LESSON 1, INTRODUCTION:

Debbie and I have discussed studying a portion of Scripture, maybe even a whole Book of the Bible. Her choice was one of the Minor Prophets. I then felt led to the little Prophecy of Micah.

For the next few days, Lord willing, we're going to focus on this mostly unknown little man and the words he wrote.

Micah, based on the first verse he left us, Micah 1:1, was a contemporary with the great Prophet Isaiah. For proof now read Isaiah 1:1, both Prophets obviously preached at about the same time, under the administrations of the same Kings of Judah.

Yet Micah differs in a sense. He preaches not only to Judah, the Southern Kingdom of Jews during that time, but also to Samaria, the Northern and less godly Kingdom.

Lord willing, tomorrow we start our journey through seven chapters of exciting Biblical Revelation.

Join us!

                      --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 2:

The Book of Micah certainly begins on a serious note. God is upset with His people, both Israel and Judah. They have sinned against His Holy Name.

God is so involved here that he is going to "testify" against them!

Micah writes, describing God: "Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple."

The verb "be witness" is "ed" in Hebrew and just means "to present evidence" against a person or a group of people.

At first it appears that God is going to speak from Heaven, His Temple there. Then one thinks, No! God is coming to earth to enter the witness box here, in Jerusalem! From His earthy Temple.

Then we read further, past verse two of Micah's first chapter. "For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place. For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel." Micah 1:3-5

God is coming down here, for sure!

To punish for sins!

What a dramatic paragraph!

And folks, that's the nature of the preaching of most of the Old Testament Prophets. They cry out against iniquity!

They reveal God's Heart of purity and love for holiness.

And they warn the people of God, lost people too, to repent. To get right with the Heavenly Father!

Tomorrow more about Micah.

And his preaching.

Until then, let's try to live for Jesus.

Purely.

                         --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 3:

The Prophet Micah is unique!

Even in his preaching.

Listen to him today as he uses word definitions to express the message of judgment God has given him to proclaim to Judah. That is, unless Judah turns from her sins.

Today's Text is taken from Micah’s first speech. "Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust. Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Bethezel; he shall receive of you his standing. For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the LORD unto the gate of Jerusalem." Micah 1:10-12

I have underlined the cities on whose names Micah builds his sermon!

Here's the explanation as I understand it. "Gath" sounds like the Hebrew verb for "declare." So Micah preaches "Declare it not at Gath!" In other words Judah's fall due to her wickedness is going to be so great and so shameful, please do not tell about it or declare it in Gath, once the home of her greatest enemies.

Next is "Aphrah" which means "dust!" This little city in the tribal area of Benjamin, a Jewish location, is told "Roll thyself in the dust!" They will receive the very thing for which their town is named! Dust implies mourning and grief and sorrow and weeping.

Then comes "Saphir," meaning "beautiful." Another Israeli city, its future holds "ugliness and shame!" The opposite of its namesake!

And "Zaanan" is used to make the Hebrew verb "come forth." To them Micah preaches woe: "They will come not forth in the morning." Like a flock of sheep (the implication of "tzsan") might do each new day at sunrise.

And the city "Maroth" means "bitter." But while they in their rebellion waited for "good" only "evil" came! They were made to live up to their name!

An enemy army later did all the things Micah just predicted, the Assyrians. Attacking all the way to the very gates of Jerusalem!

God fulfills His Word!

And for Micah, what creative preaching!

And to us, what a challenge to study the meanings of Bible words!

Be in Church somewhere tomorrow, learning God's Book.

                           --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 4:

This next Sermon, Micah's second, begins with an overview of some of the "false prophets" of that day. While not as severe toward these men as Isaiah, who called them "dumb dogs that cannot bark," Micah still makes his case.

Listen to these professional prophets: "Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame." Micah 2:6

These hypocrites have just said to God's real Prophets, "Prophesy not!" Using "nataph," the normal verb for preaching, these men want Spirit-filled passionate preaching to cease! Technically, "nataph" can also be translated "to drip." These sarcastic reprobates just might be accusing the real Preachers of simply driveling and slobbering and drooling, belittling the true proclamation of God's Word. This is also done by a bunch of drunks in Isaiah 28.

Quit preaching such hard sermons!

Cease naming sin, and upsetting people!

False prophets to real prophets: Take it easy!

