Marshal your troops now, city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod. – Micah 5:1

Today's Scripture Reading (May 2, 2026): Micah 5

A number of years ago, I received a prophecy from an unknown prophet and he asked me to read his document. I have been the recipient of many prophecies over the years, and they basically fall into three categories. Some are incredibly accurate. Others are accurate, but not in the way that or for the purpose the prophet imagined. The last group of prophecies is the predictions that are simply off base or false. Often, I find that this last group of prophecies is the one in which the prophet has attempted to predict what seems right, but things don’t turn out the way we think they will. Life can often be surprising. In this case, the prophecy I received fell into that last group

The prophet had written his prophecy, but he had tried to give it the look of a biblical prophecy. He did this by breaking his writing into chapters and verses, making it look much like the Bible we read. I frequently have to remind myself that the verses and chapters we use to divide our modern Bible are artificial, and sometimes, in my opinion, the people who did the dividing got it wrong.

That is the case with Micah 5:1. I would argue that this verse actually belongs in the previous chapter. It is closer in subject matter to Micah 4:13 than it is to Micah 5:2, and the Hebrew Bible in fact does just that. In the Tanakh, this verse is actually designated as Micah 4:14 in that copy of Micah’s prophecy.

What is so earth-shattering is that Micah is prophesying during the reigns of King Ahaz and King Hezekiah, around the time of Israel's fall to the Assyrians. Micah experienced the siege of Jerusalem in 701 B.C.E. The prophet lived about 5 years past that traumatic event, dying in 696 B.C.E., and what is so weird is that he actually mentions Babylon. The last part of verse 10 reads: “You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued. There the Lord will redeem you out of the hand of your enemies” (Micah 4:10b). Micah accurately describes exactly what is about to happen to Judah more than 100 years after he died. (Micah died in 696, and the Babylonian Empire did not rise to be a major player on the world stage until 626 B.C.E.; for those of you who struggle with the math, that is 70 years after Micah’s death).

Micah 5:1, or 4:14, shouts to the people of Judah that it is time to wake up. You think that you are immune to all the bad. You think that God has put a hedge around you and that nothing bad can get to you. You think that the mysterious disappearance of the Assyrian army, which happened in 701 B.C.E., means that nothing bad can happen to you. You believe that you can have peace. But I am here to tell you that you are wrong. Peace only comes from God, and even now you refuse to follow Him. There is a bad boy who is in his infancy right now, but he will grow up, and he will destroy any thoughts of peace that you might have. And even though it is more than a hundred years in the future, I am talking about this as if it is in the past because the seeds have already been planted, and those trees are about to grow up. There is no peace.

It reminds us of a carol that we sometimes sing at Christmas. The words were written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in the midst of the American Civil War. Longfellow hated the war, and in the middle of his Christmas song, his hate is revealed.

            And in despair I bowed my head

            “There is no peace on earth” I said

            “For hate is strong and mocks the song

            Of peace on earth, goodwill to men.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Micah 6

Personal Note: Happy Birthday to my brother-in-law, Laurie. Have a great day!

But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor. – Micah 4:12

Today's Scripture Reading (May 1, 2026): Micah 4

One of my pet peeves is the tendency to judge historical writing by the standards that we hold today. One example might be Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird." The book sometimes seems to be the object of jokes. In an episode of the situation comedy, "Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," Rory, the young son of Paul and Cate Hennessy, in frustration, asks at what point in the book does this bird die? I didn't read Lee's book until I was an adult, but I am disturbed by the recent movement to ban it. I wonder if those who wish to ban the book, whose grounds extend to a word used in it, have ever read it? The book actually teaches against the use of this word, but does so at a time in our history when the word was much more acceptable than it is today. We can argue that the attitudes were wrong, and from today's standards, that is true. But judging yesterday by today is problematic.

I recently had a conversation about whether the Bible should be declared hate literature. There is no doubt that some passages in the Bible make me uncomfortable. However, that would seem to be judging the Bible by our belief systems rather than by the belief systems of the day in which the words were written. Such writings can help us understand yesterday, but banning the entire book because of them seems like overkill. The message of the Bible, as a whole, is one of peace and love. Yes, there are places where that seems not to be true, but that is not the message of the whole tome.

