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 it is a joy to be here with you today, center of the last month of the year, 10 days from now, a week and a half from now Christmas Day and we are continuing our journey forward in rapid fashion as we move through some of the shorter texts, especially in the Old Testament. We are already in the book of Revelation in the New Testament. So, we’ve reached our final book there, but we’ve got a ways to go in the Old Testament. So, we read the book of Jonah in its entirety yesterday, which brings us to the book of Micah, and this is halfway. So, this is the sixth of the 12 minor prophets that will conclude the Old Testament.
Introduction to the book of Micah:
And in terms of who Micah was, that…there is very little that’s known. A little bit. The name Micah means “who is like God” We’re told in the text that he’s from the town of Moresheth and many biblical archaeologists associate this with Moresheth Gath which would…which would put Micah in the lowlands in the kingdom of Judah in the lowlands. And this is kind of the region where other famous stories in the Bible like David and Goliath happened. The book, as we’ll find out in just a minute tells us that the Lord gave the message to Micah of Moresheth and then lists Kings during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah when they were kings of Judah and that the visions that he had seen pertained to Samaria and Jerusalem. So, Samaria is the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel. Jerusalem is the capital city of the southern kingdom of Judah. So, with the names of some of the kings incorporated into the text then we could date Micah to somewhere around the eighth century B.C. And then we also know that Micah has a brief mention in the book of Jeremiah. And Jeremiah was later. So, if all that I’m saying is correct Micah was still being quoted, Micah was still being referenced over a century later among the prophets when Jeremiah was doing his ministry. The book of Micah has a pattern, a prophetic pattern. There’s like utterances of coming doom and judgment and then there are words of hope and restoration. That’s a pattern that we see in a lot of the prophets. This is no different in Micah except that he does it three times in a row back-to-back in a short book. And, so, many scholars think that’s a very intentional thing that’s trying to be said beneath what’s being said. Another thing of note about Micah is that Micah has promises in it of the coming messianic Messiah, deliverer. And, so, like it wasn’t too long ago we read to the book of Hebrews in which the author continually says Jesus, basically Jesus was always supposed to come, you can see this thread through the prophets. Well, Micah would be one of those prophets. So, like Micah 5:2 is quoted in Matthew 2:5 and 6. “But, you all Bethlehem Ephrathah you 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”, right? So, this foretelling of the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. Jesus Himself quotes from Micah when He is talking about his own ministry and what it’s supposed to do, like that He’s bringing down or exposing the world system. So, in Micah, “don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth. I came not to bring peace but a sword.” So, we recognize those words coming from Jesus, but Jesus was quoting Micah. But by the time we get done with reading the book of Micah, which will be tomorrow it should be pretty clear that God has no interest…in fact, is completely displeased with corruption and idolatry and rebellion and people who use their power or misuse their power to exploit the vulnerable or the less fortunate. But God is also perhaps even more passionate about hope and restoration for those who stay true. And, so, we begin. And we will read the first four chapters of the book of Micah. We’re reading from the Good News Translation this week.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You for Your word. It’s an everyday thing and we will never not be grateful because it has changed us and shaped us, and it continues to inform us, and it doesn’t matter what year it is, it doesn’t matter what day or week it is, You are always present speaking to us through Your word and it becomes such a mirror to our own hearts. It reveals us to ourselves in ways that…that You're…only Your Holy Spirit can do. And, so, we are grateful for that and we invite that. And as we continue this journey, we open ourselves, even as the days get busier, even as the world out there invites us to continue to close down because there’s just too much going on. We open ourselves fully to You. Nothing is off limits to You. So, come Holy Spirit, plant the words of the Scriptures in the soil of our hearts today. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Announcements:
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And we’ve been talking about Christmas being the thing that’s going on around here because that is…that it’s what’s happening around here, everywhere around the world. And, so, it’s Christmas time in…around the Global Campfire as well. And, so, a couple things. We’ve been talking about the…the Daily Audio Bible Shop and the 2020 ornament. If you spend $40 or more in the Daily Audio Bible Shop, that is all true other than to say probably we’re not gonna have any more ornaments past tomorrow for sure, maybe…maybe not passed today. So, if, yeah…you know, if you were maybe kinda procrastinating a little bit and thought maybe you should check out the Daily Audio Bible Shop because you wanted that then check out…check it out today. Of course, once we run out of ornaments the Shop will still be open as long as we still have some…some stuff left. And, so, we will gladly continue to send…to send anything that…that you want from the Shop out. But I’m just giving you a heads up.
The other thing that we’ve been talking about is the annual Daily Audio Bible Christmas party that we do. And, so, we’ve been calling in our holiday greetings into the community here by using the prayer line apparatus, the phone number and the Hotline in the app. Tomorrow is going to be the last day for that. It’s a pretty good sized job to edit it all together and piece all of the pieces together so that we can have this virtual party and want to do that before Christmas, obviously. And, so, tomorrow will be the last day that we will be taking holiday greetings. So, if you’ve been procrastinating on that then now would be the time. You can…well…you can use the Hotline button in the app, which is the red button up at the top or…or you can dial 877-942-4253. And as I’ve been saying, there’s really only one rule. That's…that’s the prayer line. So, that’s what it’s primary…it’s primary purpose is to encourage each other through prayer and to keep each other up to date on the things that we are struggling through so that we don’t have to be alone in it all so that we can shoulder each other’s burdens. If you have that going on, if there are some things to share definitely call in. Just don’t make a holiday greeting and a prayer request in the same call. This is one of the rare times you can call in and then hang up and call back. You can call in your holiday greeting and then if you have a prayer or encouragement or prayer request then make that a separate call so that we can keep everything tidy and in order.