But the second part of our verse, "They shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame," is a little more difficult. But one thing is for sure, we are her given insight into one of the proposes for straight, hard preaching! Such prophesying will produce "shame" among the people! "Kelimmah" means "disgrace, reproach, confusion, dishonour, insult, ignomimy," that kind of "shame." People who live in open unabashed sin need to be shamed! Preach so that the Holy Spirit can put them under strong conviction! Isaiah 58:1 reveals the right attitude: "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." Shame them!

The false prophets may just be "thinking out loud." Wishful thinking! "They shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame." In other words, these real Prophets will surely listen! They surely are little "yes" men like us! They will not prophesy! They will not upset the populace! They will not disturb the peace! They will "look the other way!"

The verb "take" is unusual here. "Nasag" means "to move away, to backslide, to depart, to turn away." These false preachers really want Israel to wallow in her shame! They do not want her to depart from the debauchery into which she has fallen! Paul even talked about this crowd, just many years later, in Philippians 3:19. "Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things." Wow!

These men, this guild of pseudo-prophets, despise the real preaching of God's Word!

May their number decrease!

                                                                                --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 5:

Each new verse in the Book of Micah is an adventure!

Micah 2:8 included! "Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war."

The phrase "even of late" translates one Hebrew word, "ethmol," an adverb. It means "yesterday, recently, formerly."

The noun "enemy" is "oyeb," from the verb "ayab," meaning "to be hostile, to hate!" This is the very same word for an adversary that would have been used of the Babylonians or the Assyrians or the Philistines or even the Devil! But, unexpectedly, it is here used of certain Jews who live in the land! "My people," Micah calls them. He is talking about some of their own leaders, civic and religious and judicial! The "tense" idea behind the verb "is risen up" suggests a process, not a one-time event. This has been happening for some time.

But what are they doing?

And here comes an example of a godly Prophet, one filled with the Holy Spirit and bold in his denunciation of wickedness, still preaching to a "social issue" of his day!

Here's the problem.

"Ye (leaders) pull off the robe with the garment from them (innocent citizens) that pass by securely as men averse from war."

The wealthy aristocracy are virtually "robbing" the common folks! Unfair business practices! Probably high-interest loans! Quick repossessions! No tolerance for the poor!

The noun "robe" is "eder," referring to the most beautiful outer garment that a man or a woman possesses! "Eder" really just means "glorious" or "beautiful," initially having nothing to do with cloth or material.

"To pull off," utilizing "pashat," is a violent word! It means "to strip, to raid, to invade," usually being a military term, martial in nature.

Taking away people's very clothes!

In other words, charging so much for bread, that no money is left to buy clothes for the family! Literally!

Price rigging!

And these people, the victims, are not expecting such treatment. They are absolutely caught "off guard!"

War is the farthest thing from their mind! The verbal adjective "averse" is "shub," that is, "delivered" from war! Peace was at hand! Times were good, they thought!

The adverb "securely" translates "batach," just "trusting" their leaders to do them right! To be honest!

But, instead, the rich get richer!

And the common people suffer!

And, just in case you haven't noticed, that's happening in America today!

And Micah, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is commanded to preach against such covetous practices!

Try that in the ordinary First Baptist Church!

Then, get ready for "trouble!"

                                                                              --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 6:

Today Micah is still preaching. Now this bold Prophet is accusing the wealthy oligarchy of his day, rich folks who plan only to get richer, of certain wrongs they've perpetrated. "The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever." Micah 2:9

The noun "women" is "ishshah." It can mean "wife" as well as "lady." In fact, in the King James Text it's translated "wife" 425 times and "woman" only 324 times! That fact alone upsets many people who opposed the traditional order of the home! I can hear them now, "The very fact that a woman is assumed to be a wife is sickening," they would moan! But the Bible says, "Let God be true and every man (or woman) a liar!" Romans 3:4

These are not foreign women either. While the Bible is very kind to those from other lands, those who have come to Israel to live, they are not in view here. These are Jewish ladies, "my people" says Micah. The specific noun here is "am," a group of related people, "kinsfolk" even.

"Cast out" translates "garash," which is quite intensive here, the piel stem in Hebrew, meaning "to expel, drive out, thrust away" and even "divorce" 2 times in the Bible.

This kind of activity is sinful. Today's words would be "discriminatory" and "sexist" I guess. Deliberate meanness to the women of the land!

