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Pay Attention to God!

Sunday, October 6, 2024
Pastor Jojo Ma

 

2 Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. 3 For behold, the LORD is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. 4 And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place. 5 All this is for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? 6 Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the open country, a place for planting vineyards, and I will pour down her stones into the valley and uncover her foundations. 7 All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces, all her wages shall be burned with fire, and all her idols I will lay waste, for from the fee of a prostitute she gathered them, and to the fee of a prostitute they shall return.

Old Testament Theologian David Prior: “Micah’s preaching to the nation was an extremely unpopular ministry.”

Sinners must be warned, and sinners must hear what God demands before they can receive what God provides. You have to hear the bad news before you can appreciate the good news.

I.          A Call to Hear the Lord [v2]
II.        A Call to Fear the Lord [vv3-7]
III.       A Call to Draw Near to the Lord

I.         A Call to Hear the Lord [v2]
2 Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.

What is the great need for every person in this world? What is the great need for every generation? What is the great need for each country and its leaders?

2 Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.

The destruction that falls upon Samaria and Jerusalem is a foretaste of God’s future and final judgment over all the earth.

II.        A Call to Fear the Lord [vv3-7]
3 For behold, the LORD is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. 4 And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place. 5 All this is for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? 6 Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the open country, a place for planting vineyards, and I will pour down her stones into the valley and uncover her foundations. 7 All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces, all her wages shall be burned with fire, and all her idols I will lay waste, for from the fee of a prostitute she gathered them, and to the fee of a prostitute they shall return.

3 For behold, the LORD is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.

4 And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.

John Calvin: “[These verses show] how defenseless we are, how totally unable to resist God. For if God should suddenly appear, who could withstand His furor?”

OT Scholar John Mackay: “The final judgment is anticipated in every prior intervention of God in judgment in the affairs of men.”

5 All this is for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?

1 Pet 4:17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

It’s not so much how the world is living, it’s how we are living. Do we really love God and His Word? Do we really love the church? Do we really love our neighbors and the lost? Or do we love ourselves too much, first and foremost?

6 Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the open country, a place for planting vineyards, and I will pour down her stones into the valley and uncover her foundations.

Amos 6:4 Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches.

7 All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces, all her wages shall be burned with fire, and all her idols I will lay waste, for from the fee of a prostitute she gathered them, and to the fee of a prostitute they shall return.

Rev 19:11,15-16 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war...From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

What are you living for? What are you building in this life? Are you living for the glory of Christ and his kingdom? Or has worldliness and idolatry overtaken your heart? Jesus said where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

III.      A Call to Draw Near to the Lord
Jn 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.