Hi all,
In the first 2 parts of this series, we looked at the Father seeking true worshippers and seeking a people after His own heart. There are other things that could be added – the Lord has come to seek and save those who are lost, the Lord looking to and fro on the earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those who follow Him, and other passages.
The reason for this series is to learn to separate what others tell us God wants from what He actually wants.
Church culture wants you in church, ‘in the Word’, giving to their cause, volunteering in a program, or participating in a church-wide spiritual goal. It is easy to (unintentionally) think God wants what the pastor says God wants.
I had a Bible school student come to my office very upset. His church had started a morning prayer initiative, so during the previous 3 weeks he was getting up at 5am to pray for 15 minutes. He thought it must be God; the pastor was encouraging the congregation in each service to participate. This young man did that for the first 3 weeks, but in the last week, he slept through his prayer time.
He came to me because he was sure God was angry at him for failing to keep to the program, and wanted to know what he needed to do to get back on good terms with the Father. I asked how he knew the Father was angry at him. Did he tell him He was angry? (No) He assumed that because the church was pushing praying through the Lord’s Prayer in the morning hours, it was equal to what God wanted. When he failed the church’s expectations he thought he had failed God. I was able to help him receive the Father’s peace, telling the young man that when he felt that, it was the Father letting him know He wasn’t angry with him.
What if we could enter a walk with the Father and our Lord which isn’t about us?
Have you considered a walk with the Father that is focused on the Father instead of self?
Micah was a prophet from a small town (Morasthite) but prophesied about Samaria (capital city of Israel) and Jerusalem (capital city of Judah).
NOTE: After Solomon’s death, Israel split into 2 kingdoms: The northern kingdom, called Israel, whose capital was Samaria, comprised 10 tribes. They rejected the worship of God in Jerusalem and the Levites there, developing their own priesthood. The southern kingdom was known as Judah, but included Benjamin, the Levites, and others from the 10 tribes who remained faithful to God. Their capital was Jerusalem and worshipped in the temple of Solomon. When one reads through the prophets it is important to note whether their ministry is to Israel (Samaria) or Judah. (For more information my audio series on “Walk through the OT: Israel’s civil war”, goes into detail)
Enter Micah: He was from a rural small town
But he prophesied to the people and leaders of both capital cities and their respective centers of worship. Micah was the first prophet to specifically address the failure of both kingdoms to help the poor. They had the Law of Moses, which was full of grace for the poor, but they each developed their own spirituality outside the provisions in the Law of Moses.
For example, look at the law of the tithe and how it provided for the people, yet it was ignored. There were 4 tithes:
The first is ‘terumah, or the ‘first fruits offering’which went to the priests for their support. The second is ‘ma’aser rishon’, or first tithe. It went to the Levites. Not every member of the tribe of Levi became a priest, as the number of positions available in temple service was limited. So there were many more Levites than their were priests. The third tithe is ‘ma’aser min hama’aser, the tithe of the tithe. The members of the tribe of Levi gave the tithe of what they received to those Levites who were priests. These 3 tithes went to support the priests and temple care and maintainance.
The fourth is ‘ma’aser sheen’, or the second tithe. This tithe went directly back to the people who gave it.
These 4 tithes were offered at different times over a 7 year period, with no tithe given the 7th year, a Sabbath year.
In years 1, 2, 4, and 5, the ‘second tithe’ was taken to Jerusalem and offered to the Lord, and after the priests took their portion, the remainder was given back to the people who offered it. They held a big party to celebrate God’s goodness.
In years 3 and 6, the ‘second tithe’ did not even go to the priests in the temple: Based on an honor system, the people giving the second tithe in years 3 and 6 distributed their tithe locally to care for the poor, fatherless, and widows and all in need. This included the Levites/priests, for the priests had no inheritance of land, so were considered the same as the poor, thus entitled to be supported by the larger community.
Did you get that? Every year, when people tithed, 1 of the tithes came back to the giver or never went to the priests at all. And they had a full year, they didn’t give any tithe, they kept it to themselves to be able to give to those in need. I have given all this background to understand the leadership in Israel and Jerusalem in the days of Micah were neglecting the Mosaic Law’s provisions for the poor, including provisions in the law of the tithes. They were religious, but religious as they defined it. They were spiritual, but following their own desires not what God had written in His Word through Moses.
Speaking to these religious leaders, Micah’s ministry to Israel and Judah is summed up in 6:8:
“He has declared to you, O man, what is good, yes, what God requires of you: To do justice, love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
The Father seeks worshippers, He seeks people after His own heart, that He may walk with us, and we Him. It is that simple. Drop the complicated faith. Drop the formulas and all you think you need to do to please Him. Just….walk….talk to Him like you would talk to anyone…and then pause, shift your attention to your spirit and sense His presence. It is that simple.
Paul’s great concern for the Corinthians was that Satan, by subtlety, would move them ‘from the simplicity that is in Christ’*, to a complicated faith that ultimately presented another gospel, another Jesus, another spirit. Just keep it simple. Stop chasing things that tickle itching ears in order to fill that time getting to know your Father. Worship Him. Seek Him. Do right, love mercy, walk humbly with Him. Amen. *II Corinthians 11: 3-4.
New subject next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