Sometimes, we seem to take the wrong message from the writing. Most commentators seem to see this passage as the wrath of God being carried out against the nations that refuse to follow Him. I am not sure that is true. If Micah spoke of the chaff or the impurities being swept away, I might agree with their conclusions. But that is not what I read here. In fact, Micah himself argues that the nations oppose God because they do not understand God's plan or God's purpose in our world. Micah argues that God has gathered the nations as a farmer gathers sheaves. Sheaves are not gathered to be discarded, but rather gathered because they are valued. Nothing is worse in a world filled with hunger than grain that is wasted and left in the field to rot.

God loves the nations, but they have rejected him. But maybe even more importantly, the nations refused to treat what God values most, people like us, with love and respect. And for that reason, these nations that God has gathered will suffer violence. But it didn't have to be that way; it never does. And as Christians, we love even when love makes no sense, because we don't understand the thoughts of God either. But we do know that God loves and wants the best for all of his creation.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Micah 5

Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel … Who eat my people's flesh, strip off their skin and break their bones in pieces; who chop them up like meat for the pan, like flesh for the pot? – Micah 3:3

Today's Scripture Reading (April 30, 2026): Micah 3

One of the most radical teachings in the Christian faith originates in Jesus's Parable of the Good Samaritan. We know it, but its message seldom reaches the core of who we are. Does Jesus really expect us to love those who, in every other way, stand against us? The surprising answer is yes, a point that Jesus makes clear in his "Sermon on the Mount," which I believe is at the pinnacle of the Bible's teaching.

You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:43-48).

The Parable of the Good Samaritan puts this teaching in story form. It tells of a Samaritan, who was a natural enemy of the Jews, coming to the aid of an injured Jewish man, even when the leaders of the injured man's own society had passed him by. It would be like a present-day Iranian Jihadist pausing to help a hurt American citizen, or maybe a downed American pilot. It is love so tangible that it is almost unthinkable.

Jesus's comment that we love those who love us or support our own people is an example of how our world works. Political leaders often defend their nations, sometimes at the expense of foreigners. It is what we expect from our national leaders, provincial or state officials, and even civic leaders. We have elected you to fight for us and our regional needs.

But the situation Micah speaks about in Israel takes this "normality" a step further. These are leaders who are pursuing personal goals at the expense of their own people. They are getting rich while the people are dying. It is a situation that Micah can't imagine. It is as if the political leadership of the nation has turned to the cannibalism of their own people. They remove the skin and break the bones in the same way a cook would prepare an animal for the pot, so that a meal could be prepared. It isn't just a lack of love for an enemy or a foreigner; it is a lack of concern for those the leader should love automatically.

This lack of concern for those they should love is something Micah couldn't imagine. Who would do that?  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Micah 4

They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud people of their homes, they rob them of their inheritance. – Micah 2:2

Today's Scripture Reading (April 29, 2026): Micah 2

I have some good friends who lived through the aftermath of the Rwandan Genocide. They were Congolese Tutsi who found themselves on the wrong side of a tribal conflict. Some of the stories they tell reflect the terror of the moment. The Hutu-led government perpetrated the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi people. And while we can date the Rwandan genocide to April 7 to July 19, 1994, the struggle between the Hutu and the Tutsi continues even today in East Africa.

One story I heard before I had any connection with the Hutu and Tutsi of that area was a story specifically from the genocide. The storyteller was a moderate Hutu, and during the genocide, he had been part of the movement that attempted to move the Tutsi out of the area. Every night, he would smuggle Tutsi from his house to the next site on an underground railroad reminiscent of the railroad that smuggled enslaved people from the Southern United States to the Northern free states or Canada. This man had a feud with his neighbor, who suspected that he was doing something wrong. As a result of his suspicions, and maybe just coveting what his neighbor had, this man would throw rocks at his children when they left for school in the morning or on their way home in the afternoon. It was not a time in his children's lives when playing outside was an advisable activity.

One afternoon, he looked outside to see one of his kids lying in the street, bleeding from the head. A rock, thrown by this neighbor, had connected in just the right spot with the force necessary to send the child into unconsciousness. It was the moment the man decided he had to quit his position in the Underground Railroad and take his family to safety. The next night, he smuggled his family out of the country using the same railroad that he had used to help so many Tutsi in the past.

