I am currently going through the book of Micah again, and wanted to share my thoughts from this verse.
Mic. 6:16 For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people.
Omri and Ahab, his son, were evil kings.
1Kings 16:25-26 & 29-30 “But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities….And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him.”
This is a terrible indictment from God. He is declaring that His people have chosen to follow the example of these evil kings rather than obey Almighty God. Because of their wickedness and rejection of Him, He is going to bring the nation to ruin and make His people an object of shame and derision among the nations.
I can’t help but want to make application to America today. No matter how the revisionist historians try to paint it, we were founded as a Christian nation, a people that honored God. We have steadily and purposely chosen to follow a path of rejection of God and His Word through the leadership of those in our government and judicial system. God is not going to allow our rejection of Him and our disregard for His word to go unpunished. He will hold us accountable just as surely as He held Israel and Judah accountable. I personally believe we are already feeling the effects of judgment, but I also believe that there is much worse to come. I am also reminded that the LORD established a principle in His dealings with Israel, and it’s found in the book of Chronicles.
2Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
This verse has been echoing in my thoughts a lot recently. The principle is that if God’s people, we who claim His name, who call ourselves Christian, will—
- Humble ourselves
- Pray
- Seek God’s face
- Turn from our wicked ways
--then God will hear, forgive and heal the land.
The call is to God’s people, not those who have rejected Him. We who are Christians are God's people. I can’t help but wonder how many of us are quick to condemn the heathen in our nation without consideration of our own responsibility and where we are falling short. Have we as Christians truly humbled ourselves to make God the LORD of our life? Are we fervent in prayer with a burden for the church and our nation and ALL its leaders? Do we seek God’s face in asking Him to identify where we need to change and what we need to do differently? Do we seek His face as to how we can encourage other Christians to yield to Him as LORD? Are we willing to give up our own sins—no matter how minor we might consider them to be? Do we discern and identify what is wicked and what is good according to God’s word rather than the world’s standards? Do we justify compromises in the name of tolerance and political correctness? The LORD wants each one of us to examine ourselves and make corrections where we don't measure up.
2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.”
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