Micah 1:1-4:13, Revelation 6:1-17, Psalms 134:1-3, Proverbs 30:1-4
Today is the 15th day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian and it’s a pleasure, of course, and an honor. And here we are, closing the books on another week. And I think the same thing every time we get to the end of another week, like wow, we’re moving right through. It seems like it was just the heat of the summer and now here we are moving deeply into the Christmas season and into winter. Of course, those of you in the southern hemisphere are probably enjoying a nice summer day, which is…always…I think of that most at Christmas when it’s cold where I am and it’s warm where you are. Nevertheless, I will cease digressing and get to the matters at hand, which is the next step forward in the Scriptures as we move toward the end of the year. And today we will begin the book of Micah.
Micha is the sixth of the 12 minor prophets. And we won’t be reading Micah in one sitting. It’ll take us a whole two days to get through, but let’s consider what we’re about to read. Micah, as a person, we know almost nothing about outside of what’s in the book, but we do have a little information. Micha’s name means “who is like God” and he was from the town of Moresheth, which many scholars associate with Moresheth Gaff, which would place him in the low lands among the villages of southern Judah. And just for reference, this would be in the general vicinity of where David fought Goliath. It was kind of the bordering area between Philistia and Israel. And the book starts by telling us that the Lord gave the message to Micah of Moresheth during the years when Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah and the vision that the Lord had given him about Samaria and Jerusalem, so, both the northern and southern kingdoms, because Samaria was the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel and Jerusalem was the capital city of the southern kingdom of Judah. So, we understand who he was speaking about. And from the references to the specific kings we can likely date Micah’s prophetic ministry to the early decades of the eighth century B.C. Also, Micah is very briefly mentioned in the book of Jeremiah, which lets us see that his prophecies were being referenced over a century after the fact. Right? So, if Jeremiah comes 100 years later and they are still referring to the prophecies of Micah then we can see that they had taken hold, they were being revered. So, Micah follows the same pattern in this book 3 different times. First are utterances of doom and judgment and then they are followed by words of hope and restoration. And this is not unlike other prophetic works in the Bible but this is observable in Micah because it’s shorter and more compact and it appears that it was very intentional. So, within the prophecies of Micah are promises of a coming messianic deliverer. Micah 5:2, is quoted in Matthew 2:5 and 6 making reference to Jesus, “but you oh Bethlehem, Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah, yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past will come from you on my behalf.” In fact, Jesus himself quotes from Micah while explaining the disruption that His coming and that His message were bringing to the world system. So, this is Jesus speaking, being quoted from the gospel of Matthew, but Jesus is quoting Micah chapter 7 – “don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth. I came not to bring peace but a sword. I have come to set a man against his father, daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, your enemies will be right in your own household.” So, this is Jesus speaking about His own ministry, but in the process quoting the prophet Micah. One thing is certain about the book of Micah, God is absolutely, completely, utterly displeased with corruption, idolatry, rebellion and those who misuse their power to exploit the less fortunate. But He’s even more passionate about hope and restoration for those who keep His covenant. And, so, we begin. Micah chapter 1 verse 1 through 4 verse 13 today. And we’ve been reading from the new International version this week, which is what will do today as we close out our week.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You for Your word, we thank You for another week. And it becomes redundant because we recognize that we’re at the end of every week because it exposes the rhythm, the daily and weekly rhythm of the community that we have here but we acknowledge there are precious few weeks left in this year and it’s a reflective time. It’s a very, very busy time for us, but when we slow down and immerse ourselves in this Advent season and reflect back over the year, Your faithfulness abounds. And its been a challenging year like they all are but we see Your faithfulness, we see the way that You’ve strengthened us, the way that You’ve built the fruit of the Spirit within us, that we are being changed. We have plenty a ways to go but we have been changed. And, so we are thankful. Come Holy Spirit as we release this week into our history and prepare to march forward into the remaining weeks of the year. We worship You Father, we love You and we pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Announcements:
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And this is kind of last call for your Christmas calls to come in for the Daily Audio Bible family Christmas that we do each year. So, if you haven’t taken the opportunity to call in your holiday greetings and just wish the community that you’ve journeyed with all the way to this point all the way through this year, Merry Christmas, then make sure that you do. You can use any of the prayer line numbers, depending on where you are in the world to do that. The only rule is that you don’t combine a prayer request and a holiday greeting in the same call. Make them separate. Like, this is the one time of the year when can hang up and dial back. But if you have a prayer request certainly, don’t leave that unspoken. This is one of the distinctive shining bright lights of the Daily Audio Bible community, is that we are a very compassionate and prayerful group of people and we’re willing to shoulder one another’s burdens and be in each other’s stories even though we’re far flung all over the world. It makes us feel connected because we are connected in community. And, so, it’s, for me…for me it’s one of the richest things that we do each year. So, if you haven’t had a chance to call in your holiday greeting yet, be sure that you do that. In the Americas, you can dial 877-942-4253. If you’re in the UK or Europe you can dial 44-20-3608-8078. And if you are in Australia you can dial 61-3-8820-5459. So, be sure that you’re not left out and make sure that you get in today.
And speaking of kind of deadlines. We’ve been talking about the Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box for a couple weeks now, but this coming Monday, so that will be the 17th, that will be our cut off for the United States. After that, like we will still absolutely be shipping all the way through. And, yeah, probably, probably even if you order after that it’ll arrive, but that’s the day that we think is safe. And, so, be sure to get your Christmas Box orders in or anything that you’re ordering in by then and we’ll get it out to you.
