Introduction
Good morning, everyone. We will now begin our sharing on the Book of Micah. It is a rather peculiar book, difficult for many to read, as it is for me. Today, we will cover the first chapter, themed Hear, all you people; let the Lord God be a witness against you. I have omitted a few words from the original text, which reads: Hear, all you people! Listen, O earth, and all that is in it, that the Lord God may be a witness against you from his temple.
Why does God not praise you? In truth, we humans have little to boast about. People often seek commendation, wanting to be acknowledged for their good deeds. Yet, God sees that things are still severely flawed. People often overestimate their own merit, and Christians who think too highly of themselves are on a path to ruin. Our God rarely praises us; His forbearance is already a great blessing.
Today, God will bear witness against our shortcomings. Observe closely the strange phenomena within the church, and you will see the Lord God bearing witness against us. To this day, we still fall short. Do not cease striving, but press on and run forward. Do you understand? I believe these words are quite awakening.
Overview of the Book of Micah
The Book of Micah is a fascinating text, containing two passages that we often reference. The first passage is:
In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Micah 4:1-2)
This passage has profoundly impacted us. A core tenet of Chinese Mingding Destiny is: in these last days, we must ascend the mountain of the Lord, enter the temple of the God of Jacob. Can you grasp this? In these last days, a group of people will be raised to stream to this mountain, the mountain of truth. Today, Chinese Mingding Destiny is scaling a mountain of truth, originating from this very passage, to enter the temple of the God of Jacob, which is to build God's glorious church.
The second passage is:
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)
These are two crucial statements from Micah, deeply influencing us. Has God obtained what He seeks from us today? It seems somewhat uncertain, at least in my own view, we are still far from it.
Under what circumstances did Micah write the Book of Micah? It was during the reign of a commendable king named Hezekiah. Reading the Bible, you will find that the Book of Micah was written during Hezekiah’s reign. If Hezekiah was such a good king, why did God not praise him? Why did He still use the prophet Micah to bear witness against their shortcomings? Because in that era, even a good king like Hezekiah could hardly change the culture of the entire kingdom of Judah.
What was happening in Judah? It was slightly better than the neighboring kingdom of Israel. Israel was on the brink of destruction at this time. We cannot definitively determine whether the Book of Micah was written before or during the destruction, but it was likely during the process. Hezekiah was a king after God's own heart, but the nation of Judah was raising a populace that even Hezekiah could not fully control.
What were the wealthy in Judah doing? They were driven by profit. Why do I say this? What God wanted was for them to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with their God. But what Micah saw in Judah was people not acting justly, not loving mercy, not walking humbly—was this not the same as the doomed kingdom of Israel next door?
At this time, God raised up the Assyrian Empire, which was extremely powerful. God had warned Judah in advance, and Judah nearly fell to the Assyrian Empire. Often, we Christians also nearly die, nearly get destroyed, and experience many things. Why? Because God wanted to warn Judah: be careful, have you seen what happened to Israel next door? If you have, this will be your fate.
To this day, the pursuit of profit is still prevalent. It is not much different today. Do you think all Christians in the church are good? There was a livestream where a Christian wanted to earn money from it, but people did not believe him. He slammed the Bible down and said: I believe in this, how could I deceive you? That is precisely the point; he is a liar.
If someone tells you to trust them and then pulls out a cross, forget it, do not trust them. If they pull out Guan Gong, do not trust them. If they pull out a Buddha, do not trust them. Judah was like this, trusting in this, only to be severely deceived because of their pursuit of profit. There is no difference between that era and this one.
We have discovered a very interesting phenomenon: God warned Judah about this a hundred years in advance, but a hundred years later, they were still destroyed by the Babylonian kingdom. At that time, Babylon defeated the Assyrian Empire and then destroyed Judah. The Assyrian general, with his troops, had already reached Lachish, a place from which Jerusalem was about to be destroyed, but God saved Hezekiah and Judah. It was not because Judah deserved this salvation, but because Judah had not yet reached the fullness of their iniquity; God warned them again and again.
When people encounter disasters, they ask: God, why did you not remind me? That is how people are. How should He remind you? A backache, a stomachache—have you been warned? Yes, you have. A headache, dizziness, blurred vision, low or high blood sugar, high or low blood pressure.
