Micah 1:3-7 - The God who is

Scripture:

Micah 1:3-7
3 For behold, the Lord is coming forth from His place.
He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.
4 The mountains will melt under Him
And the valleys will be split,
Like wax before the fire,
Like water poured down a steep place.

5 All this is for the rebellion of Jacob
And for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the rebellion of Jacob?
Is it not Samaria?
What is the high place of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?
6 For I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the open country,
Planting places for a vineyard.
I will pour her stones down into the valley
And will lay bare her foundations.
7 All of her idols will be smashed,
All of her earnings will be burned with fire
And all of her images I will make desolate,
For she collected them from a harlot's earnings,
And to the earnings of a harlot they will return.
NASU


Thoughts:

God is pronouncing judgment against Samaria, capital of the northern part of the divided kingdom of Israel, and Jerusalem (capital of the southern kingdom) for following in its ways of spiritual harlotry.

The kingdom of Israel divided around 930 to 940 BC due to the foolishness of King Rehoboam, Solomon's son (1 Kings 12:1-11).  Rehoboam retained rule of the southern part of the nation (Judah), but lost power over the north (Israel) to another man, Jeroboam. 

At that time, two false temples with golden calves were constructed in the new northern kingdom, so that its inhabitants would not go to Jerusalem to worship, lest they desire to reunite the nation.  These golden calves were blasphemously called the gods that delivered Israel from Egypt (1 Kings 12:26-32). 

As ugly as this is, in the same way, we too can construct idols that represent God, but are not God.  We can do this by forming beliefs about God that disagree with His revelation of Himself in the Bible.  As we knowingly stray into such folly, we are worshiping a false god.  Oh how we need to know the God who is, and His word!


Prayer:

Lord, reveal to me any false ideas I have about You.  Open Your word to me.  Help me to see You as You truly are, from its pages.

I thank You for Your loving patience, as You lead me into a fuller understanding of who You are.

Amen

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.