God spoke through the prophet Micah concerning how horrendous sin is. Israel was a mess. Idolatry reigned in Israel. At the time of Micah, the Creator was not worshiped by the nation but the god of self and the god of superstition were worshiped.
This may not sound too serious to some, but idolatry caused the prophet, Micah, to mourn for his country. He said, “I must lament and wail, I must go barefoot and naked” (Micah 1:8). To go barefoot was considered “going naked” in Micah’s day. It was a physical statement that something horrible had happened. Today, someone might wear a black arm band to signify the same thing.
The first three chapters speak about the sin of Israel. Then chapters 4 and 5 are a prophecy of the coming Messiah. The final two chapters are a conversation between God and Micah.
In this conversation, Micah closes with a wonderful comfort for all of humanity. He says, “who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity”. First, it is noteworthy here that the writer’s name – Micah – actually means “Who is like God?”. In chapter 7:18, Micah says that God is the one who pardons . A “pardon” is an “exemption of a convicted person from the penalties of an offense or crime by the power of the executor of the laws.” God is the Executor of Universal Laws. We are guilty, but he removes us from a place of punishment for our sins.
God have dealt with the sin issue with humanity. “He (God) rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13, 14).
Micah wrote, “you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea”(Micah 7:19). Here’s an interesting picture of this thought: On January 23, 1960, history was made as a two-man crew descended to the deepest known point on the Earth ’s surface. This place is so deep that, if the highest mountain on earth was to be dropped into the trench, it would still be covered by over one mile of water.
God dealt with the sin issue so that we don’t need to. We can’t get to where forgiven sin is! It’s out of reach, so why go back to the past? Sin is a burden that we can’t possibly deal with but when we confess our sin he is faithful and he is righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
I’ve heard some say, “When I get my act together I’ll come to God”. But, is this a logical approach? When someone is seriously sick or injured, they don’t wait until they recover before they go to the hospital. They cannot get better UNTIL they go to the hospital. Jesus Christ came to help a seriously sin-sick world by taking the punishment that was due you and me.
When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming to him, he said, “Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)
Remember Jesus (Latin) means “God is salvation”. What amazing love!
God is so willing to pardon that Isaiah 53 tells us that it actually PLEASED him to crush Jesus. God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through him” (Romans 5:8, 9).
Hallelujah! We worship the Creator who pardons. We appreciate your Comments