Probably using financial pressure one way or another, the ladies are evicted from their homes! Just so the wealthy could gain title to them! And, as we all know, legality does not always enter into the equation! And, certainly, morality does not!

"Pleasant" houses at that! "Taanug" can mean anything from "luxurious" to "comfortable," including "delightful." These Moms enjoyed their homes, seriously trying to make them pleasant places to live, but were disrupted, evicted, by the political/financial machine of that day!

Prosperity was good, back then, for the rich!

But not so good for the average folks!

Additionally, the verse tells us that these ladies had children, plural, children. Many Bible families were quite large by today's standards. The noun for "children" here is "olel," only found 20 times in Scripture. Here's how the King James Text renders the word: "children" 13 times, "infant" 3 times, "babes" 2 times, "child" 1 time, and "little ones" 1 more time.

Even these children have been robbed!

By the money conglomerates!

They, the boys and girls, have had something "taken away" from them. This verb is "laqach" and means "to seize, to snatch, to fetch." And the action here is durative, not a one time event! But what has been plundered from the children?

"The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever." 

"Glory!"

The noun is "hadar," not the usual word for glory, which is "kabod." It means "splendor" or "majesty" or "excellency!"

And God here calls the boys and girls "His!" Indirectly, anyway. He did give them, you know! Psalm 127:3 proves this. "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward."

The United States has robbed the glory of nearly 50,000,000 little unborn boys and girls since 1973, when a stupid court decision legalized infanticide in America. A vast amount of innocent blood has been shed across this land. I nearly said that the amount is incalculable, but let me assure you that's not the case! God knows exactly and His judgment is coming!

Israel as a Nation was destroyed for sins such as these. Oh yes, some of the Jews of the Ten Tribes survived and apparently assimilated back into Jewry, but still, the toll was atrocious!

And the adverbial note at the end of our verse is astounding too. "For ever" translates "olam," to the "vanishing point!" Into eternity! To infinity! It then naturally includes antiquity and futurity.

Lost potential, never to be regained!

Yes, God still defends the mothers and children of a land!

So said Micah the Prophet.

                                                                             --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

By the way, to deny the children a Biblical education, in whatever degree that might have been available, is tragic also. That, even more so, takes away from them the knowledge and glory of God! We have reared a whole generation now who "know not God!" Spiritually illiterate, among other ways! Biblically ignorant for sure!  God help us!

LESSON 7:

God is going to expel a Nation, a whole Nation, from her land!

Due to unrepentant sins, covered and prolonged, this promised judgment is sure!

"Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction." This is Micah 2:10, God speaking to Israel.

History tells us that this event did occur, literally.

"Arise" or "qum" in Hebrew just means "to stand up," like an accused defendant about to hear the jury's verdict, the sentence pronounced!

"Depart" translates "yalak," just keep on "walking" down the road! You're leaving here! Also spelled "halak." This verb is imperative in mood and indicates a span of activity. A process of being deported! Maybe bound with chains and humiliated too!

And the Assyrians did just that, moved the Jews from their land and scattered them throughout many nations, Gentile nations!

The pronoun "this" refers to the Country itself, the land, the acreage, the farms, their very heritage from God! These plots had belonged to the various Jewish families, tribe by tribe, since Joshua led them into Canaan, may years earlier. They fought  and toiled and earned these grounds!

But God just told them that the land was not be be their "rest!" Using the root of the proper noun "Manoah," the name of Samson's Daddy, "menuchah" means "a quiet place!' A place of rest and contentment! A comfortable place! A place of ease!

Listen to what's about to occur. "And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants." Leviticus 18:25 is very graphic! Sick of sin! Nauseated with innocent blood!

A "polluted" land is "unclean" literally, ritually and spiritually! A sinning people even defile their own bodies! They destroy the significance and meaning of respect, reverence and worship too! And they virtually block any possible communication with Almighty God! The Hebrew verb "tame" is rendered "because it is polluted" in our Text verse. Utterly impure!

Somehow the land itself gets involved in Israel's punishment! "It shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction." The verb "destroy" is "chabal," meaning "to ruin" when in the peil stem, as here. Their own real estate has been personified and is vomiting them out! It is participating in their spoilage!

The noun "destruction" is "chebel," translated several different ways in the King James Bible; "sorrows, pangs, pains, snares," and even "ropes and bands" too! The adjective "sore" simply intensifies the idea. "Maratzs" means "grievously sick or painful!" Intensely so!