God often warns people, but people do not listen. Those I serve, are they any better? A little better. But what about people? The one you should be listening to is the Book of Micah. No time, they say, No time to listen to the Book of Micah? No time to listen to the Lord bearing witness against you? Still expecting God to praise you a bit more? What more do you want? Oh my goodness, as if God owes you something.
The introduction to the Book of Micah gives us a good warning. Start fearing God today, do not wait until the point of no return to ask: God, why has this happened? Some people, at fifty or sixty years old, are deeply in debt and ask me: Teacher, why has God allowed me to reach this point? I say: That is quite a good excuse. How can you pass the buck to God? Did you not walk through it step by step? Were you not willing to be deceived? I once warned you that it was a scam, but you did not listen.
That is how people are in life: they do not turn back until they hit the south wall, they do not shed tears until they see the coffin. There is nothing God can do, let alone me. Do the nations include us little people? We are but a hundred of those nations. If the nations must listen, so must we.
The Vision Seen by the Prophet Micah
It is not easy being a prophet. Who likes to hear bad news? Let me tell you, this world is interesting; prophets are not popular. They open their mouths to speak of the visions they see, saying they have received revelations. What did he see? He saw the Lord God coming out of His dwelling, stepping on the high places of the earth.
What kind of scene is this? It is God looking at this situation anxiously, why are people rushing towards destruction? He stood up from His throne in anxiety, came out of His temple, and stood on the high places of the earth. What was He going to do on the high places of the earth? To manifest His wrath. God was truly angered. This anger might happen in that era or a hundred years later. So, the prophet Micah saw this vision and was extremely grieved in his heart, for his people were to bear the wrath of the Lord.
What did he see? Mountains collapsing and the earth splitting, like wax melting in a fire. Can you imagine this? If you saw the entire land of Jerusalem melting away like wax, my goodness, that would be terrifying. Why? Because of the sins of the people of Israel and Judah. What sins? Because they did not act justly, did not love mercy, did not walk humbly with God, and only pursued fame and gain. Thinking about it now, the pursuit of fame and gain seems normal, but it is not.
This is very interesting, interesting because when Micah saw this vision, Samaria had already met its end, which was the kingdom of Israel. Let me explain briefly, the kingdom of Israel is called the brother nation of Judah. The kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel are somewhat like mainland China and Taiwan, like North and South Korea, all divided from one country.
The kingdom of Israel built a fantastic city in Samaria, called Samaria. The king who built Samaria was Ahab, a very capable man who managed the country well, and the economy was very developed, even to this day. The king of Israel must have been quite capable, why was he so capable? He was good at exploiting people's selfishness. It is difficult to manage a country without exploiting people's selfishness. We Chinese say: Clear water has no fish. If you do not exploit people's selfishness, you cannot manage the country and operate the state machinery. Who would work for you for free?
Ahab exploited people's selfishness, did not act justly, did not love mercy, and was corrupt. Oh my goodness, the economy was very developed, with a great disparity between the rich and the poor. What happened? God's wrath came upon the country of Israel. Fortunately, the country of Judah was still okay. As a result, he saw this outcome and saw in a vision that such things would also befall Judah.
The Prophet Goes Stripped and Naked, Wailing and Howling
Micah loved the kingdom of Judah very much, and loved Jerusalem. He felt this was God's temple, God's city, God's people. Then the mountains collapsed and the earth split, with the mountains melting under his feet. He was saddened in his heart, oh, why can't people understand this vanity of vanities? Today, I am also shouting here. Fortunately, I have practiced my pronunciation, and my throat will not become hoarse after shouting, unlike some people who shout until their throats are hoarse.
I am shouting here: Today, we must all be careful. How much do you need to experience before you fear God? How much do you need to experience before you repent? I am often saddened in my heart, and I really do not want to see brothers and sisters perish in corruption. In fact, if you think you are good, it is even more troublesome. If you feel: God, I am already like this, what more do you want from me? Then it is bad.
Many people in Judah thought the same way, and the people in Israel thought the same way. They felt they were doing well. So, God anxiously came out of the temple and descended on this land because of the sins of His people. People feel that living life is normal, but they need to ponder it slowly.