How many people died in Rwanda is hard to ascertain. But it pales in comparison to the pain that has been spread throughout the area, and that refugees still suffer through today, more than three decades later. The storyteller of the Rwandan story returned home after the genocide to find another family had moved into his home. It was the brother of the next-door neighbor who had thrown rocks at his children. Maybe that had been the motive of his neighbor's action all along. The storyteller finished his story by discussing the steps he took to get his house back, as well as the effort he made to forgive his neighbor and rebuild their relationship. For me, the most embarrassing part of the story is that while he tried to repair a relationship when he had every right to hold a grudge, we often build up lifelong feuds over Facebook posts.

Micah's comment is a warning to those who plot evil against the people with whom they come into contact. They covet what others have and seek ways to steal it. It is the neighbor's attitude in the story, and sometimes it is ours too, but it can't be. In Christ, I am commanded to want the best for everyone in my life, even when they don't want the best for me.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Micah 3

All this is because of Jacob’s transgression, because of the sins of the people of Israel. What is Jacob’s transgression? Is it not Samaria? What is Judah’s high place? Is it not Jerusalem? – Micah 1:5

Today's Scripture Reading (April 28, 2026): Micah 1

Antiochus IV Epiphanes was the king of the Seleucid Empire from 175 B.C.E. until 164 B.C.E. He was the son of King Antiochus III the Great. From the very beginning, Antiochus Epiphanes was fighting an uphill battle. Antiochus III was a confident King. While he began his reign with military losses, he later achieved significant victories and ultimately expanded his territory. Rather than having future historians give him the epithet “The Great,” Antiochus assumed the title “Basileus Megas” (Great King) for himself. In many ways, Antiochus III might have been the Donald Trump of his day.

It was this image to which Antiochus Epiphanes measured himself. Antiochus Epiphanes was not the direct successor of Antiochus III the Great. His oldest brother, Antiochus, ruled with his father but died before his father. Another brother and son of Antiochus the Great, Seleucus IV Philopator, reigned but was assassinated in 175 B.C.E. Seleucus IV Philopator was succeeded by his son, another unnumbered Antiochus. Little Antiochus was only five at the time. Uncle Antiochus IV Epiphanes took control of the empire at this time, and within another five years, Antiochus the unnumbered was dead, and Antiochus IV Epiphanes was on the throne of the Seleucid Kingdom. But as a result of the way he became King, Antiochus Epiphanes was considered to be a pretender throughout the rest of his reign.

Antiochus sought the approval of the people by cultivating an image of an extravagant and generous ruler who gave unexpected gifts to people he didn’t know, supported military parades, and donated money to the Athenian Temple of Zeus.

However, what Antiochus IV Epiphanes is most remembered for is reversing the Seleucid policy of tolerating the religion of the Jews and, instead, beginning to persecute them. He outlawed all of the rituals of the Jewish faith, he put out the immortal lamp that was meant to burn forever in the Temple, and forced the priests to eat pig flesh, which was considered unclean by the Mosaic Law. He also sacrificed a great swine and sprinkled its blood on the altar in the outward court. All of this meant that the Temple had been defiled, and Jewish worship couldn’t take place there until the Temple had been cleansed. It was also the backdrop to the Maccabean Rebellion, which resulted in Israel briefly gaining its independence.

Micah is speaking about Israel's transgressions. What is important is that the sin of Israel is not because of some outside force. The sin Micah speaks of is not because Antiochus IV Epiphanes came into Jerusalem and defiled the Temple and the city. Jacob’s transgression can be laid at the feet of those living in Samaria, another name for the northern Kingdom of Israel and its capital city. Judah’s sin was highlighted by the sin of the people living in Jerusalem and those who worshipped at the Temple, which was Judah’s high place or proper mountain of worship. Israel and Judah didn’t need an Antiochus to defile them; they were doing that all by themselves.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Micah 2

Personal Note: Happy Birthday to my Grandson, James. Have a great day! (And thus the month of Birthdays in my family begins)

When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it. – Isaiah 7:1

Today's Scripture Reading (April 27, 2026): Isaiah 7

Ahaz seems to have been the exception in a very good line of Kings. Ahaz was the thirteenth in the line of David, and his father (Jotham), grandfather (Uzziah), and great-grandfather (Amaziah) were all noted as the best of the Davidic line. Ahaz's son, Hezekiah, was the most noted of the five generations for his godly faith; some historians argue that Hezekiah was the best of all the Kings of Judah. But somehow Ahaz missed all of this. He married early in life and, if the Bible's chronology is correct, his son Hezekiah was born when he was just 11.

Within a few years of Ahaz becoming King, Pekah of Israel and Rezin of Aram marched against Jerusalem and the Kingdom of Judah under Ahaz's leadership. It is into this situation that we are presented with one of the best-known prophecies of Christ. And the prophecy is found in a conversation Ahaz had with Isaiah amid the King's fear of the damage these two kings might wreak in Judah. The prophecy? "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). But Isaiah isn't talking about Mary and Joseph. He is talking about King Ahaz and his young queen; the word we have translated as "virgin" could also be translated as "young woman of marriageable age."

Isaiah was about 20 when these kings threatened Judah. The more experienced Kings of Israel and Aram had joined forces largely to face the threat coming from Assyria. And they intended that either Ahaz would join their coalition, or they would destroy Judah and make her their ally by force.

God's message to Ahaz is: "I know that you are scared. I know that you are tempted to join with the Kings of Ephraim and Aram. But I know what you don't know. Within sixty-five years, Aram and Ephraim will be gone. I know how unbelievable that sounds, but within sixty-five years, Ephraim will be totally defeated. And if you put your future with them, you might share their fate. Trust in me, not them. I will not allow them to overwhelm you. They will not overpower you now, or at any time in the future."

Here is the truth. Ahaz did not actually have to wait 65 years for the prophecy to be fulfilled. The real number was twelve. In twelve years, Israel would be defeated. The alliance that threatened Judah and Ahaz here in twelve years would fall to the Assyrians. But Ahaz didn't know this, and, in this conversation with Isaiah, he had to decide where to place his trust.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Micah 1

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." – Isaiah 6:6-7

Today's Scripture Reading (April 26, 2026): Isaiah 6

We are people who have sinned, whether we admit it or not. And when we come to the point where we recognize our sin, we will face a decision about what to do about it. The choice that stares us in the face is to argue that it's not our fault and we can't do anything about it, or to confess it. Which reaction is up to us.

The imagery in this passage is very strong. Can you imagine having a hot coal placed on your lips? Dave Browning wrote a song titled "Take Me In," and the chorus includes these lines.

            Take me into the Holy of Holies

            Take me in by the blood of the Lamb

            Take me into the Holy of Holies

            Take the coal, cleanse my lips, here I am 

When we come before this thrice-Holy God, whose glory fills our world and who reveals our sins for what they are, the most painless way to handle that sin is to say that it is not my fault. If fault has to be assigned, it is to someone or something else, not me. Sometimes, we even blame God, I mean, He made us this way, and he has the power to change us and our circumstances if he wants to. But he doesn't (Somehow the events of the Garden of Eden fall away at this point in our argument). 

Our only other option is to take personal responsibility for our sin, confess it, and allow God to come and cleanse it. To take coal and cleanse our lips. From experience, I know that if confession isn't painful, then we haven't really taken responsibility for our sin.

I had a conversation with a friend several years ago. Some issues arose and changed the course of his life. And now we were sitting across a table in a coffee shop, talking about it. I remember asking him which part of the experience he owned, which is just another way of asking, "How have you sinned?" He responded that he had sinned by allowing people to take advantage of him, by allowing other people's behavior to influence him. It was his fault for not cutting off these relationships earlier. 

And all of that might be true, but he still hadn't confessed sin. He had just restructured old arguments in a more personal way. Basically, he argued that he took personal responsibility for someone else's actions against him. It's still not my fault. It is still someone else who did it to me.

If confession isn't painful, then I don't think you have really confessed. It is so much easier not to take responsibility. But we still need the coal to touch our lips, regardless of how painful that might be.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 7