Our scripture reading, to which I invite you to turn with me at this time, is found in the Old Testament prophecy of Micah, the first chapter. Micah, chapter 1. It's one of the so-called minor prophets, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, chapter 1. We began this series on the ministry of Micah last Lord's Day. We considered just the first couple of verses of the first chapter at that time. We considered Micah the man as well as his mission and his message. And though we read once again together today the 16 verses of that first chapter, I draw your special attention to verses 8 and 9, as verses 8 and 9 will constitute our text for today. Micah 1, beginning in verse 1, hear then the word of the Lord. The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. Hear, O peoples, all of you, listen, O earth and all who are in it, that the sovereign Lord may witness against you the Lord from His holy temple. Look, the Lord is coming from His dwelling place. He comes down and treads the high places of the earth. The mountains melt beneath Him and the valleys split apart like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope. All this is because of Jacob's transgression, because of the sins of the house of Israel. What is Jacob's transgression? Is it not Samaria? What is Judah's high place? Is it not Jerusalem? Therefore, I will make Samaria a heap of rubble, a place for planting vineyards. I will pour her stones into the valley and lay bare her foundations. All her idols will be broken to pieces. All her temple gifts will be burned with fire. I will destroy all her images. Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes, As the wages of prostitutes, they will again be used. Because of this, I will weep and wail. I will go about barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and moan like an owl. For her wound is incurable. It has come to Judah. It has reached the very gate of my people, even to Jerusalem itself. Tell it not in gath, weep not at all. In Beth Ophrah, roll in the dust. Pass on in nakedness and shame you who live in Shaphir. Those who live in Zanon will not come out. Beth Ezel is in mourning. Its protection is taken from you. Those who live in Maroth, writhe in pain, waiting for relief, because disaster has come from the Lord, even to the gate of Jerusalem. You who live in Lachish, harness the team to the chariot. You were the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion, for the transgressions of Israel were found in you. Therefore, you will give parting gifts to Moresheth Gath. The town of Akzib will prove deceptive to the kings of Israel. I will bring a conqueror against you who live in Mereshah. He who is the glory of Israel will come to Adulam. Shave your heads in mourning for the children in whom you delight. Make yourselves as bald as the vulture, for they will go from you into exile. Thus far, the reading of God's Holy Word. And as always, brothers and sisters, I ask and urge you to keep your Bibles open and handy as we look to God's Word together on this Lord's Day. Dear congregation of Jesus Christ, This past Tuesday, my wife, Margaret, and I had the distinct privilege and pleasure of traveling down to the historic area of Morristown, New Jersey, with a number of the members of our senior circle. And as a number of us climbed the hill in Jockey Hollow to personally inspect several of the soldiers' huts from some 200 years ago, And as we were given a guided tour through the headquarters of General George Washington, the Revolutionary War years seemed to come to life. We were greatly inspired once again by the incredible dedication and commitment and courage and sacrifice which it took to found this great nation which we call America. Indeed, as we toured the historic grounds in Jockey Hollow and were walking through the fields where some 10,000 or more troops of General Washington were encamped during the incredibly severe winter of 1779 and 1780, I couldn't help but remember these historic words of our Declaration of Independence, words which were signed on July 4, 1776, namely, we hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Think of it. Friends, I guess that's why I was so disturbed later on this past week. When I read that over the past several months, On two separate occasions, President Obama quoted these words as follows. Listen carefully, please. