February 4, 2010 (Isaiah 9-12, 2 Chronicles 27, Micah 1-7)

The readings today are varied. Here is the first verse that stuck out to me. We've seen the concept before, repeated over and over.

^{2 Chronicles 27:6} King Jotham became powerful because he was careful to live in obedience to the Lord his God.

And we've seen this concept over and over as well:

² Attention! Let all the people of the world listen!
Let the earth and everything in it hear.
The Sovereign Lord is making accusations against you;
the Lord speaks from his holy Temple.
³ Look! The Lord is coming!
He leaves his throne in heaven
and tramples the heights of the earth.
⁴ The mountains melt beneath his feet
and flow into the valleys
like wax in a fire,
like water pouring down a hill.
⁵ And why is this happening?
Because of the rebellion of Israel—
yes, the sins of the whole nation.

Chapter 6 is entitled 'God Pleads" in my Bible. Verse 8 tells us what God requires of us.

¹ Listen to what the Lord is saying:

“Stand up and state your case against me.
Let the mountains and hills be called to witness your complaints.
² And now, O mountains,
listen to the Lord’s complaint!
He has a case against his people.
He will bring charges against Israel.

³ “O my people, what have I done to you?
What have I done to make you tired of me?
Answer me!
⁴ For I brought you out of Egypt (your sinful state)
and redeemed you from slavery (eternal death).
I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to help you.
⁵ Don’t you remember, my people,
how King Balak of Moab tried to have you cursed
and how Balaam son of Beor blessed you instead?
And remember your journey from Acacia Grove to Gilgal,
when I, the Lord, did everything I could
to teach you about my faithfulness.”

⁶ What can we bring to the Lord?
What kind of offerings should we give him?
Should we bow before God
with offerings of yearling calves?
⁷ Should we offer him thousands of rams
and ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Should we sacrifice our firstborn children
to pay for our sins?

⁸ No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.

⁹ Fear the Lord if you are wise!
His voice calls to everyone in Jerusalem:
“The armies of destruction are coming;
the Lord is sending them.

¹³ “Therefore, I will wound you!
I will bring you to ruin for all your sins.
¹⁴ You will eat but never have enough.
Your hunger pangs and emptiness will remain.
And though you try to save your money,
it will come to nothing in the end.
You will save a little,
but I will give it to those who conquer you.
¹⁵ You will plant crops
but not harvest them.
You will press your olives
but not get enough oil to anoint yourselves.
You will trample the grapes
but get no juice to make your wine.

And again, we continue to see the love and faithfulness of God. This is how He wants to respond to us. This is how He wants to treat us. But because of our treatment of Him, our turning to our own ways instead of Him, He cannot.

^{Micah 7:7} As for me, I look to the Lord for help.
I wait confidently for God to save me,
and my God will certainly hear me.
⁸ Do not gloat over me, my enemies!
For though I fall, I will rise again.
Though I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be my light.
⁹ I will be patient as the Lord punishes me,
for I have sinned against him.
But after that, he will take up my case
and give me justice for all I have suffered from my enemies.
The Lord will bring me into the light,
and I will see his righteousness.
¹⁰ Then my enemies will see that the Lord is on my side.
They will be ashamed that they taunted me, saying,
“So where is the Lord—
that God of yours?”
With my own eyes I will see their downfall;
they will be trampled like mud in the streets.

¹⁸ Where is another God like you,
who pardons the guilt of the remnant,
overlooking the sins of his special people?
You will not stay angry with your people forever,
because you delight in showing unfailing love.
¹⁹ Once again you will have compassion on us.
You will trample our sins under your feet
and throw them into the depths of the ocean!
²⁰ You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love
as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago.