God makes me laugh

God totally makes me laugh. I shared my last post with a friend who gave me such a wonderful gift back. She has a son named Micah and she was telling me that when she is busy, he often asks what his job is. She often replies "Your job is to sit and watch." This made me smile as perhaps that is all God wants us to do...just sit and watch. Today I was spending more time in Song of Songs when something reminded me of her comment and I said to God "What is my job." And suddenly, as if He spoke, I thought "go to the book of Micah." I found two wonderful answers. The first was in Micah 6:8 which says: He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God? I thought, certainly that is what is required of me. And I basked in the practical teaching on that verse and how it applies to me...it was also the verse God gave me last week that was applied in a very practical way...but that's another story.

The second thing He showed me was in the opening commentary by Jon Courson for the book of Micah. The following is what struck me...I begin in the middle of Courson's introduction:

In addition to problems militarily, the Jews were wavering spiritually. The people who should have known God were not walking with God. Consequently, in His grace, the Lord raised up a group of men to call His people back to walking with Him. Hosea, Amos, Micah, and Isaiah were all contemporaries. Isaiah seems to have played a special role in Micah's life. In fact, the Book of Micah has been called the "Isaiah in shorthand" because much of what is written in Isaiah is also recorded verbatim in Micah.

Here is a classic case of plagiarism the critics contend. Micah simply ripped off the prophecies of Isaiah. I disagree. Isaiah's words seen in Micah are not a case of plagiarism but of impartation: "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." 2 Tim 2:2 In other words, Paul said "Timothy, pass what I'm saying on to others who will in turn pass it on to others." And that's what we see in Micah. An older Isaiah undoubtedly influenced a younger Micah.

With so much of Isaiah found in Micah, it's easy to wonder why the Lord inspired Micah to write at all. I suggest one reason might be that a lot of us get swamped with Isaiah's sixty six chapters. So in Micah, we find an abridged version of Isaiah. Second, I believe the book of Micah underscores the fact that, in order to learn lessons, we need to hear them repeatedly.

"Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. 2 Peter 1:12

Both in our conversations and in our teaching, our tendency is to feel we have to share something creative and fresh, something that has a new twist or an idea never before heard. Not so. We must be more concerned about people being established in truth than about them being impressed with our insights or profound thoughts. "I know you this," says Peter, "but I'm going to keep reminding you until you are established in it, until you know it is like the back of your hand, until you're doing it not just hearing it." Through Micah the Lord is telling us that these truths are central and that we need to hear them again.
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I found that profound in light of my last two posts. I desire to write of the things of God...to encourage and edify those around me. I struggle with it sounding good and with not just using other people's information...and yet it isn't about me or them...it is about being used by God to remind people of His love for them through my life and my words should He so chose. And that may include sharing the things He shows me through His word and through others words on His Word and not getting an ounce of the credit for passing it on. Praise His Name. I love to read books written by Max Lucado, Beth Moore and Lee Strobel. Their writing styles appeal to me. But more than that, WHAT or WHO they are writing about is really what it is all about. God simply uses their voices to speak to me and to repeat and remind me of all that He shows me through His Word. And He would do all that just for me. Because He loves me. He loves you too. What is He saying to you today? Perhaps some of what I said is a reminder of something He has been speaking to your heart lately. I pray that it is. To Him is all honor and glory!