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are equal with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. End of quote. Did you catch the difference? Whether intentionally or not, The words which our President quoted omitted these words. The words created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights and so on. And friends, why is that so significant? Why is that so incredibly significant? Well, it is significant because history has proven time and time and time and time again that any nation which forgets God. Will be forgotten by God. Any nation which forgets God. Will be forgotten by God, especially in relation to the experiencing of his favor. And the escaping of his fury. And brothers and sisters, because that is true, as we now turn to the study of our text as recorded for us in Micah 1, verses 8 and 9, we find ourselves being challenged by the fact that there are at least two key ways in which all of God's people everywhere must seek to model the ministry of Micah as he presented himself to be the penitent prophet. We must seek to model the ministry of Micah as He presents Himself to us as the penitent prophet. Now, boys and girls, young people, penitent is sort of a big word. What it means essentially is being sorry, being remorseful, expressing repentance or regret for wrongs done or sins committed. And the first key way in which Micah showed himself to be a penitent prophet was by publicly proclaiming with his words. By publicly proclaiming with his words. Look at verse 8 of Micah 1 with me if you would please. Micah writes, because of this, which begs the question, because of what? Well, in the immediately preceding context, God has spoken through the prophet Micah by saying, look at verses 5 and following with me, all this is because of Jacob's transgression, because of the sins of the house of Israel. What is Jacob's transgression? Is it not Samaria? What is Judah's high place? Is it not Jerusalem? thereby reminding us, as we saw last Lord's Day, that the capital cities of these countries, as well as the leaders of these countries, assumed greater guilt, and so would experience the greater judgment of a just and holy God. Verse 6, look with me please. Therefore, I will make Samaria the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel. Therefore, I will make Samaria a heap of rubble, a place for planting vineyards. I will pour her stones into the valley." 1 Kings 16.24 tells us that Samaria was a city situated on a hill. I will pour her stones into the valley and lay bare her foundations. All her idols will be broken to pieces. All her temple gifts will be burned with fire. I will destroy all her images. Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes." Seems like strange language. Why does Micah say concerning Israel and Samaria, since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes? Well, friends, the reason is because repeatedly throughout the Old Testament, idolatry is likened to spiritual harlotry or spiritual prostitution. In fact, turn back several pages with me, if you would please, to the first so-called minor prophet of Hosea, Hosea Joel Amos, Hosea chapter 1. In Hosea, who by the way was a contemporary of the prophet Micah, in Hosea 1, verses 2 and 3, we read, When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife. Think of this. Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord. So he married Gomer, daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. God wanted to very powerfully portray that His people were engaging in spiritual adultery, spiritual prostitution, so He literally told His prophet to marry a prostitute. Now we bring that biblical information to bear, back on the words of our text again in verse 7 of Micah 1, look with me please. All her idols will be broken to pieces. All her temple gifts will be burned with fire. I will destroy all her images since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes as the wages of prostitutes. They will again be used. I had a bit of a problem trying to interpret that or apply exactly what that meant. And then I noticed down here in my study Bible, there was a very helpful footnote that helped explain that last portion of verse seven. And it reads, The wealth that Samaria had gained from her idolatry will be taken by the Assyrians and placed in their own temples to be used again in the worship of idols, you see. That's what that portion of verse 7 means. The wealth that Samaria had gained from her idolatry will be taken by the Assyrians who were to conquer the northern kingdom of Israel and placed in their own temples to be used again in the worship of idols. And so now we get, brothers and sisters, again to the words of our text in verse 8. Because of this, because of the sin of Samaria which was going to result in the just judgment of God, because of this I will weep and wail. And indeed, the fulfillment of this prophecy came about through the assault of three successive Assyrian kings against the nation of Israel and the capital city of Samaria, the kings Tiglath-Pileser, Shalmaneser, and Sargon II, with the ultimate fall of Samaria occurring in 722 BC. And so is it any wonder that the prophet Micah declares, because of this, I will weep and wail. Because of this, I will weep and wail. Think about that. You know, brothers and sisters, in times such as ours, when virtually anything goes, in a day and age when the words of the prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah 5, verse 20, are so applicable to today, when Isaiah said, there are so many who are calling evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. When even someone like TV commentator and comedian Dennis Miller says, we are living in an upside down world, we are living in an upside down world. In times such as this, it could be so incredibly difficult, difficult, can