Natural catastrophes, meteorological aberrations, draughts, punishing winds, even earthquakes and volcanoes could be involved here.

A people's very land, their property, joining hand-in-hand with God in Heaven! United in punishment for sins!

It's not a trivial matter that America every day loses more and more control of her own real estate! We are losing our farmland! And our homesteads! And our national identity! Globalism, it's called!

Muti-culturalism, too!

But some day it will be called "identity theft!"

Nationally so!

America, the United States, will be no more!

Sin costs!

                                                                               --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 8:

This verse is so insightful!

It gives us a peek into the religious conditions of Micah's day, thus Isaiah's day too! And Hosea's! And Amos' for that matter, except he preached almost entirely to the northern kingdom.

Get ready. This is startling! "If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people." Micah 2:11

The noun "man" is "iysh." It is believed to be a contraction of "enosh," mortal man, frail man, man as human. Going even further back, "anash" means "weak, sick, frail, incurable!" This is not the most noble word for mankind!

The participle "walking" translates "halak," just "to come or go," a person's way of life being depicted. The path he has chosen to walk!

And "spirit" is the normal word for such, "ruach." It literally means "wind, breeze, breath." At first glance, this context discussing prophets, one might assume that the Holy Spirit is in view. But not so here!

This is quite another spirit! In 2nd Corinthians 11:4 Paul mentioned "another Jesus" and "another Spirit" and even "another gospel!" Be careful!

Paul felt strongly about such things! "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." Galatians 1:8

How do we know that the spirit Micah's contemporaries possessed was NOT the Holy Spirit? "If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie ...." That's enough information right there!

John taught us this. "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." 1st John 4:1

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, not falsehood! Listen to Jesus talking about the Spirit, the real Spirit of God! "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth ...." John 14:16-17

The noun "falsehood" is "sheqer," meaning "deception, trickery, cheating." The following verb, "do lie," is "kazab," suggesting "emptiness, untruthfulness, instability, disappointment." The verb is a piel here, showing intensive action! They lie vigorously, preaching that which is not true! Fundamentally flawed messages!

Our verse again, ""If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people." 

Now we're going to get to "hear" a little about a typical sermon! "Mainstream" preaching in the time of Micah, government approved! Non-offensive!

"Saying," here comes a direct quote!

"I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink."

Can you imagine?

This just may be a "play" on words.

One of the Hebrew verbs for "prophesy" is "naba," at its heart indicating a person being "under the influence" of someone or something other than himself! Even ecstatic perhaps! Beside himself! Eccentric!

Instead of being intoxicated, in a good and holy sense, by the Spirit of God ... these false prophets are under the influence of strong drink! Inebriated!

They love their liquor!

The idea is this, whatever pleases the people! That's what these men will preach!

They are back-scratching, ear-tickling, politically correct hired clergymen, never abrasive in any way at all!

Except to God!

The verb "prophesy" used here is quite rare. It's used only 18 times in Scripture, but only 4 of those times as "prophesy!" Whereas "naba," mentioned earlier, is used 118 times!

This verb here, "nataph," means "to drop, to drip, to distil!" Almost sounds like the fermentation process, doesn't it? Distillation!

Ideally, when a real Man of God is preaching, the Doctrine of God, the Word of God, is flowing throughout the congregation ... dropping like dew upon God's people!  Dripping like honey! Sweet and nourishing! Listen to God use this word picture: "My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass. Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God." Deuteronomy 32:2-3

Then, just in case there's any misunderstanding, Micah makes something clear. He's talking about real wine here! The noun "wine" is "yayin," being derived from a verb that means "to bubble, to effervesce!" It's intoxicating! And "strong drink" is "sheqar," that is, "fermented liquor."

No doubt about it!

Drunk preachers!

Condoning drunkenness, too!

Anything goes!

In the Bible, along with intoxication, comes many a related sin! For one example, sexual promiscuity!" Immorality! Habakkuk mentions this one! "Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!" Habakkuk 2:15

Plus the fact that drinking is expensive! "For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags." Proverbs 23:21

And, not incidentally,  it will send you to Hell! "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." This is Paul preaching in 1st Corinthians 6:9-10.

This kind of compromising preacher, who normally would be laughed out of town, "He shall even be the prophet of this people."

He will head the local ministerial gathering!

He will pray at the public events!

He will be interviewed by the media!