What did the prophet do? The prophet went stripped and naked, wailing and howling, not only barefoot but also with his buttocks exposed, running about stripped and naked. Imagine how shocking that would be. Imagine a child at home saying: Dad, Mom, there is someone running naked in the street. His dad says: Ignore him, he's crazy. Crazy? No, it is the prophet Micah.
Later, I discovered that God really likes to use prophets to run around naked. The pain in the prophet's heart, oh my goodness, so painful that he went streaking. I ask you: If a woman suddenly comes out of a high-end shopping mall or building stripped and naked, what pain do you think she has experienced? She has experienced a pain, expressing pain in this way.
Fortunately, in that era, no one cared if you ran like this in the street. After running stripped and naked for, say, three to five days, the prophet put on clothes and came out. He sat down in a coffee shop and ordered a cup of coffee, and the waiter said: Hey, aren't you the one who was running around naked a few days ago? Why are you wearing clothes today? Oh my goodness, the prophet was in so much pain that he reached this point. Then people saw this and said: I am not selling to you, get a bowl of noodles. We do not sell to crazy people here. Everyone treated him like a madman.
In that era, there were still many people who cried out for peace, constantly saying peace in the church, and then they had peace all the way into cancer, peace all the way into depression. Some of you came here after constantly crying out for peace in the church, feeling so stifled that you developed cancer. Even if cancer comes, do you have peace? If you had listened to the Lord God bearing witness against your shortcomings earlier, this would not have happened. Those who say peace are all talking nonsense, false peace. It is easy to talk about peace, but it is a bit difficult to have true peace.
Seeing the prophet stripped and naked, the reaction of the people of Judah was: The prophet must be crazy. Look how good our society is now, look how good the economy is, look how much money we are making in our businesses. Good? The prophet says no. So, this person does not know how his future will be, but the prophet sees how his future will be. The prophet is saddened by how their future will be, but they themselves do not feel it. Not only do they not feel it, but they also think the prophet is talking nonsense.
In this generation, there are two types of prophets. One type likes to preach peace, which is all false. The other type often testifies against your wrongdoings, but that is the truth. I often lament in my heart, lamenting what? Why do people insist on running towards destruction? Have we not experienced enough of God's testimony? Are God's reminders not enough for us? Today, I am talking about you and me, why do we repeatedly live in sin? This is what pains me the most. Thinking about it, we can't control it, so let's happily eat my meal and joyfully drink my wine.
I don't have that capital now, because God also testifies against my wrongdoings. I also don't have the capital to run naked in the streets and be caught by the police. Oh, forget it, let's skip the naked run. I envy the prophet Micah. In those days, the police didn't arrest people. A lot of people preached peace, and he himself felt at peace, but disaster was coming. If you were Micah, seeing disaster coming, the feeling in your heart would be really bitter.
Today, I once again call on everyone. If God gives you one signal, two signals, three signals, don't ignore them, start turning back to God, do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly. You say, Teacher, I haven't failed to do justice, and I'm quite merciful. Oh my gosh, but have you been humble? For the sake of your own face, you'd rather have face than substance, are you being contentious? If people have all three, they're finished. Even having one is enough to make you suffer. The prophet walked naked and wailed. We, the people of God, must not think we are already holy.
All Because of the Sins of God's People
Today, we often feel we are living in grace. This grace is to lead us to repentance. If people don't repent, God's wrath will still come. Ahab's city in Samaria was destroyed. The economy was once very developed. What about Judah? The high places of Judah were still there. The idols of Israel were smashed. They were like prostitutes, wanting to take care of the family and love the world at the same time, wanting to get God's benefits. Today, brothers and sisters, we must be careful of the sins of God's people. We try our best to live out holiness, but we may not be able to. If you think you are already very holy, then that's bad.
If there are worldly logical systems among the brothers and sisters, that's okay, just don't be God's people. If you are not God's people, the sins of the world are just as they are. Wanting to get God's benefits and love the world at the same time, isn't that courting death? As a result, because of the sins of God's people, the prophet walked naked and wailed. What was he doing? Trying to gain attention. If there were such a video today, the views would definitely go up, and it would become news immediately, and it is still news now. Why? To give people a clear understanding of their sins.