it not? To be able, willing and ready to stand up, as did the prophet Micah and say, thus saith the Lord, thus saith the Lord. And yet, brothers and sisters, as Christians, as those who have professed to be committed to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, as those who share in His anointing as prophets, priests, and kings, that is precisely part of the calling and the commission which the Lord our God has commanded us to fulfill. In fact, turn back several pages with me, if you would, please, to the prophecy of Ezekiel. After Job, Psalms, Proverbs, you'll come to Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Ezekiel chapter 33. Ezekiel chapter 33, beginning in verse 1. Look with me, please. Ezekiel 33, 1 and following, the word of the Lord came to me. Son of man, speak to your countrymen, and say to them, when I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, that if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. since he heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people, and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood." Verse 7, son of man, I've made you a watchman for the house of Israel. So hear the word I speak and give them warning from me when I say to the wicked, oh, wicked man, you will surely die and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways. That wicked man will die for his sin. And I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin. that you will have saved yourself, you see. Question. My friend, do you see the sin? Do you see the wickedness? Do you see the crime? Do you see the corruption? Do you see the vileness? the injustice? Do you see the slaughter of the innocents? Do you see the sanctioning of such heinous sins as homosexuality? Do you see the systematic removal, eradication, silencing of God's Word in the public square of our land? Do you see these things? Do you see that they are increasingly running rampant all around us, about to overflow us? If so, then why would you or I ever think that the same Almighty God who spoke through the prophet Micah would today remain silent when he judged these very same sins which were running rampant in Judah and Israel nearly 3,000 years ago. In fact, look at, back in Micah chapter 1, look at verses 10 and following with me if you would please. This isn't part of our text, but by way of commentary, you can't see it as well in the English. But in the Hebrew, Micah is, I'm going to say, playing with puns as it were. He's playing on the meaning of the names of these cities in order to indicate to them the kind of judgment which is about to befall them. For example, let's review briefly verses 10 and following. He says, "...tell it not in Gath..." Gath is a name, is a town, which means or sounds like the word for to tell. But it was a Philistine city. And so Micah did not want the Philistines to rejoice in the judgment which God was about to bring on his people. And so he says, "...tell it not in Gath, weep not at all." In Beth Ophrah, Ophrah is a name which means or sounds like the Hebrew word for dust. And so he says, in Beth Ophrah, roll in the dust. Pass on in nakedness and shame you who live in Shaphir. Shaphir is a city which means or sounds like the term for beautiful or fair. And yet it would be a city filled with nakedness and shame. Those who live in Zanon will not come out. Well, that's ironic because Zanon means to come out or to march. But they would not march out because they were about to be taken captive. Beth Ezel, which means to be near, is in mourning because its protection is taken from you and it was going to be taken away into captivity, not be kept near. Those who live in maroth, writhe in pain, waiting for relief. It's a town which means bitter, because disaster has come from the Lord, even to the gate of Jerusalem. You who live in Lachish. Lachish, boys and girls, young people, was a military outpost about 30 miles southwest of Jerusalem. And it was known for its chariots and its horses. And so you would think that that city could withstand the coming onslaught of the Assyrians. But it says here in verse 13, You who live in Lachish, harness the team to the chariot. Well, they had done that many times. But generally they did it to fight, and now they were going to do it to flee. You were the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion. We don't know how. We don't know why. Perhaps because of the violation of Psalm 20, verse 7, which says, Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They had the chariots and horses, but they trusted in them rather than in the Lord. And so as a result, the prophet says, You were the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion, for the transgression of Israel was found in you. Therefore, you will give parting gifts to Moresheth Gath. Gath is a word which means, or is similar to the word which means betrothed, to be given in marriage. And they were going to be given in marriage, but not to the Lord, to the Assyrian army. Think of this. The town of Aqzib, which means deceitfulness, will prove deceptive to the kings of Israel because