Thought: God's promise for temples - 2 Chronicles
7:14-16-"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble
themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then
will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land,
Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made
in this place, for now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name
may be there forever; and mine yes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
Book of the Week: Isaiah-Prophet, Seer, and Poet, Victor L. Ludlow.
Micah 740-697 BC?
33rd
book of the Bible - 6th of the Minor
Prophets -contemporary of Isaiah, Joel, Amos & Hosea in Judah during
Hezekiah's reign - from
Moresheth-Gath-15 miles NW of Hebron - near Lachish -
Discusses social injustice of rural Judah-rich vs. poor-
may have influenced Hezekiah to social reform -poetic
Micah is often divided into 3 sections
Chapters 1-2 - prophecies
of judgment on villages in Judah.
"Micah
used a literary device to pronounce an indictment against Judah (see Micah
1:8-16). He employed a pun, or play on words, to carry his idea to the people.
The technique is readily apparent in the Hebrew and can be appreciated in
Sidney B. Sperry's translation of Micah 1:10-14:
weep
tears at tear town(bochim),
grovel
in the dust at dust town (bethophrah)
fare
forth stripped, o fair town (saphir)!
stir town
(zaanan) dare not stir,
bethesel.....
and
maroth hopes in vain;
for
doom descends from the eternal
to
the very gates of Jerusalem.
harness
your steeds and away, o horse town (lakhish)
o
source of sion's sin,
where
the crimes of Israel centre!
o
maiden sion, you must part with
moresheth
of gath;
and Israel's
kings are ever balked
at
balkton (achzib).
The
Message of the 12 Prophets, p. 111 - OTSM p. 120
1:4 - Isaiah 64:1-2; 2 Pwrwe 3:10; D&C 49:23;
101:23-25; 133:40-41; Judges 5:4 - Melted or quaked.
Chapter 2- Social injustices
vs. 1 - People
who lay awake in bed thinking of bad thigns to do
vs. 2- land
grabbers
vs. 12-13 - foretells a future gathering
Chapters 3-5 -
Denunciations of leaders
3:1-3-
Leaders compared to cannibals
4:1-2-
Sound familiar?- (Isaiah 2)
5:2
foretold the place of the birth of the Savior. See Matt. 2:1; Luke 2:1-20 AND
John 7:40-43.
5:8-15
- when Christ appeared to the Nephites, he quoted this prophecy of Micah (3 ne.
21:12-21) to stress the power that would be upon Israel as the Lord gathered
them out from all the nations and by them purified those gentiles who would
hear his word. Those who would not hear his word and opposed his work would be
cut off and trodden down.
Chapters 6-7 - Call for
repentance
6:6-8
- Summary of what the lord requires of man. "Rabbi Simlai lectured: 613
commandments were handed down to Moses; 365 of them are prohibitions, corresponding
to the days of the year; 248 of them are laws of action, corresponding to the
bones and limbs of man. Rabbi Hammuna said: when David came, he reduced the
commandments to 11, for we read in Scripture [he then quoted Psalm 15]… When Isaiah
came, re reduced the commandments to six; Isaiah 33:15-16. When Micah came, he
reduced the commandments to 3: Micah 6:8 (Ogden p. 166-7)
7-
The righteous are the proud and the few -" one grape on a vine."
2
Kings 14-20
Chapter
14 - It appears that two religious and political factions vied
constantly with each other in positioning and patronizing the kings; as a
result, orthodox and apostate religions alternated, parallel to the political
changes. (Ogden p. 65) See vs.
Vs. 8 -"Let us look one another in the face," appears to
be a challenge to go to war.
Vs. 25-Apparently Jonah prophesied in Israel before being sent to
Nineveh.
Vs. 27-Though Jeroboam II was a wicked king of Israel, God used
him to give Israel another chance.
Chapter
15 - Hosea, Amos, Hosea and Isaiah all prophesied all pleaded with Israel to repent to avoid
destruction and being carried captive.
Vs. 1-6- Azariah is also called Uzziah.
Assyrian kings: Tiglath-pileser III-called Pul, (745-727) is often
called the father of the Assyrian Empire. He began the policy of exporting
captive people from one part of the empire to another. He was first to invade
Israel. Shalmaneser V (727-722)
laid siege to "Samaria for 3 years. He died before Israel was fully
conquered. Sargon II (722-705)
deported Israel.
Chapter
16- See Isaiah 7.
Chapter
17 - See Ch. heading
Vs. 1-6- Hosea was the last king of Israel. He allied with Egypt
and Assyria acted quickly.
By the time of the captivity the tribes had lost their individual
identity. Many of the 10 tribes had moved into Judah. There is no point, then,
in indicating that exactly "ten" tribes were carried away. It is now
215 years since they split off from Judah after the death of Solomon.
Chapter
18 - Hezekiah is my favorite Old Testament King. He 1) Ordered the
temple cleansed, 2) Renewed the Passover celebration, 3) Encouraged tithes,
4)Had the Priests and Levites return to their orders and service, 5)Put down
the groves, 6) Destroyed Moses' brass serpent, 7) freed his nation from
Assyrian oppression, 8) Drove the Philistines out, 9) Fortified Jerusalem's
walls, 10) Built an underground water
tunnel 1/3 of a mile long.
Vs. 13-37- Sennacherib destroyed 46 of Judah's fortified cities
(vs. 13), exacted a mighty tribute (vs. 14-16), and sent people to demand a
surrender.
Chapter
19 -
Vs. 1- I love Hezekiah's response
Vs. 6-7- It is great to have a prophet and a king who will listen
to him. (Bad deal for Sennacherib)
Vs. 19 & 20 - The king and prophet and the Lord work together.
Vs. 32-37 - I love this!
Chapter
20 - My favorite story about my favorite king.
Chapter
21- Hezekiah's son and grandson. Not chips off the old block.
Chapter
22- Hezekiah's great-grandson. My 2nd favorite king in the Old
Testament.
Chapter
23 - Josiah is a man of action!
Chapter
24- Josiah-Killed by Necho (31years)- Jehoahaz-Prisoner to Egypt (3
months)-Jeohoiakim-Died in Jerusalem (11 yrs.)-Jehoiachin-Prisoner to Babylon
(3 months)-Zedekiah -prisoner to Babylon (11 yrs.)