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And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, or holiday greeting right now, yup, the hotline button in the app is the place to go. You can’t miss it. It’s up at the top. Looks like a hotline button or you can dial 877-942-4253.
And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
Hey DAB family this is Byron out in Florida hope you all are doing well. Could use your help on something. As a lot of you know my youngest son Nehemiah is autistic and he goes to a special school and he’s been doing pretty well there but the schools been recommending that he gets additional behavioral therapy so that what they’re trying to do can work better. And, so, we’ve looked into it and it turns out that our insurance is not going to cover it but this is something that he really and truly needs. So, we’re going to move forward with it anyway. The numbers here are…are pretty large in an order of multiple thousand dollars a month and I’m not sure how were going to be able to pay for it but we’re gonna start it and see where it goes. So, I could use you guys’s prayers because I think this is best. We think this is best for him. We think the Lord is in it. We just don’t know how it’s going to add up at the bottom of the tiling. But God has promised to many things before. He has not forgotten us, and this is just the next step. So, we’re trusting Him for that but it’s not gonna happen without prayer. And, so, I would ask you guys to add your faith of mine and my wife’s faith and all the people that are surrounding Nehemiah to get him to where he needs to be in his particular development. So, praises to Him. He’s worthy of all of our praise. He’s never let us down. He’s never let you down. We come before Him in prayer and honor Him that He will take care of His children. So, thank you guys. I love you all and talk to you later.
Hello Daily Audio Bible prayer warriors this is only Tony. I’m calling tonight wishing that I could say a happy thing but I’m really calling for emergency prayers. I’m asking for prayers for my mother who has contracted Covid. Both my mother and father are in the hospital with Covid in the same room. My father is doing fair. My mother is doing very poorly. She’s really gasping for air and she’s very scared. She knows the Lord but she’s very scared. She’s afraid to go to sleep because she’s afraid that she won’t wake up. So, I’m asking if you would lift up Kathryn in New Jersey. I love her dearly and I just pray that God won’t take her at this point and give me more time with her. I ask that He would comfort her and ease her fears. Let her know that He is with and that He cares about her. So, if you would please lift up Kathryn in New Jersey I would appreciate it. I love you all. I thank you. I thank Brian for the wonderful year I’ve spent with you all. This is my first time calling and I just I pray that you would all have a Merry Christmas. My mother’s birthday’s is on the 18th of December and I pray that she makes it till then. Thanks very much. God bless.
Hello, my wonderful DAB family today is Saturday, December 11th and this is Rosie and it’s great to be free in Jesus. I’m calling in right now because I really need your prayers. I really need healing. I’ve been puttin’ up with a lot of pain and it just keeps getting worse and I just feel like I need my family to stand in the gap with me. There’s…I have pain in my back and in my knees and it’s moved to my feet. My toes feel like they’re on fire and I went to the doctor. He told me that I need to take extra vitamin B. Well, I’ve been doing that for the past month and the pains only getting worse. So, I’m having a hard time sleeping at night because of all the pain. So, I really need your prayers. And I really appreciate all of you, my family. And I appreciate Brian and Jill and China and the whole Hardin family for the wonderful community that you have made this and that you have let God lead you the whole way and we really do appreciate that and thank you family. God bless you.
Hello this is Wonderfully Made in Albuquerque I am calling in to pray for a woman who…she didn’t say her name, but she asked for prayers over just being distracted with everything that’s going on in the world that makes her sick I think and she’s having trouble with listening to the Bible and feeling God’s presence. And, so, today is I think this is from the December 11 reading actually. So, I’m calling in for you whoever your name is and I know that your…know that you’re not alone, that many struggle with this especially including myself. So, heavenly Father I pray for this woman and others who are struggling with the many distractions and what’s going on right now and who are weighed down. And also, those who don’t feel Your presence and who are discouraged by that who…who just need hope and I lift all of these up to You and this woman Lord and I praise You that You are greater than he who is in the world. And even those times when it feels like You’re not present You are present, and Your love will never let us go. And…and I praise You for the times where You do give us glimpses Lord and…and bless us with…with those feelings of Your presence. Yet faith is not about feeling or seeing. Faith is just moving forward and believing even when we can’t see and feel and everything. And thank You that Your spirit gives us…that You give us what we need in the moments that we need it. And I ask and pray for perseverance…
Hi Daily Audio Bible this is Carmen from Orlando Florida calling with a praise report. Thank you everybody who prayed for my husband who had Covid at the end of October. He spent five days at the hospital and then he spent another week at home and getting better every day. And, so, two weeks later he went back to work and his personalities been back and he’s, you know, he still had an inhaler to use and his breathing wasn’t all the way there. But he seems fine now. I never see him running short of breath or anything like that and he feels like his old self again and I am so so grateful. I don’t know how to thank God for his healing. I don’t know how to thank you guys for them. So, all I can do is be here and say thank you thank you so much. I send you all a virtual hug and I wish everybody a Merry Christmas and an awesome new year 2021. God bless you. Bye-bye.