Would you turn with me to the Prophet Micah?

We'll be reading the text from Chapter 5 in a moment in connection with the message,

but we'll begin back at Chapter 1 of Micah, where he begins by telling us the cities

that he prophesied to and when he prophesied.

Our series on the minor profits isn't going in chronological order, as you can see

this morning. We're backing up 200 years, in fact, to pick up a great prophecy regarding the coming of Messiah out of Bethlehem.

Here's the way the book begins in the Prophet Micah.

The word of the Lord which came to Micah of Mauritius in the days of Jotham,

Ahaz and Hezakiah, Kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

Now, Samaria was the capital of the Northern Kingdom, Israel,

Jerusalem, the capital of the Southern Kingdom, Judah, and the years of the southern kingdom, Judah.

And the years of the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah

were from about 735 to 700 BC.

Myka, therefore, was a contemporary of Isaiah and prophesied during those tragic days when Assyria came against the Northern Kingdom and swept down, destroyed Samaria, not only did that, but went on in and took over Judah and besieged the Holy City itself, although it was unsuccessful because of that miraculous deliverance in those days.

Jerusalem's Day of Judgment was yet to come in the centuries to follow.

Micah is a hard prophet to understand.

At least he is for me.

And the reason is because as you read it, if you try to just read it straight through, it

alternates back and forth, back and forth between prophecies of doom and prophecies of hope.

And it's very hard to figure out how they relate to each other or what situation is being

addressed in each paragraph.

I think the overriding reason for why Micah writes like that probably is because he wants us to see that there is always hope mingled with doom when you have to do with God in his people.

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