Micah - Pay Attention!!!!

Th every first words of Micah are to hear and to pay attention. Micah is talking about the judgement that is to come to Israel and Judah as a result of their sin. Even though this book is about punishment and condemnation, we see some very familiar and famous passages included in it. I think the admonition at the beginning to pay attention reminds us to keep reading. Despite being told again about the sin of Israel and other nations we find nuggets of scripture here in this book, but we have to pay attention or we will miss it. The first nugget for me came in chapter 5. We have the wonderful prophecy of a ruler that is to be born in a lowly city named Bethlehem. From this tiny village will come a shepherd who will bring peace to all. He will be ruler that was talked about from of old. Right smack in the middle of doom and gloom is the hope of all the world so PAY ATTENTION! The next nugget I found was in 6:8. Here we find what God requires of us. The laws of God summed up in one verse. It says "What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Wow! Justice, mercy, and faithfulness all wrapped up in one verse. Again,in the middle of condemnation of God we find a nugget of truth, so PAY ATTENTION! Chapter 7 includes several things that stuck out to me. Verse 7 states that God will hear us if we look to him and are patient. Verse 8 points out that even if we are in darkness, the Lord will be our light. Hard times are never handled alone. God is always right there beside us. Verse 18 states that God is not angry forever. He pardons our sin because he delight in steadfast love. He may be disappointed in our actions and thoughts but he "casts all our sins into the depths of the sea", as verse 19 states. If I had just cast this book aside and not really paid attention to what the Lord was saying to me I would have missed God reminding me about His deliverance, His mercy and His instructions. So I guess the lesson is to PAY ATTENTION!

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