they thought it was safe. But it was going to be conquered. Verse 15, I will bring a conqueror against you who live in Marashah. Marasha means an heir. It's like part of an inheritance. But it wasn't the Lord's inheritance any longer. It was going to belong to Sargon II, king of Assyria. You begin to get the flow. You begin to get the picture. He who is the glory of Israel will come to Ajalom. Where was Ajalom? Where do we read of Ajalom in the Old Testament? It was in Ajalom where there was the cave in which David hid when he was fleeing from King Saul. And God is saying here through His prophet, you as My people, the leaders of My people are going to have to hide in a cave. Just like David did a few hundred years before. Think of it. Think of it. Now, friends, we we read this and I try to comment on this to you to help you understand what the prophet is saying, and it was kind of interesting to study the play on words. I mean, we can have fun with puns, can we not? But Michael wasn't playing a game. Wasn't playing word games with the people. No doubt the Jews in Micah's day stood aghast as it increasingly became clear to them that the very names of the towns and cities in which they were living were omens, were portents of the kind of judgment which was about to fall on them because of their rebellion and unrepentance before the Lord their God. And then we have this chilling climax in verse 16 when the prophet declares, shave your heads in mourning for the children in whom you delight. I don't know how many times, don't lose your place, I don't know how many times some seniors in our church or elsewhere will say to me, you know, I'm aged, I'm on in years, I have more years behind me than I have ahead of me. I fear for our children. I fear for our grandchildren. I hear that all the time. And here the prophet says essentially the same thing. He says, "...shave your heads in mourning for the children in whom you delight. Make yourselves as bald as the vulture." Boys and girls, a vulture is a bird that is virtually bare feather-wise and its head and its neck. Make yourselves as bald as the vulture. Why? For they will go from you into exile. They will go from you into exile. Think of it. To go into exile, writes the late Dr. James Montgomery Boyce, was to become a slave and to have an entire people exiled was the death of the nation. And writes another, captivity, exile, a terrible word. But such do the people face who fail to give God his rightful place. End of quote. And so is it any wonder, my dear, dear friends in the Lord, that as we seek to model the ministry of Micah as the penitent prophet, We too must do so by means of publicly proclaiming with our words." Publicly proclaiming with our words. Ah, but notice, a second key way in which God's people must model the ministry of Micah as the penitent prophet is that we must also do so by means of personally portraying with our walk. By personally portraying with our walk. For example, look at verse 8 and we'll go into verse 9 once again. Look with me please. Because of this, I will weep and wail. I will go about barefoot and naked." Think of this. Now, the commentators I have read, they say, well, Micah probably didn't go around literally, completely naked, although he may have. But more likely, what Micah did was he stripped down to a loincloth in order to take on the attire of a captain, of a slave, of someone who had been conquered and was being carried away into exile. And so with that powerful portrayal, with that powerful imagery, if you will, he was weeping and wailing and going about barefoot and naked. And it says in the next part of the verse, howling like a jackal and moaning like an owl. Can you picture this prophet of God doing these things, looking this way? Why did he do it? Verse 9, for, or because, her, that is Israel's, Wound that is sin, which has now resulted in the coming judgment of God is incurable. There's no going back. It's over. There will be no repentance and there will be no relief from the Lord. For her wound is incurable. It that is such sin resulting in such just judgment, it has come to Judah, the southern kingdom. It has reached the very gate. of my people, even to Jerusalem itself." If you've got your own Bibles, brothers and sisters, underscore or circle that word to, that preposition to. It doesn't say even through or into Jerusalem itself. It says even to Jerusalem itself. And the reason that's important is because in the providence of God, at this particular point in time, Jerusalem did not fall. The capital of the southern kingdom of Judah, Jerusalem did not fall to the Assyrian king, Sennacherib, even though he had laid siege to the city. The Bible tells us that the Lord heard and answered the prayers of King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah on her behalf, as 2 Kings 18 and 19 and Isaiah 36 and 37 report for us. With the angel of the Lord, boys and girls, young people, think of this, with the angel of the Lord slaying 185,000 of the Assyrians in a single stroke. In a single stroke. Think of it. Friends, again, please notice how even though