Luke 12:15-21; 1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19). 

4.  When we leave our God and Father for the far country, He longs for us to return to Him (4:6, 8, 9, 10, 11; Luke 15:13).

5.  “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”  (4:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:2-11).

Conclusion:  Read Amos and determine not to become complacent, but to prepare yourself to meet your God!

The Christ of Amos

The Christ of Amos: Jesus is the Restorer of Israel!
            

Christ has all authority to judge (1:1-9:10).

1. God the Father “has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31; NKJV).

2. See also 1 Corinthians 15:20-28.

Christ will restore His people (9:11-15; Acts 15:16-18).

1. The tabernacle of David has been raised up through Christ who now rules over God’s spiritual kingdom (Acts 2; Ephesians 1:20-23; Colossians 1:13; Hebrews 12:28).

2. When Christ “delivers the kingdom to God the Father” (1 Corinthians 15:24), Paradise will be restored! (See Revelation 21-22).

The Time of Amos

Amos prophesied “in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake” (1:1). 

                        

1. Uzziah reigned from 767 to 753 B.C. (2 Kings 15:1-7; 2 Chronicles 26:1-23).

2. Jeroboam II reigned from 782 to 753 B.C. (2 Kings 14:21-29).

3. This leaves an overlap from 767 to 753 B.C.

4. Over two hundred years later, Zechariah referred to this earthquake in Uzziah’s reign (Zechariah 14:5).

5. Amos 7:11 anticipates the 722 B.C. Assyrian captivity of Israel and indicates that at the time of writing, Jeroboam II was not yet dead.

6. Thus, Amos prophesied in Bethel about 755 B.C.

Amos ministered after the time of Obadiah (840 B.C.), Joel (835 B.C.), and Jonah (760 B.C.) and just before Hosea, Micah, and Isaiah.

1. At this time Uzziah reigned over a prosperous and militarily successful Judah.

2. In the north, Israel was ruled by the capable King Jeroboam II.

a. Economic and military circumstances were almost ideal, but prosperity only increased the materialism, immorality, and injustice of the people (2:6-8; 3:10; 4:1; 5:10-12; 8:4-6).

b. Amos’ frontal attack on the greed, injustice, and self-righteousness of the people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel is very unpopular.

Jehovah's Plea Through Hosea

Hosea portrays God’s faithfulness, justice, love, and forgiveness toward His people (11:1-4, 8; Romans 2:4; 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:8).

Jehovah pleads with His people to return to Him (5:15; 6:1; 7:10, 14; 10:12; 12:6; 14:1-2, 7, 9; Mark 16:7; Luke 15:20; Revelation 22:17).

Conclusion:  Read Hosea and watch Hosea submit himself willingly to His Lord’s direction; grieve with him over the unfaithfulness of his wife and his people; hear the clear warning of judgment; reaffirm your commitment to being God’s person, faithful in your love and true to your vows! 

Hosea: Jehovah's Redeeming Love

1.  The adultery of Gomer (1) illustrates the sin of Israel (4-7).  (4:12, 17-18; 9:1; 2 Corinthians 11:2-3)

2.  The degradation of Gomer (2) represents the judgment of Israel (8-10).  (8:7, 13-14; 9:3, 7, 15, 17; 10:15; 11:5; 12:14; Matthew 13:41-43)

3.  Hosea’s redemption of Gomer (3) pictures the restoration of Israel (11-14).  (13:9-10; Romans 11:26-27).

Hidden in My Heart

"And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15; NKJV)

God Relented

Jehovah will forgive even the most wicked of sinners if they repent (see Jonah (3:2-10; 4:2, 11) 

3000 found forgiveness for putting the Son of God to death:  “you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death” (Acts 2:23)

If the Ninevites found forgiveness, and the folks who crucified Jesus, found forgiveness, then you and me can find it too.

The Lasting Influence of Jeroboam

Jeroboam II, the fourteenth king of Israel, continued the downward spiral of disobedience of Jehovah's people.  Jehovah would send the prophets Amos and Hosea to seek to turn their hearts back to Him.  The influence of Jeroboam I was still strong, even one hundred-seventy years later.


"And he did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin." (2 Kings 14:24; NKJV)

Consider the lasting influence of Jeroboam I and determine to live in such a way that you influence people for good.

2 Chronicles 24:19

"Yet He sent prophets to them, to bring them back to the LORD; and they testified against them, but they would not listen." (2 Chronicles 24:19; NKJV)

As bad as things were in Israel, they were not much better in Judah.  "Yet," Jehovah was not willing that any of them perish, but that they all come to repentance (see 2 Peter 3:9).  They were lost because "they would not listen."

Listen.

The Christ of Joel

Christ promised to send the Holy Spirit after His ascension to the Father (John 16:7-8; Acts 1:8).  

