The LORD’s Plan

Mobilize! Marshal your troops! The enemy is laying siege to Jerusalem. They will strike Israel's leader in the face with a rod. (Micah 5:1 NLT)

Israel (the northern kingdom) is about to fall.  Their rebellion over hundreds of years has tried the LORD’s patience.  Now, their kingdom is about to end.  The prophet Micah is sent to deliver the message of doom and gloom.

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, One whose origins are from the distant past. The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies until the woman in labor gives birth. Then at last His fellow countrymen will return from exile to their own land. And He will stand to lead His flock with the LORD's strength, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. Then His people will live there undisturbed, for He will be highly honored around the world. And He will be the source of peace…  (Micah 5:2-5a NLT)

Sound familiar?  It should.  This passage is quoted every Christmas as we celebrate the birth of the LORD’s Messiah and King: Jesus.  Micah doesn’t just deliver a message of doom and gloom.  Micah is delivering a message that reveals the LORD’s plan.  Some of that plan will be experienced by the Israelites in Micah’s day.  Other parts of it won’t be experienced for many more years to come.  All of it is God’s plan, though.  It is a plan that gives us hope.

What can we bring to the LORD? What kind of offerings should we give Him? Should we bow before God with offerings of yearling calves? Should we offer Him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins? No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what He requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:6-8 NLT)

How about you?  Do you see the LORD’s plan?  Can you see which parts are already completed and which parts are still to come?  Do you trust the LORD’s plan?  Does it give you hope?