Articles
Who Is A God Like You
Who Is A God Like You
Micah 7:18-20 (ESV)
18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.
19 He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.
God made a covenant with Abraham promising that in HIS seed all nations would be blessed (Gen. 12:1-3). We follow his family through the rest of the Old Testament. We read the stories of Isaac, Jacob, the 12 tribes, the Egyptian bondage, Moses, the Wilderness wandering, Joshua and the conquering of the land. We wade through the awful times of the judges. We have seen the united kingdom period of Saul, David, and Solomon. We have watched as the kingdom split into two very different kingdoms. The northern kingdom was unfaithful from its first king and never recovered. Judah wavered, sometimes faithful but often following in the footsteps of Israel to the north.
God had warned the people when He gave them the covenant under Moses that if they were unfaithful He would destroy them. He had given a foretaste of this during the period of the Judges as He brought nation after nation against them to chastise and discipline them. God's purpose was that they would repent and be faithful (Hosea 7:10; Isa. 9:13).
It is with THIS history in the background that Micah writes the ending of his book. Time and time again God had been merciful to His people -- AFTER He had punished and chastised them for their disobedience and rebellion. Micah has yet again warned them that God was about to bring another nation against them. This time however it would be the end of the northern kingdom. God has had enough. In 722 Assyria would utterly destroy the northern kingdom. What will happen to the promise to Abraham? What will happen to the promised seed of David?
While the NATION as a nation would be forever gone, God had promised to redeem and reclaim a remnant of the people. God will bring the Messiah the seed of Abraham. God will YET have compassion. God will forever take away their sins and "cast it into the depths of the sea". God will be faithful to HIS word even though the people have been unfaithful to God. The promise of Abraham would be fulfilled.
Jesus, the son of Abraham… (Matt. 1:1). Jesus has come 'to save His people from their sins'. In Christ people can be redeem, forgiven of their sins, and reconciled unto God.
In Romans 4 we are told that WE can be children of Abraham IF we walk in the steps of Abraham. We need to walk in humble faithfulness to God and His word. We need to go when He says go. We need to trust Him even when the situation (like the sacrifice of Isaac) seems so unreasonable.
Paul writes: "…for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise" (Gal. 3:26-29).
God is faithful. Let US be faithful to Him.