He will be given the peace prizes!

He will write the scholarly papers!

He will be accredited, while Amos and Micah are belittled!

Note: one can always gauge the welfare of a Nation by simply looking at its preachers!

Hosea may have said it best: "And there shall be, like people, like priest." Hosea 4:9

And vice-versa one might add!

No separation!

No difference!

Thus, no conviction!

It happened in Israel's darkest day, will it occur again in America? "Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places." 1st Kings 13:33

Whosoever would!

Whatever happened to "God-called" Preachers?

                                                                               --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 9:

We are about to see and hear Micah on the mountaintop! At his very best! Preaching Jesus! Exalting the Lord! Truly fulfilling the role of the Prophet, foretelling future events!

Verses 12 and 13 actually conclude Micah's first full-length Sermon too. Talk about ending on a positive note! Ending in the clouds! With victory!

But of necessity, a little darkness precedes the light, yet it's an already dawning light!

"I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men." Micah 2:12

The opening verb, "will surely assemble," translates "asaph" in Hebrew. It just means "to gather, to collect," that idea. The Lord is often the Assembler of Israel. Isaiah put it this way: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea." And Jeremiah: "Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither." Then Ezekiel: "And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land." And let's include Hosea too: "Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel." The scattered Jew will no longer be scattered!

But before the Lord gathers them for His blessing, He gathers them for a time of chastisement, of correction and cleansing!

Probably Micah here has in mind, at least first of all, the Babylonian Captivity! That's with "Jacob" being the two tribes, the southern kingdom, and the "remnant" of Israel being the ten lost tribes. The word "remnant" is "sheeriyth," just a small "part" of what's left! The residue, those who escaped!

All of Judah!

And a few of Israel!

The verb for "assemble" may indicate extra effort! Harder to "heap up" the few Israelites remaining than the thousands and thousands of Judah's citizens! "Qabatzs" indeed is a piel verb, suggesting "extra energy required!"

"I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men."

Obviously God likens them to sheep in a "flock." That word is spelled "eder," suggesting those who "keep rank," hence, a "herd or drove or covey or gaggle ... or flock!"

"Bozrah" means an "enclosure or fence or fortification" of some kind. Again, Babylon is in view, ironically so!

Israel is in "political captivity" to Nebuchadnezzar, at least when viewed from one side, yet in God's "protective custody," when viewed from the other side! What a difference! Sounds just like Joseph's great words in Genesis 50:20. "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good." Amen!

That's our God!

The noun "fold" is great! It's "dober," a derivative of "dabar," God's very Word! God "spoke" them safe in Babylon, and it was so! Did we ever think of God's Word as a hedge of protection?

In such straits, even as when in Egypt, Israel apparently grew and prospered! God's hand is upon them! They, as a People, will always exist!

Notice the multitude of "men" mentioned, using "adam" for men. That's man as created by God, made from the "red" clay of the earth! "Adam" means "red."

The "great noise" they make, "hum" in Hebrew, really, suggests a "roar," a tumult, even a "murmuring" at times!

They are a great people, but not always a happy people!

A formidable Group!

Pharaoh distrusted the Jews, so numerous they had become, so powerful!

So have thousands of others through the years, too!

So, here they are!

In confinement!

But safe!

Corralled!

Enclosed!

Until God says something more!

Until Heaven sends deliverance!

And That, rather He, comes in tomorrow's verse!

Join us then!

                                     --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 10, CONCLUSION:

Today we are going to study a little bit of Micah chapter four. It concerns a time yet future to earth, the coming Millennial Rule of Jesus Christ here, a thousand glorious years of Divine Governmental Administration!

Listen to the Preacher, the Prophet Micah: "But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem." Micah 4:1-2

Then he quotes, nearly word for word, a fellow Preacher of his day. The Prophet Isaiah to be specific. Here's a case probably of Micah going to hear the elder Statesman preach, and using some of his God-given material!

Go ahead, Micah: Tell us more about the Millennium: "And the Lord shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Micah 4:3

Here's Isaiah's rendition of this great "no more war" paragraph: "And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Isaiah 2:4

So for today, Preachers, learn this, Church members too. It's okay, under God's leadership, to repeat something you learned at a Revival Meeting last week! Or at a Preacher's Fellowship. As long as it's the Word of God!

Micah did!

And Jesus was glorified!

Amen!

                            --- Dr. Mike Bagwell