When this was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost, Peter said, “This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:16-12; quoting Joel 2:28-32).

Joel also portrays Christ as the One who will judge the nations in the Valley of Jehoshaphat in 3:2, 12.

Jehu

However Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin, that is, from the golden calves that were at Bethel and Dan.  And the LORD said to Jehu, "Because you have done well in doing what is right in My sight, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation."  But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin. (2 Kings 10:29-31; NKJV)

Jehu continued the downward spiral of disobedience in the northern kingdom of Israel.  He failed to follow Jehovah completely and as a result, he suffered and the nation suffered.  Let us learn from his mistakes and be a blessing to others by walking in the law of Christ with all of our hearts.

Jezebel

No one names their daughter "Jezebel."  I mean no one.  She was terrible.

Jezebel was the wife of Ahab, king of Israel (1 Kings 16:31).  She was a tyrant who corrupted her husband, as well as the nation, by promoting Baal worship.  She quickly became the power behind the throne.  Obedient to her wishes Ahab erected a sanctuary for Baal and supported hundreds of pagan prophets (1 Kings 18:19).  When the prophets of Jehovah opposed Jezebel, she had them "massacred" (1 Kings 18:4,13). After Elijah defeated her prophets on Mount Carmel, she swore revenge.  Jehu disposed of Jezebel by having her thrown from the palace window. In fulfillment of the prediction of the prophet Elijah, Jezebel was trampled by the horses and eaten by the dogs (1 Kings 21:19). Only Jezebel's skull, feet, and the palms of her hands were left to bury when the dogs were finished (2 Kings 9:30-37).

Jezebel got what she deserved.  May we live in such a way that we get mercy and forgiveness.  Live in such a way as to glorify Jehovah.

Hidden in My Heart

"And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15; NKJV)

At Random

34 Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, "Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded."

35 The battle increased that day; and the king was propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians, and died at evening. The blood ran out from the wound onto the floor of the chariot.

36 Then, as the sun was going down, a shout went throughout the army, saying, "Every man to his city, and every man to his own country!"

37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria.
(1 Kings 22:34-37; NKJV)

And so ended Ahab's life.  And so too could end yours and mine.  "I returned and saw under the sun that -

The race is not to the swift,
Nor the battle to the strong,
Nor bread to the wise,
Nor riches to men of understanding,
Nor favor to men of skill;
But time and chance happen to them all.
For man also does not know his time:
Like fish taken in a cruel net,
Like birds caught in a snare,
So the sons of men are snared in an evil time,
When it falls suddenly upon them.

(Ecclesiastes 9:11-12; NKJV)

The God of the Valleys

"And a man of God came near and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, 'Thus saith Jehovah, Because the Syrians have said, Jehovah is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys; therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thy hand, and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.'" (1 Kings 20:28; ASV)

As God brings home the saints, as the Lord Jesus leads home many sons to glory, we have to pass through an infinite variety of circumstances and they are not always mountain top experiences, there are valleys, sometimes very deep valleys…

The God who is victorious in 1 Kings 20, the God who having begun a good work in us will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6), the God who wants you and me to get the maximum out of those valley experiences through which in His wisdom and His love He puts us through (see 1 Thessalonians 3:3).

The taunt of the enemy is, “Sure, they have the victory in the mountains. The money’s coming in, the family is healthy, and everything is going well. Their god is a god of the mountains.

“But their god is not a god of the valleys. They won’t have the victory in the valleys–when the money’s gone, when they’re facing serious health problems, and when nothing is going their way.”

The enemy’s greatest attacks come to us in the valleys of our lives, when we’re discouraged, doubting, disappointed, and facing adversity. In those times, God wants to reveal Himself as the God of the valleys.

The Christian life is not leaping from mountaintop to mountaintop. We experience mountains and valleys…and God is the God of both!

Just Like Us

"Elijah was a man just like us.  He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.  Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops." (James 5:17-18; NIV)

As we read about Elijah let us remember three things:

1.  He was just like us.

2.  He prayed earnestly.

3.  His prayers were heard by Jehovah.

Hidden in My Heart

"And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15; NKJV)

The Kings of the Divided Kingdom

The lives of these kings are used to teach that observance of God’s law produces blessing, but apostasy is rewarded by judgment.

“if you walk before Me” (9:4-5)

“I will surely tear the kingdom away from you” (11:11)

“Blessed are those who do His commandments” (Revelation 22:14-15)

Division Does Not Glorify Jehovah

In 1 Kings 12 the united kingdom of Israel divides (12:1-33; see also 2 Chronicles 10).  Division does not glorify GOD.  It never has; it never will.

“let there be no strife” (Genesis 13:8)

“endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit” (Ephesians 4:1-6)

“the interests of others” (Philippians 2:1-11)