Micah publicly proclaimed that the entirely just judgment of God was about to fall, Michael himself played a part, played the part of a humble captive, weeping and wailing concerning the sin of the people and publicly portraying what was about to happen to them. Not with joy and gladness. But with grief. And sadness. And why is that so significant? Why is that so significant? Well, it's significant, brothers and sisters, because Micah did not ask the people to do what he was not willing to do himself, to humble himself, humiliate himself before Almighty God, and express repentance and remorse for his own sins and the sins of the people. In fact, in the words of Matthew Henry, and I quote, listen carefully, please, It was not out of ill will that the prophets denounced the judgments of God. They dreaded it more than anything. We ought to lament the punishment of sinners as well as the suffering of saints in the world. Did you catch that? Matthew Henry said, we ought to lament the punishment of sinners as well as the suffering of saints in this world. And that's true. In fact, turn back with me, if you would, for a moment, please, to Isaiah chapter 9. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations. In Jeremiah chapter 9, verse 1, the so-called weeping prophet of Israel. Jeremiah 9, verse 1, we read. Jeremiah is lamenting here, and he says, Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night for the slain of my people. You see. It's no wonder he was called the weeping prophet. And if you'll go several pages to the right with me, please, again, in Ezekiel chapter 33, but this time, brothers and sisters, dropping down to verse 11, notice what Ezekiel 33, 11 says, "'Say to them, as surely as I live,' declares the Sovereign Lord, "'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.'" Turn, turn from your evil ways. Why will you die, O house of Israel? And then friends, finally on this score, let's consider the lament of our Lord Jesus over the city of Jerusalem as recorded for us in Luke chapter 14 verse 34. Luke 14 verse 34, Jesus from the very depths of His being cries out, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you were not willing, but you, We're not willing. Think of it. Question. Friends, do you? Do I? Weep and wail. Over our own personal sins, which we have committed before the face of our holy God. And do we weep and wail over the many corporate sins of our country, which fly in His holy faith, which will surely bring down the just judgment of God upon us if there is no sincere repentance and a turning to our Lord Jesus Christ in faith. In fact, I don't mind telling you that I firmly believe that a portent of such judgment came to us, at least in part, with the horrific terrorist attacks of 9-1-1, which, when you think about it, went to the very gates of the capital city of our own country in Washington, D.C. Think of it. You know, someone has once said that people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care. It's a great statement. People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care. And I was thinking about that. when it dawned on me that during the approximate 50 to 60 years of Micah's prophetic ministry, and I tracked this out chronologically in the Scriptures, there were at least some 15 to 25 years of Micah's preaching where he saw no results. He saw no fruit. He saw not even a hint of renewal and revival and a spiritual turning to the Lord. Think about that. And that begs the question, does it not? How long? And how hard? Have you and I preached and or prayed for the renewal, the revival, the spiritual turning of our nation? How long and how hard have you or I preached and or prayed for the salvation of our unsaved spouse? Our unsaved or spiritually straying son or daughter? our unsaved or spiritually straying friend or family member or co-worker or classmate? Have we prayed and persevered for even one-tenth that length of time? Oh, my dear, dear friends in the Lord, as you and I go forth from this place, May God grant to each and every one of us the grace to proclaim with our words and to portray with our walk the ministry of Micah as the penitent prophet. Amen. Let's bow our heads and our hearts together in prayer. Because of this, I will weep and wail. I will go about barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and moan like an owl, for her wound is incurable. It has come to Judah. It has reached the very gate of my people, even to Jerusalem itself. O Lord our God, Considering the severity of the sin of the times in which we are living, not just in America, but considering the sin of virtually every nation on the face of this earth and the way in which we have all defied your law and defamed your holy name. Oh Lord, in the words of the prophet Habakkuk, in wrath, remember mercy. and enable and empower us as your people, near and far, to set an example among the nations of personal repentance and sincere saving faith, as we, by your grace, seek to model the ministry of Micah, the penitent prophet. Hear us, Heavenly Father, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.