ESOCS Devotional 20 May 2023
MEMORY VERSE: “But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD, and of judgement, and of might to declare unto Jacob his transgressions and to Israel his sin.” Micah 3:8 KJV
TEXT: MICAH 3:1-8
And I [Micah] said, Hear, I pray you, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to know justice?—
2 You who hate the good and love the evil, who pluck and steal the skin from off [My people] and their flesh from off their bones;
3 Yes, you who eat the flesh of my people and strip their skin from off them, who break their bones and chop them in pieces as for the pot, like meat in a big kettle.
4 Then will they cry to the Lord, but He will not answer them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, because they have made their deeds evil.
5 Thus says the Lord: Concerning the false prophets who make My people err, when they have anything good to bite with their teeth they cry, Peace; and whoever gives them nothing to chew, against him they declare a sanctified war.
6 Therefore it shall be night to you, so that you shall have no vision; yes, it shall be dark to you without divination. And the sun shall go down over the false prophets, and the day shall be black over them.
7 And the seers shall be put to shame and the diviners shall blush and be confounded; yes, they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God.
8 But truly I [Micah] am full of power, of the Spirit of the Lord, and of justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.
Read Other ESOCS Devotional here
There is always the tendency to present the gospel message or prophecies in a manner that will not offend the hearers. So that people (unrepentant sinners) will not be forced out of the congregation. Micah was not of that school of thought. His name means “Who is like Jehovah”. He was a contemporary of Isaiah, a bold prophet who spoke out strongly against immorality, social injustices and the oppression of the poor by the rich (Micah 3:1-3).
The gospel is the good news of salvation taught by Jesus Christ and propagated by the early disciples of Christ. In their time, they gave the message raw and undiluted. By this they were able to make the impact intended by the LORD (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-18). We distort the power of the gospel when we pamper the message (Micah 3:4).
The Lord does not take it easy with preachers and prophets who release soft version of the message they receive. We should at all times release it raw and undiluted and be bold about it. Otherwise, we will be found to encourage sinners and whittle down the manifestation of the power of God. (Micah 3:5-7).
Let all those who are conscious of the anointing of God upon them be bold to acknowledge same and speak out in fulfilment of their mission (Micah 3:8). Those who fear God will certainly accept the raw word of God but the unrepentant sinner will always look for excuses to remain in sin.
- In what circumstance should the gospel message be pampered?
- Father, give me the Spirit of boldness in exercise of your power in my life.
FURTHER READING: Isaiah 6:1-8; John 16:16-end; Romans 11:25-end
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ESOCS Devotional 20 May 2023