Do we have a clear understanding of our sins today? Is it really clear? I don't see many who are clear. Wanting to love the world and get benefits from God at the same time, some even want to get worldly benefits through God. What kind of logic is that? Why do people worship idols? Because they want to get worldly benefits? Because they can't get them from God, and they see that their neighbors are doing pretty well, and their idols seem effective, so they go and do the same. They don't know that this kind of sin will bring national ruin and family destruction. Maybe the country isn't ruined and the family isn't destroyed, but getting cancer is also close to destruction.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we must strive to live out holiness. As long as we still have a bit of worldly logic in our minds, it's like a rat turd in a bowl of soup. How can we strive for holiness? You don't need anything else, you must rely on God. God can do it. We must forsake this spiritual fornication. Wanting to love the world and love God at the same time, how is that possible?
It doesn't matter if you live in sin, God will definitely reveal your sin, because our God is a God who testifies against our wrongdoings. Our God is not a God who praises us, our God is a God who testifies against our wrongdoings. I rarely see God praising us. In the Bible, I rarely see God praising us.
The fourth point of the scripture is:
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 are the high places of Judah? Are they not Jerusalem? “Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble in the open country, 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 wages they will be used again.” 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 Samaria’s plague is incurable; it has spread to Judah. It has reached the very gate of my people, even to Jerusalem itself. (Micah 1:5-9)
Israel's Sin is Revealed There
Israel's sin is revealed there. The scripture is:
Tell it not in Gath, weep not at all; in Beth Ophrah roll yourselves in the dust. Pass on, inhabitants of Shafir, in nakedness and shame; the inhabitants of Zaanan do not come out; Beth Ezel is taken away from you; its support is removed. For the inhabitants of Maroth wait anxiously for good, because disaster has come down from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem. Harness the steeds to the chariots, inhabitants of Lachish; it was the beginning of sin to Daughter Zion, for the transgressions of Israel were found in you. Therefore you will give parting gifts to Moresheth Gath; the houses of Achzib will prove deceptive to the kings of Israel. I will bring a conqueror against you, inhabitants of Mareshah; the nobles of Israel will flee to Adullam. (Micah 1:10-15)
What is this talking about? First, nakedness and shame certainly mean that God is revealing our sins. If you experience nakedness and shame, being penniless and having no clothes to wear, it must be that God is showing you your wrongdoings. Then the inhabitants of Zaanan dare not go out. God is revealing your wrongdoings.
The wailing of the people of Beth Ezel leaves you with nowhere to stand. The people of Beth Ezel wail all day long. Some people have a child and wail all day long. You have nowhere to stand because all you hear is crying. God is showing you your wrongdoings. The inhabitants of Maroth are very anxious, eagerly wanting to seize the opportunity, but disaster quickly comes from Jerusalem.
Harness the steeds to the chariots, inhabitants of Lachish; it was the beginning of sin to Daughter Zion, for the transgressions of Israel were found in you. What does this mean? Why is Lachish harnessing horses? Because the king of Assyria is encamped in Lachish, and he wants to attack Jerusalem from Lachish. What does this mean? The transgressions of Israel are found in you, and someone is coming to attack you. When we read the Book of Judges, we also see this. If people want to live in peace all their lives, they really need some wisdom.
Like I usually say, you don't have the last say in whether you can pee or poop. Shouldn't you revere a little more? God uses a small fever, God uses a churning stomach, God uses an inability to poop or pee, God uses something like not being able to see, what are they all doing? Revealing our sins.
Judah sends gifts to Moresheth Gath. I ask you, is it good to give gifts all the time? No, today you give gifts to ask for help, tomorrow you give gifts to ask for help. That is people living in sin. God's people don't do that. God's people don't need to do these things. As soon as they do, they are defeated and have to pay tribute. That is sin. The tribes of Achzib are treated deceitfully by the kings of Israel, being deceived by others. I tell you, there is a reason why people are scammed by scammers.