Also want take the time to mention the More Gathering for women, which is also something we’ve been mentioning here for a couple of weeks because it makes for a life changing Christmas gift. So, check that out. We’re really, really excited, super excited and super encouraged by the energy that’s around the More Gathering for this year. So, it’s gonna be special. We’re gonna end the season together and we’re gonna end it strong and end it well. And looking forward to you being a part of that. So, you can get all the information about the more gathering at moregathering.com or just look at the Initiatives section at dailyaudiobible.com.
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And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment or holiday greeting today, you can dial 877-942-4253.
And that is it for today. I’m Brian. Wow. That’s not only it for today, that’s it for this week and we’re running out of those in this year. So, let’s continue to take steps forward as we continue to journey toward the conclusion of the Scriptures this year. I’m Brian I love you and I will be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
Hello Daily Audio Bible family, this is Jay from New Jersey. Oh man, wow, I haven’t been in New Jersey for a while. This is Jay from Tennessee, Nashville specifically. I’m calling to pray for Dr. John’s mother. Dr. John, I’ve listened to you over the years and just amazed at your story and the things that you’ve gone through and how you’ve dealt with them with your faith. So, I want to join the family today in praying for you. Jesus, we come before You, recognizing that You are holy, Your God, You are the magnificent, the one who we come to with all of our aches and pains and needs. Father, we come to You now confessing any of our sins that we’ve committed knowingly or unknowingly, releasing them and trying to commit to a life free from those binding desires. Lord, we pray for Dr. John, his father, his mother, his daughter, his family. We pray that her passing will be peaceful, that it will be peaceful for the family, it will be peaceful for her, that You will welcome her with open arms into Your Kingdom Lord. Father, we thank You for the time that she’s been able to spend with the family. Now Lord we just pray that Your will would be done in this next phase of her spiritual journey. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray.
Hi this is Terry from southern Virginia, I’m calling on behalf of prayers for Melody Faith of Canada who called in about her son and his girlfriend and they are expected baby and the fact of her son and his girlfriend are suffering from addiction. So, Melody, I heard your prayer today, today’s December the 10th. I just want to lift you up and join you in prayer and lift up your son and his unborn child and girlfriend. So, dear God in the name of our Lord, our savior Jesus Christ, I just bring before Your throne today, Melody Faith Father God and that her request on behalf of her son and his girlfriend and unborn child. She’s asking for clarity for them that they will draw close to You and that we will see, You know, what the addiction has done in their lives and that You will give them the strength dear God to just not live a life of addiction but live a life through You because greater is he that lives in the than he that is in this world. So, Father God let them see You moving in the midst of their lives Father. And I pray for Melody and her husband Lord God, that You would give them wisdom Lord Jesus and how to deal with this situation, and that You would will make provisions for them as well to meet the needs ahead. And Father, I pray that they will stay the course and keep their hands clasped in Yours trusting You, allowing You to guide then and that none of us will lead to our understanding but acknowledge You in all of our ways and You will direct our paths. Melody Faith, just know that the DAB family is praying for you. We’ve heard your prayer request, but more importantly, God has heard. So, God bless you, God keep you, and have a blessed day everyone. And family, thank you for praying for my son, always, Joshua. He’s still struggling but I know that God’s got him. And I thank you for your continual prayers. Bye everybody.
Hi this is Gloria in New York City. I’ve been meaning to call for a couple of weeks, specifically for Sharon, Sharon in California. I don’t know if I can even express to you how much my heart hurts with you, with your heart. And I just want you to know that I’m another person who’s out here praying for you and hurting with you on the loss of your daughter. I…I feel like all I can pray is for you for your comfort somehow, that God would show you through, through us. I know we’re far away, but our spirits and our hearts are connected with you. I don’t even know what else…I can’t even imagine the pain that you’re in. I’m just…I just want you to know that…that we’re gonna just keep praying for you and keep praying for you and your family and praying also that other people will come alongside just to give you…I think the physical hugs that you need while we send you…while we’re sending you just emotional, spiritual hugs from our heart. Oh, Sharon I’m just so, so brokenhearted with you for your pain. I’m so, so sorry and I will continue to pray for you.
Good Morning Daily Audio Bible community. This is Diane Olive Brown from Newburgh Indiana, it is 2:10 in the on December the 12th, 2018 and I’m calling for a prayer request for my prayer partner and best friend __. She’s in the hospital. She had a heart attack and we have always said that we wanted to go to heaven with each other. You know, the Scripture says that when the final trumpet is sounded the __ in Christ will rise first and then we who are alive __ . We have been prayer partners. She’s been a spiritual mother to me. She’s 96. And we’ve always said that…that we will go to heaven together but she’s in the hospital right now and she had a heart attack and I can’t stop crying. And I don’t know if maybe her work is done on this earth. And I just want to be with her when she makes her ascension into heaven if that’s God’s will for her. And I’m going to see her this morning, Wednesday, December 12th at 10 in the morning. And I just…I just would love to be with her when she does…if she does go to heaven. And…and just let God give her an abundance of __. Pray for me. I can’t stop crying. She’s just been my best friend and prayer partner and such a….