I will bring a conqueror against you, inhabitants of Mareshah. Isn't that bad luck? As soon as you're whole, you're robbed, as soon as you're whole, you're hijacked. You see, what people think in their minds is actually quite hateful and dirty. As a result, someone digs up their roots and digs into the back of your head. Can you stand that? A blacksmith's hammer hitting the head, can you stand that? I had a classmate who died, he was hit. Oh, that lifetime, my gosh, the roots were dug out.
The nobles of Israel will flee to Adullam. Adullam is the cave where David hid from Saul's pursuit. The nobles of Israel flee to Adullam to escape persecution. Oh? Do you think there are many tools to show us our wrongdoings? There are too many tools to show our various sins. Today you commit a small sin, and tomorrow something will happen. The day after tomorrow you commit another sin, and something else will happen. Many of us have experienced this, but what's the problem? We forget as soon as we turn around. You don't need much, you'll definitely forget in two weeks.
Oh, rending clothes, simply rending the heart, the scar heals in two weeks and the pain is forgotten. The Chinese invented a good phrase, Once the scar heals, the pain is forgotten. Today, we must be sensitive to sin, it's not that we don't react, it will definitely manifest. I tell you, God loves us very much. Where is this love shown? It's that as soon as we have a problem, as soon as we are not dealing with sin, something happens. You say, the sins I dealt with in the past were okay, but that's not enough. You still have to deal with them now. After a while, God will give you a reminder.
The reminder God gives is still a bit big. It may be that you can't pee, can't poop, can't breathe, or it may be a headache or fever. Do you understand? Brothers and sisters must know that Israel's sin is revealed here, slowly revealed. Don't always do things that are disadvantageous. If you have nothing to do, don't poke the bear, and don't poke the wild boar. The wild boar will gore you. Even more, don't poke God. Why are you poking God? Do you have nothing to do and you want to poke God? Let's be a little smarter today.
Woe to Judah, for They Will Go into Exile
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.(Micah 1:16)
When I talk to Christians, their reactions are similar. They're all pretty good, business as usual. People only see the immediate benefits. What is this passage talking about? It's about making your children extremely ugly. Some people say, Teacher, what do you think of my design? Oh my gosh, extremely ugly. He thought I was going to praise him a few words. Why should the children of Judah in whom they delight be made so ugly? It's so that the enemy won't even want to defile them when they see them. Do you understand? After being exiled, people can treat you however they want. It's terrible.
God is so good, warning us a hundred years ago. Actually, warning us two hundred years ago, three hundred years ago too. How long is this era from Moses? It's about fifteen hundred years from Moses. Oh, I feel that Moses' warnings are deafening. God is waiting for us to repent, through the prophet walking naked and wailing, and then shouting there all day long, but people still only see the immediate benefits. Don't continue to run madly on this corrupt road. Don't walk into ruin.
I have seen many ignorant people. If they had a heart of repentance, they wouldn't have fallen into such a tragic state. Then their hearts are still extremely hard, and they still think they're good, thinking Micah was wrong, thinking God has let them down. I often see Christians living in serious illness saying, God, why is this happening? God, have you made a mistake? They think they're good.
God doesn't make mistakes. Chinese Mingding Destiny often has a small passage that says: God doesn't make mistakes, and the devil doesn't make mistakes, the ones making mistakes are us. If a signal comes, if something happens, don't be stubborn, repent quickly. God has abundant grace and mercy. Brothers and sisters, always remember one sentence: God doesn't make mistakes, and the devil doesn't make mistakes, Assyria doesn't make mistakes, Babylon doesn't make mistakes, Judah and Israel make mistakes, making mistakes until their families are destroyed.
What's even more abominable is that people don't change their nature. These Judas who were exiled to Babylon, many years later, about one hundred and seventy years later, one hundred years later they were exiled to Babylon, and then seventy years later God led them back, and they were still the same.
I have never understood, what? People just like to live their lives. You say, what else do people do if they don't live their lives? That's right, what else do they do if they don't live their lives? Then when you live your life, don't live it into disaster. Give God the time that should be set apart. No, they deliberately offend God. Think about how mind-awakening our Bible study is. They have time to do many seminars, but they don't have time to read God's word, only seeing the immediate benefits. Our God is testifying against our non-righteousness every day.
We will share to here. The Lord Jehovah will testify against our non-righteousness, this sentence should be deeply imprinted in our minds, Amen!